To all my hound doggin friends (and you bird dog guys too) the data, software, and pics of the new Garmin are out!!!

Here is the link from a website providing some good information...can't wait! Mother-in-law said "sounds good, by Christmas they'll have all the kinks worked out" Looking forward to Christmas now!!!!!!!!!!

Garmin Astro 320 Review on Gundog Supply

I know I cant wait! He11 by then I could put the money back.

Tim

Ya it's gonna kill me waiting! I might need to just buy one when they come out and then find a new Christmas present...like a dogbox

I had heard it was touch screen, glad they didn't go with that.

It looks pretty [beeep] fancy, i just hope they didn't put too much time into looks and not enough to make sure it works.

I've heard nothing but bad about the dc40 collars, I wonder if they made any changes for this new reciever to make them better.

will the 320 even work with the dc30 collars or do you have to upgrade to dc40

The 320 is backwards compatible all the way to the DC20 collars. So any collar that has ever been made by Garmin will work with them. Feature wise, they put a lot more flash into it, but the general system is still the same. The antenna increases range but that's it. Other than that it's all just user interface improvements (except maybe the 3 axis compass which will help). I'm really excited for the new features, but wish they would go to a true gps system or increase their range/signal strength. And as far as the DC40's go, I've heard that there are quite a few updates for them that will get them running slightly better than the 30's once updated!

I just wish a company would come out with "gps",
that is reliable, and has a decent range.
This "It will work better if you update "bs" is getting old"
Why can't they just make something that works to begin with?
I have dc30's, and have done every update, they still work half the time, and at best get 3 miles range. I can dam near hear dogs at that distance.
I use the Garmins, and my old BEEP -BEEPS,at the same time on any long ranging dogs, cause the Garmins just are not trustworthy.
Zachvu, are you a dealer????
Have you tried the new system?
Is it really any better in the feild???
Duane

Don't they use more of a radio technolgy on these. I've never used one but have used some of the other garmin handhelds where you can "see" your buddies. As far as I know it is a radio freq. thing on the handhelds more then "gps".

your right pretty much the same thing as there 2-way radio "GPS" doesn't work much further then line sight.

yes you guys are correct, it's not a gps system at all for the collars, only the handheld. The FCC also regulates how strong these signals can be so we won't be seeing any improvements unless a true gps is created. Duane, no I'm not a dealer or anything, I'm just getting my first telemetry set this weekend!! I have just been doing a whole lot of research into them and working with a few guys on big game houndsmen to try and make a real true gps system work. And I agree with the update stuff...it's really getting old! Like I said I don't have a system but have been using family's 220's and am really fed up with them! Half the time I think I'd be better off strapping my phone to a dog and using the gps on a computer...which is kinda what we're trying to create! I'll let you guys know how things pan out with it!!

Fair enough,
if ya design something that really works, you will "have the market".