# Garmin DC 40?



## Boarhunter18 (Feb 25, 2011)

`Does anyone like the DC 40 system?  I have used the DC 30 and love it but I've heard a few bad things about the DC 40 and didnt know if they are any different than the 30?


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## ts3600 (Feb 25, 2011)

I have a DC-30 and 2 DC-40 collars.  I have had No problems with either one of them.  But the DC-40 is a lot easier to charge than the DC-30


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## Jester896 (Feb 25, 2011)

the DC-40 has some features to stop others from tracking your dogs without a password i think


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## Boarhunter18 (Feb 26, 2011)

OK thanks, yea I had 2 buddies that had the 40's and they would loose communication with there dog about every 3 to 4 mins and we had the 30's and ours never lost signal at all.  I just heard that from a couple different people so just wantin to see if anyone else was havin that problem.  Thanks for all the info


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## bertdawg (Feb 26, 2011)

Never had to send a 30 back to Garmin, but I've sent back two 40's already. Would lose signal even if close. Also you can have a lock on the 40, but someone gets a hold of your dog and he has the astro 220 he can use the collar. They are better to charge and have a better collar but I wont buy another 40.


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## RabbitJones (Feb 26, 2011)

I have 4- 30s & 1- 40. When I got the 40 I was losing the signal, called garmin and the guy help me on the phone  reprogram and change the freq. # on the 40 collar and has worked great since.


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## deathtodeer (Feb 26, 2011)

what is the range that most of you guys start losing signal with the 30/40 collars.  I have 4 30 collars and when my dogs get over 900yds away I had better be going to them otherwise I am going to lose the signal altogether.  Is that approximately what most of you encounter I know it varies with terrain I hunt southeast coastal ga so no mountains to contend with.  You would think with a satellite system you would never lose your dogs but I believe the collars actually transmit a radio freq. and the unit just plots the location, I could be wrong.  Just wondering.


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## Blessed (Feb 26, 2011)

I think there are many factors including the terrain dtd. I hunt in rough mountain country and have tracked up to 1.5 miles without the long range antenna but today we had terrible wind and clouds early this morning and would lose signal around 300 yds. For the norm though I think we are right there with ya, around 800-900 yds ya better get the long range out.


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## Blessed (Feb 26, 2011)

By the way, that is with the dc-30. Glad someone posted this because we talked about the new collars today and wondered if they were any better. I think I will stick with the 30.


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## Jester896 (Feb 26, 2011)

are they still running the satellite test i read about on another site


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## Boarhunter18 (Feb 26, 2011)

Well all the feedback you get from this site is wonderful because you learn alot and meet alot of good friends.  I have the 30 and I'm goin to stick with it, I just didnt know if the 40 was any better but it seems like everyone  is having the same problem with them. Thanks for the feedback!


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## Broadhead12 (Feb 27, 2011)

I have read others say that the 40s didnt get as good gps signal because the gps transmitter is made in the battery box under the dogs neck. The 30s gps transmitter is the thing on the side of the collar so they say this gives them better gps signal.


deathtodeer said:


> what is the range that most of you guys start losing signal with the 30/40 collars.  I have 4 30 collars and when my dogs get over 900yds away I had better be going to them otherwise I am going to lose the signal altogether.  Is that approximately what most of you encounter I know it varies with terrain I hunt southeast coastal ga so no mountains to contend with.  You would think with a satellite system you would never lose your dogs but I believe the collars actually transmit a radio freq. and the unit just plots the location, I could be wrong.  Just wondering.



The antennas on the astro and collars are VHF antennas. So they do communicate through radio signals, but they still have to have the satellite signal to work.  I dont know how all this works but i do know you can get VHF antennas for the garmin and the longer the better service and range but on cloudy nights it shuts down because of satellite.


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## Cur'n Plott Man (Mar 2, 2011)

Here is a test.
http://garminastrodog.com/dc40-vs-dc30-gps-reception/


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## Jester896 (Mar 2, 2011)

hmmm....interesting comparison....did you seeon the site the Astro 320 will be out late 2011...it will only be available with the DC-40 Collars


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