Sportdog TEK 1.0 LT Combo GPS Tracking and E Collar

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Mon May 09, 2011 10:56 am

Just curious as to people's opinions of this new product by Sportdog Brand? Usually when I tell people on this forum I use a Sportdog 2500 collar there is a big knock on what junk Sportdog collars are. Here is a new product put out by Sportdog rather than Garmin and I was just curious if this product might change some people's minds on this company.

Here are the links to some info. on it.

http://www.sportdog.com/getdoc/6684d745 ... es-Release

http://www.gundogsupply.com/sportdog-te ... ollar.html

http://www.lcsupply.com/SportDog-TEK-10 ... o/TEK10LT/

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon May 09, 2011 11:19 am

I don't think they can get it approved for event use by AKC or The Field, although their product guy seemed to think they could. Nothing wrong with SportDog. I had the 1850 for a while, but ditched it for the simpler op system of the DT. I will stick with Garmin.

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Mon May 09, 2011 11:32 am

It's flat enough around here that I can usually see my dogs even at 4 or 500 yards so I do not have a use for the GPS model but I liked that fact that the one I own has a mile and a half range and I could run 6 dogs off of it. I have never had to run that many dogs but I have run 4 dogs off it at one time. I really like Sportdog brand. I got my 2500 model because I had one of their first models that ran on 9 volt batteries and when it got old and just stopped working they offered the 1850 to me for $50 or the 2500 model for $75 even after that old collar sat around for years before I actually called them to inquire about the lifetime warranty on it. I like the company and it seems like they are putting out another product that many hunters and sportsmen were asking for. Might not be able to get it trial approved but I am sure it would be useful for western hunters as well as deep woods grouse and woodcock hunters. Now not only can you see where your dog is but you can stimulate them to return if they don't respond to the whistle, that is if your dogs are whistle trained. I have run dogs with someone who used a Garmin and ended up walking about 2 miles to a neighboring farmhouse to pick up his dog because he had no way to stimulate the dog and the dog would not respond to his repeated calls. If he had one of these he could have saved himself some boot leather.

Southwind · Post by **Southwind** » Mon May 09, 2011 11:49 am

I talked to prairiefire about them a couple weeks ago. He said his sportdog rep didn't really have any other info for him other than what was on the web site. I'll be in the market for one come October, and hopefully their will be enough reviews out to see if they are worth buying.

Chukar12 · Post by **Chukar12** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:06 pm

I agree that one sticking point will be competition approval, and the second will be battery life. While I love my Garmin even with it if you lose a dog overnight it is rendered about useless, not generally a big deal until it is of course. Hound guys are faced with extended leave a great deal. Telementry collars having a much longer battery life.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:23 pm

Will wait till other try it
but As for being approved for Trials I will bet that will get a big NO ..No E collars in trials

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:25 pm

kninebirddog wrote:Will wait till other try it
but As for being approved for Trials I will bet that will get a big NO ..No E collars in trials

The correction unit comes off. I think that feature, along with the weight, will sink them.

Ron R · Post by **Ron R** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:31 pm

tommyboy72 wrote: Usually when I tell people on this forum I use a Sportdog 2500 collar there is a big knock on what junk Sportdog collars are.

I guess I've missed those discussions. The only problem I see (besides the competition use) would be the price. Although, they would be convient if someone was in the market for a GPS and an E-collar simultaneously. Point being that most folks already have e-collers and the Garmin DC 40 alows a person to attach there respective brand of e-collar to the GPS collar. $700 for a complete Sportdog one dog set up or $750 for a Garmin two dog set up ready for your already purchased e-collars.

It's kinda funny how you start by defending Sportdog. Listen to this, I had an Innotech years ago and it still works perfectly today but apparently there have been alot of them that have been troublesome and undependable (junk) to say the least.

ACooper · Post by **ACooper** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:50 pm

People needing a competition approved tracker are a very small segment of the market, I doubt that alone will cause much of an issue.

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:51 pm

Ron R wrote:
tommyboy72 wrote: Usually when I tell people on this forum I use a Sportdog 2500 collar there is a big knock on what junk Sportdog collars are.
I guess I've missed those discussions. The only problem I see (besides the competition use) would be the price. Although, they would be convient if someone was in the market for a GPS and an E-collar simultaneously. Point being that most folks already have e-collers and the Garmin DC 40 alows a person to attach there respective brand of e-collar to the GPS collar. $700 for a complete Sportdog one dog set up or $750 for a Garmin two dog set up ready for your already purchased e-collars.

It's kinda funny how you start by defending Sportdog. Listen to this, I had an Innotech years ago and it still works perfectly today but apparently there have been alot of them that have been troublesome and undependable (junk) to say the least.

Well, if your Innotek quits working and you want to talk about with someone, it'll be SportDog........

Ron R · Post by **Ron R** » Mon May 09, 2011 1:07 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:Well, if your Innotek quits working and you want to talk about with someone, it'll be SportDog........

I have had the Tri Tronics classic 70 3 dog for the last 5+ years and never see myself having anything but tri tronics. I can't comment on sportdog or dt because I have never owned them.

I just remember reading alot of innotech bashing by almost every member of the forum and even though I support tri tronics I remember feeling like the lonely little kid/voice in the corner with a hand half raised whispering "mine works"

. What was everyone elses first e-collar?

Sorry for the hijack Tommy

.

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:03 pm

Yeah, Idunno what to think about it yet. Its kind of hard to know what to think with only limited knowledge available right now. I had asked my contact @ SportDOG some questions I (& others) had about the unit, and some of the answers I did get were vague at best, and the others just went, well, unanswered.

If the TEK lives up to all the hype put on by SportDOG then it'll be a smash hit. I don't trial, so I don't care so much about it being adopted into use in the FT circuits for my use. However, If it was, it would be a good sales point. For those that do FT, I wish they could at least provide an answer for you. I was dead set on getting a 3 dog system for this fall. I had my mind made up and money in hand to pre-order it. However the lack enthusiasm I got from SportDOG in answering basic questions about the product left me unsettled. Its not a cheap product by any means... Even with my dealer cost, its a pretty penny to dole out on something you don't know alot about. I would hate to dish out that kind of coin and have the product flop, and then not be able to get out from under it without taking a substancial loss.

I think I'll sit with my poker face and see how this hand plays out.

Post by **topher40** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:36 pm

Sportdog has a ways to go to be in TRUE competition with Dogtra or Tri Tronics. Necessity didnt breed this model, only greed. Tracker and Garmin already have models approved, why does SportDog need one? These are mostly collars used by newb's because of price.....

brad27 · Post by **brad27** » Mon May 09, 2011 5:39 pm

Necessity didnt breed this model, only greed. Tracker and Garmin already have models approved, why does SportDog need one?

right, and the only car company should be Ford. :roll:
nothing wrong with competition. its healthy for innovation and progress.
i personally won't go the sportdog route, even though i have a SD ecollar right now. i almost have enough money for a garmin.

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Mon May 09, 2011 5:43 pm

So let me get this straight. Only newbies with no experience use Sportdog because of the low price point? Maybe people with more common sense than money also use them. I don't like to pay extra for the name on the box unlike some on this forum. If I can get a product that has the same characteristics, workmanship, warranty, and lifetime gurantee but at a cheaper price then why would I pay more? So I can say I paid twice as much for a collar "assembled" in the U.S. For those not in the know 99% of all electronics in the U.S. today are manufactured in Japan, China, Taiwan, and other far East countries. Open up the pretty little transmitter or collar and look at the electronic chips and boards inside. I can pretty much gurantee they don't say made in Napa Valley, CA.

And Ron I did not start by defending anyone. I simply stated a fact and Topher did not disappoint. In my other post I simply related my experience with Sportdog. I would like to know how many have actually used Sportdog or they just assume they are junk because they are inexpensive.

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Mon May 09, 2011 5:49 pm

I like and use Garmin

...ruth

brad27 · Post by **brad27** » Mon May 09, 2011 5:50 pm

I would like to know how many have actually used Sportdog or they just assume they are junk because they are inexpensive.

like i said in my above post i have a SD unit. a SD-800. 8 levels, tone and 800 yard range. i was given the transmitter for nothing, just had to buy a collar. think i spent 100-150, can't remember. so far, nothing wrong with the unit. if i had more money i would by a TT unit. maybe in the future. i do need one with more range.

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:07 pm

SportDog has never been inexpensive. I think TriTronics is a bit overpriced. SportDog does support conservation organizations, too, and TriTronics supports the trial community.

Post by **topher40** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:26 pm

tommyboy72 wrote: And Ron I did not start by defending anyone. I simply stated a fact and Topher did not disappoint. In my other post I simply related my experience with Sportdog. I would like to know how many have actually used Sportdog or they just assume they are junk because they are inexpensive.

Tommy-

How many folks watch the bottom line rather than take the advice of people they ask it from on this forum? I have owned tritronics, dogtra, sportdogs, and innoteks. The best luck I have is with the Dogtra stuff. Most newbies show up here wanting to train their dog with some sort of pet model SD or INNO. This is where I get my experience from. You cant today even tell me you buy quality if your using SD, your shopping price not value.

brad27 · Post by **brad27** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:31 pm

You cant today even tell me you buy quality if your using SD, your shopping price not value.

Steve Snell seems to like it.

The SPORTDOG SD-1825 is so cool it is now the ONLY training collar I will use on my bird dogs and retrievers.
To give you an idea of how big a deal this is to me, I have been using the same model ecollar since 1998. I have tried at least 50 or 60 new systems over the last 11 years but I always went back to my old system. I could not find another training collar that fit my needs. I started using a prototype SD 1825 in September 2008. I ended up using it the entire 2008 - 2009 hunting season and have not looked back.

gittrdonebritts · Post by **gittrdonebritts** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:36 pm

Tommy

My first 2 e-collars were both SD collars first i had the SD 400 or 500 whatever it was junk i went through 3 transmitters because it wasn't giving a signal past 25ft which it was supposed to have like a 500 yrd range, then I had the 2500 like you have same problems with the transmitter not sending signal to the collars so i had SD fix it and I sold it I went to Tri Tronics and I haven't had a single problem yet I'll never go back to SD because of the Problems I had I may try another brand but have been very happy with TT.

Post by **topher40** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:58 pm

He also makes money for every unit he sells, I dont. Hard to be bias when you dont have a dog in the game isnt it?

brad27 wrote:
You cant today even tell me you buy quality if your using SD, your shopping price not value.
Steve Snell seems to like it.
The SPORTDOG SD-1825 is so cool it is now the ONLY training collar I will use on my bird dogs and retrievers.
To give you an idea of how big a deal this is to me, I have been using the same model ecollar since 1998. I have tried at least 50 or 60 new systems over the last 11 years but I always went back to my old system. I could not find another training collar that fit my needs. I started using a prototype SD 1825 in September 2008. I ended up using it the entire 2008 - 2009 hunting season and have not looked back.

fuzznut · Post by **fuzznut** » Mon May 09, 2011 8:13 pm

I had the opportunity to test the sportdog this week. Collar is weighted about the same as the Garmin- minus the ecollar portion. That part can be put on and taken off. A 2nd attenea shows when the ecollar portion is on the collar.

I didn't like the screen view, difficult to see in the sun. Very small arrow that points direction of the dog. Price point is good though... will be useful for some, not for others.

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Mon May 09, 2011 10:51 pm

I know I sell a heck of a lot more SportDOG E-Collars than anything else. Tri-Tronics comes in second. However I bet I sell 8-10 SD units to every TT unit.

I started out with Sportdog when I first came into the dog training and handling game. It was what was on the shelf at Orschlen's when I was looking to buy. I was young and it was all I could afford at the time. Furthermore, I didn't know alot about the other collar mfg's anyways.

I still have SportDOG units and to be completely honest I have done a little "Soul searching" about jumping ship and trying Tri-Tronics just last year. I was going to switch to Tri-Tronics last year after my SportDOG unit crapped out on me and Customer service told me I had to pay to have it fixed because it was over 2 years old. - "Like Hades", I replied. I tried to reach my contact @ SportDOG to rectify the situation and I was disapointed when that email wasn't returned in a reasonable amount of time... Almost 2 months. (apparently he was on the road..Product conventions and Field Testing, etc. But I didn't find this out till after the fact. ) I had sent another email and again the ball got dropped somewhere along the way (as I was told, afterwards) So, to make a long story short, I was on their forum one day and posted my experience in a thread where someone else was having trouble with the same unit... In less than 12 hours I had a lady from Sportdog ringing my phone, apologetic, and promising to make it right. I just wanted the collar fixed. 24 hours later I had a new 3 dog unit on my front porch. I also now have a direct number to call if I have problems again, w/o having to deal with a CSR. So, I've stayed in camp.

SportDOG makes a good product. However it isn't without its faults. NO E-Collar MFG is without its faults or there wouldn't be a need for a repairs/customer service department with any of them. I was sold on the new TEK LT collar from SportDOG. But, the reluctance to answer all my questions about it have worn on me and I think I'll just wait it out. I am very happy overall with my SportDOG units I have had, and still have. Other than my one "misunderstanding" with them, I have had many great years of service and overall good product reliance from them. Stuff is gona break... Its just the nature of the beast.

When I think about trying something else, I feel torn... I have been with SportDOG so long that I feel guilty about wanting to try something else.

Afterall, It was someone at Sportdog who gave me my break into the Hunting Dog Supply business.

That is worth something. At least to me it is.

So, some might say I'm biased, and I guess I'd have to say you're probably right.

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Tue May 10, 2011 4:49 am

I am a strong Garmin supporter, but I think competition is good!

I do believe, if delivered as promised, the TEK will be approved for trials, perhaps even by fall.

The approving sanctioning bodies were embarrassed by their reluctance to promptly approve Garmin, as they should have been. Their inaction was motivated by ignorance and trying to protect long time sponsors, both those motivations have been removed.

Marshall is still working on their GPS model, but if you can use them, there is nothing wrong with telemetry.

Oh, the answer to longer battery life, is to change to a longer update feature, but if I can't find my dog in a couple of hours, I need a faster horse,

Neil

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Tue May 10, 2011 8:25 am

Neil wrote:but if I can't find my dog in a couple of hours, I need a faster horse.

Neil

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:21 am

Gentlemen & Ladies,
I do like the Garmin units and when they finally get all the engineering bugs worked out of the unit and they do not loose signal in the thick mountainous Grouse woods, I would not mind owning one. PFP I can understand your loyalty & relationship with Sportdog, a long long time ago Dogtra did a similar thing for me, and just recently DT had me test their H20 T&B unit in the Grouse woods. These two companies build outstanding quality Collars and when Sport Dog engineers a comparable quality unit that will not break down over longevity, I might consider owning one. You could not give me a TT or IT collar, IMO there are way to many problems with them over the long haul. One of the other men made the comment about the inexperienced purchasing inexpensive collars, I do find this to be a correct statement and after owning the break down models most sportsman finally end up with a Dogtra or DT unit the 2nd, or even 3rd time around. The cost of the good collars, especially a dual or triple set is getting way out of hand, its still more cost effective however to invest in the higher quality more expensive collars the 1st time around. I still recommend to my clients the older 2000 Dogtra T&B units or the new DT H20 T&B, IMO no Collar on the market today has their quality especially over the longevity.
RGD/Dave

Ron R · Post by **Ron R** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:41 am

Ryman Gun Dog wrote:You could not give me a TT or IT collar, IMO there are way to many problems with them over the long haul.

Regarding tri tronics, that's a new one to me, I have found the opposite to be true. They seem to last forever.

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:54 am

Ron R,
The new TT is a much better unit, however I knew the company as they developed and their original stuff was junk, they have come a long way however.
My buddy Bill Reid used them at DeCoverly and helped refine them into better collars, he has been trying to get me to give them another chance for quite some time.
Unless Dogtra or DT go out of business, which is not likely I doubt I will ever put another TT Collar on any of our Grouse dogs, some people do like their new stuff
but they have had way to many different models with way to many problems.
RGD/Dave

Ron R · Post by **Ron R** » Tue May 10, 2011 10:01 am

Ryman Gun Dog wrote: they have come a long way however

All ecollars have really come a long way. Technology in general progresses so rapidly.

Pineywoods · Post by **Pineywoods** » Wed May 11, 2011 12:09 am

I bought my first training collars in November 1999, A Tri-Tronics 100 LS two dog unit. The only problem I have ever had
other than battery's was a dog chewing on the transmitter when I wasn't paying attention. I called Tri-Tronics and told them
what I needed, what happened and that it was my fault. They sent me what needed at no coast. That's customer service !

I will replace them this year with a Pro 100 G3 EXP just for the smaller collars and being able to run three collars at a time,
but the old ones still work.

A late friend of mine always said " If it last twice as long it cost half as much ". and my late uncle always said
" Never kick a winning horse in the rear"

Post by **kninebirddog** » Wed May 11, 2011 12:22 am

Ron R wrote:
Ryman Gun Dog wrote:You could not give me a TT or IT collar, IMO there are way to many problems with them over the long haul.
Regarding tri tronics, that's a new one to me, I have found the opposite to be true. They seem to last forever.

Ditto I only triad other collars because of price I had a TT which out lasted a dogtra Dt and 3 sportdogs

I tried to sell SD to some clients and 3 of the 10 I had didn't work 25 feet right from the box
that was the final straw where I made my full commitment to TT and have never looked back

The transmitter is more natural in the hand I have the pro 100 and for the momentary press and release for what I need when I need or press and hold what I need when I need

i always check out the new model Rick Smith has for his seminars..When the G3 sport basic first came out I had one when Rick came out I still have that one and I have abused it and it still works my SD it doesn't work the charge in the receivers doesn't last but maybe a week and the transmitter won't take a charge any more I used to keep it going for clients that forgot their e collars..It sits collecting dust with the dt dogtra and a real old TT that has the level pegs that you plug in at the receiver

birddogger · Post by **birddogger** » Wed May 11, 2011 2:17 am

kninebirddog wrote:
Ron R wrote:
Ryman Gun Dog wrote:You could not give me a TT or IT collar, IMO there are way to many problems with them over the long haul.
Regarding tri tronics, that's a new one to me, I have found the opposite to be true. They seem to last forever.
Ditto I only triad other collars because of price I had a TT which out lasted a dogtra Dt and 3 sportdogs

I tried to sell SD to some clients and 3 of the 10 I had didn't work 25 feet right from the box
that was the final straw where I made my full commitment to TT and have never looked back

The transmitter is more natural in the hand I have the pro 100 and for the momentary press and release for what I need when I need or press and hold what I need when I need

i always check out the new model Rick Smith has for his seminars..When the G3 sport basic first came out I had one when Rick came out I still have that one and I have abused it and it still works my SD it doesn't work the charge in the receivers doesn't last but maybe a week and the transmitter won't take a charge any more I used to keep it going for clients that forgot their e collars..It sits collecting dust with the dt dogtra and a real old TT that has the level pegs that you plug in at the receiver

Same experience here!

Charlie

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Wed May 11, 2011 6:28 am

Neil wrote:but if I can't find my dog in a couple of hours, I need a faster horse,

Neil,

I know the exception isn't the rule but after just coming back from Mile Post 9.......you aren't going anywhere fast on a horse. My pro and I put the hunt on a dog for 3 hours up there, part of the time we were had our horses in hand walking them (like a mile) because the terrain was to crazy to ride. I can say with the dog being up and over a saddle and down in a deep draw....I don't know how any of the GPS stuff would work. Marshall did.

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Wed May 11, 2011 6:35 am

Ryman-

It's not an engineering bug, it's the way GPS works, if the receiver can't locate enough satellites it won't work. Cover over head kinda hampers that.

I've also had the opposite experience with you with TT, I'm using the same TT collar with NO issues, while friends are replacing or repairing DT units.

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Wed May 11, 2011 8:03 am

Wyndancer wrote:
Neil wrote:but if I can't find my dog in a couple of hours, I need a faster horse,
Neil,

I know the exception isn't the rule but after just coming back from Mile Post 9.......you aren't going anywhere fast on a horse. My pro and I put the hunt on a dog for 3 hours up there, part of the time we were had our horses in hand walking them (like a mile) because the terrain was to crazy to ride. I can say with the dog being up and over a saddle and down in a deep draw....I don't know how any of the GPS stuff would work. Marshall did.

You needed the long range antenna. Marshall and the Garmin communicate with the same radio signals, you were able to track with the Marshall because of the better/larger antenna.

If the Garmin loses signal it will still indicate where it last had the dog, proceed there and hopefully (with a long range antenna) you will regain contact.

Neil

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Wed May 11, 2011 8:57 am

Gentlemen,
Everyone of you Gentlemen who life & hunt/train out west especially in states like Texas will have little trouble with TT or IT, in our big Forest here in Pa, they have big problems.
With the advent of seriously cold weather they have further problems. Sorry gentlemen I have used most all the different units and tested them for the companies also.
Here in Pa the old Dogtra 2000 T&B & the DT H20 T&B are the only collors that work correctly all the time, we do not hunt in flat rolling hills here, mountains with thick habitat and tree cover demand a high quality collar. My clients know when I recommend a collar to them it works, and will not be in the shop each year for repairs.
TT & IT do not get the job done here in our mountainous state on a repetative longevity basis. Further if a GPS looses signal, no matter what the reason, the collar does not work correctly to fill my hunting and training needs. When they work out the up link bugs, I believe I will own one, but not before.
RGD/Dave

Chukar12 · Post by **Chukar12** » Wed May 11, 2011 11:52 am

I gave a week old Sportdog to the neighbor lady to shock her fat lab with for chasing cars...it worked fine from her front door to the end of the driveway. I like the features on my DT collars and have had little problem with them. However, when I ran hounds I used the Tri-Tronics exclusively, ye olde peg model and I do know this...far more serious handlers and trainers use Tri-Tronics out here than any other brand and their loyalty comes from reliability. I get considerations from DT on collars and would reccomend them to anyone, two Dogtra collars I owned were junk, in both pairs one collar or the other constantly had battery or switch problems.

...and Ryman, give me a break, the highest mountain in Pennsylvania is what 3200 feet? I got more grade than that walking to the house from the barn, and cold weather my elbow...Birddogz uses Tri-Tronics and do not tell me you don't know how cold it is on his excursions for pete sakes

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Wed May 11, 2011 1:59 pm

Neil wrote:
You needed the long range antenna. Marshall and the Garmin communicate with the same radio signals, you were able to track with the Marshall because of the better/larger antenna.

If the Garmin loses signal it will still indicate where it last had the dog, proceed there and hopefully (with a long range antenna) you will regain contact.

Neil

Neil,

My understanding of the GPS system that Garmin uses is that both the collar and receiver each obtain a "fix" on their respective position and then the collar transmits its position to the receiver via a radio signal that is near the same frequency as some FRS radios. That frequency is in the 151-154 Mhz range. Most if not all radio telemetry fall in the 215-220 Mhz. Now I'll admit I'm not smart enough to know if the 215 Mhz will follow the curvature of the earth. But I understand the the Garmin is nearly line of sight. Funny thing, the pro had the Marshall and couldn't get a tone, I had brought a Tracker Maxima and got a faint tone.

Other:
Frequency band: MURS
Range: DC-20: 5 miles (line of sight)
DC-30: 7 miles (line of sight)

Anyway...I think the Garmin is a great product and competition will only result in better products coming to market.

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Wed May 11, 2011 2:11 pm

Chukar,
Its not how tall the mountains are alone, that makes the different, its how dense the forest is, combined with how they lay out that degrades and blocks the signals. The more open the country is the better the cheaper units work, and if you have experience with these collars you know it. The better collars work well in dense forest covered mountains, the cheaper units work poorly, and yes you have cold weather that degrades batteries out west also, but in most places, especially where you hunt Chukar, the habitat is sparce and you have deep canyons, when you are up on a mountain those IT & TT work fine, do the same thing here with our dense forest and you find out the limits of those collars. When the men come here from out west, most times their TT & IT units fail them badly, however when I hunt Montana or Texas my Dogtra and DT collars work just fine. The Garmin GPS is the same way, the dense forest and rolling mountains break the up link signal and you must recalibrate the unit most times, to get it back on line. Not an acceptable situation, when hunting or training, you only get so much time in the Grouse woods each day, you can't afford to be playing with electronic gear when you should be hunting or training.
If you had a couple Dogtra collars that had problems you had some of the very very few I have ever heard of, or seen. It simply is not the way most Dogtra or DT units preform.
RGD/Dave

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Wed May 11, 2011 2:30 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:I was told that before complaining you should check the nut loose on the controls.......

Always start with the simple stuff...

Chukar12 · Post by **Chukar12** » Wed May 11, 2011 2:48 pm

I am always one for learning, so help me. The re-calibration that you speak of is to orient the unit to the satellite(s) in GPS functionality. The frequency communication between the sending and receiving units on e-collars aren’t germane to that technology? So, if I am correct, and please help me if I am not we are left with discussing the differences in frequency technology between the various e-collars that would make one more effective than another as it relates to connectivity in the vast wooded mountains of which you speak? There must be some science to that, can you help me with what it is?

By my count 6 people on this thread alone are Tri-tronics supporters, maybe two for SD and you and me with DT. Now considering that between hunting, trialing and guiding I am in contact with as many collar users as most, and can attest to the fact that most at the pro level day to day are using Tri-Tronics, why would you knock the product to promote another? They are the market leader having invented the darn thing in any sort of mass production and they employ the most people. This isn't my fight but as I stated yesterday I am a tad bored and I fear I have some ADD or whatever an adult has kicking in...Others do not have to be wrong for you to be right. DT in particular has tangible differentiators to sell, and if I was an executive in that company the hair on the back of my neck would stand straight up if any representative of mine tried to sell my product based on a subjective opinion; especially if it was driven by a "bleep" the torpedoes approach to bucking popular expert opinion in the subject matter. This is how credibility is lost and markets/audiences are restricted.

Post by **ezzy333** » Wed May 11, 2011 2:52 pm

topher40 wrote:Sportdog has a ways to go to be in TRUE competition with Dogtra or Tri Tronics. Necessity didnt breed this model, only greed. Tracker and Garmin already have models approved, why does SportDog need one? These are mostly collars used by newb's because of price.....

What an absolutely strange answer for someone to make that lives in a free capitalist country where success is measured for every individual as well as every company by your bottom line. Based on your answer what is an individual breeding, feeding, training and selling dogs for when the only reason they are doing it is for greed, and every product they used was sold to them by companies that are greedy.There sure isn't any real need for another individual getting into our game.

Do you even suppose that you might like TTT and someone else might like Sporting Dog because they both do the job and satisfy their owners needs?

Oh and even tough is has nothing to do with dogs, why is it classified as greed when someone else wants to make a money but it is just fine for you?

Ezzy

Post by **ezzy333** » Wed May 11, 2011 3:15 pm

Chukar12 wrote:I am always one for learning, so help me. The re-calibration that you speak of is to orient the unit to the satellite(s) in GPS functionality. The frequency communication between the sending and receiving units on e-collars aren’t germane to that technology? So, if I am correct, and please help me if I am not we are left with discussing the differences in frequency technology between the various e-collars that would make one more effective than another as it relates to connectivity in the vast wooded mountains of which you speak? There must be some science to that, can you help me with what it is?

By my count 6 people on this thread alone are Tri-tronics supporters, maybe two for SD and you and me with DT. Now considering that between hunting, trialing and guiding I am in contact with as many collar users as most, and can attest to the fact that most at the pro level day to day are using Tri-Tronics, why would you knock the product to promote another? They are the market leader having invented the darn thing in any sort of mass production and they employ the most people. This isn't my fight but as I stated yesterday I am a tad bored and I fear I have some ADD or whatever an adult has kicking in...Others do not have to be wrong for you to be right. DT in particular has tangible differentiators to sell, and if I was an executive in that company the hair on the back of my neck would stand straight up if any representative of mine tried to sell my product based on a subjective opinion; especially if it was driven by a "bleep" the torpedoes approach to bucking popular expert opinion in the subject matter. This is how credibility is lost and markets/audiences are restricted.

You sure you didn't take this whole post from something I wrote in the past or my other life.

Ezzy

Ryman Gun Dog · Post by **Ryman Gun Dog** » Wed May 11, 2011 3:35 pm

Chukar,
You can spin this any way you want, most of the men you talk to when trialing are out west on the open planes. Their opinions are relevent to the
places they use their collars, mine are relevant to where I use mine. I have seen these men trying to use their collars in our deep woods, and when the dog start to move big, most times the collars have problems, I do not care what freq a collar runs one, only that it works all the time. I would not say this if it was not true, many times we end up using one of my extra Dogtra collars sets, when these western men come to Grouse hunt here in Pa. Especially if one of their dogs comes up missing the 1st day out. Like I indicated before, the TT & IT collars have come a long ways,
but I still will not own one, or recommend them to my clients. The same goes with the Garmin GPS units, Lynn Dee was down from VT this last season and ended up recalibrating her GPS unit at least 4 different times over a 4 hour hunt, thats once an hour she brought the dog in shut the unit completely down, and restarted the unit. I did like the way it tracked the dog as the dog moved thru the forest when we were on top of the mountain, if the unit would work like this all the time, I would definitely purchase one.
RGD/Dave

Chukar12 · Post by **Chukar12** » Wed May 11, 2011 4:12 pm

You know not of which you speak Sir Ryman...The Sierra Nevada range that I live in is as densly forested and as steep or steeper than anywhere in the country. I have pursued mountain quail, grouse, bears, lions and bobcats over this terrain for a lifetime. The houndsmen are almost exclusively tied to Tri-Tronics and by the way, calibrating a Garmin takes about thirty seconds and is no more complicated than pushing a button and turning two circles slowly.

On another note, you have caused me to reflect on my love for the forest and how it is older and more deeply rooted than my love for the desert; I must confess however it is no more intense. In any event, Patrick Mc Manus writes a wonderful recollection of forest living in his anecdotal story, Cigars, Logging Trucks and Know-It-Alls its a must read.

brad27 · Post by **brad27** » Wed May 11, 2011 4:33 pm

Chukar12 wrote:
Others do not have to be wrong for you to be right.

saying of the year.

Post by **ezzy333** » Wed May 11, 2011 4:52 pm

Ryman Gun Dog wrote:Chukar,
You can spin this any way you want, most of the men you talk to when trialing are out west on the open planes. Their opinions are relevent to the
places they use their collars, mine are relevant to where I use mine. I have seen these men trying to use their collars in our deep woods, and when the dog start to move big, most times the collars have problems, I do not care what freq a collar runs one, only that it works all the time. I would not say this if it was not true, many times we end up using one of my extra Dogtra collars sets, when these western men come to Grouse hunt here in Pa. Especially if one of their dogs comes up missing the 1st day out. Like I indicated before, the TT & IT collars have come a long ways,
but I still will not own one, or recommend them to my clients. The same goes with the Garmin GPS units, Lynn Dee was down from VT this last season and ended up recalibrating her GPS unit at least 4 different times over a 4 hour hunt, thats once an hour she brought the dog in shut the unit completely down, and restarted the unit. I did like the way it tracked the dog as the dog moved thru the forest when we were on top of the mountain, if the unit would work like this all the time, I would definitely purchase one.
RGD/Dave

You know I am not even disagreeing with you but it gets old whenever someone expresses a differing opinion your answer always is you can spin it however you like. I find other people often have very honest opinions and experiences that are just as good a person as you or I am. After all, if you are being absolutely honest what you say is just what you have experienced and that is no better than what someone else has experienced. And then again it just might be your opinion that isn't really based on anything.

Ezzy

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Wed May 11, 2011 7:34 pm

Dan,

You know as much about this as I do.

You are losing signal with telemetry as it is line of sight also, you just don't know it. With a long range antenna I have gotten a signal at 18 miles, it has been reported by others that they didn't lose it at 29 miles.

The problem, difference is not Garmin, it is the antenna.

However, if I could use telemetry as well as some, I would still have my Marshall/Tracker combination. There is nothing wrong with telemetry if you can use it properly,

Competition is the American way, and I am glad Sportdog is in the mix, hope Marshall gets their's working, and I truly wish TT had,

Neil

Ron R · Post by **Ron R** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:57 am

chukar 12, if you, I or anyone else think that we have a good dog, good e-collars, good tracking devices, or a good shotgun ryman will soon remind us that if we hunted the endless grouse woods of pa we would very quickly learn that we don't. Can you say superiority complex.

Ladies and Gentlmen if you realized where I hunt you would discover that I'm always right :roll: .