Garmin Pro 550

[RichK]

What's the general opinion on the new Garmin Pro 550? Is it a better choice than the Pro 500?

[RCB]

550 is significantly cheaper and has the built in laser light where it was an add on for the 500. Another feature is that it has a built in bark collar and that maybe something that is wanted by some. I believe the handheld is unchanged. I just bought a 500 so I kind of missed out on some of the new collar features but the nuts and bolts of the old and new are the same. If you already have a 500 I do not see anything that would make you go out and buy a new one. Plus, the new collars are probably backwards compatible with the handheld so if you want the new collar feature you can have them. The only thing that would be of interest to me is if the batteries are California compatible since the old ones were not.

[birddog1968]

I will have to wait and see....the bark collar seems gimicy....but being a pro model maybe there's a pro that would be worried about that. I'm gonna snap up another G3 transmitter and a couple collars...that oughta last the rest of my life.

[thelast2]

The only thing that would be of interest to me is if the batteries are California compatible since the old one was not.

Is the great state of California telling people which batteries they can and can't use now?

[kninebirddog]

I sure hope they keep the 100 the same ..I would HATE having any extra toggle switches to get in the way. It is so simple to use the 100 to control what I need as I need it with out the extra in the way toggle switch.
They already made a big mistake by getting rid of the G3 Basic and trying to go to that Delta.

I can't understand why a company buys something successful and then wants to change it ..HELLO remember it was SUCCESSFUL. The whole idea was to have the best Tracking device. not RUIN the rest of the Best product on the market

[birddog1968]

I kinda thought garmin would do this, was lamenting it when they bought TT. correct me if I'm wrong but I took it as there would be no more 100 or 200 and the ones shown will be it???

[RCB]

Yes the great state of California prohibits the sale of the Tritronic G3 because the battery is not "California Compliant".

Reliability is another issue I have with the new Garmin collars having a built in tracer light and bark collar. Usually when you add more bells and whistles there are more things that can go wrong. This is one of the reasons why I like to keep the tracking collar and training collar separate, and why I have not purchased the Garmin Alpha. Could be wrong and I hope the new Garmin 550 is very reliable.

[ruffbritt4]

They already made a big mistake by getting rid of the G3 Basic and trying to go to that Delta.

I agree, I like my G3 basic.

[hi-tailyn]

Will the 550 work with the EXP collars that Work with the 500, or is this a whole new set up?

[birddog1968]

Will not cross.... Whole new deal

[hi-tailyn]

Looks like typical of Garmin. Take over a great company that is best at what they do and try to make money only, instead of making a great product.

The same as Garmin Astro and the Alpha. Not cross compatible either.

[j.digiacomo]

I talked to the garmin/TT rep at the Harrisburg sportsman show for a long time while i was up there this winter. he had alot of good things to say about garmin's new ownership. the jist i got was that the 'tube' style pro transmitter design was here to stay. almost all of the TT engineering folks kept their jobs, but they now have the backing of the garmin manufacturing. that being said, all products are now being manufactured in Taiwan to cut costs. the new pro series has some cool features that the old one doesnt. they are building in the 'bark collar' and 'tracker light' mode into all of the collars. i'm curious to see how the new ones hold up, since the pro 550 is now priced MUCH cheaper than the old stuff $399 vs $550. i am worried about the new charging port on the pro series vs the old. it looks like a mini-USB, vs the contact point based system on the bottom of the transmitter from previous pro models. that looks alot more vulnerable to me. (that's where i predict the gripes/problems will be) also, everything is going to the 3/4" collar (i could care less, and actually prefer the 1"). I'm eager to get my hands on one to play with. I've had my TT pro 100 for years. I'm also very curious about battery life on the collars with all the added gizmos. If they're swapping out cheaper components on the new Taiwanese manufactured units, I hope they've substituted with comparable parts/batteries. That's what remains to be seen.

[Neil]

Garmin is a fine company with an earned high reputation. As long as my T-T Pro 500 functions I will not replace it, but when it dies I will buy the Garmin.

[birddog1968]

I'd rather pay the higher price for made here....also don't need gimics on a pro model system.

[Neil]

I'd rather pay the higher price for made here....also don't need gimics on a pro model system.

We now live in a world market. I insisted on buying American for our new car, so we got a Buick. It is American alright, North American, 87% of it was from Canada and Mexico. Protectivenism has never worked, and never will, I have given up. Good luck to you, hope it works for you better than it did for me.

[kninebirddog]

I'd rather pay the higher price for made here....also don't need gimics on a pro model system.

That was just it Tri Tronics USED to be really American Made with American Made Products assembled by Americans here in America

Now is American Engineered here then made at a Garmin owned plant over seas...Thanks to the American Laws and regulations that make it cost prohibitive it is Pretty Sad when it is cheaper to being made over seas and shipped here then shipped to Kansas and then distributed versus being made here in America.

[birddog1968]

I realize everything can't and won't be made here....in all actuality we produce more now in the US than ever before....its just not low value products for everyday use....its high value products not used by the vast majority of us.

I had just hoped maybe just maybe our e collars could have remained here, where they have been so successful higher price or not.