Dc 40 issues.

[Dillon]

I bought 4 dc 40 collars three weeks ago,along with a astro 320.I followed instructions and charged my collars.after my first trip out I got home and plugged the collars in to charge and noticed one collar was not blinking the blue light.I tried turning the collar on and it won't turn on.I sent it back to amazon where I purchased the gamin products.amazon sent me a new collar and I'm having the same problem with another one.does anyone have any suggestions.I'm having a hard time getting ahold of garmin.

Dillon.

[Buddyw]

http://www.dusupply.com/garmin-dc40-wont-turn-on/

That's the issue with I was seeing with the DC40's a few months ago. quite a few of those failures. I'm hoping this back order we are dealing with is a change to fix that issue. But Things are back ordered.

I"ve been telling guys that it's best to buy them from Dealers that Keep Fresh inventory and don't stock up so they have the best chance of missing this issue, They really want to get the new collars. But even that's not a guarantee, I've had quite a few customers that Had them go bad.

I have 5 DC40's on my wall that I need to send in for repair due to the same reason, and about 6 collars out to customers currently on my Loaner program while Garmin Fixes them.

I think I had a customer tell me that Garmin said it will be March before they will start shipping out the Repairs on their DC40's. Not positive on that but I know Garmin is behind on getting Collars shipping out right now.

Buddy

[Dillon]

Ok,well thanks for the update.

[wv bearchaser]

I was out saturday morning with the hounds and had a dc-30 and dc-40 shut down , came home thinking they need charged , but neither one will light up with chargers plugged in (tried differant chargers) i also done a reset on both , even tried new batteries , but didnt help. Whats so funny is both collars went bad at same time!!!Im also using aftermarket antennas on my collars , does anyone think they could be causing a problem?

[ferjr]

Went hunting with one of my buddies saturday, he has two dc 40's, they are the first ones I have been arround, all of mine and and the rest of his are dc 30's. Well I can tell you if they all are like his they are garbage. Both of his dc 40's lost signal when the dogs got about 250 yards away, and that was with the long range antenea, if it wasnt for the other dogs having the dc 30's on them we wouldnt have known where they were, its a good thing they was able to stay with the pack. Is this a common problem with them or what? He said that is the range they have had since he got them, they will only pick up at 250 yards or closer.

[Steve White]

Ferjr- Sounds like your buddy has some bad antenna's. Which was a known issue that was fixed almost a year ago. Your buddy will also need to update all his collars as there are know software issues that have been fixed.

All collars, and units need to have the software updated from time to time.

[ferjr]

Thanks, I will let him know. How do you update the collars, I have had my dc 30's over three years now and they have never been updated. I have never had any issues with them but if I knew how to update them I would.

[ferjr]

Well I got my astros updated finally, now I have to do my buddies and see if it will help the dc 40s that he has. He called Garmin and they told him his range issue was because of his astro not being up to date. We'll see.

[Steve White]

Ferjr, That is a possibility, and may be the issue. Does not sound like it to me, but never know. If you got a 30. A real quick way to find out is to swap the antennas. The 220's need to be updated to even able to correctly handle the 40's.

The first thing you always have to do when there is a problem. Garmin will ask if it was done. Is to update everything. We have been preaching this so much that we tend to take it for granted more these days. Folks should really know it needs to be done by now. Kinda like checking the oil in your trucK!!

[ferjr]

How often do they have to be updated, Steve? I still havnt done my buddies yet, I will do it this weekend when I see him. If it doesnt work then I will switch anteaneas. I have never messed with the collars so how hard is it to change them? Anything I need to know before doing that?

[Steve White]

There is no set frequency for updating. It may go several months, or a few weeks. Happens as they find, and are able to resolve software issues. Checking once a month is not a bad idea. Does not take long so why not do it.

Does not take much to replace antenna. A few screws on the back plate. One screw holding the antenna on.

[ferjr]

Well the updating did nothing to help the range of the dc 40. I guess ill try replacing the antenea with one off of one of the dc 30's. If that doesnt work, they are going back to Garmin.