Garmin dc 40 review

[s_parks]

so what do you all think about them i got one. it seems less durable to me it i drop it more frequent than my 30 it picks right back up just wanna hear what you all think about em!

[ferjr]

thats what everyone seems to be saying. i personally refuse to buy one, i have never had any problems with the dc 30 and see no advantage over it. my dogs swim creeks all the time so i dont see where waterproofing is an issue. i just cant justify spending an extra $50 for something that has not proven it self to be any better, or as good, from what i have heard from other people.

[s_parks]

well the price is not a problem i get all my stuff from lion county supply and their is no price diffrence.. the only thing to me is they seem a little less durable

[ferjr]

i have been buying my dc 30s off ebay. you can usually find them for about $140, shipping included. the dc 40s i have seen have been selling for more.

[s_parks]

well thats good but i think we should all be helpin out buddy since he runs this sight for us at no charge!!

[Buddyw]

I posted a review of the DC40 as a sticky.. Here is a link to it.

http://garminastrodog.com/category/garm ... 40-collar/

Secondly, Just got word today that garmin is going to continue the DC30 at least until Feb 2011.. Hopefully this is a good sign and that means they might be reconsidering some of the issues with the DC40..


Hopefully!!

[ferjr]

well thats good but i think we should all be helpin out buddy since he runs this sight for us at no charge!!

good point.

[joshtee]

well thats good but i think we should all be helpin out buddy since he runs this sight for us at no charge!!

I didn't know Buddy was part of LC supply, also.

[Buddyw]

DC40 Beta Update
They are trying a New feature, I'll have to test it out. Looks like it's good for all Collars DC20,DC30, and DC40.


Not Production It's beta, Your at your own Risk if you do this..

http://garminastrodog.com/dc20dc30dc40-beta-update/



I'm nervous, I think they are Trying to use the Triple blink to force people to wait until they are locked in which isn't the same as the DC30. And I'm also Nervous that they are going to mask The Problem some how. As always I hope I'm wrong..

[doghunter]

thanks for the update but our problem with the 30s is the range stinks. they seem to get good gps signal. I really cant complain about the 30 gps signal but I have not tried the 40's yet.

way to go Garmin.

They should fix display brightness next then maybe audio sound. Dont fix battery life or tracking range that just would not make sence.

[Buddyw]

I updated the DC40 with the 3.50 update.
This is tough to compare. Today was a Great satelite day so it should have done better without the update.. Trying to figure out if it was the update or the conditions is tough, Normally I see my 220 bounce GPS signal because it's mounted kinda far from the window.. Today It held Full service all day without any hickups.. So I know that this was a Good day for GPS.. I worry that this might be some of the Reason for such a good experience... It was Pissing down rain it was miserable hunting condition but I was hoping for a hot track.. (no luck) My dogs never left the road.

So here is a quick review of my test today..
It did better. Still not good enough for me. but I would call it much better and worth the update. It stops all the Lost GPS signal messages.. But the DC40 still was losing or Weak Signal it just was not letting me know as often.

I only updated the DC40 and not my My DC30's. The DC30's still out performed the DC40. But Rigging the DC40 and All the DC30's performed flawless without any Looses with all the dogs on the rig, Even though The DC40 went to a weak signal it was still tracking and not missing or cuting across any of the culverts like I've seen before..

Then I boxed the dogs back through and the DC40 started to loose signal. (so did some of the DC30 here and there. But the DC40 clearly lost GPS much more than the DC30's.. I think My DC40 Tracked 3-4 miles in the box, where my DC30's tracked anywhere from 13-20 miles on the way home..

I'm still trying to digest all this and figure out what is fair (Unbiased) to say about it.. If it was only tracking outside of the box the DC40 did not have any issues and I would have to give it a Two Thumbs up.. but this was just one Hunt and good conditions.... This was also all on Logging roads and Little to no Brush so I'm not ready to change my opinion about them and recomend them by any long shot... But it did soften my opinion about them some compared to what I've seen before... And will make me to Reconsider and re-test them all over again..

Buddy

[Caincando1]

So what is the concesis, DC-30's or DC-40's? We are looking to buy very soon before the coyote season start here. We are going back and forth between the 30's and 40's. Range isn't a big deal for us. We hunt open crop land with square miles and plenty of roads. It's very rare for us to be more than a mile away from the dogs. Maybe a couple miles if we get into a big woods but that's pretty rare.

[spruce mountain]

I bought a couple DC 40s and my brother updated them for me and they seem to work just as good as the 30s.

[Steve White]

This stuff keeps me chuckling. Gotten to the point I even laugh out load a little on the phone these days. Gotten real tired of posting the same stuff over and over, and for free at that. I tell people to call Garmin more and more these days. Why, well because the $5 I make does not even pay the phone bill.


So I got a question for all the so called experts. Why do you think the DC40 will perform any better when it has the same guts as a DC30????? Did the change of collar material make the guts work better? Did the change of the plastic housing design make the guts work better?? Did the change of the GPS antenna position make it better???(obviously not). So I want to know. What is it that makes you believe that cosmetic changes will make the collars perform any better?

Surely since I sell these things. Hunt and fish for a living, and use these things. Knowing them better than the Garmin support folks. I have no clue about them, or what is going on. So just like the folks that hire me to hunt and fish that know more than I do. I need you to tell me this stuff. That way my dumb butt will learn something.

Then again I may never learn. I just found out my marlin model 60 shoots better with a synthetic stock than a wood stock. I had no idea that would make a difference. Just like I did not know it was a good idea to spray yourself with anise oil before going into a stand to hunt bear. I learn new stuff everyday. Guess that is what happens when you are stupid. I suppose it's time to apply to MC D's instead of hunting and fishing everyday!

[Buddyw]

Steve, Although I agree they have the same guts. the GPS antenna is in a Different Location. That is the Issue that I believe is the cause of weaker GPS signal, and makes them worse than the DC30. But there are plenty of folks that Swear they are just as good, Some even try to claim better.

From everything I've seen, I firmly beleive the DC30 is better than the DC40 and I've tried several times to give the DC40 the benifit of the Doubt but so far everytime it's the dc40 that comes out on bottom, Although the 3.5 update does cut the gap allot.

I've sold a grand total of 6 DC40's (Raking in the money) and I've taken three back from other customers that bought them from someone else that begged me to trade them in because they were boon doggled by another dealer pushing the DC40.

Although I must confess I do currently have a 10 dog DC40 order from a guy from France that want's the DC40 and doesn't care about reviews, And with the news about France lately I just want to get him his system so he can hunt while he still has a country left.. .. The communication isn't very easy with him so I don't know if he really understands what I'm saying or if he just believes Garmin and the DC40 is newer so it must be Better.

Caincando1:
A while back Valley creek said they have about 1/2 the people who like them and 1/2 that don't.. I've seen other dealers say about the same thing. For me personally 50% is not good enough for me to promote and put my name on something, I want better than 50% like steve says, the Couple dollars we make on them is not worth me trying to deal with 50% unhappy customers.. Out of all the DC30's I've sold. I have had 1 dc30 that i took bad because it was faulty.. So If you want numbers of happy customers and percentages.. Safe bet is to go with the DC30.

If you want the Newest, Latest model.. and think it may work as good as the DC30 then Go with the DC40.

Tough decision for sure but don't worry the way I figure it.. Next year you won't have a choice..