BigGameHoundsmen.com

Hey everyone. I finally got my own dogs in february, and am looking at getting a tracking system for since I spent about 5 hrs looking for my pups on saturday. We were walking and jumped a bear, the 5 month old pups went insane lol. But my question is should I get the 220 or 320? Is the 220 worth buying if the price is right? Having 3 little kids really makes it hard to save money, so if the 220 is good enough I'll buy that now, and I could upgrade at tax return time. Also which collars work best with each system? Thanks for any info I appreciate it.

I would go Astro 220 with DC30 collars, and get the long range VHF antennas for the 30's. The magnetic mount antenna or the 49" whip work good for the 220 (also work with 320).

Only problems with the 220 are that the high power VHF radios (i.e. marine radio) can burn them up (I have a 320 but still turn it off when I transmit on high power) and the VHF antenna jack on the 220 is a weak point, so be careful and don't over tighten the antenna.

But for the price, go with a 220, no need to upgrade for a few years. I ran a 220 and DC30's for 6 years. When the 220 went tits up I figured I'd upgrade so I could have the rescue mode on the DC50's and T5's so I can get rid of the beeper collars, sold the 30's and 40's but I am regretting it now. Coulda bought a nice used 220 for $150 , instead I have $850 into a 320, 2 DC50's and a T5 and I'm not that impressed with em. Still having issues with the DC50's communication.

Thanks for the reply. What do you think would be a fair price for a used 220 and 2 dc30s? Also I noticed it says your in norrh idaho. Where at?

I got $135 to $150 for my 30's on eBay, they were in good shape with long range antennas and chargers. A 220 should be about the same. I'm in Troy

I ended up buying a used 220 from double U. Most of the buttons are worn but everything seems to work fine. Only paid 123.60 so I can't complain. Now I just need collars, should I look strictly for dc30s or are dc40s good if they are priced right? Sorry for all the questions just trying to get some good advice.

Stick to the 30's, they are a better collar, and should be a little cheaper than the 40's. Not sure why, but the two 40's I sold went for $10-15 more. On the 30's, 50's and newest collars the GPS antenna is on top of the collar, so on the back of the dogs neck pointing to the sky. The 40 is in the guts of the collar, pretty sure there is an aftermarket GPS antenna for the 40's, but I'd stick with the 30's and get long range VHF antennas.