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I have a Garmin 220 handheld bought it used without a trial.. I gave 200$ for it.. Im running one dc 30 on the system and im only getting 600 yards out of it most of the time... Yall reckon a better collar would help.. I got way more with my buds astro 320? Need help? would a long range truck antennae help?

Hate to say it but you probably got screwed and bought a 'burnt up' 220.

You might try putting a new antenna on the collar, especially if the one on it is a factory antenna. Also check for corrosion where the antenna mounts to the collar.

Hogman,
I have been using DC 30's and a 220 for several years (4 or 5 at least) and they have worked as good as anything. I recently got a 320 and T5 to replace them because I couldn't track DC 50's Or T5's with the 220. You should be getting comparable range out of your 30's and 220 if they are right. Put a friends collar that you can track (DC 40 should work I think) and see what happens or get a friend to track your DC 30 collar, that should help eliminate some guessing about what is wrong also. Borrow an antenna and put it on your 30 and see if it helps. Hope it works out for you. Bottom line is the 220 and 30 should be doing a good job for you if they are right.

not color blind wrote:Hate to say it but you probably got screwed and bought a 'burnt up' 220.

I only get 600-700 yards and my dad gets .90 of a mile with his alpha system.. I don't want to lose my best dogs cause of a garmin malufuction

So you think I should test it by letting him try my dc 30 with his system? Is that correct? If it works right then compare his system to mine? Whats a good reasonable distance with them? 220s? and 30s? in hills and holers?

Yes, let him try out your collar and compare to his. Even if it is putting yours and his side by side at a certain location and driving to different points and comparing readings. If they are side by side terrain won't be a factor because it will be the same for both. I can't give an accurate distance they should track because terrain differs but I would think around .7 of a mile give or take a little should be reasonable. Your hunting buddies should be able to give you some help on that. But by letting your friend compare tracking his collar and yours side by side from different locations should tell if your collar is performing as well as his. Don't forget it could be as simple as replacing your antenna on the collar. If you rule out the collar as being faulty test your 220 the same way compared to someone else's. Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone.

it could also be i broken solder joint inside under the SMA adapter. this is the most common range issue with the 220s, "burning up" is very rare and 99% of the time its the joint. its broken by over tightening the antenna or applying too much pressure towards the base. mike here at Double U has fixed them before, about a 50% chance it can be repaired.

Thank Yall.. Double U how much does it cost to fix a 30?

depending on whats wrong with it and if it can be repaired anywhere from 25-75$ worst case scenario you would be about 110.00 into getting it refurbished which we can swap out without any waiting