Item # 5890 Garmin ALPHA ComboRated 5 stars from 1 customer ratings. 7/31/2012
Summary: A+ |
Steve Says: Read my full length ALPHA Review
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When Garmin bought Tri-tronics last summer, we knew an all-in-one GPS / Ecollar system was coming.
Introducing the Garmin ALPHA: A GPS tracking collar by Garmin with an E-Collar from Tri-Tronics.
Track and train from a single screen. One handheld. One collar.
The Garmin ALPHA improves upon the GPS features of the best-selling Garmin Astro and combines them with the functionality of the best Tri-tronics dog training collars.
GPS Improvements include faster update rates, touch screen, longer battery life, rescue mode, "buddy" tracking, tracking up to 20 dogs, and my personal favorite - the direction option in the Compass screen.
E-collar improvements give you the full functionality of a $500 Pro-500 for only $250 more than the price of the Astro alone. You can also recreate your favorite Tri-tronics e-collar, or build a custom set-up with the perfect stimulation types and settings for each one of your dogs.
And there's a new user interface with the touch screen. Instead of using toggle switches to change dogs, and intensity dials to select stimulation levels, the touchscreen interface lets you customize your ALPHA collar as much or as little as you want.
All-in-one, combination products tend to be the worst of both worlds. Seldom does combining two products into one lead to a piece of gear that's as good as either of the originals.
Fortunately, the Garmin ALPHA is more than just a GPS and an e-collar stuck together.
A lot of work went into designing the ALPHA resulting in an elegant system with very intuitive controls. The folks at Garmin were very responsive to our feedback in what we wanted in a COMBO system.
The end result? Not only will consolidating GPS + dog training collars into a single system save time, space, and money -- the ALPHA will make hunting and running your dogs a lot more fun.
I hope you enjoy this review. Please drop me a line with any questions or comments. -- Steve
P.S. PLEASE NOTE: The ALPHA is NOT compatible any other Garmin Astro or Tri-tronics collars.
We wouldn't have the faster 2.5 second update rate AND we wouldn't have the 20-dog expandability if the ALPHA was backwards compatible with any other systems.
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Garmin Alpha 100 COMBO (GPS + E-Collar)
Read more about Garmin ALPHA Combo
Enjoy more relaxing and productive hunts.
- Track and train your dog on the same screen from a single handheld unit.
- One handheld + one collar = less clutter and things to charge.
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 Track your friends' handhelds.
- Know when your dog is out of gun range.
- Know when your dog is running too big BEFORE your dog gets too far out.
- Know BEFORE your dog leaves the property OR gets too close to a highway.
- Know when your dog is on point (Pointing Alerts)
- Know when your dog has treed. (Treeing Alerts)
E-Collars: What's in the Garmin ALPHA?
You get a '$500 ecollar' for only $250 more than the Astro
- Reinforce known commands. Stop problem behaviors / break trash.
- Train ANY dog from the most stubborn to the most sensitive.
- Rechargeable batteries that have a long run time and charge quickly
- 3-buttons instantly selectable at the transmitter
- 18 levels of continuous/momentary STIM
- Audio Tone
- : Expandable to 20 dogs.
- : A touch screen replaces multi-dog toggle switches and intensity dials --
- : Customizable -- set multiple specific stim types and levels for each dog
- : Access custom settings immediately, easier and faster than manual controls
GPS: Garmin 4th generation collars are even better
See where your dog is, what he's doing, what direction he's moving in...
- COMPASS Screen shows you dogs, direction, distance, speed
- MAP Screen shows your dogs with a trail on the TOPO MAP
- Now Track up to 20 dogs/other ALPHA Handhelds
- Free, pre-loaded TOPO Map. Not just major roads and waterways, but smaller roads, creeks, and streams, too. ($100 value)
- RESCUE MODE and Longer Battery Life means No More Lost Dogs
- 2.5 Second Update Rate means: you'll know twice as fast when your dog is in birds or treed.
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FREE!
Owner's Manual Download
Alpha 100 & TT 10 Owner's Manual, downloadable in .pdf format.
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Garmin ALPHA Combo Transmitter (Remote)
Handheld GPS
Contains top-notch features such as a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, long battery life, a bright sunlight readable color display and a rugged IPX7 waterproof exterior.
Touch-screen that's easy to use and works while wearing gloves
Bright orange tough handheld. Feels good in your hand.
Fully rubberized outer coating with an over molding
Improved lanyard attachment
Battery cap w/ Garmin "backbone" design
Includes additional 13" Long Range Flex Antenna - Double the range of the standard antenna
ALPHA Handheld GPS Features
The Garmin ALPHA now has 4 Gigabytes internal memory (3.5GB are used by TOPO maps) as well as a micro SD card slot so you can add additional pre-programmed data cards with detailed maps.
3-axis compass
New Dog Set Up Menu / Universal dog settings including Update Rates and Dog types
Dog Alerts: Tone-only, Vibration-only or Tone and Vibration
GeoFence & Radius Alerts
Dog Trails: Choose from three views: Complete History, Partial History, or no Trail History
Map Screen option: Show / Hide Dog Status, Distance, Names, and Offscreen Dogs
Zoom to MAP DOGS - automatically have all dogs appear on our map screen -- no matter how far they are from you
Power Button control screen - including button lock feature
Wireless sharing of Dog info to other ALPHA handheld units
Bird's Eye View Satellite Imagery (Subscription Ready) - import satellite imagery or your own custom maps
Additional GPS Features
High Speed USB mini-B connector for data updates with a PC or Apple Macintosh
Rugged IPX7 waterproof standards
Quad helix GPS antenna
Removeable VHF antenna
Micro SD card slot available for preprogrammed MapSource mapping detail such as US TOPO, Inland Lakes, BlueChart and City Navigator
Stores 1000 waypoints, 50 routes and 10,000 track points
Area calculation feature
ALPHA Handheld Dimensions
Weight 0.55 lb.
Height 9.5-inches (standard antenna)
Height:~18-inches (long-range antenna)
Width: 2.4-inches
Depth: 1.4-inches
Remote Training Collar Features
E-collar Improvements -- give you the full functionality of a $500 Pro-500 for only $250 more than the price of the Astro alone.
You can also recreate your favorite Tri-tronics e-collar, or build a custom set-up with the perfect stimulation types and settings for each one of your dogs.
The Garmin ALPHA system works really well as BOTH a training collar AND a hunting collar.
- Train and track from one screen
- Train up to 20 dogs per handheld
- 3 physical buttons
- Touchscreen controls
- STIM levels, STIM type, Dog Selector
- Adjust STIM from any screen
- Audio Tone
- NEW: 18 Levels of STIM
- 18 levels of Continuous STIM
- 18 levels of Momentary STIM
NEW: Stimulation Levels and Tone
ALPHA has the consistent stimulation levels that Tri-Tronics has used for years.
Garmin has given us two different ways to select/label stimulation levels.
TRADITIONAL STIM -- The first is called "Traditional" and matches the 6 levels Tri-Tronics now uses with each level having a low, medium and high for a total of 18 levels. This will allow folks to exactly match the stimulation setups of any of the Tri-Tronics collars.
LINEAR STIM -- If you prefer a slightly faster way to raise and lower levels with the ALPHA, then I recommend the "Linear" stimulation setup. It gives you 18 levels that exactly matches the low, medium and high levels that TT uses in its Pro series collars.
AUDIO TONE -- We also have the exact same tone so if you dog has been trained with it, there shouldn't be any issues. We are also pleased that the ALPHA tone is a good bit louder than we have seen from TT collars lately.
Garmin ALPHA Combo Collar
 - Waterproof (IPX7) TT-10 Collar is an improved designed based on the popular DC-30 and DC-40 collars.
- Improved plastic-coated nylon collar strap. Won't stink. Lasts longer.
- Tougher VHF antenna:
- BRAIDED STEEL Collar Antenna
- Takes all the abuse a hunting dog can give it in the rough terrain where you hunt.
- Top-mounted, high-sensitivity GPS receiver
- Remote Activated LED light beacons
- Better SAFETY at night near roads
- USB port on collar
- Easy software updates
- Export additional GPS dog data
- Collar Strap
- User replaceable collar strap. Different colors for different dogs.
- Fits neck sizes between 13-inches and 22-inches
- K-9 metal collar buckle with metal keeper
ALPHA Collar Dimensions
- Weight 10.5 oz with collar strap and antenna
- Height: 1.75 - 2.5-inches (long-range antenna)
- Width: 3.5-inches
- Depth: 1.6-inches
- 1-inch wide collar strap
Garmin ALPHA Combo Comes With:
- Alpha 100 Handheld
- Rechargeable li-ion Battery Pack
- Belt clip
- Extended range antenna
- TT 10 dog device with orange collar strap
- Charge clip
- Short and long contact point set with wrench
- Non-stim plug
- AC adapter
- Vehicle power cable
- Split adapter cable
- USB cable
- Field bag
- Owner's Manual
- Quick Reference Guide
- 1 year warranty from Garmin
Garmin ALPHA Combo Batteries
Collar Battery
Rechargeable and user replaceable Li-ion Battery
24 to 48 hour run time depending on update rate
Collar Battery Runtime:
~24 hours with 2.5 second update rate
~34 hours with 5 second update rate
~38.5 hours with 10 second update rate*
~42.5 hours with 30 second update rate**
~48 hours with 120 second update rate
Charging Cradle
- Comes with a snap-on charging cradle w/ dual lead charger
- Charge a collar and handheld at the same time.
- RED light = collar is charging.
- GREEN light = when fully charged.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE Garmin ALPHA
Download detailed GPS dog trail info
See the ground that you and your dog actually cover in a day's hunt on a map. Use the Waypoints and Tracks and the Dog Tracks feature from the ALPHA Handheld you can download your days hunt into your PC using either MapSource or Motionbased.com to see your hunt on a topo map or Google Earth.
Use the Covey Counter to keep up with birds
Mark the exact location of your coveys using a special waypoint feature. Place your coveys on a map and mark the time of day, elevation, number of birds in the covey and number of birds taken.
Hunter-friendly Icons so you never get lost
Mark and identify your truck, hunting lodge, food plots, cover, ATVs and other outdoor-related features with waypoint icons designed for hunting,
Additional Uses
While the Garmin ALPHA is designed for the hunting dog, many of our customers that don't hunt but enjoy spending time outdoors with their dogs and allowing them to run off leash will find the Astro incredibly useful.
The Garmin ALPHA is perfect when your dog is not by your side. Hiking, camping, horseback riding or bike riding, the Garmin ALPHA will allow your dogs more freedom but allow you to keep a close eye on them and help you locate them if they get lost. Since the Garmin ALPHA serves as a full-featured handheld GPS unit, it will keep you from getting lost, too.
Garmin ALPHA Combo Range
The Garmin ALPHA transmitter and receiver have a "line of sight" range of up to 9 miles using the included long-range antenna.
The ALPHA communicates using a VHF radio signal between the Dog GPS collar and the Handheld GPS unit, so to get the full range out of a system there should be nothing between the transmitter and the receiver.
Realistically, this isn't going to happen in most of the places that we spend time with our dogs, so the actual usable range will be MUCH less than 9 miles depending on hunting conditions, including weather, terrain, and the presence of cover.
Garmin ALPHA GPS Maps
Includes free 100K TOPO map
Supports optional map data -- TOPO U.S. 24K, BirdsEye Satellite Imagery, autorouting with City Navigator, and Garmin Custom Maps
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Related Products & Content: Garmin ALPHA Combo
Garmin 010-01041-00 753759990275
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