Registered: Apr 2020
Location:
Posts: 18

I’ve been using a alpha since they came out , I like a lot of other people had to buy a dogtra just to see what it was about ! I’ve used the dogtra 200 plus nights by now I’d say and have a good understanding of it .
Dogtra pros :
*picks up as good as garmin
*Detailed maps (free)
*simple to use

Cons :
*requires your phone
*im not fond of the correction buttons or the wide range of correction
* can be very hard on a phone battery and receiver goes down fairly quick compared to the collar .

All in all it’s a great system as long as you know your limitations and that being your phone ....phones weren’t meant to be out in down pours and in swamps . I can’t count the times I’ve had to take my otterbox off and get the water from between the case and phone . Several say , you take your phone to the tree anyways and yes I do , but it’s in my pants pocket and under nylon chaps . The better smart phone you run the better you can expect the app to work . All in all it’s a great system and exceptional for 400 bucks ! I think it will work good for most hunter except your guys who hunt a lot of water or the guy who’s hunting 300 nights a year simply because the phone isn’t designed to be in the weather night in or out . I still think the alpha has the edge because it is self contained and extremely durable . If you are on the fence about the dogtra , buy it ! If you are looking to replace your alpha or upgrade , I’d stick with the alpha ! Just what I’ve found from my experience !

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

Great review! I've used the Dogtra quite a bit and would agree with your assessment.

To add to it, I would suggest that if it is your primary system, next time you upgrade your phone... get with one an IP67, or IP68 rating. I did this to ensure water would not be an issue. You were spot on that much of the user experience will be based on the quality of phone you get. Get a good phone... with a water resistant rating of IP 67, or 68, and you will have a great and dependable experience.

That said... it's not better than the Alpha- but not worse either. Nobody should be dogmatic about pushing one over the other just because they happen to own one brand. Both good products.

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Last edited by houndsound on 07-04-2020 at 11:27 PM

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Registered: Nov 2016
Location: Bath, NC
Posts: 49

Great review!!! Thanks for sharing the info.

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Registered: Jul 2020
Location:
Posts: 1

I have both. Personally I prefer the garmin. The dogtra has excellent mapping if you have phone service, but if your service is out or weak. Mapping is pretty much useless, unless you download offline maps beforehand. The other thing I didn’t like about the dogtra was the fact, you get to sweating and your phone can accidentally shock your dog while it is in your pocket. I had my shock screen locked, and it somehow got all the way to the point it was unlocked and ready to shock. I was lucky to have stopped to pull it out to check it, and that was the screen it was on.

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

quote:

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Originally posted by Ryan Houston
The dogtra has excellent mapping if you have phone service, but if your service is out or weak. Mapping is pretty much useless, unless you download offline maps beforehand.

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Registered: Apr 2020
Location:
Posts: 18

I use the map cards with my alpha , but you can download maps on the base camp station on your pc but I’ve found the cards are easier for me .

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

But still..... buying a card, and putting it in the garmin... is still dowloading the map. Not a big deal, But I'm always a little confused when people frequenlty list a "con" to the Dogtra as "you have to download maps if there is not cell service", when in fact it should be "pro" because you can download them easily, for free, and don't even need to most of the time.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Alabama
Posts: 690

Btt

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Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

I would like to second what Houndssound is saying about mapping and Dogtra. You don't need any cell phone service and you don't need to use the program they have installed to download an area. All you need is Google Maps this is and APP on most phones already or can easily be downloaded. Alloy do is open the map. Enlarge your map to cover a big area. When you get there to go hunting. You will have those maps. Nothing to it. I purchased a phone that has no service. Works great. I will admit that I use the ALPHA most of the time have have quit using it. But not because of issues. Mainly compatibility to the systems my buddies have.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Alabama
Posts: 690

I myself have been considering upgrading to the Dogtra PATHFINDER, I downloaded the app and have been navigating through the app it seems to be very user friendly.
My problem is where I hunt I have 0 phone service most of the time so I’ve tried downloading area maps for the areas I hunt , using the WiFi at my home it takes many many hours to down load a area!
So I’ve not decided if I want to buy the unit yet!

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

That is odd for such a long download time..... Usually takes me a matter of minutes.

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

quote:

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Originally posted by Bruce m. Conkey
I would like to second what Houndssound is saying about mapping and Dogtra. You don't need any cell phone service and you don't need to use the program they have installed to download an area. All you need is Google Maps this is and APP on most phones already or can easily be downloaded. Alloy do is open the map. Enlarge your map to cover a big area. When you get there to go hunting. You will have those maps. Nothing to it. I purchased a phone that has no service. Works great. I will admit that I use the ALPHA most of the time have have quit using it. But not because of issues. Mainly compatibility to the systems my buddies have.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Alabama
Posts: 690

quote:

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Originally posted by houndsound
That is odd for such a long download time..... Usually takes me a matter of minutes.

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

quote:

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Originally posted by rdmedders
Could be phone or the WiFi!
The phone is a iPhone 8?

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Alabama
Posts: 690

quote:

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Originally posted by houndsound
Decent phone... odd it took you that long. Did you download like half the State?

Remember what Bruce said also.... while I will download maps for a handful of places I go.. like Bruce said... there are times I just pull over where I have phone service before I get where I'm going..... open up the map- zoom in to where I'll be hunting..... and as long as I don't close the app out- the maps will work perfectly even when you lose cell phone service.

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Registered: Dec 2003
Location: Sheridan, WY
Posts: 1148

quote:

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Originally posted by rdmedders
I’ve been trying to download a whole zip code area?
That’s a a large area! That’s probably where Im going wrong.

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Registered: May 2017
Location:
Posts: 23

I really like my Dogtra but I’ve tried both opening google maps like Bruce suggested and zoom in my hunting area while I have service. With both I just get fuzzy maps that are trying to download.

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Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

I have never seen google maps fuzzy. Just open google maps and don't zoom in. Zoom out. Catch your whole state. Have your dogtra app open. Then close google and everything should be there .

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Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

Don't use the dogtra square to down load maps. Just open google. Zoom out to your whole state or two if your near the border. That's all you do.

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Registered: May 2017
Location:
Posts: 23

Thanks for the help. I left google maps open last night and opened Dogtra at my hunting spot and it didn’t work. Will try it again using your help.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Alabama
Posts: 690

Me and my smart phone do not get along a lot of times! If I had to use it to track my hound I’m afraid I’ll have more issues!
So I’ve not decided if I will upgrade to the pathfinder!
A cell phone is prong to malfunction at any time!

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Registered: Jan 2005
Location: NE Indiana
Posts: 589

I've got a couple friends who use the Dogtra and they like it.. If i was starting from scratch maybe I'd go that route, but only if I had to from a financial stand point. We've all been young, broke and starting out. The Dogtra is a good entry point I think for many folks.

However for long term hunting and being an old guy bumbling around the woods in the dark alone, I really like two separate systems. I want my phone to be my phone and tucked away in the waterproof pouch on my belt safe and sound should I need it. I don't want to drop a $1000 phone in the woods or swamp tracking my dog.. Trust me, I would do that eventually.

The Garmin is much more robust and built for our type of hunting, a cell phone is not.. Further I run a drive track 71 in the truck, long range antenna and keep my spare alpha in the truck while hunting and the system powered on. The collar quality and Garmin's refurb program if you have a problem with something out of warranty it's hard to think about switching if you are already equipped.

You get a mile or more from the truck in one of those big MI swamps at 2:30am alone and about wore out, no cell service or very little battery left. That heavy duty Garmin with at least half it's battery life showing me exactly where the truck is and using my map chip to understand the terrain gives me great comfort.. My .02 worth

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Registered: Feb 2013
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4473

quote:

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Originally posted by Larry Hall
I've got a couple friends who use the Dogtra and they like it.. If i was starting from scratch maybe I'd go that route, but only if I had to from a financial stand point. We've all been young, broke and starting out. The Dogtra is a good entry point I think for many folks.

However for long term hunting and being an old guy bumbling around the woods in the dark alone, I really like two separate systems. I want my phone to be my phone and tucked away in the waterproof pouch on my belt safe and sound should I need it. I don't want to drop a $1000 phone in the woods or swamp tracking my dog.. Trust me, I would do that eventually.

The Garmin is much more robust and built for our type of hunting, a cell phone is not.. Further I run a drive track 71 in the truck, long range antenna and keep my spare alpha in the truck while hunting and the system powered on. The collar quality and Garmin's refurb program if you have a problem with something out of warranty it's hard to think about switching if you are already equipped.

You get a mile or more from the truck in one of those big MI swamps at 2:30am alone and about wore out, no cell service or very little battery left. That heavy duty Garmin with at least half it's battery life showing me exactly where the truck is and using my map chip to understand the terrain gives me great comfort.. My .02 worth

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Registered: Jul 2020
Location: italy
Posts: 2

Hi

I am in Italy
I am looking for some impression about Pathfinder and his range.
I met some problem with both collars.
They los the signal frequently in different fields and sometimes there are difficults to resync.
I sent them to Dogtra Europe and they found them defective (!!)
They ask me some money, around 277 euros for two new collars as replacemente.
Unfortunatley the warranty end on october 2019 but my suspect is that the issue on range is a common issue.
One friend of mine tyest it on a lake with two little boats. And they lost the rf signals at less than 1 miles!!
On manual is writte 9 miles in best condition.

Bye

Walter

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: Menard,TX
Posts: 1158

Never used the Dogtra but I love my Alpha and DriveTrack 70. I use the DriveTrack when hunting with my hounds, calling critters on HUGE ranches and public lands or when I am showing a ranch to a prospective buyer. I have SD cards for East and West Texas, NM and AZ as I hunt all of this country.
Adios,
gary

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