question about the Garmin Alpha

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primalphil

New member
So I've been doing some research on the Garmin Alpha and I've read a few reviews that have given me some concern. It has a great reputation BUT I keep reading how it is flawed when it comes to training when having to change to level of stimulation the collar puts out. I've read a few times now that you have to go through a few different screens before you can change that setting and it causes too much of a delay when training where response time is important to correct your pup. Can anyone shed a little more light on this for me? My concern is the price is not exactly cheap and I don't want to invest in something like this and then come to find out I need a separate e-collar for training. It seems as though the e-collar function on the Alpha is more for correcting an already trained dog and not training up a pup. Any suggestions?
 
The Alpha is by far the best hunting collar out there IMO.

It is not hard to change the stimulation level. But it is not as fast as turning a dial.
 
So would it be advisable to pick that up to use to train my first dog as opposed to picking up your standard e collar?
 
If you training your own dog and will be hunting that dog, and do not have a tracking or training collar, I would pick the Alpha.

It is not cheep, but it makes hunting, and running a dog so much less stressful and safer.

I have several training collars that I almost never use now. I just use the Alpha.
 
I picked up an Alpha in Jan and was only able to run it in the field one time... I LOVE this thing. ;) No regrets at all... though for training (as Steve mentioned), a dial remote will be a little quicker for training. Having said that, the Alpha isn't difficult to change. I'll probably run my old collar on my new pup when training only because I have it. Otherwise I'd have no problem training on the Alpha... Best wishes!
 
I would agree with what you are reading. I hunt with one well-known fella who still runs the TriTronics so that he can crank up the juice if need be, but he's usually running two dogs. If you are running one dog, you can set up the the handheld to do multiple types and levels of stimulation assigned to each one of the three buttons. So, for instance, you can do -- light nick, heavy nick, heavy continuous. Or light nick, light continuous, heavy continuous, etc. So, if the dog starts chasing deer or other trash, you can pop them hard to break them of that. But if you are working a dog that has suddenly developed a tolerance for the nick and seems as if he's going to need a reminder that day, the switch is fast enough. In a situation where you have a dog chasing a deer or other trash, you can't ramp up the juice really fast like you can with most other collars.

BTW, I don't leave home without my Alpha.
 
KATroutman13 said:
If you are running one dog, you can set up the the handheld to do multiple types and levels of stimulation assigned to each one of the three buttons. So, for instance, you can do -- light nick, heavy nick, heavy continuous. Or light nick, light continuous, heavy continuous, etc. So, if the dog starts chasing deer or other trash, you can pop them hard to break them of that. But if you are working a dog that has suddenly developed a tolerance for the nick and seems as if he's going to need a reminder that day, the switch is fast enough. In a situation where you have a dog chasing a deer or other trash, you can't ramp up the juice really fast like you can with most other collars.

BTW, I don't leave home without my Alpha.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the Alpha when you talk about the handheld?
 
another thought/question, would this replace a normal GPS completely? I have a Garmin Oregon 550t and I use the huntinggpsmaps SD card with it. Could I completely replace the Oregon and use the SD card in the Alpha?
 
primalphil said:
another thought/question, would this replace a normal GPS completely? I have a Garmin Oregon 550t and I use the huntinggpsmaps SD card with it. Could I completely replace the Oregon and use the SD card in the Alpha?
Click to expand...

I use my alpha as my only GPS, but I use the download version of those maps, not the SD card. I installed a 8GB (IIRC) SD card in the handheld and use it to store all kinds of various maps.

You can turn off the training radio to extend battery life if you aren't using the collar.
 
This will be my 3rd year hunting with the Alpha system, running 2 dogs with it. I think a lot of the complaints stem from the sheer amount of features the system has. It is very complex compared to any other systems on the market. Once you learn to become fully comfortable with the system, there is not a better product out there. The features, durability, and being able to know where my dog is constantly, is worth the price in my opinion.
 
Just ordered a 2 dog combo Alpha TT15. I hope I like mine as much as the others. I just sold my Sport Dog TEK1, so this will be a nice step up.
 
This will also be my 3rd season with the Alpha. I would agree with most that has been stated. Somehow I ended up with 3 TT-10 collars. Since I have a lab and a pointer, only one collar sees much use. But on occasion I'll put one on the lab, especially if the lab goes with my brother in law in a different direction. I have also saved a hunting day for a friend by having an extra collar to track his young pointer when his older tracking collar died.

I run my pointer set up with the three buttons set up with one low, a medium, and a tone. With one dog set this way, you don't have to change screens to stim or change stim. With multiple dogs, you can assign the 3 buttons to 3 different dogs. More dogs than 3, you have to change screens.

I don't think it's an ideal training collar for a smaller dog just due to the size. But they now have a smaller TT-15 Mini collar that works with the Alpha.

I haven't used the Alpha to navigate in the field. Just never had the need. But I have played with those screens for familiarity.

For training, I use my DT Systems SPT 2420 which allows extremely low levels of stim and close increments of stim. There are 3 buttons. 2 buttons can be assigned any level independently from lowest to highest (1 to 50). The third button is called a "rise" stimulation. If the rise button is held down, the stimulation will be continuous and also rise from lowest to highest over several seconds. You can use this for a runaway. When the stimulation reaches a level that the dog responds to, you just let go of the button and it stops stimulation.

I also have a Tritronics Pro 100 EXP G3 with two collars, which lends itself to train with easily, but I use it mainly when I run the dogs for exercise or at the clays range. It has a low and medium and high capability with each of the 6 primary levels on the dial. So 18 levels, but no choice of what stimulation level difference is between the buttons.
 
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