+DustyWalker Posted April 5, 2007 Posted April 5, 2007 I am thinking of purchasing one of the new Garmin Astro's when they become available. Does anyone know anything about them? It appears that they are similar to the 60 series. Are some of the GPS capabilities left off because of the addition of its tracking abilities? What range would it have? Etc... Quote
findandhide Posted April 7, 2007 Posted April 7, 2007 What range would it have? On The Website http://www.garmin.com/products/astro/ it says it has a range of up to 5 miles. Quote
ZR-mindless Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 I will definitely be getting one of these astros too - should be very similar to 60csx with different buttons. That "5 miles" by the way is line of sights - ie. best case on flat ground no obstructions (ie. trees) - you may want to count on maybe 1 mile in real life. If you get it please post your experiences with it. Quote
+LegendOfZelda Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 On a related note, can I use any Garmin GPS (like 60CSx or 70CSx) and add a separate transmitter to get the same effect? IOW, if i want to track people at Six Flags, can I use a standard GPS and purchase some transmitter functionality (without a subscription service)? Or is this all contained as part of specific functionality? Quote
+Knight2000 Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 This would be helpful if you have children. Quote
+Red90 Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 On a related note, can I use any Garmin GPS (like 60CSx or 70CSx) and add a separate transmitter to get the same effect? IOW, if i want to track people at Six Flags, can I use a standard GPS and purchase some transmitter functionality (without a subscription service)? Or is this all contained as part of specific functionality? No. The Astro units have a GMRS radio to transmit the data from one unit to the other. It is similar to how a Rino works. One other plus of these units is a 3 axis compass, making that feature much nicer than a 60Csx. Quote
+The Neverlanders Posted July 28, 2007 Posted July 28, 2007 Any reports yet????? I read that this GPS unit has mapping/routing capabilities also. I am only familiar with Magellan Meridians and their routing - anyone know cost of software needed to do street routing, etc... Any input is appreciated as I have never used a Garmin. I can't justify the price of the tracker for my Pointer but maybe if it would replace my GPS also......... Quote
+JaeCee Posted July 28, 2007 Posted July 28, 2007 Any reports yet????? I read that this GPS unit has mapping/routing capabilities also. I am only familiar with Magellan Meridians and their routing - anyone know cost of software needed to do street routing, etc... Any input is appreciated as I have never used a Garmin. I can't justify the price of the tracker for my Pointer but maybe if it would replace my GPS also......... I was looking at the Astro earlier today when I suggested it to a friend for his kids until such a time a subdermal equivalent is available... It looks like it's a 60CSx w/ the added tracker functions. I haven't purchased any street maps yet, but yes, it will do routing quite well from what I've heard. Quote
kenai1 Posted August 24, 2007 Posted August 24, 2007 I just received my Astro today and went out for 3 km hike through a forested trail near my house. I have 20 Siberian Huskies which are notorious for taking off when "Off Leash". I picked my best behaved husky and put the harness and antenna on him and off we went. The unit seemed to provided results as I expected. The "Dog Page" has a pointer with a distance to Dog field that worked great. I could tell at any time what direction the dog was and how far away he was from me. He did wander more than a few hundred metres off into the forest but the communication strength with the antenna remained 5 out of 5 bars. The Map page tracks is like any other Garmin Map Page except that it is tracking 2 tracks at once. ( The user and the dog's). The unit also gives real time distance travelled for the dog as well and it s speed and whether the dog is moving or not. This report is still very preliminary as I have only had the unit our for one trip. The only complaint I had was the harness for the dog. It worked satifiactorily but I did have to adjust it a couple of times after the dog came out of some heavy brush. I think I can adjust it to make it stay upright better though. The trail I walked was 3.2 km while the dog covered 4.8 km ( probably will be more when I bring a younger dog out as this one was 11 yrs old and does not venture out to far like he used to. Kenai1 Quote
RenHoek Posted August 24, 2007 Posted August 24, 2007 For any radio geeks out there, the Astro actually uses the license-free MURS radio band: Frequencies: 151.82 MHZ 151.88 MHZ 151.94 MHZ 154.57 MHZ 154.60 MHZ Being a lower VHF frequency that the UHF that GMRS uses, it should work a little better in the woods than GMRS. The "5 miles" is still a reach, tho... Also, you're not required to pay for a GMRS license ($80/family/5yrs) like you are with a Rhino (you guys DID pay the FCC Man, right? ) -RenHoek Quote
+Klemmer Posted August 24, 2007 Posted August 24, 2007 Good thing it's not GMRS, or the dog would need a license too, right? or is he family? Doooh... of course he is! Seriously, wish my kids were younger, I'd get one. Or two. Quote
+DustyWalker Posted August 24, 2007 Author Posted August 24, 2007 Thanks for the input. I will look forward to hearing more about it as you use it. Quote
+Redwoods Mtn Biker Posted August 25, 2007 Posted August 25, 2007 The first reviews are up and they look pretty good... http://www.gpsnow.com/garmin_astro.htm#reviews Quote
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