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Garmin Astro review

UPDATE: Garmin has announced an improved collar/transmitter, due for release in the third quarter of 2008.

The Garmin Astro GPS dog tracking system was designed with hunters in mind. Imagine a GPS unit that shows your dog's location (actually up to ten dogs) as far as five miles away!

GPS tracking collars for your dog

We're not just talking about the forthcoming Garmin Astro 220 here. Over at GPS Tracking Systems, I've posted a review of GPS tracking dog collars, looking at what's in the market place now, and things to watch out for. The article discusses the two main types of devices -- those that send signals via cell carrier and those that transmit via radio frequencies.

U.S. Court of Appeals okays surreptitious GPS tracking by police

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has said that it's okay for the police to plant a GPS device without a warrant. I decided this was a little more appropriate to post over at GPS Tracking Systems, a side project I started last year. You can get all the details there.

Garmin Astro 220 GPS Dog Tracking System

UPDATE: Read our Garmin Astro dog tracking system review.

In perhaps the most surprising announcement from Garmin today, they unveiled their new Astro 220 GPS Dog Tracking System, and I just couldn't resist leading with a picture of George and Astro from the Jetsons.  I've placed an image of the actual Garmin Astro 220 below, after the jump.

Based on the incredibly popular Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx, the Astro 220 is designed for hunters with hunting dogs, or any kind of sporting dog you would want to track. According to Garmin, the setup actually has two components:

"The dog’s transmitter (called the DC 20) and the user’s handheld receiver (named the Astro 220).  The DC 20 is mounted into a lightweight neoprene harness that straps to the dog’s collar, around its chest, and behind its front legs.  Users can also thread the unit directly onto a standard one-inch collar (a third-party e-collar is recommended for proper mounting) so that the unit fits on the back of the dog’s neck.

Hello 911? I'm lost...

In a new twist on GPS cell phone navigation, two Wisconsin hunters relied on an assist from a 911 operator to find their way out of the woods at night. Here's the story from WBAY in Green Bay:

Global positioning technology told the 911 center where the gentlemen were calling from. They would have them hang up, walk for about five or ten minutes and make another phone call, and that would tell them if they were going in the right direction.

"We were just kind of getting like sonar pings. We could figure out where his location was every time he called us, and just figured out which way he was going," dispatcher Ian Hertel described.

Dispatcher: "You want to turn right by about 30 to 45 degrees. That will be Loop Road."

Like a real-life video game, GPS technology allowed the dispatchers to safely get hunters out of the woods.

"This is the first time that it was neat that we could actually see how it was working by someone walking and then we could actually see the icon move on the screen."

Just don't count on it, because as recently as six months ago, 2/3  of 911 call centers could not receive GPS information!

Read the entire article: GPS cell phone rescues hunters

GPS myths

GPSReview.net lists 10 myths about GPS. I've covered a number of these in detail in the following posts:

• Can my GPS be used to track me?
• GPS for your car: Factory-installed or aftermarket?
• SiRFstar III - Why it's a big deal
• Does heavy cloud cover affect GPS reception?
• Flying with GPS on commercial airliners

Only 1/3 of 911 call centers can receive GPS coordinate info

Buried in an article today on emergency services was this shocker...

"Verizon said about one-third of 911 call centers have upgraded their systems and can receive the location information from callers using mobile phones, PDAs, smartphones and other wireless devices."

The article is from an Australian website, but the figures appear to be for the U.S. This just totally blew me away. I had no idea the figure was so low. The FCC has required GPS capabilities in 95% of cell phones in the U.S. Sounds like they need to work on the other end too!

Live GPS tracking of Primal Quest adventure race

The Primal Quest adventure race, which starts June 25, will have live, web-based, GPS tracking of participants. But the course location is secret, so their FAQ says...

"When will the Leaderboard, Interactive Map, GPS Tracking, Race Analysis, and the Video Gallery be available?

In the interest of maintaining course confidentiality, those features will not be displayed on the website until after the Pre-Race Briefing on June 24, 2006, when the teams receive their course information."

Technorati tags: GPS

GPS and thieves

I couldn't help but be impressed by the juxtaposition of these two stories today:

• Westport, Connecticut police warn residents that GPS thefts are likely to increase in the future.
• DataLogic International announced that their BounceGPS fleet management has resulted in the arrest of thieves and recovery of a protected vehicle.

So there you have it. When it comes to GPS and thieves, it cuts both ways.

Technorati tags: GPS