ARTICLE: How Dog Tracking Collars Work
Dog Tracking
Collars consist of two parts: (1) a Radio Collar/Transmitter
that the dog wears and (2) a Receiver which the handler carries.
This can be confusing to folks that have remote training collars since with
dog training collars, the dog wears the receiver and the handler has the
transmitter.
Radio Collar/Transmitter
This is what the dog wears.
The radio transmitter is connected to a collar strap and has one or two
antennas depending on model. The Radio Collar/Transmitter TRANSMITS a
radio telemetry signal on a set frequency and can be detected by the
handler's receiver.
Radio Receiver
The hand-held receiver tells
the dog handler the dog's direction, range, and sometimes behavior. Most
receivers use a combination of lights, sound or a bar graph with an LCD
screen or a needle indicator, to tell you where your dog is located.
Behavior Circuit
Some tracking systems also
have a "Behavior Circuit" that can tell you what the dog is doing while he
is wearing the collar.
- Bird Dog collars have a motion sensor that will tell you if
the dog is running or standing still (on point) (Supra Lite Collars and
Strike Motion collars)
- Bark Indicator collars will tell you if the dog is quiet or
if he is baying. (Houndsmen / Pig Hunters)
- Tree Switch collars will tell you if your hound has "treed"
its prey. (Designed for coon hunters)
Radio Bands
- Most dog tracking collars operate on one of five different bands.
- These bands are numbered 216, 217, 218, 219, and 220.
- Each collar is then broken down into a three digit frequency
AFTER THE BAND.
- EXAMPLE: A collar with 216.275 has a BAND of 216 and a FREQUENCY of
275.
Radio Frequency
- Different frequencies allow you to use multiple collars at the same
time and keep the signals from overlapping.
- If you use a system that has a one band choice (Maima Duo or Maxima
1000/5), you can track any collar on that band (let's use 216 in this
case) that is numbered from 216.000 to 216.999 giving you 1000 different
choices.
- A system that can track two bands (Maxima 2000/15) can track any
collar on two bands (216.000 to 217.999) giving you 2000 different
choices.
- A system that can track all five bands (Maxima 5000/25) can track any
collar on any of the five bands (216.000 to 220.999) giving you 5000
different choices
|