in2adventure Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 http://WWW.thehearnow.com Has anyone ever heard of or used this? I just bought the training collars for hiking in the forest where I tend to lose sight of the dogs or they can't hear me over wind and other noises. It's pretty easy to use and the voice comes out pretty clear. It also has 5 different call tones on the collar. Lucia seems a bit confused by it, but a couple of training sessions to do the trick. She spun in circles looking for the voice I haven't tried it on Grady yet. Jeffers has them for half price on the mini size which fits my guys perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda-pop Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 seems kind of cool. it'd probably work for my girls, but the big malamute guy would still ignore me. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I couldn't find a price but for under $50 you can get a set of FRS radios and tie on on your dog. I'm not impressed. Better would b a couple of Garmin Rino series FRS/GMRS radios with built in GPS locater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 They go for $100, but Jeffers has then on sale for 49. I thought about the garmin or two way radio thing, but they seemed really heavy for the dog to carry around. The dog barely notices the receiver is there on these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy in AZ Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 A similar collar was used on an episode of "It's Me or the Dog" to break the dog of counter surfing, along with the use of a hidden camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 A similar collar was used on an episode of "It's Me or the Dog" to break the dog of counter surfing, along with the use of a hidden camera. That's cool. Did it work? I always wondered if catching the dog in the middle of something without actually being there would work. Of course, I don't have a spy camera to watch them on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Nancy, would you happen to remember what brand it was?? Does anyone know anything about the Hear Now company? DH likes the idea of the 2-way radio but he wonders about the company. They were also suppose to come out with a 2-way radio collar with a GPS in '07 which would be something I would be interested in but can't seem to find it anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Look at the Garmin Rino seris of FRS/GMRS two-way FM radios with a GPS locater built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 For a comparison, here are both web pages. I have a Garmin CSX60 and the idea of strapping this thing to my dog seems really silly. It weighs exactly the same amount as the Rino and it's pretty large in size. This would not be feesable for a small dog. It could be put in the doggie pack, but we don't need to hike with it all the time and having it flop around would be annoying to the dog. The starting price for a single Rino is $159. If you have multiple dogs, this could get REALLY expensive. Not to mention if they lose it. I know you can find it by tracking it, but what a pain would that be. I love the idea of the GPS in case the dog is lost, you can track them, but the thought process behind the Hear Now collar is to use it while they are close by, training sessions and it's really cheap in comparison.. Both units have great qualities and I'm not pushing one over the other. If I could afford several Rino's and could figure out a way to have the dog carry it safely and confortably, I'd get it. I LOVE my Garmin GPS. The price factor has me sold on the Hear Now though. I looked up the episode of It's Me or The Dog and she does use this collar. It's the large version. I bought the mini version and it fits my guys just fine and the unit is smaller and lighter. The only draw back I can see is the lack of GPS and it's only water resistant. Garmin Rino https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=6404# Cost starting at $194 each (obviously you need at least two and I did find this for $159 on another site) Water proof GPS tracking Voice call Huge call range Has a TON of features that does not need to be on a dog collar Way to huge to strap on the dog's neck 7.5OZ 7" x 2.3" x 1.6" The Hear Now http://www.thehearnow.com/ Cost $100 on sale in Jeffers for $49 Mini is only water resistant Reg is water proof to only 11" Voice call only 2 mile range No GPS tracking Very tiny and the dog doesn't notice it's there 2" x 1.5" x .62" 1 OZ There is also this for $600 but it doesn't let you "talk" to your dog, only track them Garmin Astro https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=209...8576#featureTab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 There is another option only I don't think you would want to avail yorself of it since it is too complex to put together. That is comms and tracking through ham radio. The rub here is you need a HAM radio license for the radio, free but there is a test. Then you can do it how ever you want with an Auto Position Reporting Module (APRS) gear. It's easy enough to do though. Frankly if you want to try the expriment I would ju go out and get a set of cheap two-way radios and see iof you can make that work first. Cost, depending on the radios $50-120 a pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy in AZ Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Nancy, would you happen to remember what brand it was?? The brand name wasn't identified in the episode. I thought it kind of amusing, after I had posted this that I referred to the camera as "hidden"-- as if the dog were aware of the presence of the video camera, he wouldn't have performed any naughty behaviors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 We seem to have to threads woeking on the same basic topic. Nice thing about being a HAM I have all kinds of radio gear to experiment with. After all it's through HAM radio we have sat comm, cell phones and a lot more. I'm going to take a pair of radios and try it with Jin. Christine a lot of rangers use HAM radio as well. As a ranger I carried both our local HTs and a HAM HT. Something you might want to look at. Start with ARRL.org. Funny thing is despite cell phones and with the demise of the Morse code requirement for a ham radio license apps are up. We tested 34 people locally last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 I would love to play with the hearnow on the dogs but I don't think I'd feel comfortable using it to keep track of the dogs if out on a hike. I want mine close enough that I don't have to worry about predator encounters without me, chasing deer or other issues that come up with dogs being to far out of my site. Plus if the dogs wandered off, calling through a radio attached to them would not signal to the dog where my voice is coming from and where I want them to go. I could see why Lucia spun in circles, looking for you. Guess I'm confused, the hearnow or 2ways are something you talk to the dog through, like remote training but a GPS or similar would be keeping track of where the dog is. Not talking to the dog. Or are you supposed to go retrieve the dog? Wouldn't they keep moving? hmmmm, solid recall or I'm not going! But I'd love to see a collar on one of the dogs who chose to disregard me ....say, at the top of an outrun. Kinda like the voice of doG coming out their collar! But, again if I had to rely on that, I think the dog would quickly decide he could disregard the collar too. I've seen CM use a tracking collar on a dog that would bolt from the door, it was a safety measure for the owners while training the dog. Again, if the dog ran away wouldn't it keep moving so each time you thought you were getting close he'd be off running a different direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Guess I'm confused, the hearnow or 2ways are something you talk to the dog through, like remote training but a GPS or similar would be keeping track of where the dog is. Not talking to the dog. Or are you supposed to go retrieve the dog? Wouldn't they keep moving? The GPS is for just position reporting. It has to be combined with a two-way radio and a device called an ApPRS (Auto (packet) Position Reporting System) and you have a system that can transmit both voice and tracking data. The Garmin Rino series of Radio/GPS's have all of that included. You set the one on your dog to transmit it's position every so often and the dogs position is shown on the one you have on a screen with a line drawn to it. The transmitted data can be received by any radio. That data can be plotted realtime in a laptop computer. In addition with the Rino you can talk to the dog. Whether they'll listen or not is another thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel09 Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 That is a neat idea. My dogs stay pretty close to me on hikes. I would like to see it in person before buying it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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