Garmin Alpha 200i Dog Tracking Handheld, Utilizes inReach Technology, Sunlight-readable 3.6 Touchscreen (010-02230-50), Black

The manual is not very informative You have to go online to get enough information to operate. This is a very annoying practice by this company Why would you want a third party to explain your product

Bought this unit to be able to track, train, and use InReach. It does all those well. I do have to lock the touch screen to keep from changing things when I put it in the carrying case but locking the screen is a viable option to keep that from happening. When received, I had to go to Garmins site and update the software, but that is not unusual for Garmin products. Sometimes they come with out of date software or versions that were put in at the factory that may be off from the ones on Garmins website. Just be aware that you always need to check the software version upon arrival. Aside from that, this is a great multipurpose unit.

Dog Group/Management, programmable training keys, Bluetooth transfer of tracks, WiFi downloads of satellite imagery, satellite messaging all great upgrades from alpha 100. Well worth the price despite a few lingering Garmin user interface idiosyncrasies.

Very pleased with product.

This Alpha 200i will interfere with a VHF radio. I use a VHF handheld radio with the Alpha and I get a constant clicking sound transmitted from the Alpha to the VHF. Garmin has no solution.

I hunt on a wildlife management area with still hunt and dog hunt areas and no problem stopping dogs be for they reach the boundaries !

Didn’t work in Australia! I sent it back still waiting for my refund

This has worked great training our black mouth cur puppy. location is very accurate. Recall training works exelent. Program able buttons make it easy to use. Blue tooth to the phone works well but seems unnecessary? Range is awesome. I would not get the 200i again now that the 200 out as I will never use the SOS feature because of the subscription cost.

The dog tracking compass is not always accurate which defeats the purpose of the unit. Under a clear sky with perfect conditions the dog needle will point to a totally different direction. Additionally, the locking tray for the microSD card is very flimsy. Mine is almost broken and I have been very gentle with it. This unit is supposed to be rugged, right? Also, this unit is not compatible with the OnX Hunt chip. As of this review only the 100 receiver is.

This is good for hunting in the field. But it is a little cumbersome. I have the Sport Pro as well for training. They are both great, but you need to know what you want to use them for. I only use the sport pro while training. Then switch to the Alpha when hunting.