Why Buy the SportDog TEK: Lots Of Great Features

· The ability  to run a GPS dog tracking system and remote training collar from one handheld and one integrated unit on the dog
·    The Sport Tek has a seven mile range.

·It provides up to 100 different levels of stimulation which are all adjustable.
· A  compact handheld that is waterproof.
·  A  bright and easy to read screen.
· Both the handheld and collar are rechargeable – 20 hour run time per charge.

·Can track up to 12  dogs per handheld.
· The handheld unit vibrates /tones / silent or vibe with tone  when dog is on point / treed
· The collar is sturdy and waterproof.
. The collar strap is extremely durable.

The Staff Web Services Inc. has received a test SportDog V1L, and we have been checking it out. So far, we really like what we are seeing! Here are our first impressions of the SportDog V1L. We’ll start off giving you an idea on how it “looks and feels” from the outside.

Physical Features Of The Handheld Unit
The handheld unit is very compact and also  has a sturdy black rubberized coating.  It fits nicely in your hand. The function buttons are located on both the left side (trainer) and the right side (GPS).   You can easily find them by feel without having to look at the handheld unit every time. There is a four way touch pad on the front through which many of the commands are made.

The on-off button is nicely located on the top and is protected by the antennas, which helps ensure you don’t  accidently turn the unit on or off when carrying it in your pocket. The antenna is 5” long, is covered with a sturdy molded rubber coating, and is flexible enough to bend and not break when stressed.

The handheld display screen is 1 ½” wide by 1 7/8” high.   The LCD screen brightness and resolution are very good.   A very nice feature of the TEK is the handheld utilizes a rechargeable battery, and there is a port on the side of the unit with an attached plug that accepts the wall or vehicle charger.  The handheld unit weighs 7.0 ounces.

The SportDog Collar

The first thing you will be impressed with how sturdy the collar feels. The casing for the main body of the electronics appears nearly indestructible. The unit also has a unique collar strap. The strap made from thick, black molded rubber and it integrated into the unit itself. The strap is 1 1/8” wide and nearly an 1/8” thick .  The strap  is strong and don’t expect any tearing soon! The collar antennas are 12” long, are rubber coated, and flexible enough that you can tie them in a knot and they will spring back. The collar is also equipped with a rechargeable battery and a port covered by an attached mud plug. The collar with both the GPS and remote training components on one collar strap weighs 12.0 ounces and the collar with the locator option only weighs 8.0 ounces.

The overall size of the collar unit is fine for most all hounds and larger beagles. However, when you’re using the remote trainer in conjunction with the GPS, the two components together we feel are too large for 13” beagles. Our initial fitting to some of our dogs appeared that the unit hangs below the dog’s neck far enough that small beagles will actually bump their knees into the collar unit when running. However, this issue is eliminated when the remote trainer electronic component is removed from the collar and only the GPS is used. When removed, the unit is smaller and provides the clearance needed for smaller dogs.

Technical Features Of The Handheld Unit
The TEK V1L handheld unit is compact and comfortable in the hand. It only weighs in at 7.0 ounces. The TEK V1L offers a nice sized screen (1 ½”x 1 7/8”) with excellent resolution and brightness. The antenna is 5” long and very flexible.  There are three buttons on the left side of the unit, two on the right side, and a control pad on the front of the unit, directly below the screen.

The buttons on the left control the remote trainer when on the training screen, when on the tracking screen the top button is dog 1 the middle is dog2 and the bottom is dog3.  whatever your top button on the training screen is set to for each dog is what will be available on the tracking screen., with the top activating stimulation, the middle provides the tone option, and the bottom button vibration  can also be configured to programmable, rising, momentary.  This provide you the ability to select a button, completely by feel, using just one hand leaving the other free to control your gun, hold your whistle, or wave wildly at your dog!  The top button on the right side allows you to back up one screen, ultimately returning you to the main menu.  The lower right button is a very convenient toggle button, that allows you to switch quickly from the locate/map screen to remote trainer control screen.  Again these can both be easily operated by one hand without requiring you to visually look at the handheld unit.

The center control pad button opens the door to a wide variety of sub-screens and settings.  When on the remote trainer screen, it allows you to increase or decrease the level of stimulation your dog is receiving and scroll through your dogs.  When on the locator screen the left and right arrow allow you to set the scale of the map from auto to 75mi.  The up and down arrow allow you to  scroll through 3 dogs at a time.

The best thing of the SportDog TEK V1L handheld unit is its simplicity and ease of use.  When running your dog you don’t have to read through a bunch of sub-screens when in the field.  When you push the lower right button and you are looking at the map screen.  Push the button  again and you switch to the remote training screen.  It’s as simple as that!  We love simplicity and ease of use.