One of the biggest changes that we are the most excited about is the increase in battery life. This isn’t just a few hours increase either; this is nearly three times increase in total battery life. The Alpha 200 and Alpha 200i maxed out at around 20 hours of battery life. The Alpha 300 and Alpha 300i are now maxing out at around 55 hours of battery. How they can do this is being kept an engineering secret. Both the Alpha 200 and Alpha 300 use the same battery pack that came out for the original Alpha 100 handheld, so there isn’t an increase in battery pack density. Without it being an improved battery pack, it would mean that the improvement came from hardware and software improvements, so way to go Garmin product engineers!

Charging Port

Since the launch of the Garmin PRO series in 2014, the charging cables for all Garmin devices were miniUSB. All Garmin charging cables were the same USB to miniUSB and worked on all devices. This was great and reduced the need for multiple cables, but the miniUSB had its fair share of problems. MiniUSB are becoming increasingly rare in products and it’s actually amazing that Garmin is still using them. One of the biggest issues with miniUSB is that they are prone to getting damaged. Over the years, we have received several Alpha handhelds with their data ports damaged. Nothing like having your multi-hundred-dollar handheld made unusable by an outdated designed charger, right?

With the launch of the Alpha 200 handhelds, Garmin made the move to the microUSB, a more modern charging cable, yet still actually relatively outdated as far as customer electric standards. Many will recognize the microUSB as the same type of charger as used in many non-Apple phones and tables. If you have kids like me, you have seen your fair share of these chargers broken and bent, which is one of their notorious issues. Another issue that isn’t necessarily a big issue for Garmin users is that microUSB are not compatible with USB3.0, which is the modern standard for USB ports on computers. What this means is that you would be unable to take advantage of faster data transfer rates.

The Alpha 300 handhelds have yet again changed their charger and data port type. This time though, Garmin went with the gold standard, USB-C type. USB-C has replaced both miniUSB and microUSB, fixing all the issues those had, as well as also offering several neat features. USB-C boasts substantially faster charging speeds, which is great for those who need to quickly top off their Alpha’s battery before running their dogs or while traveling between hunting spots. USB-C also offers faster data transfer rates, which is appreciable for those transferring data to and from the Alpha to Garmin programs like Basecamp.

Channel View

A new feature to the Garmin Alpha 300 handhelds is the “Channel View” function. This function is only useful to those that would be running their dogs at a field trial or in large hunting groups where collar interference is an issue. With channel view, you can see all your paired in devices and their frequencies, as well as the ability to scan to see the frequencies that are in use by any device in your handheld’s reception range. This is an awesome feature for those that run into interference issues frequently (pun intended). At the start of your hunt or trial, you can scan all the frequencies in use, compare those to the ones you are using and adjust your frequencies where needed to ensure that you won’t run into any collar interference issues.

Features of Both Handhelds

Some features just can’t get any better. We just wanted to quickly go over some of the great features that are found in both the Alpha 200 and Alpha 300.

• Nine miles of tracking and training range.
• Track up to 20 devices (dogs and/or handhelds) at the same time.
• Garmin InReach capabilities on the Alpha 200i and Alpha 300i.
• Training features that include: 18 levels of stimulation, tone, and vibration.
• Topoactive maps – Detailed terrain, contour, and elevation maps.
• Multi-GNSS Support – Access to the multiple global navigation satellite system.
• Wi-Fi software updates.