Hunting Washington Forum

Other Hunting => Coyote, Small Game, Varmints => Topic started by: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 09:38:08 PM

Title: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 09:38:08 PM: not a lot of trouble but looking for some insight. my fx3 has worked flawlessly since Ive owned it, but last weekend in the real real cold at high volumes the speaker was breaking up. works fine until i turn it up real load (for a howl) and then it breaks up. i think i remember reading somewhere that the cold can do this to them. thoughts?
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: CoryTDF on December 12, 2009, 09:49:46 PM: Mine will do that when the batteries are low. Have you checked that? :dunno:
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 09:54:10 PM: yeah i replaced the batteries.but haven't seen if it will break up again. i don't really think anything is "wrong" with it. i just remember hearing that the cold can make um act up sometimes and was wanting to her guys opinions. could be the batteries tho your right
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Shootmoore on December 12, 2009, 10:06:55 PM: You using alkaline or lithum batteries? Alkaline batteries are affected more by cold weather, which could cause the system to work as if the batteries are low.

For cold weather I always suggest lithium batteries if you have the choice. Better performance when its really cold.

Shootmoore
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 10:10:05 PM: well that is real good advice. i never even considered that :DOH: tell ya the truth i use the batteries i can get the most of for the cheapest. i call alot and go through lots of batteries.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Kain on December 12, 2009, 10:11:31 PM: Use one of those hand warmers to keep the batteries warm. :chuckle: The ones for your boots even have an adhesive strip on them.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 10:15:55 PM: more outstanding advice. you see this is why i love this place
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: shoot-em-dead on December 12, 2009, 10:18:17 PM: Since it is broken I'll take it off your hands and you can just use mouth calls :chuckle:
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Shootmoore on December 12, 2009, 10:23:04 PM: Quote from: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 10:10:05 PM
well that is real good advice. i never even considered that :DOH: tell ya the truth i use the batteries i can get the most of for the cheapest. i call alot and go through lots of batteries.

If you call a lot you might think about rechargeable lithum. 2 sets and a home charger while more expensive up front, will save you some decent cash in the long run. + you get the bonus of lithum.

Shootmoore
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 12, 2009, 10:32:05 PM: i got some re chargables when i got the fox pro but couldn't get the batteries life out of them. with the re chargables they would die the same day (and not at the most opportune times) and with just regular batteries i can get several trips out of them before i change them. any brand batteries/charger you recommend?
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Shootmoore on December 12, 2009, 10:40:59 PM: Any of them that the recharge has a "recondition" recharge. It basically drains the battery to 0 before it recharges it. Rechargable batteries form a "memory" loosing actual max capacity if they are charged while still holding a charge.

I'm not sure whats out there right now, its been 4 years since I worked a lot with batteries for bodywires and video equipment.

Shootmoore
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: rasbo on December 13, 2009, 12:53:06 AM: new batteries at these cold temps dont work well very long..I had some go bad early yesterday..howls sound more like farts.I should have bought the rechargables.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 13, 2009, 04:23:55 AM: What happened to the ones that came with the foxpro? Those are the ones I'm using and have never had an issue. I've used mine many many times in extremely cold temps without a hickup. Maybe just shoot them a call.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: rasbo on December 13, 2009, 04:29:08 AM: Quote from: Gutpile on December 13, 2009, 04:23:55 AM
What happened to the ones that came with the foxpro? Those are the ones I'm using and have never had an issue. I've used mine many many times in extremely cold temps without a hickup. Maybe just shoot them a call.
mine came with no batteries...I need to order their rechargeables
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: ICEMAN on December 13, 2009, 05:34:43 AM: You guys who call alot ever consider something like this? A portable power pack? Seems like it would solve your problems if you can get the voltage correct... We have a similar power pack that we sled in with us on our snow camp overnighters....to run a dvd player to watch movies with at 5degrees..... works for us! At really cold temps, the normal dvd player battery lasts about half a movie...
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bighorns2bushytails on December 13, 2009, 07:35:50 AM: try the Duracell NiMH rechargables. they are green and black, and are 2650 maH. ive had great success in my caller and cameras with them.

the longer the maH rating the more charge the batteries should hold.

keep in mind rechargables usually run at a slightly lower voltage, so maybe the cracking in your speakers is from a lower voltage and the batteries not being able to produce the power needed to make the speaker sound clearly? not sure if thats the case but sounds like it could be a factor. i know in my remote control cars we often have to include an extra NiMH battery in our reciever packs VS using alkaline batteries just to keep the voltage the same.

could also be something more sinister like a loose connection between in the speaker. when the volume gets turned up high enough the vibration causes that conection to shake or become loose.

those hand warmers on your battery pack should certainly help extend battery life in really cold weather. they also make 12v cigarette lighter chargers so if you had an extra set of rechargables you could have one in the truck charging and swap them out mid day on your hunt.

--BH2BT
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bearmanric on December 13, 2009, 08:31:43 AM: cabelas have the Foxpro rechargibles. they work the very best in my Fury i have two set's and the fast charger. after several stands i plug in the charger in my truck. when not using your Foxpro alway's unplug the battery's if left in the Foxpro they will drain. almost all the problem's is people using Raovacs to save money. Rick

http://www.gofoxpro.com/products/power/8cell.php
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 13, 2009, 02:12:49 PM: just got back and with keeping the foxpro warm all last night and fresh batteries the call worked fine at all volumes. even called in a dog, somehow the thing busted me :dunno: I'm still trying to figure it out
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: rasbo on December 13, 2009, 02:16:19 PM: I was up where the river splits where were you
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 13, 2009, 02:27:53 PM: was up above the houses. still don't know how that sucker busted me. he started barking from a good quarter mile away. he may have come in behind me and then just waited to bark at me till he was a ways away
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: shoot-em-dead on December 13, 2009, 02:38:29 PM: so even the pros get busted :o
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: rasbo on December 13, 2009, 03:50:33 PM: Quote from: littlebuf on December 13, 2009, 02:27:53 PM
was up above the houses. still don't know how that sucker busted me. he started barking from a good quarter mile away. he may have come in behind me and then just waited to bark at me till he was a ways away
I heard one yelping,down the river..that maybe you were on the 7 line
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 13, 2009, 04:02:57 PM: thats funny i actually thought about going up there today. guess maybe i shouold have. gotta love seeing this snow, may have to skip out on some work this week ;)
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 16, 2009, 12:57:51 PM: The problem you stated is a battery related problem I.E. low voltage . whenever it starts( clipping) just throw in a new set and problem will be fixed . jerry .
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bearmanric on December 16, 2009, 03:44:10 PM: welcome Jerry. great to see you here. Rick
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 16, 2009, 03:58:47 PM: Thank you Sir , been drooling over some of your calls , Looking really good Rick .
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: MtnMuley on December 16, 2009, 04:25:35 PM: Personally, I've had all sorts of problems with my newest foxpro. I think it's the fx7 or fx5. It's a couple years old. Too much digital things to go wrong imo. Never had a problem with any of my older ones. :dunno: :twocents:
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 16, 2009, 04:27:32 PM: Quote from: MtnMuley on December 16, 2009, 04:25:35 PM
Personally, I've had all sorts of problems with my newest foxpro. I think it's the fx7 or fx5. It's a couple years old. Too much digital things to go wrong imo. Never had a problem with any of my older ones. :dunno: :twocents:

What kind of problems? I'm going to be upgrading but not if I'll have problems.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: billythekidrock on December 16, 2009, 06:10:54 PM: Quote from: bearmanric on December 16, 2009, 03:44:10 PM
welcome Jerry. great to see you here. Rick

Yes, welcome.
Glad to see you here.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bearmanric on December 16, 2009, 07:21:00 PM: Jerry know's a few thing's about Foxpro's. he get's them broke in lets say. Rick
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 16, 2009, 08:17:41 PM: it working fine now, it was probably a combo of low batteries and cold weather draining them fast is what I'm thinking. this is the only trouble Ive had and its nothing, i do love this call
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 16, 2009, 08:40:40 PM: littlebuf , I use duracells in the real cold weather , they seem to last longer then the rechargables BUT if its not really cold the rechargables are great . use the 2500 mah batts and you can quick charge or slow its all the same , youll still get a good year out of a set . Most problems in the cold weather can be cured with a hand warmer placed over the battery door and one kept in the same pocket you put your remote in . This is only necessary when its low single digits or below zero . Another lil trick is to put some cabinet bumpers (Look inside your cabinet doors) on the call buttons this makes it easier to feel /find the buttons while wearing gloves,and helps with the activation of the buttons as well , you can get them at lowes or just about any good hardware store. you can use the clear plastic or the felt if you get the medium or large ones it will be necessary to cut them down to size so the buttons on the remote will still function ,trimming is alot easier with the felt bumpers. hope this helps , jerry .
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 16, 2009, 08:44:36 PM: Mt Muley : if your having trouble with a foxpro i may be able to help you out . here is my email
kmalbeck@eltopia.com
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: MtnMuley on December 17, 2009, 04:24:27 PM: Thanks Jerry. Back when foxpro was small, I would deal with the owner over the phone. It was a pleasure. New batteries and all, it sometimes will play my first sound programmed (000). When hiking a few miles to call a cat quietly and all of a sudden a "coyote invite" decides to play on my call on my call, that's irritating >:( It happens quite frequent. I need to send the call back to get worked on.
Quote from: Gutpile on December 16, 2009, 04:27:32 PM
Quote from: MtnMuley on December 16, 2009, 04:25:35 PM

What kind of problems? I'm going to be upgrading but not if I'll have problems.
You will probably be fine. I think I just got a bad call. However, I'm not that impressed with the two speakers. I usually turn the rear off and go with the front only. Also, I also haven't noticed the newer remote reaching out any further. Also, it's more time consuming to use without the remote compared to my older ones. All in all, I've killed way more critters with the older ones. :twocents:
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 17, 2009, 05:41:30 PM: Quote
I'm not that impressed with the two speakers. I usually turn the rear off and go with the front only.

I've never been impressed with the rear either it sounds tinny to me. I just turn it off. Never have used it except once or twice when it gets clicked on by accident.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Big10gauge on December 17, 2009, 06:29:19 PM: There is a intentional difference in the frequency response of each speaker, I can't remember what calls are supposed to sound better with the rear speaker vs the front
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bearmanric on December 17, 2009, 06:36:03 PM: i use both speaker's but i have the Fury. play's two sound's at once on certain sound's. Rick
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 17, 2009, 06:55:44 PM: Rear speaker is a mid range, coyote vocals and any distress with a low tone range( guttural jack rabbit) will sound better from the rear speaker

Rick if you want the fury to shine when using coyote /rabbit or any other dual sounds you really need to try out the reverse stereo mode , it brings those sounds into a whole new spectrum. its allot like a fader on a stereo syster . you can make one of the sounds more dominant then the other . before they came out with the foxfade and reverse stereo mode i never liked the MIXED sounds( just sounded like a bunch of noise to me) but now they can really be effective as im sure the local coyotes around have never heard anything like it . Play with that caller youll be amazed what it can do . Jerry .
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 17, 2009, 07:18:35 PM: well i just sent Jerry a pm but now he's offline. i just bought some sounds from foxpro and on the shipping line it said "ups ground" ? i thought you could do it all on your computer after you bought them. could somebody help me out, did i miss something?
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Big10gauge on December 17, 2009, 07:27:10 PM: they sent them via e-mail
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 17, 2009, 07:28:06 PM: how long does it useally take?
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 17, 2009, 07:28:41 PM: Yep , they should have been sent to your email so they can be placed in a folder for use .
I have never done this as i am a field staff member and have access to the sounds via my computer, so i cant tell you what you did wrong BUT if you cant figure it out call them and they will fix you up .
Foxpro 717-248-2507. ask for Joe .
sorry i couldnt answer your question in full . Jerry
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 17, 2009, 07:36:36 PM: You should get the sounds via e-mail pretty quickly. I got mine right away but I also ordered during business hours. I had trouble downloading and they walked me through it.

Weird that it said
Quote
"ups ground"
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 17, 2009, 07:38:09 PM: they still arent in my email. well as long as they come befor this weekend it should be ok
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 17, 2009, 07:39:33 PM: If they arent there tomorrow just call. They're very easy to work with.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Big10gauge on December 17, 2009, 07:40:33 PM: As gutpile said, I doubt if it's a automated process
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: buckhorn2 on December 17, 2009, 10:35:35 PM: I was really happy with there ordering and delivery it only took two days for ups to deliver mine. They are;nt open on the week-end.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bearmanric on December 18, 2009, 07:24:44 AM: buff please call Foxpro talk to smokin Joe. he will fix your problem. like Jerry said. Rick
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 18, 2009, 07:11:14 PM: called foxpro today and talked to Jared (probably spelt his name wrong) but he told me the sounds are supposed to come with the confirmation email but sometimes the attachment doesn't work with everybody email. he said "I'm going to email them to you and if you don't have them in 5 minutes call me back" well they were there in about two minutes. very impressed. downloading them and figuring out how to use/find them was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life but that has to do with my computer retardation and not fox pro. know that Ive done it once its actually incredibly easy and i feel pretty dumb, but that's cool. this weekend i go after dogs with some new tunes. they sound great as always
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 18, 2009, 07:24:33 PM: :chuckle:Thanks for the laugh that was funny
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 18, 2009, 08:11:58 PM: What sounds did you get?? The pup in distress is a must.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 18, 2009, 08:19:45 PM: i already have the hurt pup. i got-

female coyote long howl 2 and 3
coyote pair
coyote-canine pup (this one sounds great)
coyote pup-rabbit
dying jack
snowshoe hare 2
snow shoe high pitch

i really like the duel sounds and the snow shoe sounds are pretty frantic sounding. the female sounds are because i wanted a little more in my re pitwar as far as vocalisations go. i cant wait to get out this weekend. :bfg:
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 18, 2009, 08:24:18 PM: Quote
female coyote long howl 2 and 3 Got them
coyote pair (how'd I miss that one?)
coyote-canine pup (this one sounds great) Got it
coyote pup-rabbit Deleted, it never seemed to call anything in
dying jack Like it
snowshoe hare 2 Love it
snow shoe high pitch Really love it
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 18, 2009, 08:29:01 PM: that pup rabbit one i liked because it just sounds so frantic. and the call Ive had the most success with is the babycot-adultcot combo call, and this kinda sounds like that on steroids. we'll see
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Gutpile on December 18, 2009, 08:33:24 PM: I just got two called "crazy critter" and "big rabbit" something to that affect. They sound great! I still have way better results with coyote vocalizations or fawn sounds though. Blacktail fawn is a great sound. It really works well, I add yips from a mouth call while using it. Gawd! I'm getting all worked up for this weekend! WooHoo!!!!
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Jerry malbeck on December 19, 2009, 04:51:51 AM: Crazy Critter is a recording of me blowing a sceery ap6, jerry .
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: ICEMAN on December 19, 2009, 04:52:49 AM: Do they sell a lost and wounded PETA hiker sound?
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: rasbo on December 19, 2009, 06:25:31 AM: you just scream,mommy,mooooommy.mommy :chuckle:
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: buckhorn2 on December 19, 2009, 10:56:09 AM: Just got the fox pro 3 and wondered how far from a stand do you put the call . How far does the remote work. Fighting to keep it in the box until xmas it;s supposed to be a present but dang it;s hard to leave it sit there.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: bearmanric on December 19, 2009, 11:11:22 AM: wid in your face most of the time. put it 20 to 40 on a stump or limb just of the ground is great. a 100 yards or mor. but mine is alway's around 20 yards to my left or right depend's on were i want them to come from. Rick
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: rasbo on December 19, 2009, 04:44:28 PM: I don't know how far,today I had an open area 70yards and it worked..usually 20 to 25 yards for bobs,where I hunt
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: Blacklab on December 19, 2009, 05:00:59 PM: farthest I've taken mine 125 without a hicup closest 50.
Title: Re: foxpro trouble
Post by: littlebuf on December 19, 2009, 08:13:48 PM: had mine at 95 yards today and the farthest Ive tried was about 135, works flawless. i don't like to put them out that far tho because then i cant hear the call unless its real load, and since yotes ears are much better than mine I'm sure at that point its too load :twocents: