|
Author
|
Topic: Minaska M1 caller
|
Nahuatl
Knows what it's all about
Member # 708
|
posted March 31, 2007 10:37 AM
There's a 5 year warranty on your Bandit. If you have a problem with the remote, return it to Minaska and let them fix it. You can see from the customer service Leonard received, they take the business seriously. They've been upgrading some components recently and Steve just told me that he and Todd have permanently solved the mystery of the decreasing remote range. Ihave had a problem like that too. I wish I knew more about the remote range, but honestly, I rarely put mine out further than 15 yards from my position.
Leonard, I have a WT and 2 Big Country Bandits (and 6 other callers including a new FX5). My WT sat collecting dust for the whole season. I never used it once. The Bandit was easier to use, easier to carry, and easier to recharge at home or on the fly. Plus, the Bandits slaughtered the coyotes. I ended up with 89 shotgun coyotes and another 28 with the rifle, almost all of them shot over the Bandits. The few that weren't, were called from the rig or with a hand call. Most of those shotgun coyotes were called and shot at ranges under 40 yards, so not only did it call them in, it called them close. I read a lot stuff about callers on the web, including the WT and FoxPro claims, but honestly I don't give a shit how anyone's caller sounds to me. I just want one that works on coyotes, and the Bandit has done really well around here.
You may have seen these pictures elsewhere but I'll put one of my collages up with a few Bandit kills. I've got 5 more pictures just like this one from this season, and you'll never see the same coyote twice. This is my favorite photo because it includes 6 doubles, a triple, and a quad, all daylight, all shotgun, all Bandit except the rifle dog in the middle which came to the truck caller. I attended 8 group hunts, hunted with partners, and photographed everything. On a hot streak with Liz, I called coyotes and bobcats on 6 of 7 stands, multiples on 5 of them, and we shot 5 coyotes and 2 cats in about 2 hours. If that isn't proof - I don't know what is. Even if it isn't on video, it actually happened.
Posts: 202 | From: Mount Gleason, Angeles NF | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
csmithers
unknown comic
|
posted March 31, 2007 08:36 PM
I have contacted Minaska about the problem with the remote and they said they will take care of it and that is all one can ask.
The long and short of it is that I can only get the remote to work the caller at 30 yards or less, line of sight. Anything further and I look like I am waving someone down at the airport, wildly swinging my arm trying to will the caller on. As I jab and stab the remote toward the caller I look as if I am seizing.
I had trouble getting it to work 15 yards away if it was even partially obscured by anything. I have a JS Attractor and I can get it to work @ 50 yards thru the thickest nastiest stuff one can throw at it. I was a bit disappointed that a high end caller had such a feeble remote compared to a $40 unit. From what I understand it is a fixable problem and I look forward to having it resolved. Beans spilled.
IP: Logged
|
|
Dusty Hunter
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1031
|
posted April 01, 2007 08:16 AM
Smithers, I couldn't even get 30 yards out of mine reliably. Sometimes mine would put out a sound other than what I asked for. Once I hit the mute and it made the mountain lion sound. Then another time, it just went diit, diit, diit,. . . The replacement unit they sent was no different.
[ April 01, 2007, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: Dusty Hunter ]
Posts: 346 | From: AZ | Registered: Dec 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
|
posted April 01, 2007 10:59 AM
I spent some time ringing my Huntmaster out yesterday.
One thing I needed to watch was the jacks. Plug them in, and every time, it is a new adventure. The one for aux decoy and same thing for the external speaker. So, I soldered the connections, in some cases, and used insulated spade StaKons, in others. End of problem.
One wire pulled out from the charger jack, on my original charger setup; bad soldering job. I noticed that the jumper sent to tie the M1 with the Big Country speaker box is epoxyed in place to prevent this type of failure. The coax jumper for the speaker is factory potted, so not much you can do with it, especially since it appears to be the recepticle that is at fault? They just don't stick positively, wiggling them can get "sound" so it's a sloppy connection internally. Twenty-five cent quality control issue, on a $600 machine.
I charged the unit with the lead/acid battery until I got a green light, plugged in the jumper, and within ten minutes, the M1 (AA) batteries became extremely hot and the unit wouldn't work until I cooled it in front of a fan.
I don't know what's going on with this, but from this point forward, I'm going to remove the battery pack from the M1 unless I am using it as a stand alone unit, without the lead/acid battery supplying voltage/current. It could be that the AA batteries have a 10.5 volt dc output, and the lead acid is 12.6vdc
In other words, as a precaution, I will use the pigybacked "Big Country" combo unit with the AA battery pack removed from the M1 and reinstall it when I want to use the smaller unit independently.
Other than that, I really like this thing. I think it will do exactly what I want done. The volume is impressive, just what I was looking for.
Good hunting. LB
--------------------
EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31473 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Nahuatl
Knows what it's all about
Member # 708
|
posted April 01, 2007 11:15 AM
Yesterday afternoon I tested the range on both Bandits using the same remote. One worked past the hundred yard mark. The other wouldn't reach 25 yards.
That one is going back Monday.
Posts: 202 | From: Mount Gleason, Angeles NF | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Field Marshall, Southern Minneesota Sector
Member # 794
|
posted April 01, 2007 11:36 AM
Would i have to send both back to get the remote fixed, or just the remote..
--------------------
What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5081 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
csmithers
unknown comic
|
posted April 01, 2007 11:40 AM
I did receive a reply from Steve at Minaska yesterday before I posted. He said they test the remote and caller before it is shipped at 403 yards. !? 372 yards of my range must have been lost in shipping.
IP: Logged
|
|
The Bandit
Knows what it's all about
Member # 960
|
posted April 01, 2007 03:17 PM
quote:
Would i have to send both back to get the remote fixed, or just the remote..
We would need both so we can range test before returning.
--------------------
Minaska Outdoors, Inc.
Posts: 49 | From: Lincoln Nebraska | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
|
posted April 01, 2007 04:57 PM
Interesting response from Todd Borland, above.
The question I would be interested in asking of Gary is; a shame you didn't try the other #2 remote with both machines? In other words, you got good distance on one machine with one remote. Maybe the other remote might have worked with the machine that wouldn't operate past 25 yards?
However, Todd asks for both units, indicating to me that they are married, in some way? That was what I was wondering. Do they test all these machines at 403 yards, using the same remote?
I don't know? I have had variable distances at which my machine operates, both changing sounds and working the volume....but I have attributed it to line of sight problems?
To tell you the truth, I really want to see this machine be a commercial success, and if it takes a little effort, it may be worth it. Right now, I can't say that I have total confidence in the reliability. I know they have a warrantee, but I just want it to work every time without any grief.
Good hunting. LB
--------------------
EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31473 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Field Marshall, Southern Minneesota Sector
Member # 794
|
posted April 01, 2007 05:39 PM
I know at the time i ordered my big country bandit, Minaska was hard pressed to get there products out to the custumer and maybe some mistakes got made, or things over looked. Some of us had found out some of the little problems and Minaska is trying to get them fixed and my hat is off to them.. The big country is a great little unit and with some time they will have the bugs out and hopefuly all willbe satisfied.. My thanks to Minaska... Tim A.
--------------------
What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5081 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
The Bandit
Knows what it's all about
Member # 960
|
posted April 01, 2007 06:33 PM
Dusty,
Give us a call Monday and we can get this taken care of for you once and for all and very quickly. The resolution to the range issue was discovered about 3-4 weeks ago (early March).
This has completely resolved the issue we were having. This not only repairs the issue and prevents it from happening again but you will also notice an increase in reliability as well as increases the range.
I look forward to hearing from you Dusty and I will keep a lookout for your BCB Gary!
[ April 01, 2007, 06:35 PM: Message edited by: The Bandit ]
--------------------
Minaska Outdoors, Inc.
Posts: 49 | From: Lincoln Nebraska | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
The Bandit
Knows what it's all about
Member # 960
|
posted April 01, 2007 06:49 PM
quote:
However, Todd asks for both units, indicating to me that they are married, in some way?
The remote is the same for all units we just like to have both for testing just in case.
--------------------
Minaska Outdoors, Inc.
Posts: 49 | From: Lincoln Nebraska | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Nahuatl
Knows what it's all about
Member # 708
|
posted April 09, 2007 06:41 AM
The announcement from Todd that he's resolved this issue with the receiver is a milestone for the Borlands and Minaska.
I'm going to cross-post an original idea for organizing the sounds on a Minaska. This is usually lost on novice hunters - but will make a lot of sense to the veterans. My goal was this. EVEN WITH 100 SOUNDS ON A CALLER, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MEMORIZE LOCATIONS, CARRY AN INDEX CARD, OR PUT ON YOUR READING GLASSES - THE KIND OF SOUND YOU WANT IS ONE BUTTON AWAY AT ALL TIMES.
One of the things that makes the Bandit different from both the WT and the FX is the bank system of the remote.
I reprogrammed my pair of BC Bandits several times this past year, trying to make them both simpler and easier to use, and maximizing their performance. I think I hit on something that works really well.
There are a handfull of things that happen regularly when I'm hunting. On any stand, I might see a fox or a crow, hunt a cat area, need a coaxer, or take a shot and need a Ki-yi or coyote distress. Set up any other way, I'd have to look at a card, find the sound I want, then push three buttons to get to it. With my Bandit set up the way I describe here, I'm only one button away from the sound I need most without memorizing a hundred numbers or looking at the card in my pocket. ((Or having to put on my reading glasses!))
I organized the sounds in the first seven banks this way.
#X0 - Bird
#X1 - Bird
#X2 - Baby rabbit
#X3 - Cottontail
#X4 - Jackrabbit or Hare
#X5 - Larger mammal, goat, lamb, doe, fawn, piglet
#X6 - Red or Gray Fox, barks or distress
#X7 - Crows or Raven calls or distress
#X8 - 3/4 Volume coaxer, rodent, puppy, kitty
#X9 - Distressed Coyote or Canine
X = bank number
If this makes any sense, you can see I'm one button away from any kind of sound, regardless of the bank I'm using.
Need a bird? Hit #1 or #2
Want a Jackrabbit? Hit #4
See crows in the distance? Hit #7
See a bobcat behind the bush next to you? Hit #8
Shoot a coyote? Hit #9 and wait for the double.
Get bored with the sounds? Change banks. Only then do I have to push three buttons. But the same sound order still applies.
Need a bird? Hit #1 or #2.
See a fox in CA? Hit PAUSE and start hand squeaking!
The last three banks, I filled the usual way, in some kind of jumble. Those have some coyote howls and barks, lion, and bear sounds grouped together. To find those, I still have to look at the card in my pocket. Even in those though I have a 3/4 volume coaxer in #8's and a distressed dog in #9's.
I know it takes a bit of work to reorganize the sounds on your Bandit, but I think if you try it, you'll like it. It's one of the things that added greatly to a good season.
Posts: 202 | From: Mount Gleason, Angeles NF | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
csmithers
unknown comic
|
posted April 19, 2007 01:14 PM
I sent the M1 in for the remote range problem and received it yesterday.
I took it out today (on the road) and go out to a hundred yards with no problem. I will go out further when I have the chance. Works great!
They added some push button switches for the on/off and speaker on/off. I like this set-up better than the flip switch. They also sent a new sound card with it that has some differing sounds than the other. Which sounds were ousted is out of memory (hyperjack, dueling coyotes, coyote talk2, crow frenzy) but the new sounds added are great. Baby groundhog, baby bluejay distress. Single crow is one that was added and works very well, according to the 10 crows in my yard. I think there are 10-15 new sounds all together.
I appreciate the upgrade and would like to openly thank the guys at Minaska for taking care of me! They also threw in a Minaska Outdoors hat in Prairie Ghost camo that is a nice and much appreciated gesture. Can never have too many hats! Thanks Guys!
IP: Logged
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
