Monday, February 15th, 2010...6:53 am
The Four Major Parts of an Ecollar….That Matter to the Customer
While there are hundreds of parts and electronic components that go into making a remote dog training collar, only four really matter to the customer. I can feel the engineers shaking their heads as I write this….
Let’s go under the assumption that you are buying a well made, high quality system. We expect it to work.
The four parts that determine how the customer feels about the ecollar are the parts that he interacts with on a daily basis.
Everytime you use your remote training collar, you have to turn it on. The collar on/off button must be easy to use but not so easy that it can be turned on or off by it self. You want it to to big enough and easy to get to, but not in the way. You want it to have a good “feel” and designed so you know you actually turned the collar on or off.
The more bad button designs I see makes me prefer a magnetic on/off switch. They are easy to use and easy to waterproof, but the general public doesn’t seem to like them as much.
#2 The Collar Strap and Buckle
This one drives the manufacturers a little crazy. Yep – this is the part that you use next. Having a high quality strap that is easy to correctly put the ecollar on the dog is a major issue. It’s also a pretty inexpensive thing for the manufacturer to deal with if they think it’s important.
If the strap is too stiff or the buckle is hard to use, this causes customer frustration. It can also make it difficult to put the ecollar on the dog correctly. That can cause performance issues.
The other issue is the quality of the strap material. What’s it made out of and how long is it going to hold up. Nothing worse than a cheap strap that falls apart a year or two after you start using it. Collar straps are easy to replace on most systems, but it isn’t something most folks want to deal with after spending a couple of hundred bucks on a remote collar.
#3 Transmitter Buttons
The next part that gets the most interaction is the buttons on the transmitter. Buttons need to be easy to access but not easy to accidentally set off. Buttons need to be big enough to use with gloves on.
Buttons need to have the correct “give.” When you push it, you need to know it. There are few things worse than a “squishy” transmitter button. A “squishy” button moves around as you touch it. It can be activated from different angles and it is not consistant.
#4 Transmitter Dials
Last but not least, is the transmitter dial. The dial is what allows you to raise and lower the stimulation level on your ecollar.
Dials should be big enough that you can get to them. Nothing worse than a thin dial that doesn’t have any “meat” to it.
If your dial has detents or clicks then they should be very consistant. When you move up or down a level you need to “know” that you have moved a level. There should be no question about what level you are on.
I prefer dials that have a rubber coating on them so they are easy to use no matter the weather conditions. Non coated dial can get hard to use when it’s wet.
These are the four parts that I look at first when I evaluate a remote dog training collar. If you have a product that doesn’t hit three or four of these issues then it isn’t going to get a good review from us or our customers.
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