Review of New Bellman & Flint Locator

The following review of the new Bellman and Flint collar system is posted on their web site. The Bellmand and Flint system includes a collar transmitting at the same 457 Khz as a standard avalanche rescue system, coupled with an unmodified Pieps locator box.

Results of Testing the New
Bellman & Flint Terrier Location System.
Article in The Countryman's Weekly, March 24, 2005
by Gary Morgan, professional Terrierman for The Vale of Aylesbury Foxhounds

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Over the years of working terriers, the locators in my opinion have got worse, and I think that a lot of people reading this will agree.

It had got to a stage when I personally was getting through a dozen collars and three or four boxes per season.

In September 2004 I was asked by Bellman and Flint to test the new collar and box that they had developed for locating terriers underground. I was very pleased to do this, as it would be good news to have a new system. Something that I hoped would prove to be better and more reliable.

When I was first handed the new system I was surprised at the size of the transmitter on the collar but the more I thought about the size the less worried I became, believing that if a dog's head and neck will not get through the tubes, then there is no chance of the dog's chest getting through. Looking at the collar, the transmitter looked very tough and robust. The collar itself is much better for being changed from traditional leather to a plastic nylon which will not rot and has a breaking strain that you can pull a car with.

The transmitter itself I was really impressed with because it has a magnetic switch which enables the collar to be turned on and off when needed just by swiping a magnet over it. It also has two flashing lights one green, one red. When the green light flashes you know the collar is switched on. With a new battery, you'll have approximately 100 hours continuous use starting with the green light flashing, and then flashing green and red, and finally when it flashes red alone you know you have approximately 20 hours use remaining. I personally would not risk entering a dog underground when the collar was flashing only red.

Another feature that the transmitter has is a waterproof O-ring seal which enables the collar to work in wet conditions and after being used can simply be scrubbed clean under the tap in the sink.

The locator box is also waterproof, digital and made out of hard plastic. It has backlights which allows the box to be used at night. The box tells you how much life is remaining in its batteries. It has a feature of arrows which when used correctly allows you to walk in a straight line to the dog, rather than searching every part of the earth. When the box and collar is being used it has a range of 65 metres, so if you stood in the middle of the earth there would not be many earths in the whole of the country that would go off this system.

The first day that we tested the system, we fitted two collars to the dog. One was the new Bellman and Flint the other being Deben. The dog was entered and allowed to settle for some time. We located the dog with the Bellman and Flint system and could not believe the depth that the box was showing was 3 metres (approximately 9' ). We double checked the depth with the Deben box which also said 9' ( approximately 3m ). Looking at the earth, it did not look to run more than 3 or 4 foot. Because of the depth, the dog was left some time in case he moved, he didn't so we started digging.

When we were approximately a foot and a half from the dog who had not been heard for some time we decided to pinpoint the dog's exact position. We had conflicting readings from the two boxes.

When we eventually broke through to the dog to conclude the dig, the Bellman and Flint system was the most accurate, being right on top of the dog. The Deben box was each side of the dog, but not on top.

The second dig we had the same day was in a very big earth which at one time had a lot of elder trees standing. Because this was a shooting estate the gamekeeper had tried to make an extra drive and decided to lay the elder and the whole covert and earth was covered in nettles which was going to make searching for the dog very unpleasant. A fresh dog was fitted with both collars again and allowed to enter any hole, we then decided to have something to eat and drink while letting the dog find and settle. After many discussions about who was going to look for the dog the B and F box was turned on and the digital readout read 47 metres (approximately 160 feet). Because this box is equipped with directional arrows, when the main arrow is pointing forwards this enables you to walk in a straight line to where the dog is. This was done, and we pinpointed where the dog was, again at a depth of 2.5 metres ( 8 to 9' foot ). The dog again was allowed to settle for some time before we started digging. A couple of hours later the dig was ended successfully. On this particular dig I was very impressed with the B and F system, because of the way it took us straight to the dog and where the dog had settled it would have been the last place you would have expected him to be. Finding the dog in this vast earth with the elder and the nettles could have taken you a couple of hours with the Deben system.

Since starting to use the new system, I have probably worked my terriers on two hundred occasions what with bolting foxes out of straw bale stacks, drains and earths. I have only changed the collar and box batteries once each. The collar transmitter casing has stood up very well to the punishment and is not showing any wear at all. This system has never let me down once, and it has come to the assistance of a neighboring terrier man who had got into some difficulty after two Deben collars failed in one particular earth.

I was not the only person to be testing this system, D. Finlay who is a full time terrier man and who does a great deal of digging tested for B and F and is still using the system today and he agrees with me that it is a revolution from the old system, being very reliable, much tougher and more accurate.

This is a well-written review and sounds quite fair. I would note, however, that one of the principals in Bellman and Flint is the joint Master of the Vale of Aylesbury Fox hounds by whom the reviewer is employed as a terrierman -- a fact that I think should have been disclosed.