Wireless GF Bite Alarms

[GF Bite Alarms]

{admin note: The GF Bite Alarm web site was attacked and infected several days ago. It is now clean although Google and Firefox have not updated to remove their warnings. Newt}

 

Hi All,

 

As most of you are aware I purchased the GF Bite Alarms business from Jeff last year when he was retiring, and have been making the GFs & GFx since.

 

I have begun development of a wireless system which has been requested by a number of existing customers. I thought as I am still in the early stages I should ask all of you, my potential customers for feedback on the following topics:-

 

1) What functionality would you ideally like to see on an alarm whether it has been done before or not.

 

2) What price range would you like to see the GF wireless system at ( please bear in mind this is fully UK manufactured so I will not be trying to compete with Chinese made systems!!)

 

I will be striving for the same high quality that has always been associated with the GF Brand.

 

Many Thanks

 

Phil

[Elton]

Hi Phil,

 

Great to see you on here. As I said in my email earlier, I'm sure some of the members will be only too pleased to help out

[jedibond]

I think the main ones that would suit most people to be honest, volume, tone and sensitivity.

 

I prefer a seperate on/off switch and a latch light as well and if they're priced any where near the previous GF sets then I'm sure you'd have quite a few buyers.

[tincatinca]

Transmitter built into the alarms removing the neccessity for any wiring and the ability to replicate the sound of the alarm as can currently be done via the extension leads and sounder box. This is very useful when fishing multiple rod set ups on bank sticks as opposed to a pod. For example I currently use GFM alarms in conjunction with an ATTX reciever and dongles but the indication is no where near as good as when using a sounder box and extension leads but with the rods spaced out then of course the extension leads can and do present a problem. Other than that the existing features on the alarms i.e two range sensitivity, volume and tone control, run and latching led's in a range of colours plus jack plug is perfectly adequate and covers the majority of requirements. The only other thing from a personal point of view would be to increase the dia of the line roller as this would help in ensuring contact with the line if using rods set up with long drop indicators for example when fishing for Bream and where the rear rest is quite a bit higher than the front rest. Sometimes it ispossible that the line does not make adequate contact with the roller but a larger dia roller would prevent this from happening.

Edited June 14, 2010 by tincatinca

[Steve Burke]

Excellent news! I'll now delay buying dongles for my GFs alarms and stick to wires for the time being.

 

BTW Phil, have you any plans to do dongles yourself?

 

Most importantly I wouldn't buy any alarm that had the problem that tincatinca mentioned in anything other than extreme circumstances. With some alarms it's not uncommon when the rods aren't at 90 degrees to the alarm. The problem is especially noticeable with the smaller rings used on barbel and tench rods, the former now being a large market of course. I've encountered this with the GFs only on the odd occasion, by memory when I've had the rear rests extra high and the rod tips underwater to avoid floating weed. I was able to get round it by fiddling around, but as Paul said a larger wheel should solve the issue for good, as long as the rest of the design is modified if need be.

 

I also wouldn't buy any alarm where the receiver didn't exactly reproduce the sound of the alarm, and even then there must be no delay. One model on the market appears to sound 3 beeps for every 1 on the alarm, and that's hopeless for anything other than screamers.

 

I've pushed Good Fishing alarms here on Angler's Net so much that members must be fed up with my constant banging on! However, many years of use for a wide variety of species has convinced me that they're very reliable and an exceptionally good design. On my GFs alarms I like the variable tone as well as variable volume, and the 2 levels of sensitivity. I also like the different colours on my receiver for each rod. So what other minor improvements would I like to see on a wireless version of the GFs?

 

Firstly, the on/off switch can sometimes get knocked on/off when putting the case on. To avoid this I'd suggest that the unit automatically turns itself off when put into the case.

 

Secondly, I like the long battery life and the fact it can be changed easily, but a low battery warning would be very useful.

 

Thirdly, the blue LEDs on my alarms are perfect during the day, but too bright at night. It means I can't always see what the indicator is doing. This could easily be solved by having the facility to vary the brightness.

 

Another feature that might be useful or even essential for some would be a vibrate mode, although I'd be happy if the receiver just screwed onto a bankstick.

 

I'm not bothered about having a long range. No angler should be so far away from their rods that this matters. In fact as a fishery owner I'd prefer it if the range wasn't long to avoid the temptation for members to leave rods unattended!

 

I gather the ATT receiver can be used with up to 5 rods, but as we can legally use only 4 in this country that's enough for me. Any more would simply increase the cost.

 

As for a price point, I'd suggest you avoid lots of bells and whistles and keep the price to a minimum. Tackle tarts are the ones that pay big money, and as you presumably won't be able to justify a big marketing campaign to attract them, they're not your market anyway.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited June 15, 2010 by Steve Burke

[Tigger]

For me an alarm should be totally waterproof have Tone, sensitivity and volume adjustment. The sounder box should be colour matched to the led's on the alarm. Obviously any more pretty much unesessary bits would just add to the price. I suppose as Steve says maybe LED light adgustment would be a nice touch. On my delkims the on/off switch is underneat the alarm and doesn't cause the problem of being accidently switched on/off so that would be a good spot to put one. Just my thoughts chaps...best of luck with them Phil, I'll be keeping my eye out for your new alarms, don't forget to post them on AN !

Oh I forgot, a three alarm set up would be adequate for most, I reckon.

Edited June 15, 2010 by Tigger

[smalltincup]

Sounds ideal to me, have been using GFx alarms for 3 years and have been thinking that it was a shame that you did not do a wireless version. Will be interested when you have finished.

 

What would i like, same as been mentioned, Waterproof, sensitivity, volume adjustable, an on/off switch, ,matching LED etc.

 

Look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

STC

[John Weddup]

Hi

 

I am not sure if this helps but I recently purchased a receiver set up and maybe my buying decisions could help you.

 

I am a silver fish angler and not carp. If I was one of the carp boys I guess it would have to be delkims or I would suffer a severe credibility issue.

 

I have several old optonics that I love but decided that a receiver set up would be better for me. I do not like loud bankside alarms and do not sleep whilst my rods are out. What I was in fear of was catnapping and not hearing my alarms. I have found I can relax in my bivvy without getting in a sleeping bag but just need a little reassurance that I will be full awake when needed.

 

I decided a receiver close to me would be fine.

 

I thought long and hard about which ones and decided on the gardner marketed atts ones. The receiver is really the main part of the system with adjustments for volume and vibration etc. It has 5 coloured leds that can be programmed to match the leds on the alarms.

 

The alarms are so different. They have no switches or anything and are silent. They have large detection wheels like my optonics and you can change the number of magnets on wheels easily from 4 or 2 just like my optonics. They are so waterproof that they are even shown working under water. This is because they have no controls. To turn them on and off you use the cover. It has a magnet built in that does the job on a reed switch inside alarm.

 

Like Steve said distance of coverage is not something I have tried as I am always very close to my rods. Advertising 100 yards reception only seems to me to encourage outrageous behaviour.

 

I have used these on several occasions big reservoir fishing for bream until a couple of weeks ago when spawning started. I love them almost as much as my wife.(she doesn,t read this forum).

 

The alarm battery life is very long as it does not generate sound. The receiver is easily changed and uses common AA batteries. Everything warns you if batteries are getting low.

 

Hope this helps

 

regards

 

john

Edited June 15, 2010 by John Weddup

[GF Bite Alarms]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply could I get some further opinion on some of the points raised:-

 

1) Sensitivity - Are you happy with the GFs dual sensitivity or would you prefer more options as found on Delkims etc

 

2) Bigger sensing wheel noted

 

3) Battery low level warning - I presume you would want this on head units and receiver unit?

 

4) I will be honest now and say I am only designing the system to function at a max range of about 50 metres, do people see this as an issue as I would say you should not be further than that from your rods anyway.

 

5) Could people give me an honest appraisal of where they would like the price to be for lets say 3 head units & 1 Receiver. I am desperatly trying to offer these to people at the lowest possible price but obviously the technology in these units does cost more than the GFs/GFx units unless I buy the components from China which I refuse to do.

 

Just to let you know on timescales, I would hope to have working prototypes for testing within about 3-4 months, but I do want to rigourously test them before going to my customers.

 

Thanks again for your responses

 

Phil

[Rusty]

I’m no a bite alarm user so can’t really suggest features that would be useful for a wireless system (or wired for that matter).

 

From what I’ve read I’d say that the GF alarm is a no nonsense great value product which lights up, makes a noise and tells you when you have a bite every single time. It’s simple, robust and reliable.

 

If you’re developing a wireless system then the receiver only has to do what the alarm tells it, don’t add features in an attempt to compete with more expensive products.

 

Keep it simple and reliable, that’s the beauty of GF alarms.