Started with out a locator but as soon as i could get one i did i would not be with out one now. I am not to keen on the new ones but know they work well enough.I can sort of see what your saying about people relying on locators and not having the know how of what to do if the collar fails.when i started ferreting with the locator i only had the one collar so i put it on a hob and used loose jills then when i got a lay up i put the hob in to find it to dig it .On the whole the use of technology can only be good for ferreting like when Tomo and Vin found that ferret in the drop box if it had a