Garmin introduces Astro 900 GPS dog tracking system for Canada and the U.S.

Garmin International, Inc. today announced the Astro 900 handheld and T 9 dog device, designed for approved use in Canada and the U.S. Using the 900 Mhz radio frequency, the Astro 900 is a GPS and GLONASS dog tracking handheld that can track up to 20 dogs at a range of up to five miles, and can update their location every 2.5 seconds.

“Canadian hunters no longer have to settle for second best. Now they can have a robust, reliable, and easy-to-use dog tracking system which is approved for use in their country,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “And since it also can be used in the U.S., it’s an option at large hound events where many systems may be in use near each other.”

The Astro 900 is pre-loaded with TOPO U.S. and southern Canada maps and turn-by-turn road maps for North America. In addition, the bundle comes with a one-year BirdsEye Satellite Imagery subscription. The new handheld also includes enhanced Hunt Metrics dog performance data like distance traveled, time afield, and an automatic accounting of how many times a dog has treed or pointed game – valuable statistics in evaluating a dog’s performance.

Built to take the rigors of hard-charging dogs and the outdoors, the handheld is IPX7¹ water rated and the T 9 collar is water rated to 1 ATM¹. Battery life on the Astro 900 handheld is up to 20 hours, and battery life on the T 9 dog device is 24 to 40 hours (depending on use). The Astro 900 must be used in conjunction with the T 9 dog device – other Garmin tracking collars are not compatible.

The Astro 900 works with Garmin’s new DriveTrack 71 in-vehicle dog tracker and GPS navigator. When paired with an Astro handheld, the large, nearly seven-inch pinch-to-zoom touchscreen display on the DriveTrack 71 makes it easy to locate a pack of up to 20 dogs and updates their location every 2.5 seconds. The DriveTrack 71 also comes preloaded with TOPO maps for U.S. and southern Canada and 1-year BirdsEye Satellite Imagery subscription for enhanced in-vehicle dog tracking solutions. When afield, data from the Astro 900 can be viewed on any Garmin fēnix 3, fēnix 5, tactix Charlie or tactix Bravo series smartwatch, providing a hands-free glance at a dog’s distance, direction, and vibration alerts when a dog trees or points game.

The Astro 900 and T 9 dog device bundle is available now for a suggested retail price of $649.99 USD or $849.99 CAD.

 
¹ See Garmin water rating for more details