Released in 2016, the Garmin Astro 430 dog tracking system provides more consistent and accurate tracking. Improved from the Astro 320, you will be able to simultaneously track GPS dog tracking collars connected to the Astro 430 with the Alpha 100 and broadcast your dog information on the Garmin DriveTrack 70.

Buddy's Review of the Astro 430 Handheld

The newest addition to the GPS dog tracking world is the Garmin Astro 430. Garmin has made some real Improvements with the Astro 430 that are not available on the Astro 320. The Astro 430 will be a great unit for those that like some of the functions of the Alpha 100 but prefer buttons to touch screens or prefer a track only option for more than 10 dogs. The Astro 430 GPS handheld has a slightly newer look to it as it's case is almost entirely bright orange to help recover a dropped unit in the woods. Another new feature is the option to use a rechargeable NiMH battery pack which allows the hunter to recharge the Astro Unit at home or in the truck while driving.

Can Track Up to 20 Dogs

A new improvement that will be very helpful is the fact that you can now track up to 20 dog GPS collars on your Astro 430 handheld. This is a great improvement over the Astro 320 handled which could only track up to 10 dogs. You can trust that the Astro 430 is going to keep a good eye on your pack with High-sensitivity GPS tracking and the new addition of GLONASS so you can feel confident going into the deep canyons or the thick forest and keep better track of your dog's whereabouts especially with 2.5-second update rate capabilities.

The Astro 430 handheld GPS will come preloaded with Garmin TOPO U.S. 100k mapping that will allow you to use your new unit right out of the box. If you are wanting satellite images, Garmin has included a free 1-year Garmin BirdsEye map that you can load onto your GPS handheld where you will be able to see detailed terrain from a different perspective than just plain Topo. The Astro 430 will come with a MicroSD slot that will allow for more mapping such as huntview or landowner cards. Go to your hunt prepared; with free trip planning with basecamp you can save your data or share an area with your friends but always be familiar with where you are going before you go. Like the Garmin Alpha 100 and the Astro 320 you are still able to see your tracking dog’s activity such as if your dog is running, treeing, barking or sitting. You will also still be able to use the 3-axis electronic compass and barometric altimeter on your Astro 430 dog tracking unit.

New to Garmin dog tracking is Hunt Metrics. Hunt Metrics allows you to train your dogs more effectively. You will be able to keep better track of your hunting and training times to see the distance your dog has traveled, their total time in the field, whether they are on point and see their dog score. We feel like this will be a great feature for either building your dog's stamina or training them for trials. We don’t yet understand the dog score or how accurate it will be but we look forward to finding out more about how it works and getting feedback from our customers on how the dog score is working for them.

Astro 430 Compatibility

The Garmin Astro 430 will be compatible with a number of other Astro dog trackers and Alpha Dog trackers. You will have your T5 and T5 mini that will allow you to utilize all of the functions on your Orange Astro 430 as the Astro 430 is a track only like it’s brother the black and orange, Astro 320. You will also be able to track the TT15, the TT15 mini and the DC50 but will not be able to utilize any of the training functions and will be limited to tracking only. A great addition to the Astro 430 is that you can now track all those collars at the same time as an Alpha 100. You can now track your dogs with your whole hunting crew as long as they have an Astro 430 or an Alpha 100 and a T5, T5 Mini, TT15, TT15 mini or DC50.

No longer will you have to have the Alpha 100 to enjoy a hunt with your friends. Though it is great that you can now all track the dogs at the same time you will still not be able to track your friend's handhelds. Garmin has now released a big screen dog tracking unit called the DriveTrack70 that can save you the hassle by being able to track all the dogs with one handheld and have a screen big enough for your whole hunting crew to watch the tracks on one convenient big screen. You are also able to hook your Astro 430 up with a Garmin Fēnix3 GPS tracking watch to receive dog updates and alerts by just taking a quick glance at your watch. You can also wirelessly switch on your VIRB dog tracking cameras and keep track of your dog box temperatures.

Features of the Garmin Astro 430 Handheld

The Astro 430 handheld comes with the ability to connect with up to 20 GPS dog tracking collars, with a range of up to 9 miles.

Track your dogs with a variety of GPS collars. The Astro 430 is compatible with T 5, T 5 Mini, TT 15, TT 15 Mini, DC 50, and TT 10 tracking devices. Remember that the Astro 430 can only provide tracking functions.

With the Astro 430, you can track the same collars as Alpha users. This is great for people who don’t want or need the training features of the Alpha track-and-train but still hunt and share dogs.

The Astro 430 is also compatible with Garmin’s DriveTrack 70 vehicle tracking screen, the fēnix 3 GPS tracking watch, the Garmin VIRB Action camera and ANT+ sensors such as the Tempe dog box temperature gauge.

Thanks to advancements in satellite connectivity, it is now less likely for your collar to lose satellite reception while traveling through heavy cover or deep canyons. This is thanks to the highly sensitive top-mounted receiver that tracks with GLONASS and GPS satellites, nearly doubling the number of satellite connections.

While using an Astro 430, you’ll be able to share dogs with other Astro 430 or Alpha 100 users but still remain in control of your own dogs. You’ll be able to choose who can make changes to your collar system by sharing a permissions code that must be entered before changing update rates and the ID.

The Astro 430 is capable of connecting to your collars as frequently as 2.5 seconds, allowing you to keep a closer eye on your dogs.

Hunt Metrics makes viewing your dog's performance easy. You can view the distance your dog has traveled, how long they have been out in the field, and much more. This helps you monitor your dog's progress in training and be a helpful tool in fine-tuning your program to get the most from your tracking dogs.

You can now customize what dogs you want to keep track information for and which dog tracks you want to clear when you start a new hunt.

The Garmin Astro 430 comes preloaded with 100,000 topo maps that span the entire U.S. These maps give you topographic detail, roads, creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, etc.

You have the option to power your Astro handheld with your standard AA batteries or with an optional NiMH rechargeable 2 battery pack.

The Astro 430 comes with a vibrant, bright hunter’s orange case, which will make finding your Astro GPS much easier—if you happen to drop it.

Get the newest in Garmin’s tracking-only technology. This new Astro handheld will be hard to beat.

Unit Dimensions and Specifications

• • Handheld dimensions: 2.4” x 6.3” x 1.4” (6.1 x 16.0 x 3.6 cm)
• • Display size (WxH): 1.43” x 2.15” (3.6 x 5.5 cm); 2.6” diag (6.6 cm)
• • Display resolution (WxH): 160 x 240 pixels
• • Display type: Sunlight-readable, transflective, 65-K color TFT
• • Weight: 9.2 oz (260.1 g) with batteries
• • Battery life/type: Up to 20 hours
• • Water rating: IPX7
• • Interface: USB
• • Preloaded mapping Worldwide basemap TOPO U.S. 100K TOPO U.S. 100K
• • Battery type 2 standard AA, Optional NiMH pack or 2 standard AA
• • Rechargeable Li-ion (not included)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does the Astro 430  have a touch screen as well as button use?

A: No, the Astro 430 does not have a touch screen. The button layout of the Astro 430 will be the same as the Astro 320.

Q: Can you track a 320 or DC40 and DC30?

A: No, the Astro 430 uses a different transmission pattern than the Astro 320. However, you can track DC50’s, TT10’s, and the Full sized and mini TT15 and T5 collars with the 430.