Garmin has announced the DC 30, a GPS dog tracking collar for use with its Astro GPS Dog Tracking System.

The DC 30 collar's main housing sits below the dog's neck, while a small, low-profile GPS antenna is integrated into the collar strap and positioned on top of the dog's neck, claiming to provide a clear view of satellites with minimal rotation.

Garmin says that used in conjunction with the Astro 220 receiver, the system pinpoints exactly where your dog is and what he's doing - running, pointing, or treeing - even in dense cover, up to 7 miles away, depending on terrain.

Astro can track up to ten dogs per receiver at once, and the collar gives location updates every 5, 10, or 30 seconds.

Battery life is 17-36 hours (based on update rate) on the rechargeable DC 30 collar and 24 hours on the Astro 220 receiver, which is powered by two AA batteries. Both the DC 30 collar and the Astro 220 receiver are completely waterproof.

The new DC 30 collar is included as part of the Astro GPS Dog Tracking system, which also contains an Astro 220 receiver, user's manual, power/data cables, Trip & Waypoint Manager CD, and a carrying case for a suggested retail price of $649.99.

The DC 30 is expected to be available in the States in the third quarter 2008.

>> Link - Garmin Astro