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Garmin Rino 110 Waterproof GPS/FRS/GMRS

Garmin Rino 110 Waterproof GPS/FRS/GMRS

List Price: $199.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must for outdoors people
Review: For those who love to hike, camp, hunt or enjoy outdoor activities, this little device may soon become a standard. It has remarkable communications range, with the option of choosing from the Family Band (range: 2 miles or so) or the wider-ranging (but more battery-consuming) General Mobile Radio Service (5 miles or so). These frequences aren't used nearly as much as other bands and are more likely to be free from unnecessary cross-talk and interference, which makes for clearer communication. But what makes this stand out from standard outdoor devices is the GPS satellite link, which allows you to pinpoint your position accurately, and even has a feature that keeps tabs on your trail, making backtracking a breeze. You can also send your current position to another person (as long as they are using one of these, of course), which is handy if someone gets separated, hurt, or needs assistance. In addition, they are waterproof up to one meter (so dropping one into a stream--as I did--won't kill it), and it's pretty durable--one of my friends dropped his nearly twenty feet onto rock, and it still works! All of these features help account for the somewhat high price, and since they are sold singly, count on having to buy two or more. But they are more than worth the cost, especially for those who take their outdoor activities seriously. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In the field
Review: I am presently stationed in Iraq and our unit purchased dozens of the Rinos. My Rino has survived 145 degree temeratures, sand, grime water, and the other hardships that we find here and has never missed a beat. I feel good knowing I have it with me as we fly about the desolate terrain here. The accuracy is exceptional and it does an excellent job of tracking everyone operating another Rino. Yes, the radio is a bit weak, but if we rely on other systems for that. I can see no better value for the recreational GPS user than the Rino. If it's good enough for an Army aviation unit, I believe it's good enough for Joe Citizen out on the hiking trail. Can't wait to see what Garmin comes up with next (keep them ruggedized, pls!).

JS

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Too Dang Confusing
Review: I had hoped that I could take these out of the box and start GPSing. Apparently you have to read the manual. Not a good start. So I get out the manual and start reading. I learn how to get a name and an icon for myself and whoever I would like to keep track of. OK. But I still can't keep track of anyone or determine my position in any meaningful way. I tried to use these out on a lake where I was looking at a boat with one and I had one on my boat, but I still couldn't figure out where they were using the gps.
The radio is ok. It works. But radios you can get for about 50 bucks at Wal Mart.
Really, what I wanted these things for is to keep track of my daughter when we traveled to Disney World or NYC etc. So far they are worthless for that purpose. At least they are not any better than a pair of MUCH less expensive radios.
I am not a tech geek or anything but I like to think that I am reasonably intelligent. But after hours of reading the manual and trying to figure it out it was still just too damn confusing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice radio/gps for geocaching
Review: Nice radio/gps for the price. I bought two of these radios and the position reporting feature is really neat. I also like the polling fearure which allows you to locate another radio without them sending their location. This of course must be enabled in the settings. Navigating through the menu is relatively easy. Reading the manual does help though. Range is as expected...I usually get at least 1 mile outdoors. Garmin also updates the software which you can download from their website which fix minor issues. You must buy the serial cable to do this. The unit is also waterproof, not just "water resistant". Battery life is about 15 hrs using the gps and radio at the same time. You can turn off the gps or radio if you want to use only one. I'm very happy with my purchase. These are good quality gps/radios.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rhino in Iraq
Review: OUTSTANDING to say the least. I carried a Rhino 110 for a year during operation Iraqi Freedom. It suffered more abuse in this year than any normal person would subject it to in 2 lifetimes. The radio performed well when other handheld radios failed from abuse and dirt. The GPS is user friendly and proved to be as accurate or more accurate than Army issue. I personally know at least 20 other soldiers who are using either Rhino 110s or 120s here who are equally satisfied with this piece of equipment. The only hiccup I have found so far is the unit will shut down from a sharp blow, but it will always power up again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rhino in Iraq
Review: The Garmin Rino 110 occupies an awkward middle ground between being an
interesting toy and a serious tool for the outdoors. On the one hand
the idea of melding together GPS and radio communications via FRS/GMRS
is dynamite. Unfortunately the devil is in the details when it comes
down to actually using them. As others have noted the 110 can be
quite finicky about battery life, and even a slight jostle can cause
the units to shut down. There's also the issue of range. I have
found that best way to use the 110 is for car-to-car communication, or
within the controlled distances inside of a campground. I would be
very careful before trusting the 110 in a real "hardcore" outdoor
situation.

Within those limits the 110 is a nifty little device. I am quite keen
to see that the folks at Garmin come up with next. I for one would be
willing to pay more for a unit that is more "ruggedized" or requires a
license but gives you more radio output power in return (and removes
the FCC restriction about sending GPS data at GMRS power levels).
Also a more clever approach with regard to batteries/power management
would be a huge plus.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Middle of the road...
Review: The Garmin Rino 110 occupies an awkward middle ground between being an
interesting toy and a serious tool for the outdoors. On the one hand
the idea of melding together GPS and radio communications via FRS/GMRS
is dynamite. Unfortunately the devil is in the details when it comes
down to actually using them. As others have noted the 110 can be
quite finicky about battery life, and even a slight jostle can cause
the units to shut down. There's also the issue of range. I have
found that best way to use the 110 is for car-to-car communication, or
within the controlled distances inside of a campground. I would be
very careful before trusting the 110 in a real "hardcore" outdoor
situation.

Within those limits the 110 is a nifty little device. I am quite keen
to see that the folks at Garmin come up with next. I for one would be
willing to pay more for a unit that is more "ruggedized" or requires a
license but gives you more radio output power in return (and removes
the FCC restriction about sending GPS data at GMRS power levels).
Also a more clever approach with regard to batteries/power management
would be a huge plus.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great tool!! (in open areas)
Review: The Rino works great when you are keeping track of your friends on a camping trip. In some open areas you can truly keep track of your friends from 1 to 2 miles away. However in urban, or even suburban areas the radio just isn't strong enough and you can expect about 3/10ths of a mile at best. Even so with the Rino Garmin did a quality job. WELL WORTH THE PRICE!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun Toy, Awkward Tool
Review: These radios cram a lot of great features in a package that almost fits in a pocket. And the price isn't bad for the combination of a decent radio and an adequate GPS, especially when you can do neat things like broadcast your position to other Rinos so that it appears on their GPS map display. But all these great features only really work if you are paying close of attention. There are simply too many features to use conveniently as part of any real outdoor activity. A superb, well thought out user interface might solve the problem, but that's not what you get with this product -- not by a long shot. Garmin has done a decent workmanlike job with its menus and buttons, but it simply isn't nearly enough to save these from being much more than toys.

Two further points worth noting. The longer range GMRS radio does not broadcast location information, and in order to use GMRS you must apply for a license with the FCC, involves a fee and several very confusing forms.


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