Garmin Rhino

[frazierw]

looking into purchasing a Garmin Rhino 650 or 655.  Anyone who has one have any input on how happy you are with it?

Thank you!

[carlyoungs]

I just got the 650 and it is great. Going to get the onx chip today. My buddy has the same setup and he loves it.

[baker5150]

Im looking at getting one of these as well.  Im curious on battery life

[frazierw]

I just got the 650 and it is great. Going to get the onx chip today. My buddy has the same setup and he loves it.

Thanks carlyoungs

[HUNTNORTHWEST]

buy one

[birddogdad]

Im looking at getting one of these as well.  Im curious on battery life

depends on your GPS and radio use.. should last a couple days with normal use.. will drop from 5W down if batteries get low.. I put an ONX chip in mine which is very handy to identify boundaries... ie NF/DNR/paper lines....

[vandeman17]

We run the 530's and like them. Its cool having the radio/gps all in one. I usually get a few days of usage out of a single charge and that is with normal use. I have also found you can save a lot of battery life by turning down the background lighting.

[ghosthunter]

I have a 650,120,and two 110s. 

I like the 120 better than the 650 for ease of operation. But I carry the 650 most the time because of the color and map chip.

plan on buying a regular AA battery pack. 30.OO

I bought a AA pack and another rechargeable pack too.

Only things I do not like.

You have to have the battery pack in the unit to re-charge which ties up your unit.

Every time you change the battery pack you have to re-calibrate the compass by rotating it certain ways as directed.

otherwise they are nice units. We have 8-10 of them in camp most the time.

[croix]

The new 600s don't have volume buttons. I've been using an old 130 for years and loved it but it finally died. I got the new 650 and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but lack of volume buttons seems odd. Is it a simple workaround?

[Bob33]

The new 600s don't have volume buttons. I've been using an old 130 for years and loved it but it finally died. I got the new 650 and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but lack of volume buttons seems odd. Is it a simple workaround?

Tap the power button. This will display a page of volume, backlight, and squelch settings.

[birddogdad]

The new 600s don't have volume buttons. I've been using an old 130 for years and loved it but it finally died. I got the new 650 and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but lack of volume buttons seems odd. Is it a simple workaround?

Tap the power button. This will display a page of volume, backlight, and squelch settings.

  good rule of thumb, if you could do it on the older model, the new one should do more...  there are many videos to show operations..http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=garmin+rino+650+operating+videos&qpvt=garmin+rino+650+opearting+videos&FORM=VDRE

[Labs07]

I bought the 650t just a few weeks ago and love it.... I've owned a 110,120,130 and a 530 and I like this one the best so far.  If you're worried about battery life buy the alkaline battery pack for 30 buck and pack some AA's with you.  The battery life seems good so far but I will really test it out this next week hunting.  Get some of the map mico sd cards, they are worth it.
I say go buy one!

[croix]

The new 600s don't have volume buttons. I've been using an old 130 for years and loved it but it finally died. I got the new 650 and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but lack of volume buttons seems odd. Is it a simple workaround?

Tap the power button. This will display a page of volume, backlight, and squelch settings.

Thanks. I've only had it long enough to charge it but not play with it yet. Seems easy enough I guess, but I fail to see the logic in taking frequently used buttons off of the unit and burying them in a touch screen. Same goes for the zoom. Looking forward to the better antennae though.

[Bob33]

The new 600s don't have volume buttons. I've been using an old 130 for years and loved it but it finally died. I got the new 650 and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but lack of volume buttons seems odd. Is it a simple workaround?

Tap the power button. This will display a page of volume, backlight, and squelch settings.

Thanks. I've only had it long enough to charge it but not play with it yet. Seems easy enough I guess, but I fail to see the logic in taking frequently used buttons off of the unit and burying them in a touch screen. Same goes for the zoom. Looking forward to the better antennae though.

I personally prefer buttons over touch screens as well. If I didn't need radio capability, I would not choose a RINO. I greatly prefer the 62 and 64 series. However, if you do want radio capability then the RINO is the way to go, and the newer versions use touch screens.

[croix]

The new 600s don't have volume buttons. I've been using an old 130 for years and loved it but it finally died. I got the new 650 and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but lack of volume buttons seems odd. Is it a simple workaround?

Tap the power button. This will display a page of volume, backlight, and squelch settings.

Thanks. I've only had it long enough to charge it but not play with it yet. Seems easy enough I guess, but I fail to see the logic in taking frequently used buttons off of the unit and burying them in a touch screen. Same goes for the zoom. Looking forward to the better antennae though.

I personally prefer buttons over touch screens as well. If I didn't need radio capability, I would not choose a RINO. I greatly prefer the 62 and 64 series. However, if you do want radio capability then the RINO is the way to go, and the newer versions use touch screens.

I totally agree. Love having a Rino for the comms. Just wish they wouldn't get so "feature" happy I actually had my eye out for an old 530HCX but when REI had the 650 on sale for $330 last weekend I jumped.

[762Armo]

I totally agree. Love having a Rino for the comms. Just wish they wouldn't get so "feature" happy I actually had my eye out for an old 530HCX but when REI had the 650 on sale for $330 last weekend I jumped.

Is that sale over?

[croix]

I totally agree. Love having a Rino for the comms. Just wish they wouldn't get so "feature" happy I actually had my eye out for an old 530HCX but when REI had the 650 on sale for $330 last weekend I jumped.

Is that sale over?

Unfortunately it ended on Monday (Labor day sale). Now it is $470 at REI.

[762Armo]

I totally agree. Love having a Rino for the comms. Just wish they wouldn't get so "feature" happy I actually had my eye out for an old 530HCX but when REI had the 650 on sale for $330 last weekend I jumped.

Is that sale over?

Unfortunately it ended on Monday (Labor day sale). Now it is $470 at REI.

Thanks for confirming. I saw the sale but didn't pay attention to the date. I'm pretty mad at myself.

[762Armo]

Looks like Cabelas still has the sale, but it's on backorder.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/garmin-reg-rino-650-gps-radio/1214167.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D1000003497%2B10000054%26Ne%3D10000054%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dgps%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchallpartial%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%252BProducts%26WTz_st%3DSearchRefinements%26form_state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dgps%26searchTypeByFilter%3DTopRated%26x%3D10%26y%3D6&Ntt=gps

[Mudman]

Battery life pretty good on my 655.  The hunt map chip is a must and the camera I love as well.  Simply taking a pic and having it geotagged/waypointed is cool.

[bearhunter99]

Looks like Cabelas still has the sale, but it's on backorder.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/garmin-reg-rino-650-gps-radio/1214167.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D1000003497%2B10000054%26Ne%3D10000054%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dgps%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchallpartial%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%252BProducts%26WTz_st%3DSearchRefinements%26form_state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dgps%26searchTypeByFilter%3DTopRated%26x%3D10%26y%3D6&Ntt=gps

I ordered one on Friday.  There was an online special for 10% off and free shipping.  Tacked on with the $329.99 it was too tempting.  I almost pulled the trigger a with the $20 off your order of $150 or more but glad I didn't.  It was $321 shipped to my house, after it comes off of backorder anyway 

[SFD2015]

I have used a 130, a 520, 530 and a 650. Of all, I prefer the 530. The 650 series is a pain in the buttocks when it rains and you are wearing it on the outside of your gear. I also prefer the Garmin chip over the OnX. The OnX is great, but the road system isn't very good. My Garmin chip is much more updated. It may be just where I hunt, but getting to certain areas we need to have a good route planned and one that we can follow, and the OnX just doesn't offer that for us..

[762Armo]

Anyone think these units will go on sale again(hopefully soon?)
I'm mad at myself for missing the sales, did find one online for $390. $60 is a small difference, but I feel bad having to spend more for missing the sale.

[croix]

Anyone think these units will go on sale again(hopefully soon?)
I'm mad at myself for missing the sales, did find one online for $390. $60 is a small difference, but I feel bad having to spend more for missing the sale.

If you can afford to be patient they almost always go on sale before Christmas.

[bearhunter99]

Anyone think these units will go on sale again(hopefully soon?)
I'm mad at myself for missing the sales, did find one online for $390. $60 is a small difference, but I feel bad having to spend more for missing the sale.

They go on sale a few times a year for $349.99 and can usually be coupled with a $20 off coupon but this is the first time I remember seeing them for $329.99.  If you can wait a bit you can save some $$

[The scout]

 I doubt they will go on sale between now an any of our hunting seasons. I just got mine at the labor day sale on sale for 329 and they had 10% off and free shipping. took my 120 and a 650 up scouting and the 650 would never loose signal. so if any one's looking for a rhino 120 I have one for cheap, works great never looses signal

[IBspoiled]

We got ours a few months back on sale for the $349 price.  I really thought I would like this unit, but I have to say after 10 days back country this unit really lacks a lot of things.  I will try and run down all the issue's I find with it and then maybe I will learn how to remedy the issue's or help someone else make a decision on whether to buy or not.   

1.  When turning the unit on, NEVER wipe the screen.  It comes up with do you want to wipe your system back to default modes!  How annoying, especially out in the rain when you just need to wipe the water off to view it better.  I have done this more than once and had to shut it off, to make sure it didn't remove all my waypoints and contacts etc.  The first time it did reset everything. 

2.  The battery is about a day of use!  We were gone for 10 days and luckily my husband is a battery fanatic, but we were going through batteries every day in all 3 radio's in camp.  I had adjusted the backlight, turned off tracking, and had the battery save mode on, but we could not get more than one day out of batteries.  That is 40 batteries per radio for 10 days!  That is alot of weight into the back country for packing!  This was not with the battery pack that you charge, it was with double AA batteries.  But our friend who had the same radio with his chargeable pack still got the same use out of his that we did. 

3.  The radio feature, there is no way to lock the channel without locking it on the radio screen, so if you want to look at the map, you must unlock the screen and then go to map.  We were having problems with fat fingers changing the radio channels, but I could not find anyway to lock it to the channel we all wanted.  Also if you click on scan or weather, your radio no longer functions.  Our friend was off by himself and accidentally clicked on weather and then couldn't get his radio to work anymore, until we met up.  Another frustrating feature. 

4.  The bulkiness of the radio's is hard to put in a pocket or get out of a pocket when you need it.   We got the belt clips, but found those to be way to noisy to clip in and out. 

5.  The polling positioning, I cannot figure out how to poll a position and use just the vibrate feature.  Each time we polled positions it beeps and while we all had our sound down to 1, it is still noticeable to elk. 

If I think of other things that were irritating with the units I will edit my post to ad those, but for now those are the things I found for our first time using these units.  I have already been through the owners manual and cannot find anyway to change any of these settings to make them work the way I want them to work, if anyone has input or info to help us please comment.  Thanks IBSpoileds Wife! 

[pianoman9701]

I have the 655T and I really love it. I think the 650 may have a larger screen, just not the camera. Were I to do this again, I might go that route for the savings. The functionality of the rest of it is the same, as far as I know. Also, make sure to get the OnXMaps chip for WA. I got the $105 version which downloads into Basecamp (free Garmin GPS software for the desktop), and then uploads into the handheld.

[Bob33]

You raise some interesting points. I’m personally not a fan of the RINOs, although I own three of the 650s because of their GPS/radio/location polling capabilities.

Wiping the screen: I’ve never tried that. Sounds like I never should. I’ve never felt a need to. Not sure why. I have a screen protector: maybe that beads up the water better.

Battery use: if you’re running the GPS all day, I don’t think there are too many GPS units that won’t need regular battery replacements. Getting 12 to 14 hours on a set of AAs is pretty typical, especially if any backlighting is used.

Locking the channel: why not carry the GPS on a different screen? I keep my RINO on the map page, not the radio page. The only time I may access the radio screen is to poll someone but if I’m communicating via radio that’s not necessary.

Bulkiness: agreed. I prefer the 60 series models (60, 62, 64) for many reasons including weight but they don’t have radio capabilities.

Polling: I never get beeps when polling. It must be a sound/tone setting somewhere that I turned off. I’ll check to see if I can find it.

Thanks for the comments.

[IBspoiled]

You raise some interesting points. I’m personally not a fan of the RINOs, although I own three of the 650s because of their GPS/radio/location polling capabilities.

Wiping the screen: I’ve never tried that. Sounds like I never should. I’ve never felt a need to. Not sure why. I have a screen protector: maybe that beads up the water better.

Battery use: if you’re running the GPS all day, I don’t think there are too many GPS units that won’t need regular battery replacements. Getting 12 to 14 hours on a set of AAs is pretty typical, especially if any backlighting is used.

Locking the channel: why not carry the GPS on a different screen? I keep my RINO on the map page, not the radio page. The only time I may access the radio screen is to poll someone but if I’m communicating via radio that’s not necessary.

Bulkiness: agreed. I prefer the 60 series models (60, 62, 64) for many reasons including weight but they don’t have radio capabilities.

Polling: I never get beeps when polling. It must be a sound/tone setting somewhere that I turned off. I’ll check to see if I can find it.

Thanks for the comments.

Thanks for the response.  I did turn off the tones in one area to stop the polling beeps, but then I found that it caused my radio to be on mute also, so that didn't work either. 

So is there a way to turn off the GPS feature so it doesn't wear on the batteries?  And still use the radio feature?   I am unaware of that if there is. 

I usually do not have the radio screen up, but one of our hunting partners had turned his to that screen and then his finger accidentally hit the weather feature and his radio was off for the rest of the day, he actually thought his radio had broken.  LOL  It was comical, but it would just be nice to be able to lock the channels or have the radio still work if you hit the weather accidentally. 

[pianoman9701]

The lithium battery pack lasts about 16-18 hours of constant use and there's a back-up AA pack you can get for $25 or so. That's with moderate radio use on the 5W setting.