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.