Post by: steeliedrew on May 17, 2014, 04:09:53 PM
Can't wait to grab the mountain bike and hit the hills with this thing for some bear scouting.
Post by: sled on May 17, 2014, 04:40:25 PM
Post by: scottcrb on May 17, 2014, 05:09:09 PM
Post by: ghosthunter on May 17, 2014, 06:31:17 PM
Post by: steeliedrew on May 17, 2014, 06:47:18 PM
I have the gpsmap 62st. Get a screen protector before you take it out .
Good call. With the price of these things I'd love to keep it nice.
Post by: hogslayer on May 17, 2014, 07:29:12 PM
Post by: Andrew on May 17, 2014, 09:48:34 PM
Post by: pd on May 17, 2014, 10:07:03 PM
Post by: steeliedrew on May 17, 2014, 10:27:16 PM
I went with the 650 over the 610 because I wanted the ability to use sd cards like the hunting gps map chip. I didn't need the camera or expanded memory of the 655t so I felt good about the 650. My elk hunting buddy will be getting a rino as well so it will be nice to have the buddy tracker.
Post by: Mudman on May 17, 2014, 10:30:02 PM
Post by: steeliedrew on May 17, 2014, 10:55:03 PM
What are some features you guys tend to use more than others on these units?
Post by: Rob on May 18, 2014, 07:42:43 AM
I really like the alarm clock feature. The unit turns off and wakes up to sound the alarm. Very handy.
what PTT units do folks like? Never been happy with any I have tried
Post by: Andrew on May 18, 2014, 07:43:12 AM
Post by: ghosthunter on May 18, 2014, 08:27:12 AM
The elevation chart I use less.
Post by: bobcat on May 18, 2014, 08:50:18 AM
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Post by: ghosthunter on May 18, 2014, 09:04:03 AM
What is a "PTT" unit?
Push to talk? :dunno:
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Post by: pd on May 18, 2014, 09:44:03 AM
Dont buy the 610, you will be unhappy. 655 and love it. :twocents:
Why is this, MudMan? Please tell us your opinions.
Post by: Rob on May 18, 2014, 06:21:08 PM
Post by: steeliedrew on May 18, 2014, 08:29:01 PM
Post by: steeliedrew on May 18, 2014, 10:49:41 PM
I'm having some trouble viewing topo lines on my unit. Here's a link to a thread I started on that. If you have a suggestion please post to that thread so we don't get too far off topic on this one. Thanks. http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,153418.0.html (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,153418.0.html)
Might have figured the issue out. However, since this is a thread about accessories let's talk about different map chips other than huntinggps maps that you'd recommend I look into? I was just thinking that I don't really ever find myself needing to know land owner info and just the ability to see topo lines with rivers, creeks, major roads and forest service main lines would be nice. I do however like that the huntinggps maps show gmu info for those times you're driving and see something good but aren't sure what unit it's in.
Post by: WilliamWallace on May 19, 2014, 07:49:53 PM
Post by: Bob33 on May 19, 2014, 08:09:13 PM
As for what to get: (1) hunting partners with Rinos, (2) time to study the manual and practice using
Rinos with your partners so you all understand polling, (3) extra battery pack of some sort, (4) screen protectors.
If you bought a Hunting GPS Maps chip (versus the download), you will want an extra SD card. Download Basecamp from Garmin (or Mapsource which is the older version and easier to use IMO), and get some experience transferring data to and from the unit. You can transfer more maps to your own SD card, but not the Hunting GPS card.
Here's a great source for good NW topo maps with trails: http://www.switchbacks.com/gpsmaps.aspx (http://www.switchbacks.com/gpsmaps.aspx)
Post by: ghosthunter on May 19, 2014, 08:17:27 PM
Don't get the AA battery pack for this unit... Spend the extra money and get another lithium pack... I bought a power monkey also to use for charging the lithium pack. Takes a while to charge but the power monkey is extremely durable, weather resistant. I have a buddy that works for the smoke jumper base in Winthrop and they spend summers testing gear. For maps... I got the huntinggpsmaps for WA and it is pretty sweet. I also got the vehicle charger for the unit. Other than that you made a good choice with the 650.
Did you have to buy any extra special adapters to plug into the 650?
Post by: ghosthunter on May 19, 2014, 08:27:05 PM
Don't get the AA battery pack for this unit... Spend the extra money and get another lithium pack... I bought a power monkey also to use for charging the lithium pack. Takes a while to charge but the power monkey is extremely durable, weather resistant. I have a buddy that works for the smoke jumper base in Winthrop and they spend summers testing gear. For maps... I got the huntinggpsmaps for WA and it is pretty sweet. I also got the vehicle charger for the unit. Other than that you made a good choice with the 650.
Well sooner or later I would buy one AA battery pack. Because you cannot recharge the lithium pack un plugged from the unit. Which creates a problem when on long trips and every day use. The unit is tied up being the host for recharging.
In most cases two lithium packs will be enough.
But if you find yourself hurt and unable to recharge having the AA pack and 8 spare batteries could be a life saver.
:twocents:
Post by: Bob33 on May 19, 2014, 08:35:51 PM
I use the 12V power adapter for my Garmin Nuvi with my handheld GPSs. In fact I've used phone chargers. The GPS squaks at you that's it's not a proper charger, but will work fine. If it doesn't, try setting the GPS to Spanner Mode: Setup--> System --> Interface --> Garmin Spanner Mode.Don't get the AA battery pack for this unit... Spend the extra money and get another lithium pack... I bought a power monkey also to use for charging the lithium pack. Takes a while to charge but the power monkey is extremely durable, weather resistant. I have a buddy that works for the smoke jumper base in Winthrop and they spend summers testing gear. For maps... I got the huntinggpsmaps for WA and it is pretty sweet. I also got the vehicle charger for the unit. Other than that you made a good choice with the 650.
Did you have to buy any extra special adapters to plug into the 650?
Sounds crazy but it works.
Post by: steeliedrew on May 19, 2014, 08:48:14 PM
Be advised that the AA battery pack limits the radio to 2 watts, versus 5 with the lithium pack. They also make the unit heavier.
As for what to get: (1) hunting partners with Rinos, (2) time to study the manual and practice using
Rinos with your partners so you all understand polling, (3) extra battery pack of some sort, (4) screen protectors.
If you bought a Hunting GPS Maps chip (versus the download), you will want an extra SD card. Download Basecamp from Garmin (or Mapsource which is the older version and easier to use IMO), and get some experience transferring data to and from the unit. You can transfer more maps to your own SD card, but not the Hunting GPS card.
Here's a great source for good NW topo maps with trails: http://www.switchbacks.com/gpsmaps.aspx (http://www.switchbacks.com/gpsmaps.aspx)
Good info Bob33. There is definitely a learning curve with these things. My elk hunting buddy is supposed to be getting a rino too so we'll have to make sure we're dialed in.
A big thing I'm looking for is high quality maps. After some research today I found that someone hacked the garmin firmware at some point and created a firmware patch that allows you to load high quality custom maps up to 50,000 tiles. it seems like kind of a black art though with a lot of computer jargon involved so I probably won't attempt it. I'll check out that link you posted though.
Post by: WilliamWallace on May 21, 2014, 02:57:25 PM
Don't get the AA battery pack for this unit... Spend the extra money and get another lithium pack... I bought a power monkey also to use for charging the lithium pack. Takes a while to charge but the power monkey is extremely durable, weather resistant. I have a buddy that works for the smoke jumper base in Winthrop and they spend summers testing gear. For maps... I got the huntinggpsmaps for WA and it is pretty sweet. I also got the vehicle charger for the unit. Other than that you made a good choice with the 650.
Did you have to buy any extra special adapters to plug into the 650?
The power monkey has a 12v charger, so I just bought the car charger for the 650 and works for both.