Customer Reviews

Garmin Rino 110 5-Mile 12-Channel FRS/GMRS Waterproof Two-Way Radio and GPS Receiver

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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

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.

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.

It seems that you either love or hate the Rino 110 Frs/Gmrs/Gps. Before I bought mine, I had heard of some that used theirs in Iraq and loved them, and some that left them in the sand. But I must say that I love mine. I got it last week and have put it through a few paces, and so far it is great. It looks and feels solid...even before you put the batteries in, which give it a nice heft. The only problem that I have seen is the fact that when you use the GPS and GMRS radio at the same time, you can almost feel the alkaline batteries draining. But I fixed this when I went to 2300 mAh Ni-Mh batteries. As they say, it just keeps going and going. It is also nice (considering where I live in the Pacific Northwest) to not have to worry about getting it wet. And also not to have to carry both a GPS and separate radio. I also just bought the data cable (got it on ebay for only 3.25 FRNs!) so I can download all the latest software updates from Garmin. BTW, this little sucker is just a little bit complicated, but the menus are intuitive and the guide book well written.

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.

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.

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!!

Every picture I saw advertised for this unit showed detailed maps. Even in the owner's manual on several pages you'll see detailed maps downloaded from MapSource. This is not possible, even if you purchased the expensive software, it is not possible to download this info to the Rino 110 Unit. If you can live with a totally blank screen and 'bread crumbs' (because this is all you get in the GPS mode) then this unit is okay. If you would like more detail or even the most basic detail in the GPS mode, then purchase the 120 or 130 unit. These units will store additional info and include the cable for downloading from laptop to unit. The 110 does not include the cable. I own a 110 and 120 unit and both are great and are easy devices to work with but beware of the 110's blank screen in the GPS mode, it offers nothing but a blank screen and bread crumbs! (items were purchased for deer hunting and emergencys)

We have many sets of radios as we use them for airsoft and paintballing. When we decided to buy a 2in1 system (GPS and radio) we deicided to look at these. The GPS unit is awesome. When using the radio, I find that the batteries drain a little too fast. We therefore purchased a set of IASUS throat mics online (AMAZON doesn't carry them!) so we could save more battery power. That actually made the unit sound better also! If the radio didn't eat up so much power and sounded better, I would give the Garmin a 5 star.

For anyone concerned about giving away a position in Iraq, why not go into the radio setup menu, disable the "Send Location" feature under the Send Location tab, and disable position polling under the Allow Polling tab? If these features are disabled, the Rino will not send its position when the radio is keyed. People really should read their user manuals.