2way radio with GPS

[Dumpster_Diver]

Howdy padnas!

 

What do I know about technology? Not much. Why doesn't someone tell me why this thing sucks or why it's so good? I thought it would be a nice addition to a trip up way north. You know, when splitting up teams and ferrying loads across a glacier.

 

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47469270&parent_category_rn=4500600

[jbclimber]

I have the Rino 120, which I would recommend instead of the 110, because it has more features, such as being able to upload Garmin Topo maps to it.

 

Overall I like the Rino for trips into the mountains. Being able to upload your topo maps to the unit is great. You can just look at the Rino to get a good idea where you are instead of having to take the GPS coordinates and then transfer those to a map. You can't quite throw away the paper map yet though, because the scale for the uploadable topo maps is not as detailed as the USGS maps.

 

I also occasionally use the GPS features for around town. Again, you can upload detailed street level maps to the Rino.

 

Regarding the radio, it is okay for my use, which is short range communication in the outdoors, such as off/on belay. Don't expect to be able to communicate over 2 miles or if in dense forests, behinds ridges, etc... FRS uses UHF frequencies which travel line of sight. And the antenna and low power of the Rino make long distance communication impossible.

 

Some users have complained about the low audio quality of the Rino , but I have not experienced any problems. It works fine but may be just a little bit fainter than my Cobra FRS radios.

 

I have not used the feature which always you to beam your coordinates to another Rino, since I only have one. I doubt the usefulness of this feature, since the radio range is limited.

 

Overall, for me it is great. It makes navigation much easier and I can communicate with other FRS radios (short range).

 

 

[gapertimmy]

what about battery life on the rhino compared to a normal eTrex unit? I'm all for consolidating 2 pieces of gear that I often have to take on trips for SAR, but if it means carrying even more AA batteries then why?

 

i still think the route to go is to get a cheap ham radio, program in your repeaters, and FRS channels.... that is a usefull backcountry communication tool

[jbclimber]

gapertimmy said:

what about battery life on the rhino compared to a normal eTrex unit? I'm all for consolidating 2 pieces of gear that I often have to take on trips for SAR, but if it means carrying even more AA batteries then why?

 

 

 

i still think the route to go is to get a cheap ham radio, program in your repeaters, and FRS channels.... that is a usefull backcountry communication tool

 

 

 

 

I don't have an eTrex, so I don't know how battery life compares. For my Rino, rechargeable batteries are good enough for a day in the outdoors. This assumes the Rino is using the GPS features for over 8 hours and limited Radio use. When I use lithium batteries, the battery life is awesome, but these batteries are expensive. I didn't time how long the lithium batteries lasted but it got me through 3 snowshoe trips this winter.

 

Regarding Ham radios, check out the Yaesu VX-1R. It is very small and you can easily use software to modify it for "free band" use. Just do a search on the internet. And if you get an antenna like the Comet SMA24, your range increases dramatically. The only drawback is only .5watts power. The VX-5R will give you 5 watts but weighs twice the amount.

 

So I plan on using the Rino and carrying the VX-1R for emergencies, weather reports, etc...

 

Cheers!

[gapertimmy]

nice!

[salbrecher]

Are lithium batteries better in cold temps. I've used some generic battries that just die when it gets below freezing.

[snoboy]

salbrecher said:

Are lithium batteries better in cold temps. I've used some generic battries that just die when it gets below freezing.

 

YES. But they are quite spendy... They are lighter too.