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So, I'm now looking for a proper marine radio so I can call for help.I guess this old sea dog is just too old to figure out this new tech stuff I thought this is what I wanted, now I'm not so sure.I bought it for a few reasons;I sail and wanted to be able to call for help if I needed to but there is no chanel 16 (help channel)on this unit.I also wanted the gps so I could find my way back in the fog. despite reading the two booklets and playing with the unit I'm still cant seem to figure out how to use it.
I'm a hiker and I'm pretty sorry I wasted three years worth of my wife's safety incentive points on this thing. My nuvi auto gps does more on the trail than this does. This would only be useful for locating others in a hunting party who also have a rino.
No maps. I'm sure the newer models are much better, but how hi-tech can something be when it only has one Meg of on board memory. This item is simply a walkie-talkie that locates others of its own kind and shows you your position relating to dots (waypoints).
I had no idea an item from 2006 could be so outdated by now. I will try to send it back, but I may be stuck with a huge digital compass that runs on 3 AAs. No elevation graphics.
Not even roads.
However, Garmin overpromised on the waterproofness of the product. Luckily it only damaged the batteries and not the device itself. I used the Rino attached to my harness when windsurfing. The battery compartment caught some water which I discovered after a few days. Next time I will seal it with an aquapac which will give it a second layer of protection. This allows me to both stay in contact with a buddy and see what speeds I reached. It works very well and the interface is easy to master.
People really should read their user manuals. 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.
Before the other one died it did store a location in the working unit and I liked knowing exactly how far away I was getting from the last known location of the defective unit. The best time to hunt and fish feature was cool.(jury's still out on usefulness though) Navigating the screens was not simple and the menu select button is a little touchy. The other one was fine.batteries lasted a day and a half.it did lose satelite in some of the deeper valleys when we were high in the mountains but regained 2D sat nav soon enough. I can't wait to recieve the repaired unit. I marked junctions in some of the logging roads and it led me right back the way I came. Big tip.set up is fairly easy.but read the WHOLE manual TWICE.
It got pretty hot then just quit. It will scroll up/down or left/right when you just want to select (push in) if you get even a little off center when you push it. before attempting set up. I also liked knowing the elevation. I'll let you know how long it takes Garmin to fix and repair or replace the defective unit.to be continued. One of the two I bought had a short circuit in it somewhere and didn't work for very long (should a set up before the big hunting trip).
I liked the tracking feature.
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