Garmin Rino position sharing reliability.

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

My hunting group is looking for GPS units that will share real time positions with each other for an upcoming back country hunt.

More than any other feature, I am interested in being able to see where the other group will be. More from a piece of mind standpoint than anything else. The Rino 750 has a bunch of features that would also be really nice, but not totally necessary.

Do any of you have any experience with this particular feature and its reliability and ease of use? Does it drain the battery? Do both units need to be on or will it show from the last place it was before being turned off?

It would be reassuring to have that feature to fall back on when it's well past dark and the others aren't back to camp.

 

[mountainman406]

I have an older Rhino 530 that's been used for 6 or 7 years now and the real time position tracking is great for multiple people. There's a polling button on the side on my unit that updates my position on the other person's GPS every time it's pressed: every time the other person hits the button it will update on my GPS. Battery life is pretty darn good. Both units do need to be on for the tracking feature to work, if you do shut it off it will show from the last place you were.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

Do you happen to know if the various models are able to communicate with one another?

I was actually thinking I might look into buying new then turning around and selling them as soon as the trip is over. It would be a hit, but split between 4 people it wouldn't be so bad. That would ensure we have full functionality and no compatibility issues.

 

[mountainman406]

According to their website, ALL models will work with one another. I have not tested this with different models so I can't speak to how true that is. A lot of the older models can be bought new at a pretty decent discount, just another option to look into!

 

[DaveS]

I have Rino 650 and it works with the older 500 series. My hunting group uses the position sharing feature all the time and it works great.

 

[Sekora]

I have 3 of them. A 655t, 530hcx, and a 120. I keep upgrading them and just keeping the old ones to lend to friends when they join our hunting party. They are great units and are all compatible with each other.

 

[LifeAndLiberty]

In northern Maine, a bunch of us use Garmin Rino's to share position and it works very well across different models. My father and I use the 650's.