Garmin Rhino radio replacement

drivers58

New Member
Jun 29, 2015
10
0
toutle wa
So here is th e deal, my buddies and I have always carried garmin gps/ radios as we always split up but check in for safety reasons and help, mine has antenna issues and of course there are no parts still available. I don't use the GPS as I have onx on my phone. Does someone make a good waterproof radio that is compatable whith garmin radios. No cell service most areas
 

taskswap

Very Active Member
Jul 9, 2018
523
379
Colorado
I'm 99% certain Garmin's Rhinos are GMRS. So 462/467. I haven't tried it against a Rhino but my Baofeng and Midland will both pick most of those up. Probably anything else GMRS will, too.

A good way to tell is if your radio has 22 "channels", it's probably GMRS.
 

drivers58

New Member
Jun 29, 2015
10
0
toutle wa
I'm 99% certain Garmin's Rhinos are GMRS. So 462/467. I haven't tried it against a Rhino but my Baofeng and Midland will both pick most of those up. Probably anything else GMRS will, too.

A good way to tell is if your radio has 22 "channels", it's probably GMRS.
Yes they are GMRS but I have no idea what that means
 

taskswap

Very Active Member
Jul 9, 2018
523
379
Colorado
FRS/GMRS is a set of frequencies set aside for the purpose of making radios like this. That's not a snarky answer, it's just literally all that means. Unless a transmission is encrypted (which is rare) any radio that can transmit/receive on one of those frequencies can usually talk to any other, regardless of brand.

You can find a list of those frequencies here:

FRS/GMRS are the same basic technology (FM transceivers) but differ in power, plus GMRS has a few more frequencies allocated to it. So an FRS radio on channel 7 can talk to a GMRS radio on channel 7 or an "FM transceiver on frequency 462.7125". The only difference is that the GMRS or other radios can use higher transmit power so they get longer range.

To use this higher power you need a license, but it's easy to get. There's no test, just a registration fee ($70 for ten years, and they just cut it in half but I can't remember when the cut goes into effect) and an online form. Obviously you're expected to follow the laws such as knowing different channels allow different power levels. But all of the off the shelf radios I'm aware of will do this automatically anyway, so it's not hard to comply with. And the license covers your entire family so it's a bargain.

Most of the folks I hunt or off-road with seem to like Midland radios for in-vehicle mounts, Baofeng UV-5R's for a "cheap option to keep on the picnic table" (they're like $25) and Motorola Talkabouts for a "grab and go" (the guy who hops out to help pick a line down a tricky rockfall, or if we rent vehicles somewhere on vacation). All these radios can talk to each other. I can't make promises on the Rhino because I never owned one, but I just Googled their site and it says it's FRS/GMRS so it probably will be fine.
 

drivers58

New Member
Jun 29, 2015
10
0
toutle wa
Thankyou for the explanation, Even I could understand that one :), Heard about a small lightweight FSR radio called a
Rocky Talkie, it has 2 watts of power,doing some research
Thanks erveryone
 

mallardsx2

Veteran member
Jul 8, 2015
3,720
2,854
FM radios have come a long ways but they still suck. We tried switching to those years ago and if your over a mile away they are just pretty poor. I have a set of the original garmin Rhino's the green ones with the black and white screen. Went through batteries like nuts. I hate them. They are lying around here packed up somewhere.


Personally, I'm a CB guy if I'm hunting with friends or if I'm hunting alone I just take my in-reach.

Its too bad Radio Shack stopped selling the hand held CB Radios that take the Crystals. I still have 3 of them brand new in the box that I got for $10 each. You can still find some good radios out there. These are a heavier radio but if you truly want to talk to someone at 10:30AM that is 4 miles away you can actually do that with these...

39221

THIS WAS A GOOD RADIO. A bit bulky however I used one of these for years hunting coyotes. Never let me down.
 
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