Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio

If you are an outdoor passionate and you love spending time in places off the beaten track, then you ought to consider buying the Garmin Rino 120 GPS device. This neat gadget is in particular designed to meet the needs of persons who want to concentrate on having fun in their outdoor adventures, rather than being beneath continuous fear that they might either get lost, or, in the case they are not on their own, lose contact with their buddies. Below I give you the three main reasons why personally think that the Garmin Rino 120 is a suitable investment. I hope that after reading my article, you will be in a better position to evaluate your options. You keep neverending contact with your excursion buddies What is most arousing and attention holding with regards to the Garmin Rino 120 is that, isolated from gps, it functions as a two-way radio. So, picture this scenario: You are out on a fishing trip and you determine with your buddies to cover a wide area, to spot the best place to park your gear. This is very easy when you are all equipped with a Garmin Rino GPS, or you have a usual two-way FRS radio: Provided you have set up your buddies as contacts in your device, you may see each other's emplacements on the map display real time, by using the position-reporting feature. If you want to talk to them real time and provided you are within a two-mile radius from them, you may do so through a chosen FRS channel. And it gets even better: if you want to go to them, the unit will show you easy to follow directions and even outline the path you have to follow on the display! It's rugged and waterproof When you carry a Garmin Rino 120 with you, you don't have to worry you might drop it or get it wet. Based on positive remarks from real users, the unit may withstand very harsh conditions. It is worth mentioning one comment by one of the users: He mentions that he forgot his Garmin in the laundry machine. After he realized and recovered it, he was amazed to see that the unit was still working! Lots of memory Another neat feature of the Garmin Rino 120 is that it comes with a massive memory of 8MB. This is more than sufficient to download road, street, and points-of-interest data from a assortment of existent software service suppliers such as Mapsource Metroguide, Fishing Hot Spots, Topo etc. Hit the trail in selfconfidence with the Garmin Rino 530HCx, which combines a two-way FRS/GMRS radio with a high-sensitivity GPS navigator. The waterproof unit offers 22 channels and 5 watts of transmit power, so you may contact friends or rescue crews from up to 14 miles away (line of sight) over GMRS channels or up to 2 miles over FRS channels. The high-sensitivity GPS receiver, meanwhile, locates your position speedily and precisely and maintains it is GPS emplacement even in heavy cover. The vantage is clear: whether you're traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you may count on the Rino 530HCx to aid you find your way when you need it the most. The combined radio and navigator functions make the device a must-have for mountain climbing, alpine camping, back-country skiing, and a host of other outdoor activities. The 530HCx navigator/2-way radio is compact and lightweight, with a 10.3-ounce housing that won't slow you down on the trail. Like the rest of the Rino series, the Rino 530HCx offers a distinguishable Position Reporting feature, which lets you send your precise emplacement to other Rino users in your group so that everyone may see your position on the map page. No more worrying regarding the lagging hikers in your group each time you reach a fork in the trail. Plus, because the 530HCx is a usual FRS/GMRS radio, you may use it to commune with other established FRS/GMRS radios in the area. The 530HCx is also equipped with a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing selective information even when you're standing still, along with a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You may even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which may support you keep an eye on altering weather conditions. And thanks to the NOAA weather radio, you'll recognise well in advance when a storm is advancing. Receive elaborate mapping info on the navigator's 1.3-by-1.7-inch, 256-color TFT display. Perhaps the most primary feature, however, is the crystal-clear 256-color TFT display, which without doubt or question shows traits from the built-in basemap, including lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads, and coastlines--in short, a host of helpful details for your outdoor adventures. Users may also exaggerate the mapping future prospects or potentials thru the microSD card slot, which accepts cards preloaded with MapSource data for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with elaborate street maps and the Rino 530HCx will provide step-by-step or turn-by-turn directions to your destination. Other details include a USB interface, 500 waypoints and 50 routes, a hunt/fish calendar, hands-free voice activation (requires separately sold headset), a voice scrambler, and external temperature recording. The Rino 530HCx, which includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that runs for up to 14 hours per charge, measures 2.3 by 5.1 by 1.8 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty. What's in the Box Rino 530HCx radio, Americas Recreational basemap, wrist strap, belt clip, USB cable, lithium-ion battery pack and charger, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager, AC adapter, quick-start guide, user's manual.

Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio Photo

Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio Picture

Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio Photo

Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio Pic

Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio Image

Garmin Rino 120 2 Way Radio Picture

Great Two-In-One
I purchased the 530HCx when it comes to two weeks ago to use while deer hunting in East Tennessee. Everyone in our group has GPS and two-way radio to find our way around and commune when we are in unfamilar territory. I have been searching for a device that will take care of both needs, without having to handle two seperate pieces of equipment, and the 530HCx has worked flawlessly so far.

The satellite positioning seems to be right on and positioning after start-up was quick. I used the unit to mark various deer trails, rub lines, and possible stand placements and I was competent to return to those areas very easily. I employed the averaging feature to fine tune the locatings and was competent to get within 5-7 feet of everything I marked.

Everyone in the group said that radio transmission was crystal clear, they could listen my transmissions better than any individual elses. Don't get me wrong the Garmin in definetly a GPS original and radio second but I was very pleased with it is two-way capabilities. It performed as well, if not better, than the midlands and motorolas in the group.

I also invested in TOPO US 2008 to install on the unit. I wasn't that impressed with the TOPO map but area detail is alot better than the basemap. We make various trips to Fort Campbell each year and all roads, creeks, and even fire

battery life info
Just received this unit -- arrived quickly from Amazon, as usual. Display is bright, controls simple to use, sensitivity of gps receiver is splendid (I may get reception in my basement, even though I have lost signal inside my local, small-town, one-room grocery store). I have an older Garmin which is working fine, but I purchased this one for the added gain of the radio capability, in case of emergency in wilderness while treking with my 9 and 12 year old daughters.

With a totally charged, brand new rechargable battery as supplied with the unit, I got 40 hours of continuous use. I turned off the radio for the duration of all but 1 hour of this time but had the WAAS enabled. During this time, I took it with me while I ran errands, took 2 short day hikes, and went to work, but did not carry it on my person around the home. With 4 brand new, high quality brand name AA batteries (using the separately purchased alkaline battery pack), I got 19 hours of ceaseless use underneath similar conditions. After reading Hinch's book on GPS use, I did turn off the WAAS after in regards to 8 hours into this trial. I did not have the radio on at all for the duration of the alkaline battery trial, even though I did "fiddle" with the pages and settings more often than the rechargable trial (was reading the Hinch book simultaneous with the alkaline trial, so I tried a couple of the tasks in the book for the duration of this time).

The base map supplied with the unit provides minimal street data and (as with any map from any source) galore inaccuracies. Lists our grade school parking lot as "Black Partridge Park" -- which is in truth a very big prairie/forest preserve located just outside of our little town.

Be aware: you can not load any map onto this unit except those quintessentially provided/sold by Garmin. To my knowledge, this is unfeigned for all gps units; the units with mapping features will only receive those from the manufacturer of the receiver. You can, however, download waypoints generated from other mapping software programs.

Have not tested the radio capability in the wild, but I see others have reported 5 mile range underneath typical wilderness conditions. The discrepancy amidst this irl range and the 14 miles listed on specs (which is always the greatest or most complete or best possible obtainable beneath completely optimal conditions) is altogether par for 2 way radio range estimates. If you plan to use the GMRS radio frequencies, you will need an FCC license. No training or test required; just an $85 fee. Easy to obtain online.

BTW: highly commend Stephen Hinch book, Outdoor Navigation With GPS. I've been a basic-feature gps user for assorted years, but wanted a better understanding of the more progressed features and the jargon.

Garmin Rino 530HCX GPS/radio
I purchased this unit for a Deer hunt in Utah. While there are a lot of things to like in regards to it, my unit had a number of negatives that ended up being a dealbreaker with me. I would likewise like to preface this review by saying that I have extensive experience with marine GPS units, starting with the original little black and white Garmin unit I purchased 18 years ago to the latest top of the line Garmin 5212 GPS Chartplotter. Because of this, I feel that my hopes were set too high and perchance I had unrealistic expected values for this unit.
First off, I think the display is too small. I found myself perpetually zooming in and out. When you zoom out to a sure point, roads disappear. Funky battery pack design: It's an add-on module affair. It was designed to be changed out for the alkaline battery pack (available as an accessory from Garmin). I realize it was designed to prevent water intrusion , but the battery pack must and could effortlessly be designed so that it is to the full or entire extent internal in the main case of the unit, as it is on almost all handheld (and now to a complete degree submersible) Marine VHF radios. Battery life of the Li ion battery is OK if you are using just the GPS. Use of the radio will speedily deplete the battery. In just one day of hunting, (4hrs morning, 4hrs evening) the battery was half discharged after very minimal radio use. Better you make sure that you get the (optional at extra cost) car charger. BTW, the charger connects to the unit by way of a super-funky (and without apparent effort lost...) clip-on adapter.
Garmin states that the radio has a 14 mile range set at 5W. I found that, in the mountainous area we were hunting in, that 2-3 miles is with regards to the best you could hope for. Radio transmissions were crispy and clear though. I don't recognise what other radios this may commune with, so if others in your party are not also equipped, you may be just as well off with the radioless 520 model. It's funny, the use of these UHF frequencies require the user to obtain and FCC LICENSE...there was never any mention of this in anything I have read re this unit, nor in the owners manual. Speaking of which, the owners manual is (typical for this type of equipment...) not well written and missing critical details. Too bad, because this unit is not what I would describe as intuitive, and may be downright mixing up to operate without various days for intensive familiarization.
The most glaring issue I had with this unit is that it swapped itself off for no evident reason 6-7 times in the course of only 2 days use. I called Garmin on this issue and they postulated that it was "probably a great deal of kind of software glitch". They further stated that I "sounded unhappy" and genuinely encouraged me to return the unit. I felt this was an odd response for such a huge company. From the number of "refurb" units I see for sale, this strikes me a in all probability not an detached instance.