Garmin Rino 530Hcx 2 Way Radio

The end of the year brings in regards to some top lists, so why not a top Hunting GPS list. Hunters are using GPS units more and more these days for scouting, hunting, and animal recovery. Each hunter probably has his or her personal favored but we found the following GPS units to be the most popular for hunting in 2008. 3. Garmin Rino 530HCX - Hunters love this model because it likewise has a radio in it. It reduces the amount of instrumentation you have to carry while hunting having your GPS and Radio in one. You may commune with other FRS/GMRS radio users as well as see fellow "Rino" users in your hunting party using the pinpoint positioning feature. Its MicroSD card slot and outstanding satellite reception capablenesses also make this GPS unit standard amongst hunters. 2. Garmin eTrex Vista HCX - This is a favored amidst hunters because of it is compact size, color screen, splendid satellite reception, and MicroSD card slot. 1. Garmin GPSMap 60 CSX - This is by reasonable the most frequent GPS unit used by hunters. Many hunters like the larger, color screen for view topo maps, the MicroSD card slot, and it's splendid satellite reception. Hunters normally like a GPS that has a MicroSD card slot for further and added memory, a color screen for effortlessly looking at topo maps, and splendid satellite reception in heavy cover or deep canyons. So, the Garmin eTrex Vista HCX, Garmin Rino 50 HCX, and Garmin GPSMap 60 CSX were all standard selections by hunters for the year 2008. 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 incisively 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 distinctive Position Reporting feature, which lets you send your precise emplacement to other Rino users in your group so that every one 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 standard FRS/GMRS radio, you may use it to commune with other established FRS/GMRS radios in the area. The 530HCx is likewise equipped with a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing info 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 help 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 data on the navigator's 1.3-by-1.7-inch, 256-color TFT display. Perhaps the most indispensable feature, however, is the crystal-clear 256-color TFT display, which distinctly 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 info for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with elaborated 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 530hcx 2 Way Radio Pic

Garmin Rino 530hcx 2 Way Radio Image

Garmin Rino 530hcx 2 Way Radio Pic

Garmin Rino 530hcx 2 Way Radio Photo

Garmin Rino 530hcx 2 Way Radio Picture

Garmin Rino 530hcx 2 Way Radio Pic

Most helpful client reviews

49 of 49 persons found the following review helpful.
Great Two-In-One
By Jared D. Lane
I purchased the 530HCx regarding 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 applied the unit to mark assorted deer trails, rub lines, and possible stand placements and I was capable to return to those areas very easily. I applied the averaging feature to fine tune the emplacements and was capable 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 faulty the Garmin in definetly a GPS basi 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 likewise 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

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
battery life info
By R. Kurth
Just received this unit -- arrived speedily from Amazon, as usual. Display is bright, controls simple to use, sensitivity of gps receiver is magnificent (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 wholly charged, brand new rechargable battery as supplied with the unit, I got 40 hours of ceaseless 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 uninterrupted use under similar conditions. After reading Hinch's book on GPS use, I did turn off the WAAS after when it comes 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 oftentimes 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) a lot of inaccuracies. Lists our grade school parking lot as "Black Partridge Park" -- which is genuinely a very huge prairie/forest preserve located just outside of our little town.

Be aware: you cannot load any map onto this unit except those distinctively 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 under typical wilderness conditions. The discrepancy amid this irl range and the 14 miles listed on specs (which is always the greatest or most complete or best possible obtainable beneath wholly optimal conditions) is exclusively 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 various years, but wanted a better understanding of the more innovative features and the jargon.

53 of 58 persons found the following review helpful.
Garmin Rino 530HCX GPS/radio
By Jimmy Blevins
I purchased this unit for a Deer hunt in Utah. While there are a good deal 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 spacious 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 perhaps I had unrealistic expected values for this unit.
First off, I think the display is too small. I found myself constantly 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 ought to and could effortlessly be designed so that it is totally internal in the main case of the unit, as it is on almost all handheld (and now entirely 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 quickly 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 in regards to the best you could hope for. Radio transmissions were crispy and clear though. I don't know what other radios this may commune with, so if others in your party are not likewise 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 assorted days for intensive familiarization.
The most glaring issue I had with this unit is that it swopped itself off for no apparent 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 numerous 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 probably not an detached instance.

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