User Reviews: Garmin RINO 530
Beware the Garmin Rino 530 HCx
Pros: Decent radio and distance traveled recorder
Cons: Impossible to download topo maps
We have a Garmin Nuvi in our car, so when we wanted a GPS for hiking, we went for the top of the line, the Garmin Rino 530 HCx - Radio and GPS in one. Yeah, it's another $100+ for the topo map disk, since the "maps" loaded on the basic have no detail, just some city names, and another $20+ for the memory card, and if it worked, I suppose I could live with it. Instead, every one of scores of attempts to download a single topo map has resulted in the message "your GPS does not support map transfer." Garmin support suggested some generic advice and the tutorial, which I followed to the letter with the same (non-) result. My $500 Garmin Rino HCx GPS does not suppport map transfer. So I'm now out over $600, and all I've got is a walkie talkie and a GPS distance traveled counter.
Was this review helpful? Yes - NoOutstanding Unit, But.....
Pros: Rugged, powerful, bright map, long life battery, easy (for me) to use
Cons: Road Navigation, Charging Components
Having owned the Rino 110 for a while before getting the 530, I was already pretty familiar with navigating through the various menus of the unit. First timers should give themselves adequate time to familirize. The unit powers up quickly, aquires satellites quickly (given an ample view of the sky), has a beautiful screen which backlights. I accidently left my unit on in the car one day at work with the backlight set to full. After 11 hours it was still brightly lit with almost 25% of it's charge left! I currently have both topo and road maps for the unit and have found both of them to be very accurate. I have been able to use the radio on several occasions and have found the range and clarity to be excellent. The literature says that the unit is capable of transieving GMRS to a range of 14 miles. I'm always sceptical of these figures as they're line-of-sight estimates. At full power I've gotten a good 9 miles so far. The games included on the unit are pretty fun as well, provided you have a large field to roam aimlessly in:)
So far I have only 2 complaints; one minor and one major. First the minor. The unit includes a rechargable L-ION battery which, as stated before, works marvelously. The method of charging, however, leaves much to be desired. In order to charge the unit you must attatch a clip-on connector the the rear exterior of the battery and then plug the AC adapter into the connector. To me, this just seemed like one more small component to lose or break and need to replace. Works well, though. Now the major. This device should not in any way, shape or form be depended on for road navigation. When you plot a destination it first asks you if you want the shortest or fastest route. After several senarios that I've tried, picking one or the other option has failed to plot a different route. And the route it choses is often WAAAAYYYY out of the way. It'll keep you on the highway LONG after you need to be. If you deviate from it's flight plan it's recalculation consists of telling you to turn around and go back to where you deviated from. I was actually 100 yards from a friends house, but the unit refused to point me in that direction. It kept insisting that I turn around, get back on the highway and continue on IT'S course.
I'm not bashing the unit; hell, I love it!! It's speciality is the outdoors which is where it really shines!Was this review helpful? Yes - Nohi
Pros: hi
Cons: hi
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Pros: hi
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thanks!Was this review helpful? Yes - NoA very good effort
Pros: Full 5Watt Power Out; Split TX operation for repeaters; GPS
Cons: Poor battery charger contacts; Poor GPS routing
An exhaustive search for a FRS/GMRS combo handheld radio led me to purchase this model. I really wasn't looking for GPS when I found it, however, it's radio features alone were far above any other FRS/GMRS combo unit found. I am at a loss to explain why the entire industry of manufacturers feel it necessary to offer over-populated product lines with one- and two-watt output GMRS units that never contain all needed features in one model. Ignoring the GPS portion of this unit for the moment, the features in the radio are ahead of the competition. This is the only FRS/GMRS combo handheld in production that supports both full-legal output power power and standard repeater transmitter offsets for repeater communications on GMRS channels 15 through 22. Add the rich functionality of Garmin's GPS receiver, the ability to use their MapSource software and you have a VERY capable unit.
The only feature it lacks is a DCS digitally-coded squelch (privacy codes 39-121+). Battery charging is accomplished by a small clamp that connects to the back of the battery- a DC socket would be better. In addition for the potential for loss of the charging clamp, this electrical connection will become problematic as the product ages. The highway routing on the GPS map is terrible and the device does not follow a desired route when waypoints are used to change the default routing. Their tech support has suggested purchasing the MapSource CityGuide for further street information to enhance routing capability, however, this is a highly unacceptable and expensive solution to fix a problem with highway data already contained on the basemap that accompanies the product out of box.
This unit does not have an external antenna connection, however, the FCC does not allow a radio with FRS capability to have one.
Yes, it is expensive. Fortunately, only marginally more expensive than their 520 model. Garmin has clearly worked very hard to succeed in designing a product that is well ahead of it's peers. Perhaps the price is their due.Was this review helpful? Yes - NoGarmin Rino 530
Pros: Features
Cons: A high in price
An exhaustive search for a full-featured FRS/GMRS combo handheld radio led me to consider a purchase of this model. Ignoring the GPS functionality for the moment, I was looking for a full 5-watt GMRS capable handheld with the common FRS combo functionality. There is only one other handheld on the market that can operate at the full-legal output power. I am at a loss to explain why the entire industry of manufacturers feel it necessary to have over-populated product lines with one- and two-watt output models and such a mix of features- but never all needed features in one unit. No model found has all of the features I was looking for- until I found this unit. Not only does this unit carry full-legal output power, but the US-market model also supports standard repeater transmitter offsets needed for repeater operation on GMRS channels 15 through 22. As of the release of this product, there is no other full-powered handheld on the market that will do this.
Add the rich functionalWas this review helpful? Yes - No
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