Buy Garmin Rino 530HCx 2-Way Radio with GPS/FRS/GMRSGarmin Rino 530HCx 2-Way Radio with GPS/FRS/GMRS Product Description:
- High-Sensitivity, WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver
- Electronic Compass Displays Accurate Heading While Standing Still
- Barometric Sensor With Automatic Pressure Trend Recording
- Features Built-In Quad Helix Receiving Antenna & Basemap With Automatic Routing Capabilities
- 5W Of Transmit Power Using Gmrs Frequency Up To 14-Mile Range
Product Description
Garmin Rino 530HCX Two-Way Radio and GPS
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
By Jared D. Lane
I purchased the 530HCx about 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 communicate 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 several deer trails, rub lines, and possible stand placements and I was able to return to those areas very easily. I used the averaging feature to fine tune the locations and was able to get within 5-7 feet of everything I marked.Everyone in the group said that radio transmission was crystal clear, they could hear my transmissions better than anyone elses. Don't get me wrong the Garmin in definetly a GPS first and radio second but I was very pleased with its 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 several trips to Fort Campbell every year and all roads, creeks, and even fire
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
By R. Kurth
Just received this unit -- arrived quickly from Amazon, as usual. Display is bright, controls simple to use, sensitivity of gps receiver is excellent (I can get reception in my basement, although 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 benefit of the radio capability, in case of emergency in wilderness while treking with my 9 and 12 year old daughters.With a fully charged, brand new rechargable battery as supplied with the unit, I got 40 hours of continuous use. I turned off the radio during 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 continuous use under similar conditions. After reading Hinch's book on GPS use, I did turn off the WAAS after about 8 hours into this trial. I did not have the radio on at all during the alkaline battery trial, although 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 during this time).The base map supplied with the unit provides minimal street information and (as with any map from any source) some inaccuracies. Lists our grade school parking lot as "Black Partridge Park" -- which is actually a very large prairie/forest preserve located just outside of our little town.Be aware: you cannot load any map onto this unit except those specifically provided/sold by Garmin. To my knowledge, this is true for all gps units; the units with mapping features will only accept 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 between this irl range and the 14 miles listed on specs (which is always the maximum obtainable under totally optimal conditions) is entirely 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 recommend Stephen Hinch book, Outdoor Navigation With GPS. I've been a basic-feature gps user for several years, but wanted a better understanding of the more advanced features and the jargon.
73 of 82 people found the following review helpful.
By Jimmy Blevins
I bought this unit for a Deer hunt in Utah. While there are many things to like about it, my unit had a number of negatives that ended up being a dealbreaker with me. I would also like to preface this review by saying that I have extensive experience with marine GPS units, starting with the first small 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 expectations 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 certain 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 should and could easily be designed so that it is fully internal in the main case of the unit, as it is on nearly all handheld (and now fully 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 rapidly 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 via a super-funky (and easily 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 about the best you could hope for. Radio transmissions were crispy and clear though. I don't know what other radios this can communicate with, so if others in your party are not similarly 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 can be downright confusing to operate without several days for intensive familiarization.The most glaring issue I had with this unit is that it switched 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 some kind of software glitch". They further stated that I "sounded unhappy" and actually encouraged me to return the unit. I felt this was an odd response for such a large company. From the number of "refurb" units I see for sale, this strikes me a probably not an isolated instance.
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