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Amazon.com Product Description Hit the trail in confidence 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 can 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 quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover. The advantage is clear: whether you're traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you can count on the Rino 530HCx to help 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 unique Position Reporting feature, which lets you send your exact location to other Rino users in your group so that everyone can see your position on the map page. No more worrying about 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 can use it to communicate with other conventional FRS/GMRS radios in the area. The 530HCx is also equipped with a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even when you're standing still, along with a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions. And thanks to the NOAA weather radio, you'll know well in advance when a storm is advancing. 
Receive detailed mapping information on the navigator's 1.3-by-1.7-inch, 256-color TFT display. | Perhaps the most important feature, however, is the crystal-clear 256-color TFT display, which clearly shows attributes 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 can also expand the mapping possibilities via the microSD card slot, which accepts cards preloaded with MapSource data for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with detailed 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.
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 Great Two-In-One |
| Review Date: November 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Jared D. Lane, White Pine, TN USA |
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 |
battery life info
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| Review Date: January 30, 2008 |
| Reviewer: R. Kurth, Central Illinois |
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. |
More than Satisfied our Expectations
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| Review Date: March 5, 2009 |
| Reviewer: RadarNix, |
To make a long story short:
I took my kids on what was supposed to be a short quad ride in the mountains and left my wife at the truck.
About 2 miles into this trail in an area I've never been, one quad runs out of Oil, and the big quad almost out of Gas. Sun goingd down quick, no idea where we were, and no way to communicate back to base.
We decided after this event was over, look for decent communication gear for these types of situations.
I created a simple checklist:
1. Longer range comm. (Keep this in perspective, I'm happy with a couple miles)
2. GPS.
3. Ability to send position.
4. Ability to Poll position. What if I fell and broke my neck? Better yet, what if I lost it :)
So, I researched and found these bad boys! I bought 2.
Though they are somewhat expensive, safety is well worth it.
Out of the box, they feel rugged enough, but not so rugged I can throw them off the roof. They come with the strap, belt clip, charger, and USB cable(I'll get to this).
Supposedly they carry a charge long enough for 14 hours of use. I've used them for over 4 and had well over half left.
Range: So far I've got around 2 miles in town(housing) using GMRS. The keying isn't instant, you have to hold the transmit for just under a second then talk.
Screen: Not the greatest in the world, nowhere close to what you'd get off of a dedicated car GPS, but definitely usable. There are settings to turn off clutter which helps since the screen is smaller..
Buttons: The only thing I wonder about is the navigation stick. Time will tell how well this holds up, but so far so good.
Back to the USB cable:
You can connect this device to a computer for updates and map loads. So far I've tested the Topo maps, and Road maps. Nice added functionality, but more cost. You need a microSD card for this.
As with most newer GPS', this unit does auto-routing, lookups, etc. No voice command as far as I can tell.
It has a built in compass, could be helpful. Barometer, altimeter...
SO, it accomplishes what I needed and more. When you transmit to talk, the unit transmits its location at the end updating the other units. You can poll the position of another unit in your contacts list if you haven't heard from them. You can even send little text messages if you don't want to talk; this could be handy if the others can't understand what you are saying. It does do GeoCaching if that's your thing. So there's more functionality than I discuss.
I'm extremely satisfied with these.
NOTE: One of the units I first received had an issue where it wouldn't transmit more than about 15 feet. Since I ordered from Amazon, I created the RMA, and had a new one in 2 days. No hassle at all.
You MAY find a cheaper price, but dealing with Amazon is super easy. Don't be cheap and order from Joe Schmoes online who nobody ever heard of to save $20.
I hope this helps.
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All things to most people...
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| Review Date: October 30, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Pelks, CT |
| Garmin has delivered a well rendered product that simplifies communication, GPS and coordination of movement with the 530 HCx. I was looking for a combo unit for sometime for Hunting, kayaking and hiking that would enable me to stay in contact with other memebrs of my party, exploit GPS land nav and keep tabs on my travelling companion's position. Boy did this field test well. Easy to use and intuitive, out of the box I field tested it Kayaking and hiking; worked fine though would have liked more battery life, the radio reception was excellent but found range approx 2 miles max on line-of-sight but otherwise held up well. GPS was outstanding - had no problems with uploading topos, using the various mapping features and found the compass and altimeter were very precise. An excellent and handy product -wish I had this 20+ years ago in the USMC. |
Met our expectations
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| Review Date: January 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: B. Davis, Eagle River, Alaska |
| Two friends and I discussed purchasing the Rino 530Hcx, friends that spend time hunting, fishing, 4 wheeling and snowmobiling together. The feature of being able to pin down one another's location in relation to our own was the primary reason this unit intrigued us. We commonly lose each other while snowmobiling and the ability to radio each other, locate each other on our respective GPS's seemed to really meet our needs. So Amazon handled the transaction of 4 units(one wife included)and on the first trip out, the Rino worked just as expected, it proved to make a difference. I was concerned about battery life because we are in Alaska and the cold is hard on batteries, but pleasantly surprised at how well the battery held up. Having an older Etrex Vista I was also pleased with how intutive the Rino 530Hcx to operate as well as quick to locate satellites. Already owning a GPS, I was a little hesitant to do the upgrade but the Rino is definitely a vast improvement, so well worth it. |
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