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Use for both rec and work. Menu Items across top of screen very small(unreadable). Peer to peer positioning is fantastic. Rino 530s & 520s are a great blending of GPS and FRS radios. Alkaline battery packs available as back ups( but drop trasmit power allot).Bottom Line; I love the unit and have bought couple Rino 120s for the grandkids. Lots of functions.Cons: Heavy weight with Lithium Ion battery(but neccessary for 5 watt transmit).
Good transmit power.
Bought 530HCx to use hiking and FD rescue team ops with several other 520HCX.
Units are expensive.
Screens are smaller but with good viewable area.
Radio output volume not so good(suggest using with Motorola ear piece/boom mike).
Works well with Maptech TNP for tracking units on laptop.Pros:Great GPS reception.
Viewable screen in sunlight.
Garmin has you over a barrel with purchasing mapping sofware for each unit(older topo could be loaded on several units).
Can track them every where and they constantly want me to trade them the 530 for thier 120s.
Some of us are high tech friendly and others are about as high tech as a marble. For those who have back issues, heart issues, health issues.this is a life saftey device that should be with you.
Our ages are early 40's through late 60's and we are seasoned successful Gentlemen outdoors enthusiasts. We've all owned other GPS devices and after using this unit, we sold the rest and all own this product.
We hunt deer, elk and scout year round. It can also be set to have the unit be polled should someone not be able to key up and send their location.
This unit can poll other Garmin 560chx units. If someone gets hurt, we know their location.
The radio portion is strong as is all the menu, feature driven options. Everyone can use this once it is set up and it may take a tech savvy person to set it up originally.Well worth the money speant and I purchased a second one so my wife, kids or buddies are all connected and safe when we go outdoors.
I've hardly ever looked at the user manual. It has excellent reception, even inside most buildings. I can't say how much more fun fishing has been using the Lakemaster map with this GPS. I haven't used the locate feature that much with other Rino users, but a friend of mine uses it for snowmobiling and he says it works great when you are spread out over a couple of miles.Accuracy has typically been +- 12 ft (3 m) or better when outdoors and I've typically had 7-8 satellites most of the time which is about the best to expect right now with the number of satellites in the sky for the US.
Luckily I was under the 1 year warranty timeframe, and Garmin replaced the unit with a new one. This is about the best any brand of GPS will be able to get. The joystick navigation button is very easy to use and the menus are fairly intuitive. I purchased the Rino 530HCx in January 2009. I think the software for the MAC is even easier to use yet. The City Navigator is ok, but if you are looking to use this mostly for highway driving, I would look at the Nuvi or something similar.
It puts you right on the spot you want to be at with ease.One issue I did have is that my radio transmission (sending) did not work after about 10 months and also the temperature reading was off as well. I could hear everyone, but no one could hear me.
Very simple to upload/download POI's and tracks.Even with the issue I mentioned, it has been everything I was hoping for with a GPS/radio combination. I have used it primarily for fishing/atv use, and I won't leave home without it.
So far so good with the new unit after another 6 months of use. The unit comes with a basemap, but it only includes major highways and cities and not much else.
I've invested in the City Navigator and Lakemaster (MN) maps. I've used the Garmin software for a PC and a MAC (currently using this one).
I would definitely recommend any of the Rino units.
The maps that come with it aren't great but I downloaded the 2008 usgs topos (awesome). I love it. Very pleased. Use it for hunting. It's great for plugging all those waypoints in so I can return to exact spots. Walkie-talkie combo is nice, I dont have to have a load of devices to carry around with me. And the weather updates are great when camping with no radio or t.v.
Excellent gift for my husband at a great price. My husband loves his Garmin and all the great features that it has.
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