Showing posts with label 60csx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 60csx. Show all posts

10/10/2011

Garmin Rino 130 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio and GPS Receiver Review

Garmin Rino 130 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio and GPS Receiver
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
available all over in the low to mid $200 range.
i have the 120 also. great for motorcycling with wife. between communication n decent gps
(neither great alone,one futzes with the optimal performance of the other,but not enough for me not to stay with the rino model come upgrade time) i think its a usefull product.
UNLESS i get around to getting a cell phone. my wifes has bluetooth w/cordless headset,as does my son.that makes the best person to per talking setup ive seen,,gps too!
only thing missing,and for motorcycling or backpacking is the "friend location finder" rite there on the rino screen.
say she is having a problem with the rite channel or whatever,,i can still "see her" on my screen and find her.
it happened once,and we hooked up in less than 20 minutes..we were on the highway,and she took a exit,by the time i turned around and got to her exit,i could find her down the road. we lost sight of each other,and she thought i was way up ahead of her,but i was just a bit in front,but hidden by a truck,i saw her turn off in my mirror,and ya ya ya,,found her in no time.
also great i think is at the fair for handing to one of the kids. then if they arent talking,,you can still find/see them.
they are a bit pricy though. i wonder why no one else hasnt tried to make a similar one??


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The the most feature-rich device in the Rino family, Garmin's Rino 130 (bilingual edition) 2-way FRS/GMRS radio and GPS receiver comes fully loaded with an electronic compass, a barometric sensor, a weather receiver for 7 NOAA weather channels, and 24 MB of internal memory for downloading and storing MapSource detail--including data from products like U.S. Topo 24K, U.S. Topo, Recreational Lakes, BlueChart, and MetroGuide (MapSource products sold separately). The Rino 130 is also outfitted with a marine-point database and a basemap of North and South America. The database includes nautical navaids for North and South America. The Americas Highway basemap includes the United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and covers an area from W180 to W30 Longitude and S60 to N75 Latitude. Also included is a high-level worldwide map with political boundaries and major cities. Among many other included elements are oceans, rivers, and lakes (greater than 30 square miles), principal cities and many smaller cities and towns, major interstates and principal highways, and political boundaries (state and international borders). The Rino 130 also offers 10,000 tracklogs versus 2,048 with the Rino 120. The 130 also comes ready with amassive 24 MB of memory unlike the Rino 120 with 8MB. Lastly the 130 shines with the very useful electronic compass, altimeter, glide ratio, glide ratio to destination, and vertical speed to destination features that the Rino 120 lacks.
Integration has its advantages: the Rino 130 sends and receives GPS locations using FRS channels and shows them on the map. The GPS device is a 12-channel, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver. WAAS, which stands for Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), is the global-positioning-system of choice for mariners. The handheld's built-in electronic compass give a heading while you're standing still, and its barometric altimeter provides accurate elevation and pressure readings to help you identify and analyze weather conditions.
The Rino 130 also provides two-way radio communication with a transmission range of up to two miles using FRS channels and up to five miles with GMRS (be aware that use of GMRS requires an FCC license). The integration of two-way radio and GPS lets you transmit your position with a simple button press, so others can easily navigate to your position. The Rino 130 also has a polling feature so you can manually request GPS location information from other Rino units.
You get 14 FRS channels, 8 GMRS channels, and 8 GMRS repeater channels, as well as 38 sub-audible squelch codes per transmission channel for semi-private radio communications.
The unit's ergonomic design grants single-handed operation, with its Call, Page mode, and Press-To-Talk (PTT) buttons mounted on the side, Power/Backlighting button on top, Volume and Zoom buttons on front, and a Thumb Stick positioned in the center. The thumb stick allows channel selection and volume adjustment in FRS/GMRS mode, as well as quick map panning, enter, and selection functions in GPS mode.
Other features include a backlit display (160 x 160 pixels), external voice activation (VOX), waterproof construction to IPX-7 standards (immersible in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes), storage for up to 500 waypoints with graphic identification and 20 reversible routes, 10,000 trackpoints and up to 20 saved tracks to retrace your path or a companion's path via the location-reporting feature, trip computer with speed tracking, sunrise/sunset read out, trip time, and trip distance, and multiple grid formats including MGRS and Loran TD. The Rino 130 even sends and receives short text notes for quiet communication.
The Rino 130 has a battery life of 14 hours (typical use) on 3 AA alkaline batteries (not included).

The WAAS differenceWAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time. And you don't have to purchase additional receiving equipment or pay service fees to utilize WAAS.
How it Works WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal.
Who benefits from WAAS? Currently, WAAS satellite coverage is only available in North America. There are no ground reference stations in South America, so even though GPS users there can receive WAAS, the signal has not been corrected and thus would not improve the accuracy of their unit. For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon. WAAS signal reception is ideal for open land and marine applications. WAAS provides extended coverage both inland and offshore compared to the land-based DGPS (differential GPS) system. Another benefit of WAAS is that it does not require additional receiving equipment, while DGPS does.What's in the Box Rino 130 receiver, a PC-interface cable, a wrist strap, a belt clip, a user's manual, and a quick-reference guide.

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10/02/2011

Garmin Rino 520 14-Mile 22-Channel Waterproof FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio and GPS Navigator Review

Garmin Rino 520 14-Mile 22-Channel Waterproof FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio and GPS Navigator
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
For the longest time, I resisted geting a GPS. Any soldier worth his stripes should be able to figure out his ground position to within 100m just by comparing the ground to his map, and maybe shooting a bearing with his compass.
But then I picked up a cheapie Garmin Etrex, and while it doesn't replace the map and terrain reading skills (by a long shot) the ability to generate an exact position fix at a moment's notice comes in very handy, especially when one is operating in an unfamilliar area. GPS may be a crutch, but it is an *effective* crutch.
There were a few small problems with the Etrex though. It was very sensitive to sky view, such that it often lost signal inside a vehicle unless it was on the dash. It didn't do mapping, and it would eat AA batteries at a ferocious rate. With the newer, fancier units on the market, I started thinking about upgrading.
Many of the troops in my unit have Rino 120 FRS/GPS units. It can be handy to have an additional means of communication other than the issue radios, and the position reporting function was interesting, so I bought a Rino 520 - specifically a 520 vice a 530 because of reports of better battery life, and the extra geegaws on the 530 didn't seem to have much practical purpose.
Wow!
1) The 520 has tons of memory, such that I could upload topo maps for every area I was likely to operate in and still have room to spare. The detail and accuracy has been outstanding, and having street names (which the issue 1:50k maps lack) has been a godsend.
2) It is much less sensitive to sky cover than the Etrex was. It'll still lose signal if (say) stuffed in a glovebox, but it'll work on your lap in a vehicle, where the Etrex would not.

3) The "breadcrumb" track mapping means I can record everywhere I go, and then download the tracks to my computer later via Mapsource - which can then be overlaid on satellite imagery via Google Earth (which has already proven useful in proving that I was at a certain place at a certain time)
4) The routing function and the turn-by-turn instructions were recently tested on a 900km road move, and worked - although the unit made a couple of odd suggestions, and I think it may have been hampered by not having detail maps loaded for the entire route.
5) It has a nifty "alarm clock" mode, where you set the alarm, and the unit shuts off - and then turns itself on and screeches at the appropriate time. Cool!
6) The data pages are customizable, meaning you can set up pages that contain just the info you need.
7) The radio and position location/transmit functions work exactly as advertised. I don't yet have a good feel for the max range of the radio (even in 5W mode) but it's not huge. The speaker gets all distorted at max volume, but when used with an earbud it is just fine. My gut tells me the radio is fair to good.
8) The only real concern I've had has been battery life and the fact that it uses a proprietary batty pack that must be recharged from wall current - which can be tough to find sometimes. But so far, battery life has been exceptional (a three day exercise with heavy radio use only dropped to 60%, and a 2-day road move with the radio turned off finished at 90% used) and an add-on pack that uses normal AA batteries (at the cost of dropping max transmit power to 2W) is availible.
Overall, this is a great unit, and highly recommended.
DG

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7/25/2011

Garmin Rino 530HCx 2-Way Radio with GPS/FRS/GMRS Review

Garmin Rino 530HCx 2-Way Radio with GPS/FRS/GMRS
Average Reviews:

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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

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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.
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.
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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