Garmin Rino 530 Review

The Garmin Rino 530 is the flagship model in Garmin's product line that marries GPS with a two-way radio. Identical to the Rino 520 in all other respects, the 530 adds a NOAA weather radio, barometric altimeter and electronic compass.

The editors at Amazon had this to say in their Garmin Rino 530 review:

"No matter where your outdoor activities take you, the Garmin Rino 530 GPS-Integrated FRS/GMRS two-way radio is designed to keep hikers and climbers on track and in touch. This rugged, two-way radio with GPS packs a bold color display, 12-mile communication range, and turn-by-turn directions, The "Radio Page" displays two-way radio status and GPS signal strength. The "Compass Page" displays basic navigational info giving you peace of mind in the great outdoors...

...Exclusive position-reporting capabilities and a host of other unique features make the Rino 530 one of the best all-in-one two-way radio and GPS receivers around. The position-reporting feature allows you to send and receive GPS positions with other Rino users in your group. Make one call to your partner's Rino, and your location shows up on the map page. You can even poll another Rino user's location in emergency situations."

Here's what others are saying:

• Several readers post their Rino 530 reviews at CNet.
• Customer reviews of the Rino 530 are starting to appear at Amazon.
• Garmin's own blog posts on using the Rino 530 when hunting.
• Here's a story of members of the U.S. military using the Rino 530 in Iraq.

Some other resources:

• A PDF version of the Rhino 530 owners manual.
• Want to compare the 530 to other handhelds or previous generation Rinos? Try this Garmin GPS comparison tool.
• There is an active Yahoo Rino discussion group.

I'll be posting more hands on reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some other helpful resources:

Compare prices on the Garmin Rino 530 at these merchants:

• Check the current Rino 530 price at Amazon.com.
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• Get the Garmin Rino 530 for an amazing price on eBay.

From the official Garmin Rino 530 web page:

No matter where your outdoor activities take you, the Rino® 530 keeps you on track and in touch. Similar to the 520, this rugged, two-way radio with GPS packs a bold color display, 14-mile communication range, and turn-by-turn directions – giving you peace of mind in the great outdoors. Taking it a step further, the Rino 530 adds an electronic compass, barometric altimeter, and NOAA weather receiver, making it a favorite with hikers and climbers

Exclusive position-reporting capability and a host of other unique features, make the 530 one of the best all-in-one two-way radio and GPS receivers around. As with other members of the Rino family, the 530’s patented location-reporting feature allows you to send and receive GPS positions with other Rino users in your group. One call to your partner's Rino, and your location shows up on the map page. You can even poll another Rino user's location in emergency situations.

Additional 530 features include:

• Whopping 5 watts of transmit power (GMRS) means you can now call for help from 14 miles away (transmit power limited to 2 watts in Canada with a range up to 8 miles)
• Bold color TFT display makes it easy to see and navigate to family or friends with Rinos at an amusement park, lake, or other outdoor group activity
• Automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions with alert tones, and icon-driven menus for finding points of interest (when combined with Garmin’s optional MapSource® City Select® software) navigate you safely to your next outdoor adventure
• Mini USB and 56 megabytes of internal memory for rapid download and lots of map storage  of Garmin’s entire line of outdoor cartography
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 16 hours of outdoor use
• Barometric altimeter provides extremely accurate elevation for hikers and climbers
• Electronic compass so you can get a heading when standing still
• NOAA weather capability to keep you informed of changes in weather

The Rino 530 comes with a built-in detailed basemap of North and South America. When combined with Garmin’s optional City Select software, it provides automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions with alert tones, and icon-driven menus for finding points of interest. Customize map data for your adventures on land or sea with Garmin’s entire line of optional outdoor cartography including U.S. Topo 24K, U.S. Topo, Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots ™, and BlueChart®.

Rino 530: Two-way radio with GPS keeping you on track and in touch

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