[Az-Geocaching] Garmin Rino 520/530

[Roping The Wind]

>From: "Bob & Linda Smith" <>

>I suggest you invest less money in something like the Midland GXT500 as
>a stand alone radio.  This radio operates on FRS and GMRS with 5 watts
>output on selected freqs.  You will have to get a license, mail order,
>for about $80.  I have a pair of these radios and could bring them in
>February when we take our flight.  In as much as you have a 60c/cs I
>would not spend money for a GPS/Radio combo.  My Midland's work in the
>460 Mhz region as would most FRS/GMRS radios.  These radios are
>available for $50 to $100 when you can find them.  I got mine at Fry's
>Electronics on Thunderbird.

My interest in the Rino 530's is not simply for the radio... but also for 
it's other obvious features and advantages. I am currently using a Motorola 
2 way radio with 1 watt. I think this is a higher frequency than the GMRS 
though (again, not sure). If the Rino has 5 watts of power and can reach 
much farther than my 1 watt radio... that is one reason (and a big one) for 
wanting the Rino 530. Second, I currently carry 3 electronic devices in my 
balloon.... an aircraft radio (for air traffic control communications), the 
2 way ground to air radios and also my GPS unit. The GPS unit is usually 
around my neck in  my front shirt pocket while I fly and the 2 radio's are 
in a pouch in the basket and not as easily accessible without having 
passengers move so I can reach for it. The convenience of having both the 
radio and the GPS on my person is another advantage of the unit. I also only 
have to carry one less electronic device on board (2 in 1). Also, along the 
same lines.. my Motorola radio frequency KILLS my GPS sattellie reception. 
When I leave my radios on for more than a minute or two, I lose satellites 
in my GPS. They seem to interfere with the GPS. This is not only the case 
with my 60C, but also my Garmin Legend and my old Garmin 3. I cant recall if 
it effected my old Magellan 300 and Blazer 12 or not. So it appears these 
radios interfere with any GPS. Not a big issue, I only turn my radio on to 
talk to my ground crew when I need to so I keep my GPS working. But if they 
need to call me, they cant. My radio is off! Obviously this is not an issue 
with the Rino. The third reason, and one of the coolest features of the Rino 
530 is that it can track other Rino users right on your GPS's color map 
screen. I can see exactly where my ground crew vehicle is and they can see 
where I am. Of course, we do just fine now. But, where this feature really 
comes in handy is when the balloon has landed and we are out of radio range. 
The crew will be able to see on their Rino map where I was last reported. Go 
to that location and they should certainly be back in radio range to 
communicate again. The way I understand it, everytime you hit the TX or call 
buttons, it sends a position report to my other Rino unit on the ground. 
This can be done once every 30 seconds (manually, I beleive). Now, Tres 
Hombres just said it will do it automatically about once every 15 minutes. 
That is great! That makes more sense for this feature. Having to key up to 
update your position on the other unit kind of sucks. It also appears you 
can keep your conversations very private between my two radios. Set a 
channel, set a code and you can also scramble just my two radios.

So all this is great and definetly looks like a great device for a balloon 
operation. The key question is this: will it be a better and farther 
reaching radio than my current 1 watt Motorola's? I already have a GPS and 
if the Rino cant live up to my needs, it wouldnt be money well spent. The 
key thing I am trying to understand is... the motorola radio is a different 
type of radio and I think it is a higher frequency than the GMRS radios. 
With that, if you have only 1 watt in a higher frequency radio than 5 watts 
in a lower frequency radio... which is going to be more powerful and reach 
farther out? I know my 1 watt can reach a couple of miles ground to ground 
(perhaps a bit more). But can reach 30 miles or more air to air. They 
advertise 2 mile range. The Rino advertises a 14 mile range. But alot of 
this has to be taken with a grain of salt. It also greatly depends on the 
terrain you are in.

I read the entire Rino 530 manual online at Garmin's website and it 
certainly looks like a nice unit. It looks like it will do all my 60C will 
do and more, plus its a radio too. Another nice feature of the 530 (that my 
60C does not have, but a CS does have) is the barametric pressure sensor and 
altimeter. Excellent for my application. It also has an electronic compass. 
Another cool feature yet is it has a sighting compass! There are two little 
marks on the side of the unit that can be used to sight an object. Using the 
electronic compass, you can get a most accurate heading to that object. This 
is very useful when I am sighting a pibal (a small helium balloon used to 
visualize the wind speed and direction aloft when we are on the ground 
before a flight).

Lots of great features and it looks like a must have for a ballooning 
operations. It is a big investement though considering the alternatives. As 
Petite Elite mentioned, GMRS radio's can be had for MUCH less. Of course, 
that isnt really what I am after. I have radio's that work good now. I am 
looking at all the added features of the Rino 530 as well as the potentially 
stronger 5 watt radio. I also need to spend some money right now as a 
business write off!!! It's the end of the year!!! ;)  LOL

Thanks for all the comments on this thread!

Scott
Team Ropingthewind

_________________________________________________________________
WIN up to $10,000 in cash or prizes – enter the Microsoft Office Live 
Sweepstakes http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/aub0050001581mrt/direct/01/