New from Garmin - the Rino 530

From the Garmin Site: (www.garmin.com)
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, 12-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 12 miles away
• 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 internal 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

Arghhh... Li-ion battery lasts for 16 hours.

How does Garmin expect us to use this on 1+ day trips in the backcountry? <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> Li-ion batteries in cameras are okay, but in devices such as a GPS... tsk tsk, AAs please!

Agreed! I bought the digital camera I did (Minolta DiMage x20) mostly because it was the smallest camera I could find that would still take commonly available batteries.

In addition to having a limited life due to recharging (number of charge / discharge cycles), I've also heard that LiIon batteries have a shelf life as well, and it's not nearly as long as CR123-type lithium batteries. I still have a Bear Cat Scanner I bought 15 years ago. I've replaced the NiCd batter pack, and the thing still works. Will I still be able to find these custom LiIon packs in 15 years? Doubt it.

Just make sure if you buy one of these that you also obtain a GMRS license from the FCC.

Michael Amper, GMRS(ZA) WPWN327

Martin,

since I bought my new GPS few weeks back I was trying not to look at Garmins website for another 3-4 months just in case they pull a stunt like this.

I'm a big fan of rino gps. Radio, weather channels + GPS especially since specs match everything I have on my new unit. BUT... the battery pack killed it. 16 hrs? What are they thinking? This is just like a broken pencil... pointless. I bet you that battery pack is not even that 16 hrs they are claiming. It is 16 hrs with gps and radio turned off with no backlight.

But I guess we already know what the next Rino will have.

The Rino 530 also uses 4 AA alkaline or NiCad batteries. Longevity will vary greatly depending on usage. I have been using a 110 and 120 for over two years now and truly love the units. Rated battery life for 15 hours (FRS & GPS), but I suspect you wouldn't be chatting too much to get that much battery life. I have been backwoods camping for more than a week with the same set of AA alkaline. It’s the same as the AN/PRC-25, radio silence, turn it on only when required, keep chatter to a min. etc…