Garmin Rino 130 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio

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

Garmin Rino 130 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio Feature

• 12-Channel, WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver
• Built-In Electronic Compass, Basemap & Barometric Sensor
• 7 Noaa Weather Channels & Weather Alert
• 24 Mb Internal Memory
• Transmission Range Of Up To 2 Miles Using Frs

The the most feature-rich device in the Rino family, Garmin's Rino 130 combination 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).

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).

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. The Rino 130 is the most feature-rich unit in the Rino family, with a built-in electronic compass, barometric sensor, weather receiver for seven NOAA weather channels, and 24 MBs of internal memory. This handheld radio has a built-in electronic compass to give a heading while the user is standing still, and a barometric altimeter to provide extremely accurate elevation and pressure information, which will assist users in identifying weather data. The Rino 130 provides two-way radio communication with a transmission range of up to two miles using FRS channels and up to five miles with GMRS. The integration of two-way radio and GPS enables users to transmit their position with a simple button press, allowing others to navigate to their position. The Rino 130 also has a polling feature, which allows a user to manually request GPS location information from other Rino units. The Rino 130 offers a detailed basemap of North and South America, displaying cities, highways, railways, rivers and lakes, and borders. And because of the unit’s robust internal memory, it can store map data from a variety of Garmin MapSource CD products, including U.S. Topo 24K, U.S. Topo, Recreational Lakes, BlueChart, and MetroGuide.