garmin radio

1. Posted: Sep 3 2008

   After a research of about 3 months, trying to find a good GPS system that has bluetooth and can also play MPS3's, I bought this product from amazon, this product is the best for the price you get it for. Only shortcoming are. 1) Software only supports upto 2GB of SD card 2) Increasing/Decreasing volume is a pain. Otherwise, i have absolutly no complains with this product.

2. Posted: Aug 28 2008

   Love this GPS. It is no frill and easy to use. Clear voice instructions and large bright road directions.

3. Posted: Aug 24 2008

   It is a very useful aid to find your way around, look for a restaurant or use the cell phone in the car. The device mounts easily on the windshield and is small enough not to destruct the view. The directions are clear and entering an address or a special place are fairly straight forward. However this device still needs a lot of improvement to be a main stream driving aid tool. The names of the streets are not very clearly pronounced and there is too much relience on on-screen instructions or touch screen operations. For example, using the bluetooth feature which is supposed to give you "hands free" operation, you need to touch the screen to answer a call or to end it. I can see how it may lead to accidents instead of preventing them. It is excellent when someone is sitting by the driver paying attention to messages, and the information provided. But when a driver is alone in the car it is a major distruction to driving. By comarison, a cell phone is just a minor one.

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1. Posted: Aug 12 2008

   This garmin was easy to use and never had any problems with it at all. And updating it was easy too. Loved it

2. ( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Mar 30 2007

   I have had this for a year now and it works great. Matches ACU color. I would buy the 430 or 420 with the color screen but I don't need the color screen. I haven't downloaded any new base maps but I intend to do so at some point before a deployment. If you want a cheap GPS to give you MGRS grids, purchase the Foretrex not Forerunner. The Forerunner is only for lon/lat. So unless you are a flyboy and you want a cheaper, smaller unit get the Garmin Foretrex. I would like to get another unit that has an MMC slot, currently the only ones that have that are the E-Trex and some other models. Overall it is a great item.

3. ( 3 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 2 2006

   After reading all of the online reviews here on Amazon, and on the manufacturer's web site, I decided to purchase the units and judge for myself. I had been planning a trip to the Michigan sand dunes, and thought it would be nice for safety to have at least two units in case any member of my family got lost, or seperated during the trip. Within the first few hours of using the units, we learned a few of it's idiosyncrocies. One thing you have to know is that the units must have time to "locate" at least 4 satellites before it will accurately report location info. The time required can vary, depending on the environment. Terrain with buildings, or other barriers, natural or otherwise, will increase the time required for the unit to "lock-in" satellites. Once the unit's find the satellites needed for self-navigation, the unit works without much intervention. My 14 year-old son was able to learn how to use the tracking-navigation feature within a couple of hours of tickering with the unit. Out in the field, my 14 year-old son made a miscalculation, and ended up in a chest-high pond of water, with him, his ATV, and the Garmin Rino 130 fully submerged for about 3 minutes. After the initial panic of making sure he was ok, and removing the water-logged ATV from the water, we immediately checked the Rino 130, and it was still working great. However, the external PTT microphone that is sold as an accessory did not survive the plunge. The unit works so well, and is so simple to use, it can seem almost "toy-like" until you realize how much data it keeps track of at one time. Once I initiated the "tracking" feature for the other two units I purchased, it maintained location data for the duration of the trip, without any further manipulation. I was actually stunned by the simplicity of locating any of the units, even standing still. Although the compass feature works better when moving, it is still very accurate in a fixed location under the right conditions. Overall, I would recommend this unit for anyone needing basic communication and GPS capability. The Radio was a bit under-powered in my opinion, but they were suitable for short distances in wooded areas. Near some metro areas, RF interference is definitely a problem, but that's no fault of the unit. Many of the people who have complained about this unit seem to either have received a defective unit, or don't like to read manuals.

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1. Posted: Aug 19 2008

   I recently purchased a Garmin Rino 530HCX, it is a great product, I am having a problem using the peer to peer with the Rino 120, in a dense forest the position updates take longer than I would like but i dont think this is because of the 530HCX, its most likely the fault of the rino 120. It gets bad reception even at a 1/4 mile from a moving vehicle, and unless it has a clear pathway to the 530 it doesnt seem to update. I would assume that if both parties had the 530HCX the recpeption and the peer to peer would be better, this is a case of "your only as strong as your weekest link" and in this case its the 120.

2. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 13 2008

   I have had this unit for a few months. I should have returned it. First the positive: It is durable, I have dropped it once, and it has flown off my bike twice and still works. The trip manager is very nice. You can choose many different types of information to view and the "big numbers" feature is great for cycling. Now the negs. I have found the "track back" feature worthless. If you are counting on this to lead you back to camp after getting lost, forget it. If you use the belt clip, you will likely lose the satellite connection, and you won't get it back unless you reboot (I had to figure this out on my own). Therefore, while hiking, you must carry the unit in your hand or attach it to the top of your backpack (very inconvenient). I agree with the review that states the manual should explain more on how the features could be used. Very poor documentation. The very expensive topo map does not have good trail information at all. It tells you the elevation of the surrounding mountains and shows major waterways but for the money it cost, it should have all established hiking/biking trails. The optional bike adapter is cheaply made and broke under the weight of this unit. I should have just purchased a cycling GPS instead.

3. Posted: May 17 2008

   I wish I had waited 6 months last time when I bought the base Rino 530 - that was not expandable. For $20 I was able to get a 2 GB memory card that goes into this one and can hold every map I could ever need. Now with 2 units I can keep track and keep in touch with other members of our party when we are out enjoying nature!

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1. Posted: Sep 2 2008

   Very easy to use right out of the box. Have used while driving around several cities on business (Richmond, VA and Atlanta). I even used it recently to track the progress of my flight to Atlanta (max speed now shows 520MPH)! I really like the size of the screen and that this model speaks actual street names instead of "turn right in 500 ft".

2. Posted: Aug 29 2008

   I especially like some of the features that the 750 has like multiple waypoints, pronuncing street names and choice of voices.The music and picture playback features were good too. One thing I would like to see would be consolidation of menus. I feel that I have to open too many screens to get to the features that I want. Also I found that it could not always find things stored in it's memory on the first search. I live in California and traveled to Minnesota. The nuvi failed to find Minnesota until I zoomed out on the screen and selected a point in Minnesota. Read the fine print about free trial features, you may end up having your credit card charged for these things after the trial period is up. Other than these things, I am happy with my 750

3. Posted: Aug 15 2008

   Yep, With the Nuvi 750 I travel with confidence and no longer get lost in the parking lot. I do a lot of disaster work and travel in unframiliar areas with out stress and with confidence that I will reach my destination. I have four GPS units and for travel this is by far the best. The Nuvi is easy to operate and I have no reservations reccomending this unit to all my friends.

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