with a limited battery life coupled with the limit of a smart phone battery and at that price point I can't imagine relying on this over a traditional walkie talkie.
Modern "Walkie Talkies" usually have 10-16 hours of battery life.
They also for the most part cost more than this, most people have smartphones and know how to use them fewer understand how to operate 2 way radios.
Considering that this is priced at or below most of the mid range consumer 2 way radios with the same features (500mw transmit power, same frequency coverage) but adds additional features like texting (which requires you to buy "professional" radio handsets) and co-location I don't see this as being that inferior.
And considering that the app can take out most of the user errors of using 2 way radios this might actually be more reliable than traditional handsets for most users.
And as far as the battery goes bring a battery pack / solar chargers you'll need it no matter if you are using this or a 2 way radio.
But most importantly if this is done right you have pretty much have self arranging mesh/cell network between multiple users even with some form of security/key-exchange as it can easily be done in software and you have a very powerful device - a modern smartphone to take charge of that.
I don't know of that many people that understand how to setup private, cross-talk and dispatch channels manually and pre-program them into their handsets and even if they do you still need to rely on users knowing when to switch to each pre-programmed channel.
Sure there are self arranging 2 way radios capable of building their own mesh/cell networks but those tend to be in the military range which puts each handset at several thousands of dollars no 100$.
If you want to talk to some one in private you can pretty much send them a "text" over a shared channel that will switch their unit to a private channel on its own. If you want to broadcast to everyone SOS style you can do that with ease rather than needing to remember which channel have you preset for that.
The app can also enable you to get access to emergency channels for virtually every rescue service in the world based on your location.
And there are tons of other use cases one could think of that are much easier / better with this setup than with a normal dumb 2 way radio.
FFC :) this is a European product, and since all of the "software" side of things is in your phone this can be available in other regions, and in the worse case scenario you can hack it in yourself.
Any radio equipment which is compatible with FRS/GMRS will work with PMR446/KDR444/FREENET and the likes which legally "support" mesh networking and repeaters.
FFC regulations are pretty much bull in regards to many handheld radio frequencies and pretty much force limitations on communication equipment which doesn't require a fee.
If you pay for GMRS license you all of a sudden can have repeaters etc. which you can't with FRS even tho they share a frequency range.
Yes, but this one seems more limited vs. the Gotenna -
- Gotoky: only 0.5 W of power vs. the Gotenna's 2 W
- uses FRS channels UHF vs. Gotenna's use of the MURS VHF bands, which have better propagation
I'd think even though they claim 5 mi line of sight, they would struggle to get 1/4 to 1/2 miles of range in normal city/event operation. They do even claim as much (<0.2 miles in Concerts and Events.)
I think the Gotoky is really just an FRS radio for your phone, while the Gotenna has quite a bit more capabilities.
The transmit power is due to the frequencies they support FRS is "capped" at 500mw, MURS requires 2W for all channels.
As such 500mw is a standard transmit power for most 2 way handsets even "high end" consumer ones.
http://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_xu/products/consumer-two...
FRS handsets are still by far more common and you can communicate with GMRS stations which are more common as far as emergency services go.
Another interesting regulatory hurdle when using FRS is that you are only allowed to transmit data once per 30 seconds, and packets can only be 1 second long. [1, p.11]
I have a pair and they are great. Just remember these aren't miracle products: you'll get multiple miles in the mountains if you're in the same valley, but I only got 500 meters in Urban areas. It really makes you appreciate the cell infrastructure.
I think this could work, outdoors but also when travelling with a small group avoiding huge roaming charges. Battery life should be ok, I don't think it's designed for chatting away just basic communication.
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[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 38.4 ms ] threadThey also for the most part cost more than this, most people have smartphones and know how to use them fewer understand how to operate 2 way radios.
Considering that this is priced at or below most of the mid range consumer 2 way radios with the same features (500mw transmit power, same frequency coverage) but adds additional features like texting (which requires you to buy "professional" radio handsets) and co-location I don't see this as being that inferior.
And considering that the app can take out most of the user errors of using 2 way radios this might actually be more reliable than traditional handsets for most users.
And as far as the battery goes bring a battery pack / solar chargers you'll need it no matter if you are using this or a 2 way radio.
But most importantly if this is done right you have pretty much have self arranging mesh/cell network between multiple users even with some form of security/key-exchange as it can easily be done in software and you have a very powerful device - a modern smartphone to take charge of that.
I don't know of that many people that understand how to setup private, cross-talk and dispatch channels manually and pre-program them into their handsets and even if they do you still need to rely on users knowing when to switch to each pre-programmed channel.
Sure there are self arranging 2 way radios capable of building their own mesh/cell networks but those tend to be in the military range which puts each handset at several thousands of dollars no 100$.
If you want to talk to some one in private you can pretty much send them a "text" over a shared channel that will switch their unit to a private channel on its own. If you want to broadcast to everyone SOS style you can do that with ease rather than needing to remember which channel have you preset for that.
The app can also enable you to get access to emergency channels for virtually every rescue service in the world based on your location.
And there are tons of other use cases one could think of that are much easier / better with this setup than with a normal dumb 2 way radio.
"FRS units are prohibited from transmitting data in store-and-forward packet operation mode."[1, p.11]
1. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol5/pdf/CFR-...
FFC regulations are pretty much bull in regards to many handheld radio frequencies and pretty much force limitations on communication equipment which doesn't require a fee. If you pay for GMRS license you all of a sudden can have repeaters etc. which you can't with FRS even tho they share a frequency range.
[1] http://www.gotenna.com/
- Gotoky: only 0.5 W of power vs. the Gotenna's 2 W
- uses FRS channels UHF vs. Gotenna's use of the MURS VHF bands, which have better propagation
I'd think even though they claim 5 mi line of sight, they would struggle to get 1/4 to 1/2 miles of range in normal city/event operation. They do even claim as much (<0.2 miles in Concerts and Events.)
I think the Gotoky is really just an FRS radio for your phone, while the Gotenna has quite a bit more capabilities.
1. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol5/pdf/CFR-...