Thursday, July 17, 2014

goTenna

Another tool to make your phone act like a radio... this time it is in the form of the goTenna hardware. (As opposed to the Firechat app.)


Basically, you pair the goTenna with your phone and use it communicate when you are in a congested area or in one with no signal.

From the Gigaom article:
"It’s an extremely low bandwidth network, so it’s really only useful for send text messages and GPS coordinates, but it’s extremely long-range thanks to the ultra-low-band frequencies 151-154 MHz frequencies goTenna uses. Lower frequencies propagate further and can punch through or wrap around obstacles like trees. To put that in perspective, the lowest-band mobile network in operation today is at 700 MHz, while Wi-Fi starts another 1700 MHz further up the electromagnetic spectrum chart."
From the FAQ:
"Is goTenna FCC licensed? 
Delivery of goTenna is dependent on FCC approval. At this very moment, goTenna is undergoing FCC testing and we expect to complete this process in a couple of weeks."



$150 for 2 (pre-orders) here.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds more like a expensive replacement for a pair of UV5's !

    Pah !

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  2. When reading "ultra low frequencies" I was thinking of kHz, not 150MHz...

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  3. Few problems:
    1. Using MURS frequencies (VHF CB in the US) will render it illegal in other countries.
    2. VHF get's attenuated badly by the human body, in their promo videos, they either hold the antenna in their hands, or on their backs.
    3. No voice - Now there is a reason for that, at 2 Watts, a tiny battery like they use will deplete very quickly.
    4. Exorbitant price - for a short range comm for non hams, get a pair of MURS radios for half the price of a single GoTenna, or get an FRS radio (14 CH) for $20 each on eBay, Traveling abroad? get the correct radios for your destination, don't break the law:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_radio_service

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