[aprssig] APRS and goTenna

[Steve Noskowicz]

OK.  So this is, in essence, a Bluetooth range extender translater via VHF with a crummy antenna.   I always thought that cell phones should have a phone-to-phone mode.  I guess with Bluetooth, they do.  They just lack the software to pair.

Duplicate the protocol and it can send other (similar) data.

-- 
 Regards, Steve K9DCI
 Science & Technical Advisor
 http://www.challengerillinois.org/

--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 12/19/15, Greg Troxel via aprssig <aprssig at tapr.org> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [aprssig] APRS and goTenna
 To: "Richard Amirault via aprssig" <aprssig at tapr.org>
 Date: Saturday, December 19, 2015, 7:31 AM
 
 
 Richard Amirault via aprssig <aprssig at tapr.org>
 writes:
 
 > On 12/18/2015 7:13 PM, Bill Vodall wrote:
 >> So much publicity and advertising these days for
 the "new technology"
 >> of the goTenna - when we've been doing the same and
 much much more for
 >> 20+ years.
 >>
 >>    http://www.wsj.com/articles/no-cell-signal-this-can-help-when-you-wander-off-grid-1450203815
 >>
 > These works on MURS frequencies and, like any radio
 signal, successful
 > communication varies with location. I suspect that most
 users will be
 > disappointed in the coverage radius of these units.
 Besides ... with
 > no cell signals ... that means no power to re-charge
 your smartphone
 > (needed to use these) Unless you have provided a way to
 re-charge your
 > phone these will have a *very* limited time of use.
 
 Power and cell don't seem all that closely linked; I tend to
 be out of
 cell coverage far more often than there is no
 electricity.  Plus
 solar/battery isn't that hard, and even normal people carry
 batteries to
 recharge their phones.
 
 While there are issues, this seems a natural evolution of
 carrying FRS
 radios, and is accessible to normal people.  Plus it
 seems one can
 encrypt text messages and location, which you can't do on
 Amateur
 frequencies.
 
 But I agree that most people will be unhappy with range
 because they
 have no idea how radio works.
 
 To me the bad part is having to use their app vs an open
 API.
 
 It was amusing that the WSJ article talked about people
 taking these to
 foreign countries - where MURS is probably not ok.
 
 So I wonder if this will have a place to link the public to
 nearby hams
 for longer range communication during infrastructure
 outages.
 
 73 de n1dam
 
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