How goTenna extends RF to the mainstream & adds to every Ham’s toolbelt

I admit this caught my eye and got me interested, but after reading the initial post here and the post here (http://www.gotenna.com/blogs/blog/1...o-the-mainstream-adds-to-every-ham-s-toolbelt) I came to the same conclusion that others have already commented, this product has nothing to do with ham radio.

It seems this company is trying to make some comparisons to ham radio to expand it's interest to the ham community, but there's no connection. This product is not for hams, you don't need a ham license to use it, it doesn't receive or transmit on any ham bands, and it doesn't interface with any ham equipment.

The product itself sounds interesting and useful, but it's nothing to do with ham radio. Now if the company went away and built something that did something aimed at hams, you do need a ham license to use, receives or transmits on ham bands, and/or interfaces with ham equipment then maybe this would be interesting to the audience here.

 

They have pop up ads on QRZ. It's just good ol' capitalism in action. Grease the right palms and....

 

Goantenna does not replace ham.?? Ok ... how about bacon? Sausage?
zero interest.

 

What exactly is groundbreaking about this product? It allows you to use a cellphone to send text messages over MURS. Big whoop. Guess what? Gotenna users will NEVER be able to communicate with hams on ham bands, nor with emergency service to any useful extent. Not because Gotenna doesn't 'work', but because it provides no value or redeeming service that can't already be accomplished by keying up a handheld radio. So it can relay texts? Then what?

The hyperbole spouted by its proponents is humorous bordering on pathetic.

Non technical people already have access to VHF and UHF with MURS and FRS.

 

Ah the Shack-On-A-Belt stuff ...again.

 

I don't believe Fred has anything to do with choosing which ads you see as he probably uses an ad network that feeds in relevant ads.

 

Oh. Just a coincidence, then.

 

Here's what I got from the sales pitch (correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points) :


Pitch - Send messages even when there’s no cell service or wifi

Reality-

• Text messages only
• No SMS photo sharing
• Interface is not through the standard smartphone text app, but by means of a custom app, meaning it is not seamless or a background service.

<figure> </figure>Pitch - Share locations and points of interest when you're off-grid

Reality -

• Sketchy reference to "detailed offline maps of the whole world"
• No interface with existing standard smartphone map applications

<figure> </figure>Pitch - Create your own network with friends or chat with others nearby

Reality -

• This brings a whole new meaning to "your own network" and "nearby".

Pitch - What's the Range? The short answer: usually 1 to 6 miles

Reality -

• Unlikely that this device would ever go much over a mile unless over perfectly flat, open terrain or water. Possible, but unlikely in general practice.
• "Nearby" is a better description of the potentially useful range in the "crowd" scenario.
• 6 miles possible if open shot from a mountaintop to a valley below or peak to peak. 20 miles possible from peak to peak. In outer space, who knows?
• Seasoned Hams will immediately understand the limitations of a VHF based handheld device with 2 watts and built-in antenna.

Pitch - Send encrypted messages that aren’t stored anywhere


Reality -

• Great for anarchists, cat burglars and gang activities

Seems the main selling point of this device is more around creating a secretive off-grid communications network using public airwaves to support activities that are either unsavory, subversive, political in nature, or downright clandestine. Nothing wrong with that, but let's get it out in the open. This is the secret decoder ring version 2014.


Consider this... Not every technology needs to be turned into some social media Stick In The Man's Eye just for the sake of doing so. If you need to text order beer at the concert, rest assured the NSA doesn't care. Maybe this mentality is explained by the observation that the Gotenna offers:

"a one-stop solution for those who have neither the time nor energy or even the financial wherewithal to set up a ham rig, but still want the benefits of off-grid communication."


FRS and MURS radios are cheap. For the price of one end of a Gotenna network, you can buy 2 Baofeng 5 watt handhelds and a GMRS license. Or you can buy 7 FRS radios and no license. $149 will buy a decent dual band handie talkie or single band mobile ham rig.



Thing is...

When I'm dangling from a precariously positioned piton, 1000ft. over a canyon, my first inkling is not to reach for a cellphone keyboard to ask for help. Handheld radio with VOX is much more useful.

When I'm attempting to coordinate the rotten vegetable delivery to the RNC speech, it's likely not taking place in the middle of the Kalahari Desert with no cell service.

When I'm fishing or camping, the last thing on my mind is gearing up so I can answer some idiot off-grid texts. Call me on the cellphone, FRS or ham radio.

When I'm attempting to do emergency communications in a noisy environment where only text based exchanges can take place, I likely don't have much of a chance of survival anyway, and am probably in the way of actual emergency responders who have actual communications gear.




Which brings me to the point that Gotenna devices fall under the restriction on "store and forward" over MURS:

MURS permits the use of a variety of emission modes, but the most common is analog voice using FM modulation. Data communications are permitted, but the FCC prohibits image transmissions. [95.401]

Repeaters (stations that retransmit simultaneously) and store-and-forward packet stations are not allowed. [95.1311]

So, guess what? NO MESH. NO TEXT PHOTOS. In fact, storing and forwarding the text packets may be restricted altogether.

In fact, the Gotenna is not even FCC approved at this time. (according to the Gotenna website) but maintains it will ship this winter.


All that said, great idea, just not groundbreaking or even something that has anything to do with ham radio, ham radio activities, people who are likely to use ham radio, or anything important.



BTW.. a better product would have been to focus on creating a little device that serves as a AX.25 digipeater and terminal using any smartphone as a Bluetooth keyboard and any handheld two-way radio device for transmission and reception. The FCC would approve that. Hams would buy that.


Other than that, carry on. Good luck. Personally, I'd rather spend my money on the Earl Backcountry Tablet. http://www.meetearl.com/ Much cooler than the Gotenna, and WAY more likely to make it into my go-kit or backpack.


In closing, might I suggest something more affordable for the prospective Gotenna'er? Like, say...

A Barbie Glamtastic Texter for $6.99...

Text your friends without costing your parents a penny. These stylish Barbie Texters let you share your latest fashion tips with your fashionista friends up to 300' away. You can store your favorite contacts and keep them safe with secret password function. To make sure you don’t miss your curfew, these text messengers show time as well. Great for sleepover parties or road trips.

Up to 300' rangeSends text messages
Stores contacts
Displays current time
No central server




Next?

 

By my interpretation, goTenna is a REPEATER. It will link to a nearby goTenna device, but it ain't gonna do diddly if you are in a mine, a well, the middle of the ocean, in a subway, or otherwise more than a short distance from another unit. SO, it can not fulfill the concept of continuous contact unless everyone has one and we are spread out uniformly across the face of the earth - or at least in range of one of Google's balloons.
The time may come when we can mesh seamlessly from anywhere to anywhere else.
GoTenna is a step along that path, but it is not the fulfillment of the universal-mind concept.

 

Looks like the Family and Gang pack is the best bulk deal.

 

Yeah, the Gambino's and Crips will love them.

 

Interoperability: None.

Ham operator viewpoint: "gotenna is an interesting invention, but lacks Interoperability".

Possible niche: Medical information confidentiality (HIPAA) disaster communications for pedestrian very short range (2 mile) use.

The gotenna platforms lacks Interoperability, so it appears unlikely to be adopted by the Emergency Communications mainstream.

If it were an open source, non-proprietary format, it might have a snowball chance of being adopted into some future HT thumb-keyboarding devices. Then it might take off.

 

Bonnie, why does being open source become the gate here?

Not being critical , just curious.
l
73
Chip W1YW

 

You know, I keep hearing HIPPA trotted out in defense of using encryption over ham radio bands during emergency situations. The reality is we already have bands available to us, as hams, for the remote possibility of transmitting medical records.

The hospitals and police already have dedicated bands for commercial and tactical use in which such information can be transmitted privately. Ham radio operators aren't left out of the loop either as there are unregistered bands open with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHZ in which we can employ standard commercial grade encryption systems to TX/RX necessarily private data. Now, if you really are concerned about privacy and need strong encryption then, quite frankly, you shouldn't be putting it out over the public airwaves anyway, it should be hand couriered.

I've yet to hear a legitimate concern raised in which the amateur bands would require encryption and such information could not be sent by other means where encryption technology is legal.

Also, proprietary formats aren't banned from ham radio bands. You can have a proprietary format that is technically open, that is anyone can decode it with the specifications in hand, but no other manufacturer can use the technology without a license from the originator. D-STAR comes to mind. It's theoretically an 'open standard' but it's tied up in licensing fees with the AMBE CODEC which is required for interfacing.

 

I wanted to clarify my motivations for posting the blog I wrote on QRZ.

While the product is not directly related to ham radio, it extends VHF communication to non-hams. This allows hams to use VHF to communicate with family, friends, and loved ones who might not be hams otherwise. Although the device does not use the ham bands, it tips its hat at amateur radio in the sense that this is non-commercial use of the radio spectrum. According to Part 97 of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, the amateur radio service is designed to “contribute to the advancement of the radio art”. goTenna is such an advancement, inasmuch as nothing quite like it has existed before (i.e. a smartphone-compatible, VHF text-based packet radio with offline maps, end-to-end 224-bit elliptic curve crypto that’s super consumer-friendly). It’s not intended in any way to replace ham radio (how could it?!), but rather supplement what hams have been doing for years (and using a different part of the spectrum that declutters ham bands) by offering a new option, particularly for non-technical folks.

According to Part 97, amateur radio was further established with the intent of “providing emergency communications”. goTenna is designed to do exactly that for non-hams. So, in a nutshell, if there’s anyone in your community who you care about and is not a ham operator like you - goTenna could be for them. Hams know how reliable RF is - hams are capable of using it effectively. goTenna is for the spouse, the grandmother, the child, the neighbor, the best friend - who is NOT a ham. In case of an emergency, or if you go hiking or to a big event with degraded service, goTenna lets you communicate with the phone you have on you already and the Snickers-sized goTenna.

As a recent college graduate, I think goTenna is exciting because it conforms to mainstream consumer behavior: i.e. using the smartphone you already have on you. Few kids my age want to take the time to learn what squelch is or how to bounce an HF shot off the ionosphere. As such, goTenna wants to bring to the uninitiated masses the knowledge and ability that has enthralled hams forever. We want to show more people what is possible with century-old technology (especially when infrastructure is down or overloaded), just the same as ham radio. Indeed, goTenna might make ham more interesting to people my age.

Finally, I appreciate the kind words from those of you who’ve welcomed me to the ham fold and asked some good questions. As for those who’ve attacked my credibility as a ham, I think my background is not really relevant to the discussion of goTenna. Instead of debating the technical merits of goTenna (which was founded 2 years before I joined them 2 weeks ago, by a team of people with both professional and academic RF experience), my background is on trial. I applied for an internship at goTenna because of my interest in RF (see here an RF project I built!) and got hired a week after I happened to get my ham license back home in New Jersey. No one at the company asked me to get one, indeed it preceded my start-date -- I just did that out of personal interest.

That’s all I wanted to say with regards to some of the more negative or misleading comments on here. If anyone has specific questions about how goTenna works, or who we think will use it, results of field trials, etc. please let me know, I’d love to answer them. Open to having a constructive discussion. Have a great day!