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

It's too short range to really add value. And the statement that it is private is not true, if it is on the air it can be intercepted. FRS for text!

 

While it can be intercepted, it cannot be decrypted, which makes it essentially private. We are using 224-bit elliptic curve cryptography, which is virtually impossible to break at this point.

 

And this effectively dooms goTennas. Without repeaters and long range comms you basically have a MURS radio that can text to someone a block or two away. Big whoop! The other downfall is the that you have to maintain two devices, your hybrid radio that does not work on its own and a smartphone. BT will eat up the smartphone battery, which is already short lived, and then you have nothing. I see goTennas as a huge fail in EMCOMM.

 

"Even if one of their smartphones is off, the messages will still be stored on the goTenna until the phone is powered on."

That is a clear violation of FCC rules for MURS stating store-and-forward packet stations are not allowed. [95.1311]

So, pretending that Gotenna will actually make it to market, the SDK kit will make it possible for some resourceful and entrepreneurial sort to create the first MURS Text Spam System, blasting out continuous annoying bits of drivel we will call 'Bullshout'('BS' for short) , flooding the Gotenna "Shout" channel for up to 50 miles around, rendering it even more useless than ever for actual comms.

Then, after the mean kids get wind of Gotenna, they'll derive many lulz from jamming MURS altogether with cheap Baofeng transceivers.


The more the present Gotenna model is examined, the more it seems an endless stream of fail.

 

I think the concept is interesting, but "as-is", it's not for me. However, drop the encryption and offer a stand-alone interface to legally connect our smart phones to our $35 Baofeng HTs, all the while keeping the price under $50, and I'm sold. That'd be an incredibly fun tool to have at hamfests, and would be a blast to do long-range "off the grid" texting using an external antenna.

Also, I'm a bit curious if goTenna has a built in squelch circuit so it knows not to transmit over other MURS and/or goTenna users on the same frequency. Are there any methods in place to confirm receipt of messages sent?

 

I did not read the whole thread -just enough to make me wonder - if I already have a cell phone or a ham HT and I want to talk to someone else who also already has a cell phone or an HT, then why do I need this gizmo? What did I miss?

 

Just to be clear - goTenna does not store-and-forward. goTenna stores messages where it is the intended recipient, until the paired device comes online, so it's not violating that regulation. Also - the shout function is opt-out. So if you didn't want to receive any shouts, you wouldn't.

 

There's no squelch circuit, but the networking is designed to always listen before talking, so it's an effective squelch. Also receive acknowledgments are built in - so you always know that your messages are landing.

 

Thanks!

Dan / ab0re

 

"...It works by using store and forward, holding messages in flash memory before passing them on to the phone,.'

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/30/signal_free_mobile_comms_live_chat_with_gotenna_ceo_cto/

So, whether holding the message in flash, or receiving it then forwarding immediately, it can be argued that it is store and forward. Also, the intended recipient is the text app, not the radio.