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goTenna lets you send text messages when there's no network available

Discussion in 'General Announcements' started by KE6ENI, Jul 23, 2014.

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  1. KE6ENI

    KE6ENI Ham Member QRZ Page

    goTenna gotenna-5.jpg
    What a modern convenience! Why has no one else thought of this, communicating with out a network infrastructure

    The device was conceived in the US towards the end of 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the storm knocked out around a quarter of cell towers across a 10 state area, leaving people unable to communicate when it was most critical.
    Where have I heard this before??

    http://www.gizmag.com/gotenna-radio...ail&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-c463774f45-91581189

    Kids today... what next? soon they will want to be ham radio operators. well one can only hope.

    73,
    Dave
    KE6ENI
     
  2. KD8SLQ

    KD8SLQ Ham Member QRZ Page

    So far it is not approved by the FCC, so who knows if and when it will ever be legal for sale. Seams like a solution looking for a problem. Why would anyone buy this when they can buy a couple FRS radios for a lot less that will give the same range with VOICE.

    Also, I love how their range estimates vary wildly. One moment they are claiming 50 miles, next they are claiming 3-4, then 0.5 in the city. Really? Make up your mind.

    I also love how some of their ads claim it works on an "ultra low frequency of 150MHz!"
     
  3. W7UUU

    W7UUU Director, QRZ Forums Lifetime Member 133 QRZ HQ Staff Life Member QRZ Page

    FIFTY MILES? Riiiigggggghhhhhtttttt..... with a yagi up 20 or 30 feet sure. But handheld?

    And as posted above, when is 150 MHz considered to be "ultra low frequency"? Makes
    me wonder if the developers have any clue what they are doing. I suspect this will never
    see the light of day as far as the FCC is concerned.

    GMRS radios are already here, are cheap, have decent range, and use plain voice instead of text.

    Dave
    W7UUU
     
  4. W7UUU

    W7UUU Director, QRZ Forums Lifetime Member 133 QRZ HQ Staff Life Member QRZ Page

    From the developer:

    Daniela, goTenna co-founder here. I just want to address some misunderstandings and/or misinformation here.
    We are operating on the MURS publicly unlicensed bands (151-154 MHz) and transmitting at 2W, which is what the FCC allows. The kinds of ranges we present in our range calculator are according to RF industry standards, and moreover, we have borne them out in real life. We are not just making it up. :)
    We have *absolutely* gotten more than a couple of miles range. We even got up to 3.5 miles on the ground in NYC -- of course, that was in Central Park. :) We usually get somewhere between 0.5 and 1 mile in the rest of he city. In the Great Outdoors, we've gotten on average 3-4 miles when un-elevated, and dozens of miles from upon mountains and the like.
    MURS has great propagation characteristics which enables it to turn corner, interact with matter, and even go over a mountain. Thanks.
    Daniela Perdomo
    23rd July, 2014 @ 12:25 pm PDT
     
  5. W6MVS

    W6MVS Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    What I find interesting in the marketing hype is needing this device in the case of a power failure. When has a power failure stopped anyone from texting on their cell phone unless they forgot to charge it?
     
  6. N4NXD

    N4NXD Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Really this isn't anything to write home about. MURS is limited to 2 watts, it's a shared service crammed with everyone from Wal-Mart and their Motorola CLS "bubble pack" radios, to job sites, to kids. VHF has a major disadvantage in urban areas, with inefficient "intennas" and a high noise floor, one would be lucky to get a good signal down a city block with this device. They can puff up all the "50 mile range" B.S. the same way the FRS/GMRS bubble packers do with their "50 mile range" radios, at the end of the day, it is a high priced device with limited applications. It isn't like it is going to provide full blown data service when the big wireless cartel's cell sites are offline, it's nothing more than a PAN device on VHF versus creating one using your already built-in Bluetooth radio. Nothing really to see here. Moving right along.
     
  7. W5TTW

    W5TTW XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    For years, hams have been disingenuously using that excuse to put up towers in residential neighborhoods. What's the difference?
     
  8. AA9G

    AA9G Ham Member QRZ Page

    LMAO. Someone did think of it. It's called Amateur Radio.
     
  9. AB1UP

    AB1UP Ham Member QRZ Page

    The real question is why hasn't an amateur or two figured out how to make a similar device operating in the ham bands?
     
  10. N2ADV

    N2ADV XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    APRS lets you send text messages from station to station. You can send me one: N2ADV-7.
     
  11. W6MVS

    W6MVS Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Interesting analogy. I don't have a tower, so I certainly don't fall into that category. :)

    I think the difference is that "goTenna" is trying to get you to buy the product with reasoning that appeals more towards the potential buyer's fears rather than being based on facts. The Ham with the tower is just trying to justify (perhaps only in his/her own mind) the need for the tower...not trying to sell you a product that you won't really need for the reasons advertised.
     
  12. G7TGY

    G7TGY Ham Member QRZ Page

    I maybe missing something here (early morning after late night) but doesn't the name remind you of those annoying commercials about lady (and now men) product that allow you to sneeze, etc. without embarrassment as you get older?

    G7TGY
     
  13. WJ4U

    WJ4U Subscriber QRZ Page

    Hmm, Depends?
     
  14. WV8KFA

    WV8KFA Ham Member QRZ Page

    Only works between the ANTENNA UNITS so if you do not have one or are given the password to attach it does you no good. Its basically a tiny private network. So really, its useless for GENERAL use but great for people that are out in a place with no service in a group and want to keep in touch with each other.
     
  15. WV8KFA

    WV8KFA Ham Member QRZ Page

    The difference between HAMS and this device is that ANYONE can send and receive using amateur radio as the signal is open for all to receive. Not so in this device. No device attached to your phone, you are STILL without service.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2014
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