
Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie - misterdata
http://gotoky.com
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pmx
with a limited battery life coupled with the limit of a smart phone battery
and at that price point I can't imagine relying on this over a traditional
walkie talkie.

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dogma1138
Modern "Walkie Talkies" usually have 10-16 hours of battery life.

They also for the most part cost more than this, most people have smartphones
and know how to use them fewer understand how to operate 2 way radios.

Considering that this is priced at or below most of the mid range consumer 2
way radios with the same features (500mw transmit power, same frequency
coverage) but adds additional features like texting (which requires you to buy
"professional" radio handsets) and co-location I don't see this as being that
inferior.

And considering that the app can take out most of the user errors of using 2
way radios this might actually be more reliable than traditional handsets for
most users.

And as far as the battery goes bring a battery pack / solar chargers you'll
need it no matter if you are using this or a 2 way radio.

But most importantly if this is done right you have pretty much have self
arranging mesh/cell network between multiple users even with some form of
security/key-exchange as it can easily be done in software and you have a very
powerful device - a modern smartphone to take charge of that.

I don't know of that many people that understand how to setup private, cross-
talk and dispatch channels manually and pre-program them into their handsets
and even if they do you still need to rely on users knowing when to switch to
each pre-programmed channel.

Sure there are self arranging 2 way radios capable of building their own
mesh/cell networks but those tend to be in the military range which puts each
handset at several thousands of dollars no 100$.

If you want to talk to some one in private you can pretty much send them a
"text" over a shared channel that will switch their unit to a private channel
on its own. If you want to broadcast to everyone SOS style you can do that
with ease rather than needing to remember which channel have you preset for
that.

The app can also enable you to get access to emergency channels for virtually
every rescue service in the world based on your location.

And there are tons of other use cases one could think of that are much easier
/ better with this setup than with a normal dumb 2 way radio.

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meatmanek
This device almost certainly doesn't do mesh networking, as the FCC rules for
FRS disallow it:

"FRS units are prohibited from transmitting data in store-and-forward packet
operation mode."[1, p.11]

1\.
[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol5/pdf/CFR-...](https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol5/pdf/CFR-2009-title47-vol5-part95.pdf)

~~~
dogma1138
FFC :) this is a European product, and since all of the "software" side of
things is in your phone this can be available in other regions, and in the
worse case scenario you can hack it in yourself. Any radio equipment which is
compatible with FRS/GMRS will work with PMR446/KDR444/FREENET and the likes
which legally "support" mesh networking and repeaters.

FFC regulations are pretty much bull in regards to many handheld radio
frequencies and pretty much force limitations on communication equipment which
doesn't require a fee. If you pay for GMRS license you all of a sudden can
have repeaters etc. which you can't with FRS even tho they share a frequency
range.

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giarc
Cool looking product however with a standby time of only 23hr it could become
quite limited for outdoor uses.

~~~
zzleeper
I was thinking about the other battery (the smartphone). It sure doesn't last
long with bluetooth on

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dogma1138
This kinda brings back some memories of old Nokia and Motorola devices with
Push to Talk capability over MIRS/IDEN then GSM.

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vtbg
I think this could work, outdoors but also when travelling with a small group
avoiding huge roaming charges. Battery life should be ok, I don't think it's
designed for chatting away just basic communication.

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borgel
Seems extremely similar to the Gotenna (which is shipping) [1].

[1] [http://www.gotenna.com/](http://www.gotenna.com/)

~~~
kbaker
Yes, but this one seems more limited vs. the Gotenna -

\- Gotoky: only 0.5 W of power vs. the Gotenna's 2 W

\- uses FRS channels UHF vs. Gotenna's use of the MURS VHF bands, which have
better propagation

I'd think even though they claim 5 mi line of sight, they would struggle to
get 1/4 to 1/2 miles of range in normal city/event operation. They do even
claim as much (<0.2 miles in Concerts and Events.)

I think the Gotoky is really just an FRS radio for your phone, while the
Gotenna has quite a bit more capabilities.

~~~
dogma1138
The transmit power is due to the frequencies they support FRS is "capped" at
500mw, MURS requires 2W for all channels. As such 500mw is a standard transmit
power for most 2 way handsets even "high end" consumer ones.
[http://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_xu/products/consumer-
two...](http://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_xu/products/consumer-two-way-
radios/t81h.html) FRS handsets are still by far more common and you can
communicate with GMRS stations which are more common as far as emergency
services go.

