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Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

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Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#91
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently dug up my old iPod Nano 5th gen (small square one) from 2010 and charged it up, and still works fine. What I forgot, and it totally surprised me, is that it has FM radio! I selected some stations and it worked great. And that Nano was tiny, would be cool to have this feature back in current iPhones / Apple Watches. I know it’s not the same as having full tx/rx on the 2m/70cm bands, but still, even just jus…

I remember that my HTC Desire Z Android phone, and possible also the iteration of a Nexus Android phone that I later owned, had FM Radio. It was relatively common back then, and I made use of it almost every day on my bike commute and such. They used the (wired) earphones plugged into them as an FM antenna, worked well enough.

I miss those days :’

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#93
post #4

I always ask myself why no any cellphone producer is making a phone with 2m/70cm capabilities.

The Ulefone Armor 26 is available with a built-in UHF/VHF transceiver, but the software isn't great.

The opposite trend is radically changing business radio - a lot of devices that look like VHF/UHF transceivers are just cellphones. There just aren't a lot of environments where VHF repeaters provide more reliable coverage than LTE & WiFi.

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#94
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doesnt seem to be click bait to me... A battery free ham radio I can keep in my glove box seems really useful

How is this battery free?

It uses the phone's battery, which is assumed to be something that is already managed.

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#95
post #81
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swap out all the RF hardware. It's the high level site that matters.

You also need a 5G core to make that work. Also probably an IMS to actually provide some services on top of that. You also need to rip out all the encryption for the ham bands.

You could always somehow make the vibration motor a "movement feature", and call the phone a "remotely controlled vehicle"

;-)

Chatgpt- Yes, using the vibration motor to make small position changes on a remotely controlled vehicle would fall under the category of controlling the vehicle. If you encrypt the control signals that dictate when and how the vibration motor activates to achieve those position changes, it would be allowed under the FCC rules for encryption related to remote vehicle control.

Since these encrypted signals would only be used for the vehicle's movement or positioning, this approach aligns with the regulations permitting encryption for controlling remote vehicles. Just ensure that any non-control communications remain unencrypted to fully comply with ham radio rules.

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#96
post #76
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you "repurpose" a 2m repeater for that?

Swap out all the RF hardware. It's the high level site that matters.

if it requires swapping out "all the RF hardware", why not keep the 2M repeater at this high level site and add your new repeater adjacent to it?

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#97
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but then it's not a click bait

I doesnt seem to be click bait to me... A battery free ham radio I can keep in my glove box seems really useful

I agree that it is an interesting configuration, but I also agree that it is click bait.

The clickbait part is the "Turn your Android phone" bit. Of course you can turn your Android phone into , where is a USB-powered device, for approximately the price of .

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#98
post #15

This would be amazing for backcountry communication - e.g when backpacking with a large group. Is there any way to enable this for iOS?

I'd recommend something like a couple $25 Quansheng radios instead. More reliability, more range, less finicky, more durable and about the same size as this add-on. (For some reason the radios are showing as $30 right now) https://www.amazon.com/QUANSHENG-200Three-Frequency-Receivin...

I think it's poor practice for the seller to advertise those simply as a "Walkie Talkie," as that Amazon link does, without making it clear that it is an amateur radio transceiver that requires a license with an FCC-issued call sign to operate. I wonder how many people buy a pair of those and then just start transmitting without quite knowing what they are doing.

Re: Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver

#100
post #4

I always ask myself why no any cellphone producer is making a phone with 2m/70cm capabilities.

I recently dug up my old iPod Nano 5th gen (small square one) from 2010 and charged it up, and still works fine. What I forgot, and it totally surprised me, is that it has FM radio! I selected some stations and it worked great. And that Nano was tiny, would be cool to have this feature back in current iPhones / Apple Watches. I know it’s not the same as having full tx/rx on the 2m/70cm bands, but still, even just jus…

How's the battery life after so many years?

I recently found my old e-reader (Kindle Keyboard) from 2011 and the first thing I had to do was swap a new battery in, the old one would not hold a charge for too long.

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