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GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

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Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#161

Post by daniper »

mightymu wrote: post #130
daniper wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Preach on! :) Yes, we think we're better/more convenient than walkie-talkies for a few reasons. 1) We integrate with the smartphone you already have on you. 2) The asynchronous communication, as you said, allows for less miscommunication. Plus, with delivery confirmation receipts you KNOW it didn't just disappear into the void somewhere, and was actually received by your intended recipient(s). 3) You can direct the m…

What 'offline maps' are available? Something built into the gotenna app, the device's native mapping app, or something else?

The app comes with a vector map of the entire world. You can then download specific areas to get complete detail (i.e. down to hiking trails and city blocks) before you head out -- depending which maps you want you'll download via small country (e.g. France) or state (e.g. California). All goTenna maps are free!

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#162

Post by daniper »

0xdeadbeefbabe wrote: post #104
daniper wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe you're asking if there's a user interface to goTenna? If so, not in the current device. The UI is your smartphone -- the point is to conform to consumer behavior (i.e. the way you already text on your phone).

Is there an alternative to bluetooth-LE for talking to the gotenna?

Our first prototypes worked over the audio jack (à la Square) but from both performance and form factor perspectives, having it work wirelessly over BLE worked better. That being said we can work audio and other data interfaces into later products for sure, we're just going MVP route ;)

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#163

Post by daniper »

ErikRogneby wrote: post #98

how hackable will this be? Will the end user be able to turn up the signal strength and gain? (similar to what I can do on my wifi access point?)

Our open SDK is coming soon. You can't really mess with signal strength and gain (especially bc of FCC regulations)

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#164

Post by daniper »

orbifold wrote: post #131
daniper wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All transmissions are end-to-end encrypted, unless you use the "shout" or "emergency" features which are, by definition, messages to everyone within range of you.

I thought encryption on amateur radio frequencies was not allowed?

Not an issue on MURS; you're thinking of GMRS.

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#165

Post by spiritplumber »

daniper wrote: post #157
TD-Linux wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It is in the 150MHz (VHF) range, which is probably one reason why it is as long as it is. I assume they rolled at least a semi-custom radio solution.

Yes, we've built everything from scratch! It's been fun/impossible. :)

Very cool! I'm messing with low bandwidth satellite communication, and well, looks like you're way ahead of me :D

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#166

Post by Angostura »

GrinningFool wrote: post #153

Offtopic: Yet another site that uses a ton of scrolling, space, and images to provide information that would fit in a couple of paragraphs. It's true that a picture can speak a thousand words. On the other hand a few dozen words can make up for six giant pictures that convey little information. Note to mention the giant video that greets me. Has this actually proven effective, as it becomes more and more common? I do…

Agreed. I simply couldn't be bothered - particularly as I was already trying to scroll down past the huge video to find content before the page had finished loading, leaning to page-jumping hilarity. I gave up almost immediately and came to visit the comments to find out what it was.

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#167

Post by glomek »

daniper wrote: post #158
glomek wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you intend to release the specifications for the protocol you are using? For example, would I be able to hook a computer with gnuradio up to a MURS radio and write software that could communicate with a goTenna?

We have an open SDK coming out soon -- you can sign up for developer updates at our website

That sounds like a way to write programs that use a bluetooth attached gotenna. Is that correct?

What I am asking is, could I talk to a gotenna using another radio setup of my own creation. Are you publishing enough information about gotenna for me to do that?

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#168

Post by tbeseda »

daniper wrote: post #83
ikonst wrote: post #71

This can be significantly better than walkie-talkies. In poor reception, sometimes you can't manage to deliver even a simple message coherently (especially since, to be understood by a fellow human, you need reliable communication in real time for the duration of your entire message). But usually, you just want to get a message across. You want something like morse code, not voice. Delivering a short textual message,…

Preach on! :) Yes, we think we're better/more convenient than walkie-talkies for a few reasons. 1) We integrate with the smartphone you already have on you. 2) The asynchronous communication, as you said, allows for less miscommunication. Plus, with delivery confirmation receipts you KNOW it didn't just disappear into the void somewhere, and was actually received by your intended recipient(s). 3) You can direct the m…

I hear you, but I'd bet on my MURS capable radio to outlast my iPhone (with BT on) and whatever spare (heavy) batteries on my week long backpacking trip.

Maybe not the use-case you guys are targeting, just food for thought.

Either way, great idea/product and use of the Multi Use spectrum.

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#169

Post by malandrew »

daniper wrote: post #84
kfullert wrote: post #3

Interesting ... does this do any kind of store and forward or relaying? Say I send a message to a friend who happens to be out of range, but there was another GoTenna user who neither of us know, but who is in range of us both, will it relay the message via this 3rd party (encrypted) or is it purely a direct connection between sender --> receiver?

We want to do that, but FCC regulations don't enable meshing (currently) on the bands we're using (151-154 MHz, aka the MURS band). We considered releasing a 900 MHz device that the FCC allows to mesh but then you only get, if you're lucky, up to 0.5 km range and it has to be line-of-sight. So we went with MURS because you can get greater range and don't have to be line-of-sight; the propagation characteristics are b…

What about for users of GoTenna in other countries that don't have the MURS band mesh restriction? Will they be allowed to enable mesh delivery through a third party on their device?

Re: GoTenna – Send and receive messages even when you don’t have service

#170

Post by malandrew »

konstruktor wrote: post #139
p4bl0 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The part I think is missing is a connection back to the cell network so that you can give people in more remote locations the ability to text the rest of the world using this as a link. While reading their FAQ I thought of that, and if the API is open sourced or reverse-engineered, it shouldn't be too difficult to write a smartphone application which would act as a relay between to goTenna and the phone network (fo…

If somebody reverse engineers their API and their devices are being used illegally for mesh networking, the most likely thing is not a mesh networking revolution [1], but the FCC taking their devices off the market. Daniela's reply to your posting could be seen as endorsing this, which won't help. [1] you can legally do this in other bands, and there are some pretty cool open source projects.

Totally agree on how the FCC might react, but I don't see how you interpreted Daniela's response as an endorsement of reverse engineering their APIs to enable illegal mesh networking.
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