Still looking for a cheaper alternative. All I need is a cheap portable SDR I can program. No need for a fancy enclosure or UI.
Are you not satisfied with the myriad of cheap baofeng/clone UHF/VHF handhelds that support CHIRP?
Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
41–50 of 67 posts
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#42Is the Flipper Zero still legit? I know it’s only quasi legal in some places. I see a lot of ads for it to the point where I kind of suspect it’s some sort of FBI entrapment program. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.
It is an software defined radio with a nice interface built around it. Perhaps the nice interface has lowered the bar enough for it to now be in the crosshairs of the state, this has happened before, sometimes just making the tool easy enough for anybody to use is enough to make it illegal/controlled. The point being the flipper does not do anything that is not possible with other tools, it just makes it easy.
It's not actually an SDR, it just has a discerning collection of hardware radio modules on it. If it was a self contained SDR you would expect a much beefier processor and power draw from the device from all the digital signal processing.
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you link me? The only 5RM I am pulling up is a Baofeng. Is the 5RM as hackable as these?
The Baofeng is what the parent you're replying to is talking about. I own it as well and it does have a nice display and one button copy. But I prefer the TIDRADIO TD-H3. Not as cool as the Quansheng in terms of hackable - but a phenomenal radio for the money. I bought more radios in the last year than I've bought in the last decade. I've got both Ham and GMRS licensing in the US.
Thats TIDRADIO TD-H3 is pretty cool looking.
Yeah we live in an interesting time where you can get powerful HAM handhelds for a fraction of what they used to cost.
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just got my GPRS radio license and this was a really strange phenomenon to encounter. Apparently the FCC doesn't allow actual encrypted comms in this part of the spectrum, so the "privacy" codes, like you said, are really more just convenience codes, more noise cancelation than anything for privacy or security. It was weird trying to explain this to my family, too. Basically just had to tell them "Nothing you say i…
Get an itinerant frequency -- $300, requires no coordination, and you can encrypt your comms. One of the (ham) radio clubs that I'm a member of does this as a benefit for the group, and it's something that's nice to have: I can give my wife a radio and not worry about what she may or may not say if we have to take two separate cars when we road trip. I've been meaning to do the process myself, but, I haven't had the…
> Get an itinerant frequency -- $300
FCC fees are actually only $205. I do these all the time for work.
Also, you can get multiple frequencies on the same license, and you should if you are getting itinerants because there are so few and they are heavily shared.
The application takes around 15 mins if you're familiar with it and can be done completely online. If you've never done it before, it might take you an hour or more to figure out.
All that being said, the itinerants I am familiar with are in part 90 and that is only for commercial use. Its not clear to me that an individual would be eligible for this type of license for personal communications.
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Get an itinerant frequency -- $300, requires no coordination, and you can encrypt your comms. One of the (ham) radio clubs that I'm a member of does this as a benefit for the group, and it's something that's nice to have: I can give my wife a radio and not worry about what she may or may not say if we have to take two separate cars when we road trip. I've been meaning to do the process myself, but, I haven't had the…
Interesting! I was under the impression that the FCC was actually somewhat strict about part 90.35 eligibility, in that you have to provide fairly detailed specifics of your business use case or how you fall under the various educational/nonprofit exemptions, and that if you told them you wanted it for personal use or supplied a thinly veiled excuse they'd tell you to get lost. Maybe that understanding is outdated. I…
You dont have to provide detailed specifics of your business use case, usually just a sentence is fine.
But 90.35 does not allow for individuals to be licensed for personal communications. My guess is that if a ham club is offering this to members, it is doing so as an educational institution, or a public safety organization. If the license is granted that way, using it for personal communications would be impermissible.
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Get an itinerant frequency -- $300, requires no coordination, and you can encrypt your comms. One of the (ham) radio clubs that I'm a member of does this as a benefit for the group, and it's something that's nice to have: I can give my wife a radio and not worry about what she may or may not say if we have to take two separate cars when we road trip. I've been meaning to do the process myself, but, I haven't had the…
Is there an actual EASY guide to dealing with itinerant licensing? The FCC paperwork is beyond confusing to try to get a single itinerant freq.
I do these all the time for work, you can email me if you have a question. It takes about 15 minutes if you are familiar with the process.
Individuals using radios for personal use are not eligible for the types of licenses I am familiar with, though.
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
What prevents people from transmitting encrypted information? Isn’t that just like speech that might travel over the airwaves?
Technically nothing, but legally it's just not allowed in the US (neither for FRS/GMRS, nor for ham radio operators, with very few exceptions).
Interesting, is speaking in a language that nobody else understands counts as "encrypted transmission"?
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Technically nothing, but legally it's just not allowed in the US (neither for FRS/GMRS, nor for ham radio operators, with very few exceptions).
Interesting, is speaking in a language that nobody else understands counts as "encrypted transmission"?
That’s what I mean. Isn’t any data the same as speech in general?
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
What would you call them, then? “Isolation codes” or “subchannels”, maybe? I’ve seen some use of the former, but both are imperfect terms. I’ve yet to hear a suggestion that’s particularly better. A term that’s only slightly better won’t gain any traction.
“Selector codes” would be more descriptive. They select which conversations you want to hear.
“Conversation codes” speaks to me (heh)
Re: Flipper Zero Gets Major Firmware Update, Can Eavesdrop on Walkie-Talkies
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
What would you call them, then? “Isolation codes” or “subchannels”, maybe? I’ve seen some use of the former, but both are imperfect terms. I’ve yet to hear a suggestion that’s particularly better. A term that’s only slightly better won’t gain any traction.
"squelch codes" probably conveys the meaning more correctly. people understand the idiom that just because your radio has squelch set (too high, perhaps) that it doesn't mean someone else can't hear it. otherwise, CTCSS codes works fine, that's the technical description of what it is. and actually they call them "squelch tones" there. it's only motorola that branded them as "private lines", that's their trademark for…
I submit that most non-technical people have no clue what “squelch” means. It’s not a commonly used word outside of electronics. And it makes it sound like your radio’s output is being suppressed, which is inaccurate in this case. I think some more appropriate terms could be “party”, “group”, “topic”, “line”, or “room”.