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Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver
- notadoc 2y agoCoolest thing I've seen for a smartphone in a while, and definitely the coolest for Android
- RobCodeSlayer 2y agoThis would be amazing for backcountry communication - e.g when backpacking with a large group. Is there any way to enable this for iOS?
- capitainenemo 2y agoI wonder how good the range would be. I was thinking that even if I didn't have the appropriate license, having something like this in a pocket on my backpack would at least give me one more signaling option in an emergency. I could deal with the fines later.
- cactacea 2y agoGenerally speaking, line of sight. Assuming you're in the US, the FCC wouldn't come after you for using this in an emergency situation unless you were being absolutely egregious about stomping on other emergency comms, even then I seriously doubt you'd see a fine. Having said that you're basically going to need enough knowledge to pass the test to make use of this anyway. Why not just take the test and be legal?
- capitainenemo 2y agoDon't you have to register with your personal address in a public database?
- b112 2y agoYou mean like virtually everyone did, with phone books?
- capitainenemo 2y agoWell, for white pages, it used to be name to phone number lookup, not, you know, physical address, in almost all cases. Yellow pages were different ofc. And the tide against that turned 20 years ago, which congress banned that for cellphones. In any case, sounds like "yes". Not a deal breaker, but concerning. I know folks in my home would be opposed to my doing it.
- quesera 2y ago> not, you know, physical address White pages had physical address too. In practice, even today without published phone directories, lookup from name to address is readily accomplished from public records. If you have put in the effort to avoid all of those vectors, then it's equally possible to use a safe address for your FCC registration.
- capitainenemo 2y agoSometimes yes, not always, and practice decreased as privacy concerns increased. The old one for our city that was still printed up to about a decade ago did not have them. And yeah, could probably find some way to spoof. And yes, people can find things, just makes folks here uncomfortable that it would be readily available to a random nut in a short list linked to a "pseudo" one might be using routinely. Anyway. It's one more hassle and disincentive. I'm interested in its potential for an emergency out in the woods (I'd be carrying my phone anyway, so a tiny pocket dongle is far less weight than a radio), but if I learn how to use it, I probably won't go for the license.
- quesera 2y agoAgreed -- I'm with you 100% on the opsec hygiene regiment. But FWIW, I think "Firstname Lastname Postal_Address" has never been easily kept private (indeed, the winning strategy is subterfuge), and that adding "Callsign" does not change that equation. Of course it does mean that you shouldn't use your callsign as a pseudonym online. And I am not a person who is comfortable with the idea of a ham vanity plate! :) But with proper hygiene, your callsign is just an arbitrary alphanumeric string that is attached in exactly one place, to another instance of your name/address in the wild. One thing getting a license would do, is give you an idea of how to maximize your tx/rx options. Understanding RF propagation in varied terrain could be valuable in an emergency situation. If you already know this stuff, then the license exams are very easy.
- myself248 2y agoYes. You can use a PO box, but since all past addresses and changes are visible in the database, you have to get the PO box _before_ you get your very first license, in order for it to be meaningful.
- sidewndr46 2y agojust get something that transmit on one of the emergency frequencies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_emergency_frequency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_emergency_frequency so long as you use it for an actual emergency, there are no issues
- _whiteCaps_ 2y agoVHF / 2m is basically line of sight. But it will go for long distances. I've worked the repeater on the ISS with a 5W handheld radio and a 1/4 wave antenna.
- ac29 2y agoVHF is actually pretty good for non line of sight (at least, better than everything higher frequency). Its not great for over the horizon communication, but its pretty good at getting through trees and other obstacles.
- kanbankaren 2y agoThat range depends on the height of the antennaes(sender and receiver). I have been able to hear repeaters 150km away because it is on a hill.
- PaulHoule 2y agoSee https://www.n1fd.org/2019/03/23/tape-measure-yagi/ https://www.n1fd.org/2019/03/23/tape-measure-yagi/ for a upgrade to a 2 meter HT that will make it into a repeater 100 miles away under ordinary conditions and could go 300 miles under extraordinary conditions. You need to know the squelch keys for repeaters and get some practice, it never hurts to get to know the people who run the repeaters, check in on the nightly net, know who is listening. So it is worth getting the technician license, there is no Morse code, just a multiple choice test run by friendly hams. One rainy night I was talking to an amateur storm chaser who was reporting on conditions close to the inlet and asking why the repeater wasn’t so busy during storms like back in the day there were lots of storm chasers and I told him that NOAA advises people not to drive into flooding prone regions so most of us don’t do that because we don’t want to become part of the emergency. Other times in the rain the air is silent but you know there is at least one ham monitoring who will call 911.
- sliken 2y agoMight want to consider the meshtastic, something like a lilygo t-echo. A few advantages over the standard ham radio: * Nodes automatically forms a mesh * works with any android/IOS widget, simple text message like interface * store and forward means all nodes don't have to be online at the same time. * Cheap, no soldering, and no ham license required. * Can use phones GPS, makes it easy to track other nodes * Don't have to program in repeaters, every node can repeat.
- vvanders 2y agoMeshtastic(Lora) also doesn't require a license since it's in the ISM bands. Lora also has really good FEC and other things that make it work incredibly well(at the cost of throughput). Honestly I wish we saw more things like that in the ham bands(other than FT8). There's a couple Lora radios out there that are USB serial based and can be controlled with AT commands that would let you so something similar if you want to build up from scratch.
- sidewndr46 2y agoThis isn't true, it is not exclusive to the ISM bands. You can run it on any band you choose so long as you have a license to do so. Case in point: the ham bands
- vvanders 2y agoSure, that's "technically" correct but most usage of Lora is going to be in ISM since that's where they are traditionally deployed. That doesn't require a license which can be a hurdle if you don't already have one. I've got a ham license so not a big deal for me but for those wanting to try radios without a huge investment a pair of $20 Lora AT serial radios are a great way to dip into digital radio.
- tzs 2y agoNote that various ham bands have limitations on what types of emissions are allowed. For example some only allow RTTY and data, so no phone or image. And some allow phone or image but no data. Even if the type of information is allowed there might be technical restrictions prohibiting some forms of modulation. So before using something that was designed depending on some non-ham part of the regulations for its legality, such as part 18 (ISM) in the US, on a ham band I'd want to look into the details and make sure it is not doing something under that part but not allowed under the ham regulations.
- runjake 2y agoI'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-Receiving-Replication/dp/B0CL939BVY/ https://www.amazon.com/QUANSHENG-200Three-Frequency-Receivin...
- cactacea 2y agoI own one of these, easily the worst radio I have. Fine for receive but please don't hit that transmit button.
- runjake 2y agoOnly N=2 but mine have worked great for the 2 meter and FRS/GMRS bands, which is what one is probably going to use while in the back country. Definitely don't try 27 MHZ, or perhaps outside of the above bands at all. Are these Yaesu, Motorola, or Icom quality? No, but they're $25.
- transcriptase 2y agoYeah I have 4 that are great 2m/70cm, which is what the included antennas are optimized for. Even better with a cheap Nagoya antenna and non-stock firmware. Unfortunately people don’t realize that even if you install a firmware that allows down to 11m, even connected to a $1200 base antenna the power output will be in the milliwatt range while throwing off on harmonics. There’s also the case of hardware inconsistency and fakes. When I hook up 4 of the included antennas to my VNA there’s pretty big variance, and I recently tested a fake Nagoya that was clearly tuned for air band and not 70cm/2m as advertised.
- stavros 2y agoWhy? What happens?
- agiacalone 2y ago
- tastyfreeze 2y agoDecent walkie-talkies are cheap. Cheap enough that I bought some for my kids to play with instead of a single channel garbage radio like I had as a kid. If you really want a cheap programmable radio Yaesu and BaoFeng are the brands most people go with.
- quite 2y agoCould you point me at such decent walkie-talkie?
- tastyfreeze 2y agoMidland Xtra Talk are the ones I got my kids.
- bronco21016 2y agoI bought these[1] for my daughter. We use them while camping. Range is around 1-1.5 miles in hilly, wooded terrain. [1] https://a.co/d/64LVWel https://a.co/d/64LVWel
- itomato 2y agoDecent Walkies are FRS blister pack radios now.
- grendelt 2y ago> This would be amazing for backcountry communication At 1W, you'd be better served with little FRS/GMRS radios. Better still, for less than the cost of building this yourself, you can buy ready-made a Baofeng UV-5R for under $20. The antenna is a little crummy, but you can buy that and _still_ be under the $30 build price. Further, the Baofeng isn't supporting a whole operating system so the battery will last much longer. I wouldn't want my "always-on" phone draining its battery until I need to transmit to someone. 1W is only going to be useful to hit repeaters in an urban environment - but because it's 2m (and not 70cm), it's even less likely to be all that useful beyond a neat/fun build.
- lormayna 2y agoI always ask myself why no any cellphone producer is making a phone with 2m/70cm capabilities.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- RenThraysk 2y agoSim card radios exist. eg https://www.wouxun.com/radios/two_way_radio_kg-v98.aspx https://www.wouxun.com/radios/two_way_radio_kg-v98.aspx
- lormayna 2y agoYes, but think about having a mobile that has native integration with APRS or can make voice/packet radio or even DMR. It would be perfect for hiking or adventures. Even better with LORA. Probably the main issue is RF compatibility.
- RenThraysk 2y agoLTE over satellite is going to be the solution, as all existing 4g phones can do it.
- ianburrell 2y agoI wish they would get LTE/5G peer to peer working. It is defined in spec but barely anything supports it. Then could do any networking instead of limited to ham radio. CBRS frequencies might work for that.
- yownie 2y agoforgive my ignorance here please, but I've read about APRS on and off for a few years and always wondered what I'd need to just transmit some data that would eventually make it's way to the internet. I recently suggested it to a Ornithologist friend doing back country research in South Afrika too. But why are there no regularly recommended cheap hardware solutions that can do this (and or just hobbyist builds using an RPI). Seems like the demand would be there but perhaps I'm just not understand all thats involved. Any insight you could provide would be appreciated.
- jpm_sd 2y agoVery neat project. How are you dealing with FCC certification?
- mschuster91 2y agoEven in Germany, hams are allowed to build their own transceivers. I can't imagine the FCC being more strict than that.
- jrockway 2y agoYes, the whole point of having a ham license is the permission to build and use your own equipment. The compromise vs "buy some spectrum for 8 trillion dollars" is that you can't use ham radio for commercial (or musical) purposes.
- sliken 2y agoHeh, ask 10 hams what the whole point of a ham license is and you'll get 10 different answers. I've heard "permission to build" before, but rarely.
- mschuster91 2y agoI'm an aspiring ham myself :D For me, I'm interested in emergency communications, others in the club are DXers... truly fascinating.
- anyfoo 2y agoDon't have my license yet, but for me it's definitely building homebrew (i.e. designed by me) transceivers. Not actually that interested in talking to other hams except for then testing my gear.
- sliken 2y agoHeh, I'm not that interested in talking, but I am interested in typing. Especially with the advantage of advanced math/error correction, store and forward, relaying, and related. This adds up to a few watts in a $100 radio getting across a country. Not sure if you mean building or designing and building. But QRP labs has some nice kits.
- neilv 2y agoI like speech recognition as a feature. Do any other handheld transceivers have this yet?
- leke 2y agoNice idea. It would be good to find an AliExpress supplier to ship the whole kit.
- rmason 2y agoLong time ham. Never been that interested in 2 meters but I am ready to buy it! Such a clever idea, wonder why no one has ever thought of it before.
- cactacea 2y agohttp://www.mobilinkd.com/ http://www.mobilinkd.com/ is probably the closest pre-existing thing that is similar. I don't think this was lack of imagination, modules like the DRA818V make building a fully integrated unit a lot easier these days
- PaulHoule 2y agoI had so much fun operating APRS through the space station with a car 2 meter radio and a moderate mast antenna in a terribly hilly spot but be able to see stations in the South Atlantic and Midwest states. Also the time I was on a 2 meter HT walking in the woods and heard the astronauts talking to hams. And the time the computer told me it was just about to be visible and went outdoors and the ISS was huge and bright, more an airliner than an asterism.
- avidiax 2y agohttps://www.hytera.com/en/product-new/lte-broadband/lte-radio/pdc680.html https://www.hytera.com/en/product-new/lte-broadband/lte-radi... https://www.wouxun.com/radios/two_way_radio_kg-v98.aspx https://www.wouxun.com/radios/two_way_radio_kg-v98.aspx There are combination PoC (push-to-talk over cellular) + WiFi + VHF/UHF radios. I think the problem as it relates to HAM radio as a hobby, is that if you have cell signal and cell phone, usually any other radio is less effective. So while it is nice to use the interface/battery/CPU of a cell phone to drive a radio, it's superfluous if you have a cell signal. If you don't have a cell signal, usually having 5W for analog voice in an HT is much more important than having a special interface or digital modes.
- londons_explore 2y ago> The radio simply plugs into the USB C port on your Android smartphone and transforms it into a fully-fledged handheld radio transceiver. When I saw the headline I was hoping someone had hacked the qualcomm modem and turned it into a software defined radio.
- luqtas 2y agobut then it's not a click bait
- bigfishrunning 2y agoI doesnt seem to be click bait to me... A battery free ham radio I can keep in my glove box seems really useful
- dfc 2y agoHow is this battery free?
- drewnick 2y agoIt uses the phone's battery, which is assumed to be something that is already managed.
- thanksgiving 2y agoMaybe it is too early in the morning or I am just an idiot but how do battery powered cars avoid the "spicy pillow" problem where batteries swell up?
- vel0city 2y agoGood BMS systems which don't stress the battery, limiting max SoC, liquid cooling, not using its peak current draw as often, etc. Also most drivers won't really use that many charge cycles per day or whatever. I easily use like 90%+ of my phone's battery every day, I'll use up most of my laptop's battery when I'm on the go. Both of these devices often sit at a high state of charge and goose the voltages more to get more juice out of the pack at the expense of how many cycles they're good for. Meanwhile it's not like I'm driving >200mi every day.
- grendelt 2y ago> modern ham radio transceiver Well, let's just leave it at ham radio transceiver
- DarmokJalad1701 2y agoIf it supported aviation bands, I would get it to use as a backup radio while flying. Not sure how far it would transmit though.
- RachelF 2y agoAnything aviation-related normally has 5 to 10x cost of mass-market products. Plus you probably need a licence to transmit in those bands.
- rtkwe 2y agoIf it were an emergency backup you have basically free reign, afaik all the FCC rule parts have an exception for emergency use. The tough part is you'd ideally want to test your backup before the emergency too.
- dekhn 2y agohow the turntables. Back in the 80s my grandfather (N4MDB RIP) had a ham radio in his car and used something called an "autopatch" which could dial phone numbers. He'd call my grandma and say we were going shopping or whatever. Everybody from the shack could listen in with their radios. He tried to get me interested in ham radio but at the time I was exploring the internet and ham seemed... boring? Overly fussy with its technical license and morse code? He did give me a shortwave radio and explain how radio waves could bounce off the atmosphere (which seemed like science fiction honestly) and I got to listen to numbers stations.
- Dalewyn 2y ago>He tried to get me interested in ham radio but at the time I was exploring the internet and ham seemed... boring? Might wanna be careful, you might get your turns tabled and become that grandfather one day. :V
- RachelF 2y agoYeah those "autopatch" devices were illegal - Ma Bell had rules against connecting any radio to the telephone system. Probably worried about long distance revenue. The portable radios/cord free telephones back then were a bit of a legal gray-zone.
- mananaysiempre 2y ago>> Back in the 80s [...]. > Yeah those "autopatch" devices were illegal[.] Hadn’t the Carterfone decision[1] made them legal already in 1968? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone
- hn72774 2y agoNo more morse code on the exam. Hamstudy.org is a great study aid.
- EasyMark 2y agoDanke! I will be checking this out tonight.
- triyambakam 2y agoWhat other things can I turn my android device into? I've considered using it as a node on my network for certain tasks, and maybe even as a router.
- drmpeg 2y agoThis is a wacky idea, but the "modern" thing to do would be to repurpose seldom used 2-meter repeaters and make them 5G gNBs in the 3300 to 3450 MHz ham band (which overlaps NR band 78). Then you could directly use your cell phone (with a different SIM card) as your ham radio. Network gaming servers to the gNBs and every kid in the US will want a ham license. https://github.com/srsran/srsran_project https://github.com/srsran/srsran_project
- anyfoo 2y agoHow do you "repurpose" a 2m repeater for that?
- drmpeg 2y agoSwap out all the RF hardware. It's the high level site that matters.
- teeray 2y agoYou 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.
- gloyoyo 2y agoYou 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.
- AlexDragusin 2y agoCan't wait to turn my Android phone into an iPhone using this method /s
- monkeydust 2y agoAfaik illegal in UK without first getting an amateur licence from Ofcom
- wkat4242 2y agoNice, but it would be a lot nicer if it could do digital modes like DMR, Fusion etc.
- stefanv 2y agoOr you can just use something like https://shop.sharkrf.com/shop/srf-ose-pro-openspot4-pro-digital-radio-hotspot-6 https://shop.sharkrf.com/shop/srf-ose-pro-openspot4-pro-digi... with any mobile phone (Android or iOS) to do talk with any ham operator over the internet (I know, different use case)
- caseyy 2y agoI wish this was for sale assembled. I know probably about 50% about printing PCBs compared to what I’d need to know, don’t have a 3D printer, and I expect that the firmware and apps probably have at least one or two quirks to take into account. All together, this makes it a big difference in accessibility between being able to buy an assembled item and tinkering oneself. I know tinkering is fun for many people, but having a mobile ham is fun for many more. P.S. Upon second glance, it looks like I’d need soldering skills, too. These things really add to the price. The price of components may be $35, but the cost of learning all these things (time) and mistakes along the way may be in the thousands if we take the hourly rate of a tech worker. Flawed comparison, I know, but you get the point.
- 0xEF 2y ago> soldering skills It's...not that hard. Unless we're dealing with SMDs, soldering takes about a weekend to learn correctly. Most DIY kits involve through-hole components that you can master after you take a cheap iron to a couple dozen header pins or something equally banal. SMDs, on the other hand, take a bit more finesse, but can be achieved with a wee bit of time and patience. I work in industrial controls and it blows my mind how many people in the field are terrified of soldering, even something as simple as tinning wires so the crimps fit a bit better, let alone the amount of "DIYers" I meet that don't even own an iron. Y'all are holding yourself back by not learning this easy-to-grasp skill.
- a5c11 2y agoSMDs are not that bad, I always design my boards with SMD components, though I never put smaller than 0805. The chips are even easier to solder once they are fixed at two or three points. I totally abandoned THT elements once I felt confident with surface mounts. I'm doing this with an iron tip, so no BGAs for now (until I turn old toaster oven into a PCB oven).
- caseyy 2y agoIt’s not necessarily about how hard it is, but what’s the ROI on learning a skill. If soldering was something I did at work or if I often repaired my own electronics, then it could even be worth learning it if it took a month of evenings. But as I’d not have many of the tools and schematics to do component level repair on today’s electronics and I almost never need to solder anything at my software engineering job, so this skill would be used maybe once or twice in a decade on a hobby project, it is mostly not worth investing even one weekend. We can learn a lot of skills that are useless. Coming from a conservative family, I learned to play the violin and piano at a very young age instead of spending time with friends. These are skills I never have any use for and I’d rather just have some better memories from my childhood. Even if learning to play piano was relatively easy — with one weekly lesson over about 6 months it is extremely doable. Those are sort of the real costs and benefits of learning skills. Easy or hard doesn’t mean necessarily that it’s worth or not worth learning.
- f1shy 2y agoClickbait: Turn your phone into X: 1) Start with a phone and X-module-w/o-UI. 2) Make an app with the UI 3) put them together
- jumping_frog 2y agoIn remote areas with group of people, I have an idea where all phones could linkup like those tesla cars in a mesh-network fashion and then all of them become a loudspeaker.
- icepat 2y agoCan you explain what in this particular explanation is clickbait?
- thatguy288 2y agoThe phone doesn't become a transceiver, it becomes a(n) HMI to the transceiver.
- smolder 2y agoTurn your Android phone into a garage door opener (with a USB attachment) Turn your Android phone into a laser pointer (with a USB attachment) Turn your Android phone into a bowling ball (by submerging it in resin that is then shaped into a bowling ball)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- wkjagt 2y agoLots of dismissive comments in here, which I don't understand. KV4P did an awesome project that he spent a lot of time and effort on, and then shares it with the community. I think he did a great job, and I am very tempted to build one myself. I've been doing HF only, but this makes me want to start exploring VHF.
- smolder 2y agoMy only complaint is the framing of it with that title. Otherwise it is pretty cool, for sure!
- tonymet 2y agoThe key selling point is the single power source. Most average consumers carry charging tools for their phone, and don't want to manage another device like a radio. I personally prefer standalone handy-talkies, but powering them is still a pain. I wish a company would redesign the baofeng to run off of 18650 cells
- rtkwe 2y agoThe UV-9R Pro takes batteries that have a USB-C charging port on the back. I have a couple I setup as my disaster radios because of that and them being water proof(ish, better than other models at least). Programmed them with the local repeaters, weather channel, and the 2m and 70cm simplex calling frequencies plus whatever the default channel setup was.
- tonymet 2y agoi have a couple usb-c and though they are better than the previous baofeng, they still don't scale very well, and the battery cells now cost more and are less reliable. I just want something that takes battery cells.
- magicmicah85 2y agoI love it! I have had my technician license awhile and wanted to play with AX.25 networks and this seems like a fun use case.