[HN Gopher] Off the Grid Messenger
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Off the Grid Messenger
Author : velmu
Score : 77 points
Date : 2021-06-28 07:48 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| sndean wrote:
| Could anyone knowledgeable about radio tell me what's the
| pros/cons of this over something like APRS [0]? I guess for pros
| this wouldn't require a ham radio license and it's encrypted, but
| APRS is possible out of the box for certain radios?
|
| [0] http://www.aprs.org/aprs-messaging.html
| madengr wrote:
| Several radios have built in APRS messaging, but it's extremely
| frustrating to use as non have implemented predictive text
| entry.
|
| That said, the SX1276 covers both 2m and 70cm, and has FSK
| mode, so this project has the hardware to do APRS, though I
| don't see schematics on how the RF chain is implemented.
| kQq9oHeAz6wLLS wrote:
| I do agree that APRS seems a better fit, especially since you
| have control over antenna design/placement as well as power
| levels, meaning you could go farther.
|
| In the pro category, though, this device is pocketable, and I
| don't think there are very many APRS-enabled radios that easily
| fit into jeans pocket (I'd love to be proven wrong). You could
| cobble together something -- a Baofeng UV3R+ or especially a
| BF-T1 easily fits into a pocket, but that's just the radio. You
| need an audio cable/TNC and a phone to make it an APRS setup.
| progbits wrote:
| Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't encryption for APRS (and
| amateur radio in general) illegal [1]?
|
| So if you are going for encrypted platform might as well use a
| less regulated frequency range.
|
| [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_radio
| boomskats wrote:
| > The e63 doesn't support touch and TouchGFX doesn't work with
| keypads or buttons so interfacing the keypad to the GUI engine
| was not a trivial exercise.
|
| I found this amusing, considering my keyboard runs on a pair of
| STM32 blackpills
| SahAssar wrote:
| Interesting project with similar goals:
| https://hackaday.io/project/171790-armawatch-armachat-long-r...
| abriosi wrote:
| Are there any commercially available devices like this?
| hoytech wrote:
| There is meshtastic, which is open source and uses pretty cheap
| hardware:
|
| https://meshtastic.letstalkthis.com/
| GlassOwAter wrote:
| Yes, I forget what it's called. It connects to your cellphone
| over bluetooth and then creates a mesh network with other
| people's radio devices to text each other in the wilderness.
| Also, if one person has cell service it can route texts out
| through them.
|
| It had a kickstarter and then later they shifted more to forest
| fire fighters and search and rescue. I will edit this comment
| if I remember what its called.
|
| Its called goTenna
|
| Here's a few things you may be interested in
| https://www.tripsavvy.com/gadgets-for-backcountry-communicat...
| csharpminor wrote:
| Not exactly the same, but goTenna Mesh delivers similar
| functionality.
|
| It connects to your phone via Bluetooth then transmits data via
| UHF to a mesh network of devices.
| tonyarkles wrote:
| Alternatively, if you want to get global coverage, there's
| https://www.bivystick.com/bivy-stick-satellite-communicator/
|
| Disclosure: I worked on an implementation of the Android-side
| Bluetooth stack for this. It's... decent.
| Hippocrates wrote:
| Anyone remember the cybiko? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybiko
| f38zf5vdt wrote:
| I had one!
| GlassOwAter wrote:
| I loved mine!
| Daegalus wrote:
| Oh man, I either had one, or something similar. Or at least
| wanting one. I thought it would be cool to have dedicated
| messaging devices.
| jhgb wrote:
| > I thought it would be cool to have dedicated messaging
| devices.
|
| You mean something like phones?
| nine_k wrote:
| Like walkie-talkies. Phones only work as communication
| devices in vicinity of the network towers.
| jhgb wrote:
| Perhaps, but that doesn't mean phones are not
| "dedicated", though.
| Daegalus wrote:
| Honestly, I have been fantasizing about a device used purely for
| text messaging, with multiple connection modes (LoRA, LTE, Wifi,
| etc) and then just dedicate it to messaging. A small device just
| to send and receive messages either directly, and/or integrate
| with popular messaging services, but only messaging.
|
| Something to optimize battery, screen (only really need Eink or
| something low power), and other aspects for that mode of
| communication.
| Jtsummers wrote:
| https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/precursor
|
| I was half-interested in buying a pair of these to try that
| with. However, an honest assessment of my ability to commit and
| complete it made me skip it. If this is successful and a second
| device (or less expensive version of this) comes out I'll
| reconsider.
| marc__1 wrote:
| You are pretty much describing pager 2.0. Interesting how the
| world goes around
| Daegalus wrote:
| ya, I can see that. I think its just the overwhelming nature
| of every little thing going on right now. Having a way to
| take a break but not completely be off the grid would be
| nice.
| nine_k wrote:
| Oh, a pager 2.0! An omni-pager!
|
| But once you consider an email client, it turns much larger.
| n_o_u wrote:
| Zawinski's Law
| red_hare wrote:
| It's outdated now but there was the Peek Email device which
| gets pretty close and is, IMO, beautiful hardware:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peek_(mobile_Internet_device)
| Daegalus wrote:
| Oh that is really nice hardware. But ya, similar to that.
|
| Maybe I will sit down and see if I can design something
| myself.
| jfim wrote:
| Not exactly what you mentioned, but the Punkt MP02 has support
| for SMS and Signal I believe.
|
| https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/
| deadalus wrote:
| This Nokia e63 reminds me of the time when phones used to be so
| much fun and there was a lot of variety. All the phones are
| essentially the same now.
|
| When Phones Were Fun - And Nokia Was Crazy :
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOZi-7V11k8
| paxys wrote:
| Great video, but god those intense focus blur effects gave me a
| headache.
| kgwxd wrote:
| Unihertz still makes fun phones. I've been using a Jelly 2 [0]
| and I'm getting the Titan Pocket [1] in September (assuming it
| ships. They were right on schedule with the Jelly 2). I don't
| use my phone much outside of phone calls, text and casual
| browsing so I can't speak much to how well they work with more
| mainstream apps, but they work well for me.
|
| [0] https://www.unihertz.com/jelly-2.html
|
| [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jellyphone/titan-
| pocket...
| gurchik wrote:
| Hopefully the Jelly 2 works a lot better than the Jelly Pro.
|
| I bought one last year for work as I was finding it too
| stressful to use my personal phone for on-call, something
| that I could easily carry anywhere and cheap enough that I
| didn't mind it thrown in a drawer when I wasn't on-call.
|
| What I found is that the Jelly Pro's performance was so bad
| that apps often couldn't send notifications properly, even
| for the stock Dialer app. You'd have to open the app and then
| you'd receive notifications that you missed 5 calls. This
| happened so frequently I couldn't use it as an on-call
| device. I had all the OS updates installed as well, and no
| non-stock apps installed.
| geoah wrote:
| This just looks amazing, really sad there is just NO way I'll
| ever be able to solder this myself hehe. This would be a very
| interesting kickstarter project.
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