News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie by borgel on Sunday January 17, 2016 @02:36PM (#10920660)
Seems extremely similar to the Gotenna (which is shipping) [1].

[1] http://www.gotenna.com/

Re:Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie by kbaker on Sunday January 17, 2016 @03:34PM (#10920913)
Yes, but this one seems more limited vs. the Gotenna -

- Gotoky: only 0.5 W of power vs. the Gotenna's 2 W

- uses FRS channels UHF vs. Gotenna's use of the MURS VHF bands, which have better propagation

I'd think even though they claim 5 mi line of sight, they would struggle to get 1/4 to 1/2 miles of range in normal city/event operation. They do even claim as much (<0.2 miles in Concerts and Events.)

I think the Gotoky is really just an FRS radio for your phone, while the Gotenna has quite a bit more capabilities.

Re:Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie by dogma1138 on Sunday January 17, 2016 @04:48PM (#10921242)
The transmit power is due to the frequencies they support FRS is "capped" at 500mw, MURS requires 2W for all channels. As such 500mw is a standard transmit power for most 2 way handsets even "high end" consumer ones. http://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_xu/products/consumer-two... FRS handsets are still by far more common and you can communicate with GMRS stations which are more common as far as emergency services go.
Re:Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie by meatmanek on Sunday January 17, 2016 @05:42PM (#10921451)
Another interesting regulatory hurdle when using FRS is that you are only allowed to transmit data once per 30 seconds, and packets can only be 1 second long. [1, p.11]

1. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol5/pdf/CFR-...

Re:Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie by matthewaveryusa on Sunday January 17, 2016 @03:40PM (#10920947)
I have a pair and they are great. Just remember these aren't miracle products: you'll get multiple miles in the mountains if you're in the same valley, but I only got 500 meters in Urban areas. It really makes you appreciate the cell infrastructure.
Re:Gotoky: Smartphone and Walkie Talkie by tanvach on Sunday January 17, 2016 @03:31PM (#10920905)
Gotoky also works with on normal walkie talkie on 460MHz frequency.