Neat, these seem to use the MURS radio spectrum, (151 - 154MHz) and a mile is pretty good. THE MURS band (multi use radio spectrum) is limited to 2 watts, so the only way they could increase range is a bigger/better antenna, as these units are already running at 2 watts. Handy for the cell because its encrypted comms (other than when you use the emergency or shout mode) and you can send your location if needed too.
We just saw this at REI the other day and was wondering how it held up to other similar devices. I think I'd still go with the InReach, but I think the goTenna has potential.
Only texts can be sent? There are apps like "The Serval Mesh" (free on Play Store). Your voice or text message goes from phone to phone, till it reaches it's destination. You can set up relay stations pretty easy with old smartphones, or AP's. When your text doesn't use phones of people you don't know to reach it's destination, it's not a mesh network, but just a simple transmitter/receiver.
seems very promising I hope they extend the range so it could be useful for family members separate by a natural disasters longer than a mile. Thanks for posting
for that kind of money you can get a chinese DMR HT that can do voice, digital, encryption, duplex and even text messaging...with a far longer range....just saying
Understand this you will kill the actual service if you happen key up on the actual service radio.. also note it is a subscription service for the actual application.. however unknown at this point whether you can use the likes of skype or similar service.. with iridium this is primarily a sat phone service pending on the options you go with.. personally If i had a choice i would likely go with a d-star, fusion style radio with links frs/gmrs/forestry, ham radio based options, with a sat phone as auxiliary option..
TheLightReports.com sad to say it is pay for service, would be a bitch 1 day out of contract you be screwed when a emergency hits and the service is under suspension Whilst I see merit to a point until you can assign it to its own service frequency and repeater service you are really stuck because it takes someone keying up on a gmrs/frs radio to knock the service out. With screen time being so low on modern touch screen mobile phones.. Just using gps and blue tooth together likely kill the phone and this device quicker so you will need a couple of charging devices to this ans the with charge.
InReach makes a very good product, text from cell phone anywhere, anytime, any distance with gps tracking and a S.O.S feature that goes to dispatch centres much like SPOT Gps trackers
Wish they had made it so you can make calls, it would eliminate the need for a ufh when driving in a convoy in areas without phone reception and it would also be hands free without the need for a clumbsy uhf hand held or walky talky while you are driving. If they make a version where you can make calls I'd be interested. For now i think hand held walkie talkies or a uhf in your vehicle makes more sense.
Nice job on the review. Do you have any info on the security. The radios you speak of can be hacked with a scanner. Are these private channels, secure communications? If it is secure it could be worth the money. The biggest disadvantage is the range.
there's one thing that gotenna really needs to do and firechat also needs to do there's two apps that work off grid they have to make sure that they can you can have regular like WhatsApp voice messages WhatsApp is unique because they have voice messages you just press the voice mail message button and you can leave a voice message same thing should happen with gotenna and fire chat I think that would enhance everything tremendously
These have come a long way in the couple years since this video was made. The Pro version allows for a complete network to be set up with up to 30 devices which provides a pretty decent range. This isn’t meant to connect people cross country. It’s meant to work as a force multiplier within a smaller range than cell phones would. The ability to use your existing smartphone (I however would purchase a dedicated device to use for this because of the privacy factor - existing cell phones with existing providers are not to be trusted) is a plus for most people who are not tech savvy and aren’t very capable of learning how to use new technology. The Pro version comes with 20 devices and runs about $25K and up to 10 more can be added to this “kit”. Yes it’s pricey but if you’re off the grid, on a decent sized piece of property and need to stay in contact with grandpa working the north 40, sentries on patrol or even firefighters spread out fighting a fire in the mountains, the price becomes doable as this device becomes necessary to saving lives and communicating in dangerous situations.
Testing a VHF device whose antenna is inside a vehicle is going go yield results that are poorer than if the antenna was outside the vehicle. You might get a better range if you had both GoTennas outside, but not necessarily out in the woods.
That looks like a very interesting device. I will have to look into it. Of course here in Canada Tim Hortons is always a survival need! Thanks for all your videos.
I could see throwing two cheap smartphones and two of these in a survival pack, it would be expensive, but you would have communication with anyone you give the other phone and antenna to.
I like this gizmo. A little expensive, but if the price comes down, I could see them in EDCs for any kind of "just in case". I especially like that you can "ping" people. Think of if someone gets lost. If you know their general location, this could help find them. I DO hope the price comes down, though. Thanks for sharing, Ben!
Awesome Ben! Was looking at this as an alternative to two ways for an upcoming Pictured Rocks trip but my two ways have better range (and I already own them!). Thanks again, this answered all my questions on this product!
They made old cell phones with cb radio before the smart phone era I remember all the kids using them after hurricane catrina in Louisiana. I bet they’re dirt cheap on eBay. Those things worked real good for miles and miles and at the time didn’t take away those precious expensive minute
Now can you use this for Mapquest? Like if you're going on a long trip but there are a few areas that you hit a deadzone for Cell Service so it can't keep track of where you are
Don't buy any GoTenna products. I've had the original units and now the batteries won't hold a charge and GoTenna is telling me to throw them away and they will sell me new units! The units have rechargeable batteries, for goodness sake. Why can't they charge for battery replacement? I will never purchase any of their products in the future
Flawed range test. Never test the range of any two way radio inside of a vehicle. The metal vehicle housing had a detrimental effect on the radio signal.
+Living Survival yes, they have 4 subscription levels...$11.95 to $100 bucks. some require a year commitment, and some are a monthly pay as you go...cheapest monthly is 24.95 annual, with $15 per month as you need it. www.inreachdelorme.com/product-info/subscription-plans.php
I have a feeling there is something here but as it stands the limitations and price would make it stillborn. These sort of things usually benefit from the illegal community playing with them. Hams love obeying the rules but rules dont help in a shtf scenario
I was all ready to attack you buddy :D Your review is fair, but there is one mistake you made. foliage does a great job of absorbing RF radiation. So in a moderate forest, you will find the range more limiting. Less dense forest, better range. When I made my video, I did so to stop gotenna from spreading their marketing lies, and I achieved that goal. With that said, the functionality and form factor are pretty cool. I have another video in the pipe. "gotenna vs ham radio". I'll show everyone where the gotenna technology came from, and how to reproduce the gotenna functionality with any frs, gmrs, pmr radio or Ham HT and an arduino. Great job on the video.
@@vnmsenior any tests made later, when they went retail? because not many .5w radios can get over few miles in urban area. even 5w ones has problems with signal propagation inside urban area...
Yeah but it only works with a phone with download. So in a emergency situation you cant just hand it to anyone to remain in contact. App built in would make more sense
I read somewhere that the GoTenna is actually only a sub-watt radio. That makes it pretty deficient in a survival situation.
Neat, these seem to use the MURS radio spectrum, (151 - 154MHz) and a mile is pretty good. THE MURS band (multi use radio spectrum) is limited to 2 watts, so the only way they could increase range is a bigger/better antenna, as these units are already running at 2 watts. Handy for the cell because its encrypted comms (other than when you use the emergency or shout mode) and you can send your location if needed too.
+Iridium242 yes they do. I think a better antenna would help it out. a mile obstructed surprised me for sure.
Great review Ben and Kristen awesome info as always!
+guns4funcajanajustin thank you.
We just saw this at REI the other day and was wondering how it held up to other similar devices. I think I'd still go with the InReach, but I think the goTenna has potential.
+Armed Rogue ill check out the inreach.
if only they made then compatible with regular bands to contact emergency personal.
Hey Ben! GoTenna has a new model on Kickstarter called the Mesh. Price for two $149.99 and the range is several miles away, you should check it out.
i've seen it. hopefully i can test it.
Thanks for the video! I saw another video on these and its nice to see your take on it.
+David Mm thanks for watching it.
Only texts can be sent?
There are apps like "The Serval Mesh" (free on Play Store).
Your voice or text message goes from phone to phone, till it reaches it's destination.
You can set up relay stations pretty easy with old smartphones, or AP's.
When your text doesn't use phones of people you don't know to reach it's destination, it's not a mesh network, but just a simple transmitter/receiver.
seems very promising I hope they extend the range so it could be useful for family members separate by a natural disasters longer than a mile. Thanks for posting
+Carlos de la Cruz you can do it but it's much more expensive with ham radios/repeaters etc.
for that kind of money you can get a chinese DMR HT that can do voice, digital, encryption, duplex and even text messaging...with a far longer range....just saying
But the mesh networking is what makes it worth the money...it potentially has no limit litterally
Maybe some of the range comes from mesh and relay? Perhaps a 4 hop limit at a mile each?
Understand this you will kill the actual service if you happen key up on the actual service radio..
also note it is a subscription service for the actual application..
however unknown at this point whether you can use the likes of skype or similar service..
with iridium this is primarily a sat phone service pending on the options you go with..
personally If i had a choice i would likely go with a d-star, fusion style radio with links frs/gmrs/forestry, ham radio based options, with a sat phone as auxiliary option..
TheLightReports.com sad to say it is pay for service, would be a bitch 1 day out of contract you be screwed when a emergency hits and the service is under suspension
Whilst I see merit to a point until you can assign it to its own service frequency and repeater service you are really stuck because it takes someone keying up on a gmrs/frs radio to knock the service out.
With screen time being so low on modern touch screen mobile phones..
Just using gps and blue tooth together likely kill the phone and this device quicker so you will need a couple of charging devices to this ans the with charge.
have you tried the beartooth yet it is free as well as well to.
InReach makes a very good product, text from cell phone anywhere, anytime, any distance with gps tracking and a S.O.S feature that goes to dispatch centres much like SPOT Gps trackers
+sean john ill check it out.
+sean john that is a paid service though I think.
+Living Survival yes you're right it is, I should have listened to you better, I thought that one was too! haha
What was the safety disclaimer in the beginning of the video for??! I thought you guys would be jumping off cliffs while using the device! 😁
For testing emergency equipment, aka fire starter etc.
Ben did you test it in the woods? If you did What were the Distance. I got my Bofangs for $30 you can send Morse Code messages on VHF & UHF
+Kristyanna Virgona .....i prefer the baofeng, they do so much more ......than the regular w/t's
+ben terwellen the term you should use is "HT -- Handy Talkie" It's what the Ham's use.
Nice review. Think I will stick with my Baofeng two way radios. Keep up the good work!!
Wish they had made it so you can make calls, it would eliminate the need for a ufh when driving in a convoy in areas without phone reception and it would also be hands free without the need for a clumbsy uhf hand held or walky talky while you are driving. If they make a version where you can make calls I'd be interested. For now i think hand held walkie talkies or a uhf in your vehicle makes more sense.
great review. i agree that the goTenna should have an extendable antenna for greater range.
+879doogie thanks for the comment.
might get one my self
Do you have a video of what two way radio you recommend in the $50 to $100, $100 to $150 and $200 range?
+Lancers262 I did a video a few videos back on some nice Midland radios.
But do they give directions to another location
Can you only text other gotena users? Or text everyone in your contacts?
Nice job on the review. Do you have any info on the security. The radios you speak of can be hacked with a scanner. Are these private channels, secure communications? If it is secure it could be worth the money. The biggest disadvantage is the range.
encrypted.
Thank You fro the quick reply. It looks like you have been busy. Keep up the good work.
Do you know of any similar devices?
there's one thing that gotenna really needs to do and firechat also needs to do there's two apps that work off grid they have to make sure that they can you can have regular like WhatsApp voice messages WhatsApp is unique because they have voice messages you just press the voice mail message button and you can leave a voice message same thing should happen with gotenna and fire chat I think that would enhance everything tremendously
Man loved that snow a couple days ago huh?
+Ballistic Craft no i didn't love it.
These have come a long way in the couple years since this video was made. The Pro version allows for a complete network to be set up with up to 30 devices which provides a pretty decent range. This isn’t meant to connect people cross country. It’s meant to work as a force multiplier within a smaller range than cell phones would. The ability to use your existing smartphone (I however would purchase a dedicated device to use for this because of the privacy factor - existing cell phones with existing providers are not to be trusted) is a plus for most people who are not tech savvy and aren’t very capable of learning how to use new technology. The Pro version comes with 20 devices and runs about $25K and up to 10 more can be added to this “kit”. Yes it’s pricey but if you’re off the grid, on a decent sized piece of property and need to stay in contact with grandpa working the north 40, sentries on patrol or even firefighters spread out fighting a fire in the mountains, the price becomes doable as this device becomes necessary to saving lives and communicating in dangerous situations.
Please tell me what kind of brand watches on your hand? Senks.
I like it, but at this point the range is too limited.........
Hey brother...have you checked out the beartooth? Its somewhat like the go-tenna
+Vince Delia those boast a 5 mile voice and 10 mile text range. They have mesh networking so definitely interested in these. thanks for the tip.
Nice product and great video.
I love your French manucure Ben......Lol
+François Lataste haha, thanks.
Very good review. 👍🏻 I saw on Cnet that they were $149. Do these have NOAA?? lol
+JG Harts no noaa. that's a better price point for sure.
thanks for the info. an indoor test would be nice (ie different stores in a mall);
Testing a VHF device whose antenna is inside a vehicle is going go yield results that are poorer than if the antenna was outside the vehicle. You might get a better range if you had both GoTennas outside, but not necessarily out in the woods.
That looks like a very interesting device. I will have to look into it.
Of course here in Canada Tim Hortons is always a survival need! Thanks for all your videos.
+Torossifamily lol. yep. they are all over here in michigan too ;)
I could see throwing two cheap smartphones and two of these in a survival pack, it would be expensive, but you would have communication with anyone you give the other phone and antenna to.
I like this gizmo. A little expensive, but if the price comes down, I could see them in EDCs for any kind of "just in case". I especially like that you can "ping" people. Think of if someone gets lost. If you know their general location, this could help find them. I DO hope the price comes down, though. Thanks for sharing, Ben!
+Adam Waters i think they have already come down to $149.
For your next demonstration get out of the car, or at least place the device outside of the metal car. You will get a much truer range.
hey ben great gotenna looks great.. check the standard horizon hx870.. its a vhf radio with gps
+buenti i think thats actually yaesu's marine brand.
yes i think so
on the adjustment strap of a baseball cap would work
+Phoenix yep.
Interesting. I'll have to look this up soon
Awesome Ben! Was looking at this as an alternative to two ways for an upcoming Pictured Rocks trip but my two ways have better range (and I already own them!). Thanks again, this answered all my questions on this product!
right on TOm.
This is a really good video and a good test in a worst case scenario, in the city from an automobile.
How do I put this.. if i was captain nemo I’d toss it out the submarine screen door.
They made old cell phones with cb radio before the smart phone era I remember all the kids using them after hurricane catrina in Louisiana. I bet they’re dirt cheap on eBay. Those things worked real good for miles and miles and at the time didn’t take away those precious expensive minute
Very cool Nice video thanks for sharing atb John
+Turtle Bushcraft thanks.
6:55 why dont u just say 10-20
Thanks to smash mouth for the review!
Great video as always 😀
+ROSWELL836 thanks.
Something to think about.
+Julio Hunter Garcia thanks for watching.
is it work on open sea? South China sea?
huguan86 USA only
Garmin RINO 650 more expensive but will track movement of other parties plus GMRS over 20 miles,long battery life
+Guy Mooglie oh really. ill have to check that out.
why not a walkie talkie?
Very well done! Good piece of information! KK
+Klas Kiecker thanks!
You know, If that thing dies, you know what you can use to recharge that puppy? An AnkerPowerhouse, Only 500$ at your local Amazon.
Really cool gadget! Just wish it had a better range, but if it did it would cost even more money.
Why can't these be made to transmit voice also?
Power talkie could transmit voice.
I really like the location ping and usefulness in airplane mode, seems like a sweet device!
+NHWoodsider603 certainly would be useful for specific tasks. meeting up at a certain location for example.
Now can you use this for Mapquest? Like if you're going on a long trip but there are a few areas that you hit a deadzone for Cell Service so it can't keep track of where you are
Interesting gadget. Thanks 4 sharing.
Don't buy any GoTenna products. I've had the original units and now the batteries won't hold a charge and GoTenna is telling me to throw them away and they will sell me new units! The units have rechargeable batteries, for goodness sake. Why can't they charge for battery replacement? I will never purchase any of their products in the future
Flawed range test. Never test the range of any two way radio inside of a vehicle. The metal vehicle housing had a detrimental effect on the radio signal.
Pretty nice
+need buy solar charging
What the hell were you really looking for?
for that price, I'd get a Delorme InReach which uses the Iridium Satellite network.
do you have to pay monthly for that?
+Living Survival yes, they have 4 subscription levels...$11.95 to $100 bucks. some require a year commitment, and some are a monthly pay as you go...cheapest monthly is 24.95 annual, with $15 per month as you need it. www.inreachdelorme.com/product-info/subscription-plans.php
I hike where there is NO signal. This would be great to have.
+PREPFORIT for sure.
Sure for $10 they'd be great, they cost waaaay more. Problem is you can get great baofeng radios [BF888] for $15USD that do a better job anyhow.
this is not like a baofeng radio. completely different.
The range is rather short for the price. If the range was better I'd consider it but for shtf use id rather invest in high quality radios.
right lol....but keep in mind if you had a way to raise it say a pole or rode 10 or 20 feet in the air your gonna increase your range
I thought this was a vape at first
So you need the phone, charge pack and goTenna sticks? No thanks, not for me.. Too much crap to carry for what I can do on the phone now..
Muito bom.
need add wireless charging
I have a feeling there is something here but as it stands the limitations and price would make it stillborn. These sort of things usually benefit from the illegal community playing with them. Hams love obeying the rules but rules dont help in a shtf scenario
I was all ready to attack you buddy :D
Your review is fair, but there is one mistake you made. foliage does a great job of absorbing RF radiation. So in a moderate forest, you will find the range more limiting. Less dense forest, better range.
When I made my video, I did so to stop gotenna from spreading their marketing lies, and I achieved that goal. With that said, the functionality and form factor are pretty cool.
I have another video in the pipe. "gotenna vs ham radio". I'll show everyone where the gotenna technology came from, and how to reproduce the gotenna functionality with any frs, gmrs, pmr radio or Ham HT and an arduino.
Great job on the video.
Really looking forward to that video man!
+SurvivalTech Nord looking forward to that video. yes i guess wilderness i meant open fields, hill tops etc. parks.
6 away from 75,000!!
+Travis Reed woo hoo
On a range test video, it shouldn't take 8 minutes to get to the range test. Trim the fat, please.
I just subbed. But if you make fun of my hair, I will unsub.
I wound not be surprised if the range is limited by the fcc. They probably can't use a frequency that broadcasts farther.
+Chris DeBruyn could be.
better luck with 2 way radio with 35 mile range
Got the gotenna when they were beta, haven't tried beartooth. They supposedly have a 10 mile range.
Sheriff Brown FUCK THE POLICE
@@vnmsenior any tests made later, when they went retail? because not many .5w radios can get over few miles in urban area. even 5w ones has problems with signal propagation inside urban area...
Clever
Yeah but it only works with a phone with download. So in a emergency situation you cant just hand it to anyone to remain in contact. App built in would make more sense
😃
this is an awsome tool for 10 bucks
Now if it could send messages via satellite that would be worth 200 bucks
Killer feature is encryption.
have you seen their new ones?
Yeah saw them day after Kickstarter ended. Very cool.
Timmays
First