Network radio.....what is it?

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Alucard
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by Alucard »

Bogget wrote: 07 Oct 2021, 16:13
a guy on a CB channel lasted about 3 seconds before being banned after swearing…..
Challenge accepted! :lol:
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by paulears »

It’s taken how long? 40yr+ to realise that communications is about what we now call networking, social media. The equipment, licensing and exams just get in the way. Network radio is like your Facebook groups. If you like talking about trains you find or create a trains group, but if you are into cake making, you have a home too. If you like swearing join Glasgow rangers network group and be amazed by the content, in a bad way. The people who moan about it not being proper radio just misunderstand that the medium is immaterial, it’s about people.
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by dc260 »

Whilst I do agree that the argument to whether network radio is "real radio" is purely semantic and just down to preference in nature, I do not use network radio for a number of reasons. These are just my own views on the topic and do not have to be taken as fact.

1. No way to scan. It is not the same as a direct RF link, I can program storenet and a wide variety of RX only frequencies into my FM/DMR handsets just to listen in to interesting chatter, to join a zello channel you must be authenticated and that requires you to have an account and so. Some channels are passwor protected so all of the businesses you want to tap into are out of reach. No way just to "listen in" so to speak. Currently there is no way to join private channels, it would require directly hacking into zellos network to do so.

2. Some channels lack RF links. What makes echolink, FRN , brandmeister ect different to network radio is that there is still SOME direct FM/DMR/digi mode involved, meaning that radio links can still be set up however with direct network radio there is no FM or DMR involved whatsoever..

3. What I myself find interesting is the science behind radio waves and propogation. With network radio you dont nearly have as much opportunity to test range and propogation (having said that, it is still possible to construct antennas for the 3G 4G bands and see which tower you are connected to). I understand using network radio to connect to channels that have an RF link (zello crosslinking, FRN ect) but not a purely cellular one.

4. Being social is not the primary reason why I use radios. I am primarily interested in the science side of radio, experimenting with range, dabbling with software and hardware. As well as scanning interesting traffic/eavesdropping. Whilst being social and making friends over the air is brilliant and a positive-side effect of talking on PMR/Amateur/CB it is not the primary reason why I am interested in radio in the first place. I have made a lot of friends over the air waves yes but what we primarily talk and discuss are frequencies, radio equipment and anything to do with radio, on purely network radio there would be little to discuss in this respect.

5. Whilst having a channel administrator/master is a great way to counter jamming and abuse, it begs the question how easy is it for these powers to be abused themselves? For example banning someone who you may not agree with despite them using no offensive remarks.


Although having said those points, network radio does have some use for example discussing radio related topics with a long-distance friend outside the reach of UHF/VHF/ groundwave HF, that is where it makes sense to use it.
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by Bogget »

Just to update you on point one it scans the entred channels beautifully, at about 10,000ch per second and yes you can listen in on most comercial channels you find (like i do) what you cant do without a password is Tx, althou listners can be seen on the channel and they know you are there and after listening to several for a few weeks, a couple of the comercial channels spoke to "me" and gave me trusted status and i can now chat with them, when they are not busy of course (one is the news desk of a newspaper very intresting stuff).......very friendly.
I fully understand your point about loving the RF aspect of the hobby as do i but i see this as another medium and a fun aspect of our hobby, i have made some very good friends all over the world, and i must say the Amatuer net on channel 03 from 8.30am to 9.30 am every morning is excellent.

Further point you can also use APRS on most of them as i do and that aspect i very much enjoy, more on that later.

Bogget
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by Bogget »

Please also note that APRS works very very well on most of these radios, www.aprs.fi which i find very useful, APRS on it is much more acurate than my icom and and even slightly better than my Yasu..... if anyone has one of these radios and needs help setting it up please let me know i would be pleased to help.

Bogget
www.aprs.fi
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by dc260 »

Bogget wrote: 08 Oct 2021, 10:31 Just to update you on point one it scans the entred channels beautifully, at about 10,000ch per second and yes you can listen in on most comercial channels you find (like i do) what you cant do without a password is Tx, althou listners can be seen on the channel and they know you are there and after listening to several for a few weeks, a couple of the comercial channels spoke to "me" and gave me trusted status and i can now chat with them, when they are not busy of course (one is the news desk of a newspaper very intresting stuff).......very friendly.
I fully understand your point about loving the RF aspect of the hobby as do i but i see this as another medium and a fun aspect of our hobby, i have made some very good friends all over the world, and i must say the Amatuer net on channel 03 from 8.30am to 9.30 am every morning is excellent.

Further point you can also use APRS on most of them as i do and that aspect i very much enjoy, more on that later.

Bogget
The issue with scanning is there is no wildcard whilst searching,if you for example search "taxi" into zello in the add channel section you will only get one result for a channel that matches the string "taxi".

If you do not know the exact string, you wont find the channel (Perhaps I will look into making a crawler to discover channels...).
There is no index of channels, so I am curious to know how you found commerical channels on zello, did you brute force the search api or did you find info elsewhere regarding a channel name and entered in the details?

I did not know you could use APRS, that is something I will look into.
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by Bogget »


The issue with scanning is there is no wildcard whilst searching,if you for example search "taxi" into zello in the add channel section you will only get one result for a channel that matches the string "taxi".

I did not know you could use APRS, that is something I will look into.
Im puzzled how you search there "for now" is no search its been removed temporaraly as its belived it caused the attack on the whitehouse...no stop laughing they belive it....

the channels are easly found on facebook, everyone like websites promotes their channels.

APRS is added using aprsdroid and sits behind Zello perfectly and auto launches with Zello on any android device.

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Amateur does not have a CH its pronounced "am-a-tore" NOT am-a-chure !
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by Bogget »

OK not sure whats happening in this but the original post seems to be missing and now only the answers are displayed?????

Moderators can yousort this please?

i will now repost the original post...........

Bogget
Last edited by Bogget on 11 Oct 2021, 08:49, edited 1 time in total.
Amateur does not have a CH its pronounced "am-a-tore" NOT am-a-chure !
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Re: Network radio.....what is it?

Post by Bogget »

Network Radio (what is it?)
And a review on a couple of them

So what is network radio, its not real a radio came a shout from the back of the room!!!, you do it on your phone………
OK so first is it real radio, or do you use your phone, and if you do use your phone does that stop it being real radio?

The thing is you can use your phone, but you don’t have to you can use a walkie talkie or a mobile set in your car, you can also use your phone or network radio for zello, echolink, dstar, peanut, DMR……..and many others.
Ahhhh now your getting interested, so if you use echolink or dstar, etc… is that not real radio even if you use a walkie talkie to access it?
If you come down to it after all your phone is a radio or do you have one on a long wire?

Network radio uses the mobile phone network data stream to connect to the internet, so a network radio that looks and works just like a yasu or a normal handset, it has a removable antenna, removable battery and no touch screen just buttons and a normal colour display screen and rotary volume on the top,…so looking at it a normal looking walkie talkie, it can connect via wifi or Bluetooth or you can insert a sim card and use data, and it uses so little data, with more than 12 very active channels programmed less than ½ a gig per month. And I use it a lot.
The handset is so new you wont even find it on google it’s a (£73) “Kereia” with a 6800mAh battery, one charge lasts about 4 or 5 days in constant use.
So I use an app on it (as most of them use an android operating system and load apps just like your phone) the app I use is Zello and only this morning I was talking to a ham in North Carolina on my handset, while making a cup of tea in my kitchen, audio quality is very good and at times better than my yasu/Icom 2mtr radios, depending on what app you use it gives different usability but this review is based on Zello. I have a selection of channels on it CB, ham radio, shipping, air sea rescue, tornado watch (in the USA) some American police services use them and they allow you to listen to their channels. The mobile unit I have is an (£130) Inrico TM7 very similar in functionality to the handset but superb audio, and far exceeds the quality of any of my ham radios. Both radios have GPS positioning. To program them is simplicity itself because they are network radios you can do it on your phone and they appear on all your radios, you can even photo scan a “q code” to insert channels amazing!
After a little bit of time with it im convinced it is real radio and very much a new arm to radio.

The system functions very like the system the police use in the UK you can chat in a group of your choice or you can chat 1 to 1 completely private, and you can not be listened in to, to do that just by selecting a person from your contact list.
What better tool can you have to teach none amateurs to become amateurs, you can open a channel let them practice mic technique and etiquette, they don’t have to purchase an expensive ham radio that they cant use, as they can go on the CB or chat channels till they have passed their test, and even then they can return to use the channels that require an amateur call sign to use. I think network radio can only promote the hobby not harm it and its just another aspect of radio I think the hobby will benefit from, think of the guys that cant have antenna up because they are in rented or a flat or just on holiday, this answers all of those problems.

The biggest difference I noticed I turn it on and there where armatures talking on it!!!!! Unlike 2mtrs or 70cm you put out a call anytime night or day and some one comes back to you.
The channels are very rarely quiet there is always someone to chat to be it an American a Columbian or an Australian I had quite a nice chat with a radio amateur in his truck driving across Australia a CBer in new York and myself in the UK, it would be difficult to do this any other way.
You can talk to ham, CBers, hikers, pmr, or anyone who creates a group and invites you, and you don’t need a licence….unless you want to use the Ham radio link channels then of course you do and have to prove it, as you should. The channels are policed by moderators and a guy on a CB channel lasted about 3 seconds before being banned after swearing…..excellent.
They sit very nicely alongside my Icom and Yaesu equipment and further enhance my hobby.
So do I like my network radios…… no I don’t like them…. I love them.

Bogget
Amateur does not have a CH its pronounced "am-a-tore" NOT am-a-chure !
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