Pretty cool idea to connect smart phones if the cell grid is down using slick 2 watt aux radio antennas that bluetooth pair with your phone (one for each phone needed). GoTenna

Solves a problem that I have been wrestling with since Hurr Sandy in NYC - how to re-establish comms with my wife if cell towers are overloaded. In effect, they turn your iPhone into a text walkie talkie, but can keep the conversations private too. Would also work when hiking in back country and no cell service.

Range is dependent on landscape and antenna heights but theoretically is 50mi.

I bought a pair at their discounted pre-launch price of $150 and will report back when I get a chance to real-world test them.

Amat Victoria Curam,
-Joel

I decided to hold off on these for a while. Apparently, they take your money on the pre-launch immediately. They do not wait until the product ships. When I looked at this last week, I was concerned about the potential issues with using encryption on MURS frequencies. Also buried deep in the documentation is the fact they do not have FCC type approval yet. Without that, this never gets off the ground.

I am very interested, but I'll wait to see if the FCC gives them the green light first.

I think 50 miles is way more than most people will get. In urban areas I'm guessing you'd be lucky to get more than a mile.

I too will be waiting on FCC approval. I like the concept.

From a two watt transmitter with that antenna? Good grief. I agree with chaosmagnet - one mile urban, maybe two miles suburban would be more likely. There's a reason they use the word "theoretically".

Hmmm, I wonder what bandwidth numbers they use in their theoretical range calculations. The antenna does not appear to have a gain more than 1 (0 dB) and is probably less. 2 watts and a sensitive receiver.

Since the company is located near me in NYC, I talked to their team about the range concerns, and they told me that they conducted testing in Manhattan and were getting 3.5 miles around Central Park and 1 mile on the ground in Brooklyn. In the open desert in Utah, they were seeing distances of 6+ miles.

As for the gain issue, their CTO said their receivers are up to -126dB sensitivity, but the antenna doesn't have any gain.

(updated)

That's significantly better than I would have expected.

One mile urban range would not be terribly useful for me. Especially when you have to buy two of these GoTenna units, over $300 total, to get that. I'd rather just walk that same mile in fifteen minutes. Or jog it in ten.

I would just buy a pair of GMRS radios. You can get a cheap pair of them for $50. Technically, you need an FCC license ($85 for five years) for GMRS. But during a disaster situation, would you actually be worried about that? Nobody is going to catch you making a brief unlicensed GMRS transmission during a disaster anyway. They would have to be out there hunting for you, with sophisticated equipment. Chances are, government priorities would be elsewhere during a disaster than trying to catch rogue GMRS users.

If you're really worried about being 100% legal for that short transmission during a disaster situation, stick to the FRS channels on your GMRS radios (GMRS radios allow you to use either low power FRS channels or the higher power GMRS frequencies). You don't need a license for the FRS channels. FRS is limited to 500mW output. But GMRS radios, on FRS channels, can go higher power - up to 5 watts (see link below for channels and max power allowable). I get about 1 mile range with my FRS radios in my suburban area (no tall buildings, giant hills or massive tree cover). The non-shared-FRS channels that GMRS radios can also use can go up to 50 watts. MUCH more power and range than those GoTennas. And a lot cheaper. I wonder if those GoTennas are going to require an FCC license? That would depend on the specific frequencies and power output. Even buying a license for your GMRS radios, two of those radios plus license would still be cheaper than a pair of GoTennas.

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/FRS/GMRS_combined_channel_chart

1) The GoTenna will almost certainly not require an individual license, I'm sure it will be licensed like FRS and cellphones.

2) Do not use GMRS radios on FRS frequencies without a GMRS license. You need a GMRS license to transmit on any GMRS or shared frequency.

3) In the case of a bona fide emergency (think life-threatening), you can transmit on frequencies that you are not licensed to use without breaking the law.

4) If you own a GMRS radio that you should have a GMRS license. If you don't want to get a GMRS license, get an FRS, CB or MURS radio. If range is a big deal to you MURS handhelds generally get better range than GMRS handhelds.