Category: Zello operation

Some people would say its a glorified mobile phone well sort off until you hit the repeater stations and you have to be a qualified ham op to use it

Nice tidy thing well built easy transportable get on the air anywhere in the world with the GPS antenna so no need to worry about if you have a signal
If you are very restricted to putting up a antenna where you live like in a flat then this is great
The screen could do to be a little bigger other than that brilliant it is just one of those radios you got to have
As for the shop SOUND OF ANGELS well the service is spot on and they keep you up to date on the progress of your order i got mine in 7/9 working days
Very helpful in everyway possible and although the postage is heavy in price but it is DHL so you will get it as they keep you informed from start to finish
I am very happy with it and i am a ham radio op there is a new world to discover with this radio its just the finding them once you have then its all opened up for you
a quick example in the UK parked at the supermarket in Newcastle upon Tyne talking to someone in Seattle no swr no antenna tuners no big Ariel’s just a small black box on the dashboard the size of a matchbox

Well there we have it great service from the shop nice radio works well

Alex MI6SSZ ON ZELLO
M6SSZ

Read more about the Inrico TM-7

Today, I received my Talkpod N58 Test Unit. I was really excited to get my hands on it and start exploring the radio.
My team from Talkpod just made a quick test before shipping it to me and forgot to change the language, so I got the radio in Chinese.
As I don’t understand Chinese, it was hard for me to find the right menu to change the settings back to English. However, I found it easier to make a factory reset, which I did.
The problems started. (I was expecting them – this is a testing unit)
The device could not register to the GSM operator. I could search them, see the list of the operators, but just couldn’t register, so this was not a problem with the radio module. The SIM card was well inserted in the slot and was recognised by the operating system. I just couldn’t register. I had the idea to check the IMEI. Just dial *#06# and BANG! “unknown IMEI“. My factory reset erased a little bit too much, I guess.
As I did not have a hard copy of my original IMEI I just decided to update the device with an IMEI of an old phone I had, no longer in use. You can also generate a new IMEI in this website. Here is the procedure (valid for any android device):

1. Dial *#*#3646633#*#*  (This will enter the service menu)
2. Now, click on “Connectivity“.
3. Now look for “CDS Information” and then click on it.
4. Then, checkout for “Radio information”
5. Click on “Phone 1“.
6. Enter the IMEI as follows: AT +EGMR=1,7,”YOUR_IMEI”

Note 1: replace YOUR_IMEI by your actual IMEI
Note 2: between AT and “+” there must be a space and the IMEI must be between quotes.
Note 3: if you have a dual SIM device and you want to change the IMEI #2 then the command is: AT +EGMR=1,10,”YOUR_IMEI”

Once the command is sent, I did reboot the radio. (In the case of the Talkpod, by removing the battery)
Once the radio boots, I got the following error message every 1 second: “Unfortunately the process com.android.phone has stopped”. To stop it, we need to clear the cache of the Phone app.
To do that, I had to go to Settings / Apps / All / Phone / Clear Data and, finally, go to Settings / Date and Disable Automatic Zone.
And another reboot. (remove battery)
After boot, I could check that my IMEI was active, and valid, and the radio immediately registered on the network.
Then, I tried to add my Google account so I could download Team Speak 3, Zello and all the other apps I like.
I couldn’t. Whenever I tried to add my account, I got a message saying that there was a problem connecting to the Google services. I tried the embedded browser and I could surf the web, so there wasn’t a problem with the internet connection. I then installed the latest version of Google Play directly from here.

And finally, all is working great! Playing with test units is nice, because you manage to get your hands on them first, but sometimes you get some extra work to make them working the way you like. Well, someone must do the dirty work, so the customers will have a smooth operation right out of the box… in most cases! 🙂

Why not asking Santa for the most beautiful network radio for IRN? The Talkpod N58 is now available for shipping. Be the first to own it!

Here below is a short video review on the Radio-Tone RT4 using IRN and Zello. I hope you don’t get much sea sickness, as I recorded this video aboard my sailing boat!

I get this all the time:

«IRN, Zello, Teamspeak is fun, but I wanna see what you will do when the cell tower is down!»

This is bullshit! I get 99,99999% of cell signal no matter where I am. I wonder if you can reach a VHF or UHF repeater for 10% of the time of your travelling with a typical 4 Watt handheld with its rubber duck antenna. And if GSM is not available, I could use a global wifi hotspot.
Disclaimer: You may be excommunicated by the hamradio community for using satellite wifi hotspots.

Hamradio is a hobby. We don’t have to be like the ultimate emergency communications service providers. Leave it to the pros. Of course we can help with our HF and VHF/UHF as an additional resource. But on a daily basis, for the sake of talking to other hams, about technology and discussing ham topics, IRN, Echolink, Allstar, and others will do just fine.
Did you know that you need to hold a hamradio license to use IRN too, if you want to use the available hamradio RF Live channels?

«Ok, but Zello, IRN and Echolink is not hamradio!»

Yeah sure, it is written in the holy book of hamradio. “They” tell you that such systems are not hamradio, so stay away from such little systems of the devil! 🙂

This reminds me those hams that are very proud of the results of their station. As if they were the ones who built their Yaesus or Kenwoods, or Icoms and Diamond antennas. Is there any merit on that? Probably, some of them don’t even know how to calculate a dipole or never have soldered a N-Type plug properly. But that is hamradio – using a “typical” hamradio station using “off-the-shelf” gear. If you use an Icom, or a Yaesu, Kenwood, etc, and you talk to another station via radio, that is hamradio. If you use an IRN device, via the 3G or 4G network (wireless! RF, ok?) then it is not hamradio. Why? because “they” say so. And if “they” say so, it’s probably true and unquestionable.

If you want to stick to the old-school speech, that’s fine, but you will need a better excuse. Have fun and keep enjoying your “5 and 9” 10-second QSOs!

by CT1EIZ

Note #1: The author of this article is 42 years old, holding a ham license since he was 16. He tried all the various modes: satellite, HF, Packet, APRS, VHF, UHF, SHF, AM/FM/SSB/CW, SSTV, ATV, EME, Echolink, IRN, and probably all the new future coming modes. – Probably, he does not have a clue about hamradio!

Note #2: This article might contain some irony. Ok. Lot’s of irony.

During the weekend, I went hiking with my wife to the Passadiços do Paiva located in the north of Portugal. Of course I wanted to take my new Radio-Tone RT4 with me. I thought the signal would be weak and impossible to connect, but I was surprised that I got 4G for most of the time. Some spots had 3G coverage only. Halfway, I got a GPRS signal only but I was still able to stay connected to the IRN.

As I explained in previous posts, to use the IRN, or Zello, a GPRS connection will do just fine. Many hams, that are still reluctant to try the IRN, always have the same old-school speech: “In case of a crisis, where cell networks are down, the IRN radios will be useless”. Well my friends, it is true. The network radios will be useless. No one is saying that IRN is here to replace conventional hamradio. It is an add-on. And now tell me. During the course of your entire life, how many times did you experience a network shortage due to a natural disaster? I know, as hams, we always have the spirit to be the last resource in providing emergency communications. Well, keep the spirit, but let yourself enjoy the IRN for the 99,9999% of the time that cell towers are at service. Take a backup VHF handheld with if you think it’s going to save your ass. Live more the present because technology is giving us hams a whole new playground that we never had access to before.

by CT1EIZ

This video below shows the unboxing of a Radio-Tone RT4. In my opinion, the best handheld network radio I ever tried.

Using Zello is exciting! With a network radio like the TM-7 or the T298s is even more exciting. But if you add real world trunking end-of-transmission sounds, it will give you a sense of true radio operation.

End of any transmission (mine and 3rd party):

Start of my transmission:

Beginning of 3rd party transmission:

Download here the full sound library for your radio. Watch the final result using a Sure F22.