Rapid Radios discussion

[krokus]

That address belongs to the building. I'm sure they all have suite numbers there.

Based on what Google Maps shows, each suite has a separate address, not just a suite number. Seems like a business that is using the "ghost kitchen" concept, selling various things under different names.

 

[div3405]

 

[Halls380]

Does anybody know how well the desk unit in car unit work? Is there a way to boost the signal on the handheld radios?

 

[mmckenna]

Does anybody know how well the desk unit in car unit work? Is there a way to boost the signal on the handheld radios?

Cell carriers and FCC limit the power output on these devices as part of the overall system design.

The best thing you can do is add an external antenna, if it has the connector to do that.
Or, use one of the BDA systems that is designed to work on cellular frequencies. They make mobile and residential versions. Just don't buy cheap ones from e-Bay, the Chinese crap isn't worth it, and the good ones are expensive.

 

[riflemin]

All good info guys. I don't why the subject of these Rapid Radios suddenly came at me from three directions. I saw two YouTube vids from Jason at HamRadio 2,0. He pointed out the conflicting information on their site and the fact that they kept deleting his honest questions.
Then a friend texted me about my opinion of these. I referred him to Jason's vids.
Then today I saw a news report from KTRE9/KLTV7 in East Texas about the Sheriff/Constables in Shelby County Texas testing these Rapid Radios. It seems that their VHF-FM radio system hasn't been reliable in six years and they want to use these Rapid Radios as their PRIMARY means of communication, with LMR as the backup. Must be a poor county. Many depth in East Texas have either migrated to.P25,or TxWARN. One city built a DMR tier3 system.
I don't understand why Shelby County doesn't just use FirstNet? I'm not a first responder but i just looked at the list of FirstNet approved devices and my phone is on the list. I'd almost bet that most of the people who would be issued one of these Rapid Radios is eligible to use FirstNet and already has a compatible device
.

 

[mmckenna]

All good info guys. I don't why the subject of these Rapid Radios suddenly came at me from three directions. I saw two YouTube vids from Jason at HamRadio 2,0. He pointed out the conflicting information on their site and the fact that they kept deleting his honest questions.
Then a friend texted me about my opinion of these. I referred him to Jason's vids.
Then today I saw a news report from KTRE9/KLTV7 in East Texas about the Sheriff/Constables in Shelby County Texas testing these Rapid Radios. It seems that their VHF-FM radio system hasn't been reliable in six years and they want to use these Rapid Radios as their PRIMARY means of communication, with LMR as the backup. Must be a poor county. Many depth in East Texas have either migrated to.P25,or TxWARN. One city built a DMR tier3 system.
I don't understand why Shelby County doesn't just use FirstNet? I'm not a first responder but i just looked at the list of FirstNet approved devices and my phone is on the list. I'd almost bet that most of the people who would be issued one of these Rapid Radios is eligible to use FirstNet and already has a compatible device
.

Most modern (non-junky Chinese) devices are FirstNet compatible. It's not really a big deal. It does need to support Band 14, as well as the others at AT&T uses.

Georgia State Patrol is using LTE (SouthernLinc) as their primary means of communications with LMR as backup.

No reason any other agency can't do that, except for the cost. There's a substantial backend to do it correctly, have it tie into the dispatch consoles, recording, etc.

Lots of ways to make this happen with legit equipment that doesn't rely on BS marketing and Cheap Chinese products.

 

[riflemin]

One YouTube review that I just watched made some dumb claims, but one was that If someone sees your device screen they can use the information to program another device to your group.
He also stressed that there is no channel knob. I wonder if he was trying to say that the device only allows one talk group? He was using the device for business. I guess that he couldn't have a private talk group to communicate with his family or friends outside of work?

 

[steve9570]

I have 2 for almost a year. No issues, work fine even in my work were my cell phone is spotty.
Just use it to contact home from work when I am in a bad cell area.
So far so good. Just an add to the ton of radios I have.

Steve

 

[WB5UOM]

And now......

Shelby County law enforcement testing new radio frequency-based communication

In order to keep officers safe and to respond to emergencies effectively, the agency is testing six walkie-talkie “Rapid Radios” as possible replacements. The radios are frequency-based and cannot connect to a scanner.

www.kltv.com

 

[steve9570]

I did not get them for the end of the world dooms day crap seen on line.
Just another adjunct to my radio collection and they so far work great.
Out of state or just in Walmart with the wife so far so good .Been into this hobby for 60 years have had and installed tons of rigs. As a retired LEO from Boston PD I have used some good stuff and some junk on the job. My new line of work is just cell and the Rapid Radios help.

Just my rant LOL
Steve

 

[riflemin]

Most modern (non-junky Chinese) devices are FirstNet compatible. It's not really a big deal. It does need to support Band 14, as well as the others at AT&T uses.

Georgia State Patrol is using LTE (SouthernLinc) as their primary means of communications with LMR as backup.

No reason any other agency can't do that, except for the cost. There's a substantial backend to do it correctly, have it tie into the dispatch consoles, recording, etc.

Lots of ways to make this happen with legit equipment that doesn't rely on BS marketing and Cheap Chinese products.

I don't know if I've ever replied to your comments but I value your opinion. I've been a ham since 1977. I've met good ops and the whackers but we are all individuals. I worked for a test equipment manufacturer for several years with a few "good" hams and one that let his license lapse years ago. Anyway one good op I know is a technician with the Texas DPS. He recently said that their in car cameras automatically upload their data, and I think he said its done via LTE. And the department is getting new moto radios with LTE. From what he said our DPS might end up doing what you stated about the Georgia SP. He told me some interesting stuff I won't share publicly...

At my last employer we had almost one of each mobile and portable from multiple manufacturers to use for QA of our products. I can say that I've "talked to myself" using most if not all the digital protocols including Tetra. Big deal, right?
Although I admit owning a couple Chinese DMR radios I consider them toy-like after working with REAL part 90 LMR radios.

 

[riflemin]

And now......

Shelby County law enforcement testing new radio frequency-based communication

In order to keep officers safe and to respond to emergencies effectively, the agency is testing six walkie-talkie “Rapid Radios” as possible replacements. The radios are frequency-based and cannot connect to a scanner.

www.kltv.com

Thanks. I emailed the reporter although I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting to see if she edits her report. I loved "frequency based" and "cannot connect to a scanner".

 

[WB5UOM]

Yup, cant wait till a good round of Hurricanes pass thru Shelby County, then we can ask how thats working out for them.

 

[rf_patriot200]

These Rapid radios, remind me of the "Ronco Peelamatics" kitchen gadgets ...

 

[nmeacher]

So many, many red flags.

They use all the trigger words to get the frightened people to buy these sorts of things:

"Crisis"​

"Middle East & Europe"​

"Cyberattacks on the USA"​

"WW3"​

"CAN NOT RELY"​

"…SELLING Fast, sold out MOST PLACES"​

"EMP Protection faraday bag"​

​

"Our partners" and they show the logo for US Customs and Border Protection. Would be interesting to know about that partnership. Usually the government won't endorse products.

"100% American Owned Business" That's a good trigger phrase to get people to buy their product. Yet they then say:
"The parts are sourced from Asia," Translation: Cheap Chinese product.

So, lets look at their claims:

"100% No Monthly Fees - Ever!"​

"Nationwide Range with NO MONTHLY FEES!"​

"No monthly fees, no contracts, and no hassle!"​

Plus radio programming and service for an entire year! For an extra year of service, this for $50 per radio (per year).​

"NO Licenses - Includes SIM card with 1 year of service per radio. Renew for another year for $50/year (no subscriptions/contracts/monthly fees)."​

So, what that says is they don't charge you a monthly fee. But you do pay "$50 per radio (per year)" So, instead of a monthly fee, they roll it into an annual fee. They ain't lying, they are just trying to get you to buy it thinking there is no ongoing fee. But I'm not sure how you'll pay the $50/year when the EMP hits, or when the zombies tear down all the cell towers.


Funny how they don't answer the question here:

"Will this work in an area with no cellular coverage?​

• It will work better than a cell phone, that's for sure - we use ALL the carriers (not just 1, like a phone) plus it's a different technology than a phone call.. PLUS gets better signal - check out this video: "

Yet it runs on the cellular network: "Frequency Range: B1/3/5/8, B34/38/39/40/41" The only benefit I can see is that they are using a third party clearing house for bandwidth that will hop on any carrier that uses those bands. I would suggesting looking up those individual bands and see who actually uses them.



Dubious claim at best. It's transmitting, it can be tracked. It's running LTE, and LTE is encrypted, so they are correct there. It uses "IOT sim cards", so it is cellular and relies on their network. It's voice over IP using the cell network. It'll have all the same issues as running any sort of data over a shared resource. They really seem to like the press the privacy thing. Obviously aiming for a customer base, (probably not those on radio reference that are against all encryption) Since it's consumer, it's not going to have an prioritization over some teenager playing on social media:

"Are they private?​

• ...Lastly, you can NOT be tracked with this device. We have IoT sim cards with ALL the major carriers which are 100% anonymous and not linked to you in any way. They are totally private - and encrypted too."

Fine print:
"Nationwide coverage available when in range of LTE tower."



Rapid Radios (Rapid Consulting LLC) is a small American owned business located and operated in Ada, MI. We are a team of 10 individuals and radio enthusiasts with a passion for technology, communication, and emergency preparedness. Our team consists of ham radio operators, emergency preparedness experts, and more.

Oh, good Lord. "ham radio operators, emergency preparedness experts". That makes me feel so much better.


TL;DR version:
If you own a smart phone, you already have what you need. Don't fall for the marketing. You're paying $200 each, plus $50 for each "radio" for each additional year.
There's a ton of products on the market that will do all this, without the idiotic marketing hype.

I did research on the providers licensed for each of the bands they list as being in the radio. Some are outside US which makes sense as they say they can configure for use in other countries (aka more $)

B2 1900 MHz AT&T

B5 850MHz AT&T Visible, Verizon, US Cellular, Mint Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk Ting T-Mobile Lycamobile

B12 700MHz AT&T Cricket

B13 700MHZ Ting (GSM) Verizon

B17 700MHz AT&T Cricket Straight Talk H20 Wireless

NO BAND 14 aka FirstNet

B66 1700/2100 MHz AT&T Visible Verizon US Cellular MetroPCS Mint Mobile Cricket Wireless Ting (GSM) T-Mobile Lycamobile

Some of the other countries that it is capable of/has the bands for (not all listed as I wasn't interested so I stopped researching):

Band 38 2570 – 2620MHz

• China (China Mobile)
• Malaysia (Yes 4G)
• Sri Lanka (SLT)

Band 40 2300 – 2400MHz

• Australia
  China
  Hong Kong
  India
  Indonesia
  Iran
  Macao
  Oman
  Saudi Arabia
  South Africa
  Sri Lanka
  Vanuatu

 

[mmckenna]

I did research on the providers licensed for each of the bands they list as being in the radio. Some are outside US which makes sense as they say they can configure for use in other countries (aka more $)

Yeah, not very impressive when compared to what a modern smart phone will do.

And, while they want gullible consumers to think it will work when "grid down" happens, it's all still relying on the exact same networks, backhaul and infrastructure as a cellular phone.

But a wonderful way to get suckers to pay for a dumbed down speaker phone. Actually kind of brilliant from a marketing standpoint.

 

[steve9570]

Oh well like I said mine work and have no issues with them for a year so far.
As a Ham/CB/GMRS/ Scanner/ Retired LEO used a ton of radios in the last 60 years.

Just my rant LOL Steve

 

[AB4BF]

Notarubicon posted last night a video about Rapid Radio. Interesting...

 

[BinaryMode]

I like his shirt. Guy is always funny and says it the way it is.

There's an App that can do all this via LTE cellphone with "no extra fee." It's called Signal. LOL There are also other "two-way" radio Apps. But I wouldn't trust the backend server. In fact, I wouldn't trust the server used with a lot of crap today. Own a Ring doorbell, Eufy, etc? How about one of those digital picture frames? You should see the domains that thing connects to...

You could roll your own with TeamSpeak and I did just that. TeamSpeak is available for Android and maybe iPhone. You run the server on Windows or Linux. And if you add ZeroTier you don't have to add port forwarding thereby reducing your attack surface. And ZeroTier has an Android App as well. Uses the Same cell network that these so-called radios use.

There's really nothing marvelous about these radios. It's just a cheap cellphone in a two-way radio package. Prisoners somehow get a hold of a cellphone who's electronics package is even smaller.

Yeah, the only real SHTF radios are:

1) A decent high quality crystal radio with a long line for an antenna.

and

2) An HF radio you pack well and bury in the backyard for when you need it... Keep in mind you'll need power. From the Sun is preferable... Unless a super volcano somewhere on the planet goes off.

Also note that during any major incident the governments control POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) and the cellphone infrastructure. And emergency personal have top tier capability even if "all lines are busy." That little tidbit came from my conversation with an EMT.

 

[mmckenna]

Also note that during any major incident the governments control POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) and the cellphone infrastructure. And emergency personal have top tier capability even if "all lines are busy." That little tidbit came from my conversation with an EMT.

Not just during disasters, the system works all the time. It'll prioritize calls for the user on the network.

GETS for the public switched wired phone network.
WPS for wireless phone network.

GETS requires the user having an account and dialing into the system.
WPS requires the feature being activated on the wireless account and the user dialing a prefix code.