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lupusreal
Walkie-talkies can "eavesdrop" on walkie-talkies...
vueko
Seriously. People really need to understand that CTCSS and DCS aren't actually privacy features, but convenience features for filtering out _other_ people's transmissions a user isn't interested in. It's the exact opposite of privacy. I guess the marketing as "privacy codes" worsens the situation.
solardev
I just got my GPRS radio license and this was a really strange phenomenon to encounter. Apparently the FCC doesn't allow actual encrypted comms in this part of the spectrum, so the "privacy" codes, like you said, are really more just convenience codes, more noise cancelation than anything for privacy or security.
It was weird trying to explain this to my family, too. Basically just had to tell them "Nothing you say is private, and you should all say my call sign at the end of each transmission." We all felt like dorks, but it was super convenient in a place with no cell service.
imroot
Get an itinerant frequency -- $300, requires no coordination, and you can encrypt your comms.
One of the (ham) radio clubs that I'm a member of does this as a benefit for the group, and it's something that's nice to have: I can give my wife a radio and not worry about what she may or may not say if we have to take two separate cars when we road trip.
I've been meaning to do the process myself, but, I haven't had the time (and honestly, I'd want someone else to do the paperwork for me so I'm more likely to pay someone else to do it) recently, but, this might be the thing that prompts me to go and do it.
73 de K4IMW/WQZQ315
jasonjayr
I got my hands on one of those cheap UV-K5 Radios and the first thing I did was try to listen in to one of my FRS Radios and discovering all their channels & sub channels/privacy codes.
Discovered this list while learning & researching:
https://www.k0tfu.org/reference/frs-gmrs-privacy-codes-demys...
runjake
I was previously unaware of these particular radios.
You just inadvertently sent me down one hell of a rabbit hole.
It arrives Thursday.
MarkusWandel
Indeed the opposite. For example, a party of us was on a mountaintop going through the FRS/GMRS channels with CTSS off and heard another party. We were curious to ask them where they were, but they couldn't hear us until, manually stepping through the CTSS options, we found the one that enabled their receiver to hear us. It's not a privacy filter, it's a "don't bother me" filter.
blackeyeblitzar
What prevents people from transmitting encrypted information? Isn’t that just like speech that might travel over the airwaves?
lxgr
Technically nothing, but legally it's just not allowed in the US (neither for FRS/GMRS, nor for ham radio operators, with very few exceptions).
red-iron-pine
the content of the speech is protected. you can say "fuck this guy" where this guy could be anyone.
but you can't legally send encrypted over the radio, since those protocols are restricted by the FCC.
You won't catch a charge for what you said, but you might get fined for misuse of the radio band. its the same way you can't spray paint a slogan on the front of someone's business -- the content is fine, but the medium is not.
sholladay
What would you call them, then? “Isolation codes” or “subchannels”, maybe? I’ve seen some use of the former, but both are imperfect terms. I’ve yet to hear a suggestion that’s particularly better. A term that’s only slightly better won’t gain any traction.
paulmd
"squelch codes" probably conveys the meaning more correctly.
people understand the idiom that just because your radio has squelch set (too high, perhaps) that it doesn't mean someone else can't hear it.
otherwise, CTCSS codes works fine, that's the technical description of what it is. and actually they call them "squelch tones" there. it's only motorola that branded them as "private lines", that's their trademark for an adequately-described term. Much like Tesla "Full Self Driving"/"Autopilot", it's kind of a misnomer and definitely breeds (deserved) confusion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_Tone-Coded_Squelch_...
teeray
“Selector codes” would be more descriptive. They select which conversations you want to hear.
3np
"Filter codes" would prob work
zactato
Is the Flipper Zero still legit? I know it’s only quasi legal in some places. I see a lot of ads for it to the point where I kind of suspect it’s some sort of FBI entrapment program. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.
somat
It is an software defined radio with a nice interface built around it. Perhaps the nice interface has lowered the bar enough for it to now be in the crosshairs of the state, this has happened before, sometimes just making the tool easy enough for anybody to use is enough to make it illegal/controlled.
The point being the flipper does not do anything that is not possible with other tools, it just makes it easy.
aeonik
It's not actually an SDR, it just has a discerning collection of hardware radio modules on it. If it was a self contained SDR you would expect a much beefier processor and power draw from the device from all the digital signal processing.
retrochameleon
The device is worthwhile if you are exploring this kind of hardware security and also want to poke at other things while you're on the go to enhance your learning. The fact they added a Javascript engine so you don't have to program in C/C++ when you want to run something custom, I think will be a huge boon.
Don't undervalue getting all these features in a purpose-built device with a purpose-built OS.
system2
Not as small or sleek, but you can still get everything Flipper Zero is doing with Arduino or a small laptop with basic antenna hardware. Flipper Zero is the iPhone of radio pentest gadgets.
ChrisArchitect
Official release: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41500279
daghamm
Still looking for a cheaper alternative. All I need is a cheap portable SDR I can program. No need for a fancy enclosure or UI.
jvanderbot
Are you not satisfied with the myriad of cheap baofeng/clone UHF/VHF handhelds that support CHIRP?
psvisualdesign
why not use a Raspberry Pi with every RTL-SDR Stick you can find? Or spluge on an HackRF :)
big-green-man
Anybody can eavesdrop on walkie talkies. I can do it with my baofeng. It's not that interesting.
What is interesting is everything else that that device can do.
georgyo
I think this is undercutting the announcement. A baofeng is a specialized tool specifically for RX/TX 2m and 70cm analog audio radio waves. Of course it can listen to walkie talkies which are transmitting on 70cm.
I read your comment as someone posting about making toast with an iron and saying "Anyone can make toast. I can do it with my toaster. It's not that interesting"
All things that device can do is interesting because it is so many things, including this new ability.
system2
UV5R with antenna upgrade works perfectly. I was able to listen to ISS from my backyard too. Hard to believe it is $20 for the quality of its hardware.
SV_BubbleTime
>What is interesting is everything else that that device can do.
Leaving me hanging.
big-green-man
You were hanging when I got here.
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I'm really happy about the firmware updates. When Flipper Zero was crowdfunded, the deal was that the tool will be available once the hardware is good enough to fulfill the promises. And so the software will be updated later.
I'm happy that they keep they promises.