Yikes! I wonder how they determine that. Standing atop a mountain on a clear day, you'd have a hard time talking to someone fifty miles line of sight with that thing. So that leaves tropospheric ducting or repeater use. And both of those options are a real stretch! Where I am you might get one mile out of it.
Packet voice over FHSS is pretty darned secure. Not hiding-from-the-government secure, but no way in heck is your wife going to find out what you told your buddy you're buying her for Christmas on it. And you could probably discuss illegal things without anybody being the wiser, assuming you didn't give the information away otherwise. My memory could be off on this point, but the way I remember it, even if someone happens to have another Direct Talk "phone", they can't listen in unless you include them in your group.
I wonder what the trademark status, and legal status actually is. I know that you can legally use it on existing radios (in the USA, no idea about elsewhere). But I wonder if it would be legal and otherwise free to make new ones. If so, that would actually be a pretty cool thing to have in something like the PineCom.
Packet voice over FHSS is pretty darned secure. Not hiding-from-the-government secure, but no way in heck is your wife going to find out what you told your buddy you're buying her for Christmas on it. And you could probably discuss illegal things without anybody being the wiser, assuming you didn't give the information away otherwise. My memory could be off on this point, but the way I remember it, even if someone happens to have another Direct Talk "phone", they can't listen in unless you include them in your group.
I wonder what the trademark status, and legal status actually is. I know that you can legally use it on existing radios (in the USA, no idea about elsewhere). But I wonder if it would be legal and otherwise free to make new ones. If so, that would actually be a pretty cool thing to have in something like the PineCom.