Some exciting news wandered into my inbox this past week concerning a handheld radio driven by the Android operating system. The RFinder H1 is an FM plus DMR radio to be released at the end of this month. Click to enlarge the photo to the left to get a better view. I had proposed a similar concept back in 2012: The Android HT, so this radio immediately grabbed my attention.
Details are still a bit thin on the RFinder H1 (pronounced “Ar Finder H 1”) but this video gives you a glimpse of its operation. The 70cm band radio apparently also supports GSM and 4G/LTE mobile phone formats.
There are a few other YouTube videos available, one of which emphasizes the easy programming of the radio using the RFinder online repeater directory. This makes perfect sense and is a great example of the power of a connected device. This feature would be very handy for programming up FM repeaters on the fly and outstanding for dealing with the complexity of DMR settings.
The RFinder H1 includes DMR capability, something I wasn’t thinking of back in 2012. That also makes perfect sense…embracing the growing amateur radio format that is based on industry standards.
Very cool development. What do you think?
73, Bob K0NR
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Very interesting. Also VERY interesting to see 4G on the top of the display. Any chance this would have mobile service via one of the major carriers?
Imagine a phone with ham abilities. Would love that as long as it had a massive battery.
Also found this website selling the Runbo H1 mobile phone. This looks to be the same hardware:
http://www.leeline-cctv.com/blog/rugged-smartphone-runbo-h1-are-available-on-sale-4g-lte-and-Andriod-5-1-os/
Very pricey though, $1500.
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neat but not at $1500
Here’s the product lineup (from androiddmr.com):
Model H1A: 2m FM only: $625
Model H1B: 70cm FM/DMR: $695
Model H1C: 70cm FM/DMR sunlight screen: $795
Specifications are listed on the web site.
I can now send emojis on DMR or send Pokemon Go status updates on the local DMR talkgroup…cool! A lot of money for something that may lack any support and uses a database full of errors as its repeater list
Here’s a good look at the radio on Ham Radio 2.0:
https://youtu.be/Hq7OpxexxyI
Guess what: its huge!
This concept that blends Android phones and radio transceivers keeps expanding.
Check out the Network Radios web site: http://network-radios.com/
And the International Radio Network: http://www.internationalradionetwork.co.uk/
73, Bob K0NR