Got this from my mother-in-law who’s been scared into thinking everything’s going to crumble in the next 12mnths… was confused when she told me it was a “radio” so I started looking into it.. I believe in being prepared, but not because I’m being scared into by some idiots online… thanks for the video brother, appreciate the information
We were just reminiscing at work about the old nextels. Needed 8 x 2way radios for a new project and that’s a couple grand at least for decent stuff - but back in the day we didn’t even have to worry about it since all our work phones had the chirp. Every generation complains that things are getting worse…because they are ✊🇺🇸🏴☠️
My Mom is 80, she doesn't understand her very simple cell phone. Perhaps this is a better option for her / us for emergency contact. I lived without any cell phone for the past year and a half and really enjoyed that. Recently had to get a cell just because I have to take care of my Mom and didn't want to be left in a lurch if there was an emergency. I HATE cell phones. I understand them, nice for pictures & videos, but I still don't want one because I don't like being tracked/traced and I love being unavailable.
They're dependent on cell phone networks. Here in East Tennessee, some areas don't get cellphone service. When the network goes down, you're up shit creek without a paddle. Having a basic handheld FM Transceiver is worth its weight in gold when cellphone networks goes down. When I go out hunting in the fall and winter during the season, I take a radio with me.
@user-ix1sw3yw8x It's a radio that can transmit and receiver, and it fits in you hand. To legally transmit inside the amateur radio bands, you'll need to pass an exam and the FCC will issue a callsign. There's also Family Radio Service (FRS) radios that are channelized on certain frequencies license free. One can buy those radios at Walmart, Amazon, Ebay etc. There's also MURS, which is license free frequencies to talk on, but I'm not sure if there's a market for those radios. Also, GMRS requires a license, which there's no exam to pass. Just pay the FCC $35 and the license is good for 10 years, same amateur radio.
I was recently in East TN while conditions were beautiful, and cell coverage was still sketchy! Geography is what it is and must be taken into consideration. And for what it's worth, coming from down here in South Louisiana - after having just took our second direct hit from a hurricane, I feel for what you guys are going through. You have my prayers and support.
Thank you for the video! My adult children and I are looking for SHTF communication devices that do not rely on cell towers. A couple of us live quite a distance from each other. Any suggestions are very much appreciated.
You made great points for use case! I bought 4 to stay in touch with elderly relative & minor kids that we didn't want to have cell phones. I found that the cell reception was better on the RAPID than it was on standard smart phone in my area with my carrier. Rapid has the ability to add users to unconnected groups, so I have my primary talk group and another talk group 250 miles away. It's a bit of a pain, but it works. Is it a HAM replacement? Nope, but pre-full grid down it has an appealing ability to easily contact family or neighbors.
I got a set of 3, and they’re horrible quality. The customer support was horrible as well… We used them on a road trip to talk between two vehicles, and they dropped out more than they worked
I got 4 as a backup for my family. I do not intend them to be my sole means of communication. Just another tool in the kit. Still probably a waste of my money anyway, lol.
as long as G3, G4 and LTE is available they are good. But there are DUAL INRICO LTE and UHF VHF units around. So if you have no phone network, you can direct communicate between units like normal VHF or UHF radios.
Watch this video it may shed a little light on the subject. Advanced Comms For The CIVILIAN channel name is American Outlaw. These aren't affordable for the average guy but MPU5 and the less expensive Beartooth radios have special features and a High level of encryption. Dirty Civilian has a great video here you might like it's not comms but, Signature Reduction 101 | How Modern Equipment Can Compromise You Great video hope this stuff helps! I'm sure you get a lot of this stuff (with real world experience) but the "shine" and "signal" section are pretty good.
If you want to talk across country reliably then HF radio is something to look into. HF radio has been used for military operations for a century. HF radio works by bouncing long radio waves off the ionosphere and earths surface like a ping pong ball across the world. Whereas other signal types like VHF/UHF penetrate the Ionosphere and go out into space. This has clear advantages such as; difficult to direction find, relies on no infrastructure, extremely long range. Disadvantages requires larger equipment, not as stable or reliable as say a cell phone, complicated/hard to understand for most people.
Have you looked into the ATAK integrated Beartooth MK2 transceivers? Although the units are pricey, they are pretty slick for local communication; *Self-healing mesh network *Frequency hopping *AES 256 encryption *Voice, text, photo, and data packet transfer *3 day runtime *Star link server bridging.
@@laxxindude I've found meshtastic to be somewhat glitchy and not as user friendly with people in my group that are not as savvy with radio gear. The frequency hopping, ATAK plug and play, as well as what you can send data wise is why I went with Beartooth.
I purchased the set to talk to my wife without the interruption of cell phones and text messages etc. We tried them for thirty days. My wife would not adapt to having to push a button. I tried to use the handhelds doing some work around the house and again if your hands are occupied they are useless. Without a Voice activated feature the radios can be used like Team radios and require going backwards in usefulness.
They blocked me on their fb page when i posted about the continued annual fee and when shtf who the hell is going to have a working cc or bank? Towers will be wiped out They were so mad they blocked me
You can call them after the purchase and have them group additional radios together.... So if you bought a pair and your buddy bought a pair, you can call them and have them put those 2 pairs on another group. A friend of mine has this and he was telling me that a couple of months ago when AT&T's entire system went down for half a day he and his wife were able to talk over the radio.
I asked them on their ad on FB ‘what about when cell towers go down?’ since they RUN on cell towers… I’ll let you know when they finally get around to answering…
Nothing happens, nothing works. It's not a GMRS or like technology. Think of it as an unlocked cell phone as that's all it is but in a convenient shell.
The monthly cost amounts to $50 after the initial year, and the service operates on LTE, essentially functioning as a cellular device utilizing existing network towers. It is advisable for individuals to conduct their own thorough research. This is not to discredit the service, but rather to address the prevalence of misinformation.
I just bought 3 knowing full well about everything you said except the encryption. We have an elderly friend who is still very active...drives, rides her horses and bucks hay into the barn. She doesn't have computer and she still has a land line phone. She does not want a cell phone and her land line commonly goes out when there's heavy rains or a storm. We talk with her every day and if she's out of the house she has no way to communicate. My wife and I will use these as another layer of coms and we will give the third one to Rosie and tell her it's just a "radio"...she's stubborn and won't use it if she thinks it's "that damn internet" LOL
I finally got the ok to return the 6 that I bought. Out of the first 3 only one worked. I thing it's a battery issue and offered to buy premium quality batteries but none are available. Bought a Retevis and it's awesome. Going to get more of those.
I guess the thing with that 2 way they are encrypted unfortunately the Baofeng UV 5R is not as you probably know. I was also told that numerous brands of Midland radios are encrypted got to check it out though.............? Thanks again for the update , I guess it would work for some folks às you mentioned.
They can be programmed separately. If your friend has one, you call the company, and they can be added to your group. They are PTT handsets. Very popular in the early 2000's.
Seems like a cool alternative to some use-cases. The advertisement is a bit sketch, not just with the "no subscription" but also their claim "you can NOT be tracked with this device". Anything that pushes out RF can be tracked.
I use them too, but I'm becoming suspicious of them. One of the most woke CEOs in the country, for NPR, is a board member of theirs. It's the same person that made Wikipedia woke
I think they are good for what they are. One advantage of these is there is no delay with a phone call going out, the other persons phone ringing and the time it takes for someone to answer their phone. Could take up to a minute for all if that to happen. Push to talk would be pretty much instant getting your message out to the other person if they are listening to the "radio". You could pretty much achieve the same thing with your phone using the zello app using your existing phone and provider. Rapid radio marketing is shady as hell. I was even blocked from their Facebook page for asking questions that were hard for them to answer with their prewritten out answers.
For the encryption, who has the key? As they program for you, then they have the key. It might be encrypted between your radios and them. Get rid of it.
Hey Randall thanks for the heads up on this product. I like you, am not a radio techie. But I do believe if everything ever does go south. Having a basic two way radio is a desirable item to have in your Scheisse Hits The Fan bag 😬 Ebjoy your videos Randall I like yourself an retired Army veteran. Was infantry also track and wheeled vehicle mechanic repair. Retired at the pay grade of CWO 2 after returning from Iraq in 2004. Originally was one of the last draftees in 1972. Did 3 year enlistment rather then being drafted. I did rest of 22 years in National Guard and Army Reserve. Gulf war vet and 2003 - 2004: Iraqi Freedom... Randall keep doing what your doing educated both vets and the general population at large. Your videos are good advise for those who've forgotten and those who don't know. Who-ah! Randall and kudo's Sergeant...
Thanks for the honest review of Rapid Radio. The "No monthly fees EVER" advertising is enough for me to not do business with this company. $50 per year, per phone isn't really a deal breaker, but the false advertising is. They are going to be class actioned into oblivion.
Thank you for talking about these gimmicks. They are now so blatant as to advertise using these when the cellular system goes out. That add has the comments turned off. Literally, it's like having a phone with only one number. You can't even call 911. I used to have Nextel push to talk phones in my business. With Nextel, you could talk to anyone with a Nextel. All you needed was their number. Thanks again!
I did some homework on some of the stuff you couldn't exactly answer because I was curious myself about these a few weeks ago. Disclaimer, I am by no means an "expert". Most cell towers have back up power sources that run on diesel for about 72 hours ish. As long as more fuel is delivered to these back up power sources , the cell towers will continue to work and provide service to these radios and cell phones (in theory). Less than 1 percent of the cell towers in the US are solar powered ... which in theory could keep a cell tower powered up indefinitely in an emergency (provided a emp didn't fry the tower). More solar powered cell towers could make these more reliable in a non emp event ( again , in theory). These radios definitely aren't useless ... they are better than nothing ... but they have limitations.
I like the simplicity of it and yes I am older. I do not have to put on my glasses to find who I want to talk to. Instant gratification for me at 50 bucks per phone per year!
For your purposes, you are correct, these aren't great. That said, if you have a specific application where you want to have an actual device to communicate in walkie-talkie form, these are a solid option. I did old police Motorolas and I have the Baofengs. They have decent coverage, but I have never found one that will get me all of a property where I am, including inside buildings and up and over buildings. The only other option was Zello, but then you are just killing your cell battery and the earpiece and mic with those was hit and miss for the app. I totally get that if you are primarily rural in use, you will hit spots without cell and these might be useless. For people who have a walkie alkie need and are usually covered as far as cell, these are a good option. Sometimes, the whole pulling out a cell and navigating a Signal or Zello app is a pain.
About the pricing, yea the radio never has a service fee ever. It will always work every time. But, included in the package is a 1yr free license SIM card. As long as you have a working SIM card that has a subscription attached. But the radio itself doesn’t have any subscriptions…
NEXTEL WAS THE BEST THEY TOOK THAT AWAY FROM US AND GAVE IT TO OUR ARMY THE GOVERMENT DONT WANT US TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNCIATE WITH EACH OTHER RAPIDLY AND THEY COULDNT KEEP TRACK ON US WITH NEXTEL REAL TALK
I think they would be great when I’m fishing and my buddy is in his boat also. We could stay in touch without have to text or call. Would just be simple.
What would you recommend for avg civilian without any comms training, background. Was considering 5 of these for each family member but after looking into it it didn't seem like much of an alternative to cell phones.
Yep, all you needed to tell me was the annual fee.. The only reason why I’m here is to see if it was a plain old walkie-talkie from the 80s with a subscription. And my assumptions were correct.
FCC regs mandate that cell towers have a minimum of 8 hours battery back up. Many have 24 to 48 hours and some can have more, depending on their location and ability to house that many batteries.
Why spend $200 plus on a radio that only works on cell towers when you can download the Zello app, have encryption end to end and create as many channels as you need for your group or family. Oh and the best part is, it's FREE. You get text, pictures and voice comms. If the cell towers go down, I believe, I haven't confirmed this yet, but if you have Wi-Fi you should still be able to communicate to other groups on the channel. Just a suggestion. Sorry this sounded like a damn advertisement, but I can say I use it and it does work well.
According to the app description it says it's $79.99 PER MONTH for "Zello Work".? I don't see where it says it's "Free", except for the 14-day free trial? What am I missing?!? Is "Zello" different than "Zello WORK"???? What is the difference??? This sounds like a great app for our family but NOT for $80/mo.!!!
They require cell networks, so not off the grid, will not work in any real SHTF realities, and they do charge a fee, so boldly lie on their web site. So what benefits vs cell phones? There really is none but for specific reasons. A sat phone is closest to true stand alone coms that are off the grid, and those are getting smaller and less $ quickly.
If you want this functionality just get Zello on your phone and a wireless speaker mic. Cell sites go down, this goes down. Zello, etc, do the same exact thing for free. If you want all in one POC and true UHF/VHF programmable RF functionality get something like a SenHaix 8900.
To add someone else's radio that is not on your account. You will have to contact them and they will add it to your radio remotely. That means they can control it remotely. They can also shut it off remotely. And because it is connected to the cell towers, it can be tracked. Not for me or my family.
I get 20G data with 5G network Canada wall-to-wall for 30$ a month and they even gave me a brand new phone (phone was part of fidelity plan)... and we were listed for the most expensive cell phone plans in the world just last year! It will take a year for me to spend as much as for 2 of these for 1 year coverage and I don't need to remember to renew anything....
OK, so my question.. if you have cell coverage... when you need this, could it be in an area where you don't have a cell tower and you can't use it... Do you struggle with reception with these radios?Because they're on cell towers like you do a cell phone
thank you, had a friend ask about them, had seem a little about them but was cautious, about and figured it was workable "IF" you have cell signal. Which recent past year here in East Texas there was a short period "ALL" cell towers systems were down ! (but not my wall phone ATT hardwire !)
I run my own wide area commercial radio and broadband network and have communications that don't need the grid or the cellular network and the coverage is much better as well. Rapid Radio I think is a joke.
I saw the ad today for the first time and was intrigued as I am working on an emergency plan for our church in case of disaster (we are in hurricane country), this so we can go out and check on members and do field reports on the members welfare. So, since it is almost a given that cell towers will be offline (as it was during Ian in 2022) these will not work. I was really disappointed with their marketing (No fees ever! Yeah, right). I am a general class amateur operator, so I am not a neophyte with radios, especially under field conditions. I tried leaving comments on the Facebook video ad and saw my comments disappear in front of my eyes after only 1-2 seconds. The several Rapid Radio's videos I watched have comments turned off, I can see why. Another You Tube reviewer indicated that he had sent them several posts on their Facebook page questioning their marketing and they disappeared, now they have blocked him. To me this is unacceptable behavior by Rapid Radio. Sure there will be some folks (like construction crews or film crews) who could use something like this but for emergency use? Not for me.
if subscription the "folks" could get your files through the Company., With a call. Then it's not really encrypted. Did i miss something? G. Stores were not supposed to give info either right?
Great video, but I think you missed the point. It’s really an EMERGENCY radio and uses ALL the cellular networks/providers so if your providers network goes down, like AT&T and Verizon went down this year, it still works… even when your wi-if and Signal app fails. I purchased them for emergency radios.
i have a friend who has a radio group but they use a group of radios called PEAK PTT. I believe they're both 4g LTE. Wondering if you can mix and match on your network ???
Technically if the cell service goes down, then FirstNet is up. They have a legal obligation to have their network up and running for first responders. I don’t know if they can connect to FirstNet though.
One thing to remember about signal, all internet apps is video and phone calls (voice over ip) is not encrypted and last I checked can't be. If you keep that in mind when using it as a video or phone app it's a great app that so far no government has been able to decrypt. Israel claimed to have a year or so ago but turns out they gained access to the phone then had open access to signal.
@JamesSmullins your comment got me confused. You said it can't be encrypted then you said it can't be decrypted? I'm just curious because I got my ham license (this morning at 630am cst) and been looking into the different modes, nodes, gateways, Hotspot, you name it. You got me interested and confused all at once lol
@@TheRealWadeW I think he's talking about phone calls that go over the public switched telephone network. Signal on the other hand encrypts all traffic from one user to another, and not even Signal can see what messages are being sent.
@@TheRealWadeW read it again, I said calls and videos can't be encrypted. If that confused you maybe this isn't the type of app you're using. I listed what can't be encrypted to make that clear.
Its basicly a VOIP and anyone who can access the Asterisk server where it can be intercepted... reliant on a cellular network... technically not a radio just a push-to-talk over cellular hence its called PoC .... might as well buy a DMR radio for when SHTF get a real radio...
This "radio" seems redundant: If you just want a PTT app for your phone, get Zello or something similar. If you want to talk radio to radio over the internet and subscription free, then get a D-Star or Fusion radio. Or do both as part of your PACE plan.
Man this is awesome I've never heard a bad youtube review on any product on this topic until now I stopped watching them because they all just seem paid this one seems more genuine
Got this from my mother-in-law who’s been scared into thinking everything’s going to crumble in the next 12mnths… was confused when she told me it was a “radio” so I started looking into it.. I believe in being prepared, but not because I’m being scared into by some idiots online… thanks for the video brother, appreciate the information
Same thing as Nextel, they were awesome back in the day.
We were just reminiscing at work about the old nextels. Needed 8 x 2way radios for a new project and that’s a couple grand at least for decent stuff - but back in the day we didn’t even have to worry about it since all our work phones had the chirp.
Every generation complains that things are getting worse…because they are ✊🇺🇸🏴☠️
@@theabhorrentchef7226 yeah, I use to work for Nextel back in the late 90s, I don’t know why the PTT function dropped in popularity?
@@theabhorrentchef7226Check out the Cat S22 flip phones, and Zello. Zello basic is free, and you can create password protected channels.
@@theabhorrentchef7226I still use my Nextels with Direct Talk. They have a couple mile range. Several miles line of sight.
My Mom is 80, she doesn't understand her very simple cell phone. Perhaps this is a better option for her / us for emergency contact. I lived without any cell phone for the past year and a half and really enjoyed that. Recently had to get a cell just because I have to take care of my Mom and didn't want to be left in a lurch if there was an emergency. I HATE cell phones. I understand them, nice for pictures & videos, but I still don't want one because I don't like being tracked/traced and I love being unavailable.
They track you and listen to you 100 different ways and most don't even pay attention to it
If you don't actually need a cellphone other than for one person with limited comprehension of cellphones, this is probably for you and your family.
@@corporaterobotslave400 check out a Zello Push To Talk cellphones. This has hidden yearly fees, whereas Zello is free.
@@corporaterobotslave400 no one really cares
I'm sure she knows how to use a house phone. But her something similar. They have cell phones that are as big. .
They're dependent on cell phone networks. Here in East Tennessee, some areas don't get cellphone service. When the network goes down, you're up shit creek without a paddle.
Having a basic handheld FM Transceiver is worth its weight in gold when cellphone networks goes down. When I go out hunting in the fall and winter during the season, I take a radio with me.
What is a hand held FM Receiver? Can you also transmit on it ? Does it also require cell phone towers ? Do you pay a subscription for it ?
@user-ix1sw3yw8x It's a radio that can transmit and receiver, and it fits in you hand. To legally transmit inside the amateur radio bands, you'll need to pass an exam and the FCC will issue a callsign.
There's also Family Radio Service (FRS) radios that are channelized on certain frequencies license free. One can buy those radios at Walmart, Amazon, Ebay etc.
There's also MURS, which is license free frequencies to talk on, but I'm not sure if there's a market for those radios.
Also, GMRS requires a license, which there's no exam to pass. Just pay the FCC $35 and the license is good for 10 years, same amateur radio.
I was recently in East TN while conditions were beautiful, and cell coverage was still sketchy! Geography is what it is and must be taken into consideration.
And for what it's worth, coming from down here in South Louisiana - after having just took our second direct hit from a hurricane, I feel for what you guys are going through. You have my prayers and support.
Thank you for the video! My adult children and I are looking for SHTF communication devices that do not rely on cell towers. A couple of us live quite a distance from each other. Any suggestions are very much appreciated.
@andrear7945 HAM Radio. At least a General license.
*Hopefully Starlink comes out with a Radio like this.*
False advertising is an up front and clear message to stay far away from a company.
CORRECT, these devices have VERY LIMITED USE.
Do you two just go to every video to bash on these ?
You made great points for use case! I bought 4 to stay in touch with elderly relative & minor kids that we didn't want to have cell phones. I found that the cell reception was better on the RAPID than it was on standard smart phone in my area with my carrier. Rapid has the ability to add users to unconnected groups, so I have my primary talk group and another talk group 250 miles away. It's a bit of a pain, but it works. Is it a HAM replacement? Nope, but pre-full grid down it has an appealing ability to easily contact family or neighbors.
But if all the cell phone towers go down, would you no longer be able to use your 4 Rapid Radios ?
I got a set of 3, and they’re horrible quality. The customer support was horrible as well…
We used them on a road trip to talk between two vehicles, and they dropped out more than they worked
cb radio would work way better
I agree i purchased 12 of them thinking they would be great big disappointment. And as there customer service big disappointment too
@@mikelivesay5639Just wait till a year is up, and you pay for access again.
I got 4 as a backup for my family. I do not intend them to be my sole means of communication. Just another tool in the kit. Still probably a waste of my money anyway, lol.
Zello does essentially the same thing with your cell phone. But, if you have an elderly parent, etc. Maybe this would be a great way to talk to them.
as long as G3, G4 and LTE is available they are good. But there are DUAL INRICO LTE and UHF VHF units around.
So if you have no phone network, you can direct communicate between units like normal VHF or UHF radios.
Watch this video it may shed a little light on the subject. Advanced Comms For The CIVILIAN channel name is American Outlaw. These aren't affordable for the average guy but MPU5 and the less expensive Beartooth radios have special features and a High level of encryption. Dirty Civilian has a great video here you might like it's not comms but, Signature Reduction 101 | How Modern Equipment Can Compromise You Great video hope this stuff helps! I'm sure you get a lot of this stuff (with real world experience) but the "shine" and "signal" section are pretty good.
If you want to talk across country reliably then HF radio is something to look into. HF radio has been used for military operations for a century. HF radio works by bouncing long radio waves off the ionosphere and earths surface like a ping pong ball across the world. Whereas other signal types like VHF/UHF penetrate the Ionosphere and go out into space. This has clear advantages such as; difficult to direction find, relies on no infrastructure, extremely long range. Disadvantages requires larger equipment, not as stable or reliable as say a cell phone, complicated/hard to understand for most people.
Zello works well for a PoC solution.
Love the dog that popped in
Have you looked into the ATAK integrated Beartooth MK2 transceivers? Although the units are pricey, they are pretty slick for local communication;
*Self-healing mesh network
*Frequency hopping
*AES 256 encryption
*Voice, text, photo, and data packet transfer
*3 day runtime
*Star link server bridging.
Just watched a video on that. Very interesting concept.
Why just not use meshtastic?
@@laxxindude I've found meshtastic to be somewhat glitchy and not as user friendly with people in my group that are not as savvy with radio gear. The frequency hopping, ATAK plug and play, as well as what you can send data wise is why I went with Beartooth.
Other than $750 a unit, on a discount, they seem to be really good. It's like meshtastic had a baby with an MPU5
@@laxxindude I keep hearing about this is it any good?
Just rebranded Nextel service, had that back in the mid 90s.
Motorola had ptt radio/cellphones back in the late 90's. I worked construction it was great to call and ask the boss a quick question or something.
I purchased the set to talk to my wife without the interruption of cell phones and text messages etc. We tried them for thirty days. My wife would not adapt to having to push a button. I tried to use the handhelds doing some work around the house and again if your hands are occupied they are useless. Without a Voice activated feature the radios can be used like Team radios and require going backwards in usefulness.
They blocked me on their fb page when i posted about the continued annual fee and when shtf who the hell is going to have a working cc or bank?
Towers will be wiped out
They were so mad they blocked me
Thanks for covering this. Instagram is a thirst trap for "cutting edge" products.
You can call them after the purchase and have them group additional radios together.... So if you bought a pair and your buddy bought a pair, you can call them and have them put those 2 pairs on another group.
A friend of mine has this and he was telling me that a couple of months ago when AT&T's entire system went down for half a day he and his wife were able to talk over the radio.
I asked them on their ad on FB ‘what about when cell towers go down?’ since they RUN on cell towers…
I’ll let you know when they finally get around to answering…
Nothing happens, nothing works. It's not a GMRS or like technology. Think of it as an unlocked cell phone as that's all it is but in a convenient shell.
I asked on FB about any service fees after the first year... crickets.
Just in case anyone was concerned for my well-being; I stopped holding my breath a few days ago.
Thanks for your concern. 👍
The monthly cost amounts to $50 after the initial year, and the service operates on LTE, essentially functioning as a cellular device utilizing existing network towers. It is advisable for individuals to conduct their own thorough research. This is not to discredit the service, but rather to address the prevalence of misinformation.
@@jorviceclaunch3539 it's 50 a year
I just bought 3 knowing full well about everything you said except the encryption. We have an elderly friend who is still very active...drives, rides her horses and bucks hay into the barn. She doesn't have computer and she still has a land line phone. She does not want a cell phone and her land line commonly goes out when there's heavy rains or a storm. We talk with her every day and if she's out of the house she has no way to communicate. My wife and I will use these as another layer of coms and we will give the third one to Rosie and tell her it's just a "radio"...she's stubborn and won't use it if she thinks it's "that damn internet" LOL
I finally got the ok to return the 6 that I bought. Out of the first 3 only one worked. I thing it's a battery issue and offered to buy premium quality batteries but none are available. Bought a Retevis and it's awesome. Going to get more of those.
Thanks for the heads up on the gimmicky phone 👍
I guess the thing with that 2 way they are encrypted unfortunately the Baofeng UV 5R is not as you probably know. I was also told that numerous brands of Midland radios are encrypted got to check it out though.............? Thanks again for the update , I guess it would work for some folks às you mentioned.
They're not encrypted and can't be. They're using offsets and tones to help with....privacy....so to speak. Check it out for yourself.
Privacy Tones are not encryption. It's like a phone number on air.
if it works off a cell tower u can be tracked get yourself a ssb cb radio or a GMRS RADIO
Technically still trackable.
They can be programmed separately. If your friend has one, you call the company, and they can be added to your group.
They are PTT handsets. Very popular in the early 2000's.
Seems like a cool alternative to some use-cases. The advertisement is a bit sketch, not just with the "no subscription" but also their claim "you can NOT be tracked with this device". Anything that pushes out RF can be tracked.
We absolutely love using the signal app. That is the way.
I use them too, but I'm becoming suspicious of them. One of the most woke CEOs in the country, for NPR, is a board member of theirs. It's the same person that made Wikipedia woke
I think they are good for what they are. One advantage of these is there is no delay with a phone call going out, the other persons phone ringing and the time it takes for someone to answer their phone. Could take up to a minute for all if that to happen. Push to talk would be pretty much instant getting your message out to the other person if they are listening to the "radio". You could pretty much achieve the same thing with your phone using the zello app using your existing phone and provider. Rapid radio marketing is shady as hell. I was even blocked from their Facebook page for asking questions that were hard for them to answer with their prewritten out answers.
For the encryption, who has the key? As they program for you, then they have the key. It might be encrypted between your radios and them. Get rid of it.
Hey Randall thanks for the heads up on this product. I like you,
am not a radio techie. But I do believe if everything ever does go south. Having a basic two way radio is a desirable item to have in your Scheisse Hits The Fan bag 😬
Ebjoy your videos Randall I like yourself an retired Army veteran. Was infantry also track and wheeled vehicle mechanic repair. Retired at the pay grade of CWO 2 after returning from Iraq in 2004. Originally was one of the last draftees in 1972.
Did 3 year enlistment rather then being drafted. I did rest of 22 years in National Guard and Army Reserve. Gulf war vet and 2003 - 2004: Iraqi Freedom...
Randall keep doing what your doing educated both vets and the general population at large.
Your videos are good advise for those who've forgotten and those who don't know.
Who-ah! Randall and kudo's Sergeant...
Thanks for the honest review of Rapid Radio. The "No monthly fees EVER" advertising is enough for me to not do business with this company. $50 per year, per phone isn't really a deal breaker, but the false advertising is. They are going to be class actioned into oblivion.
Thank you for talking about these gimmicks.
They are now so blatant as to advertise using these when the cellular system goes out. That add has the comments turned off.
Literally, it's like having a phone with only one number. You can't even call 911.
I used to have Nextel push to talk phones in my business. With Nextel, you could talk to anyone with a Nextel. All you needed was their number.
Thanks again!
The company has your AES 256 encryption key.
Nice. Good to know.. I figured you could make your own key. Lol.
I did some homework on some of the stuff you couldn't exactly answer because I was curious myself about these a few weeks ago. Disclaimer, I am by no means an "expert".
Most cell towers have back up power sources that run on diesel for about 72 hours ish. As long as more fuel is delivered to these back up power sources , the cell towers will continue to work and provide service to these radios and cell phones (in theory).
Less than 1 percent of the cell towers in the US are solar powered ... which in theory could keep a cell tower powered up indefinitely in an emergency (provided a emp didn't fry the tower). More solar powered cell towers could make these more reliable in a non emp event ( again , in theory).
These radios definitely aren't useless ... they are better than nothing ... but they have limitations.
I like the simplicity of it and yes I am older. I do not have to put on my glasses to find who I want to talk to. Instant gratification for me at 50 bucks per phone per year!
But it would be good to give to kids within the family?
finally an honest review with clear reasons why and why not to choose this device. Thank you!
It's not a "monthly subscription"...it's a "yearly fee". LOL
For your purposes, you are correct, these aren't great. That said, if you have a specific application where you want to have an actual device to communicate in walkie-talkie form, these are a solid option. I did old police Motorolas and I have the Baofengs. They have decent coverage, but I have never found one that will get me all of a property where I am, including inside buildings and up and over buildings. The only other option was Zello, but then you are just killing your cell battery and the earpiece and mic with those was hit and miss for the app.
I totally get that if you are primarily rural in use, you will hit spots without cell and these might be useless. For people who have a walkie alkie need and are usually covered as far as cell, these are a good option. Sometimes, the whole pulling out a cell and navigating a Signal or Zello app is a pain.
Great video! I agree the marketing is very dishonest.
About the pricing, yea the radio never has a service fee ever. It will always work every time. But, included in the package is a 1yr free license SIM card. As long as you have a working SIM card that has a subscription attached. But the radio itself doesn’t have any subscriptions…
Didn't there used to be something called Nextel that did the whole push to talk thing? Southern link? Remember any others?
NEXTEL WAS THE BEST THEY TOOK THAT AWAY FROM US AND GAVE IT TO OUR ARMY THE GOVERMENT DONT WANT US TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNCIATE WITH EACH OTHER RAPIDLY AND THEY COULDNT KEEP TRACK ON US WITH NEXTEL REAL TALK
Pretty dog, my Walker looks almost exactly as the one behind you, love em, great dogs
Good straightforward, honest review. Thank you!
So it’s a newer Nextel phone
No. Nextel was a national trunked radio system, with it's own dedicated frequencies just for PTT. This is just like Sprint's PoC.
Nextel was Hell
I think they would be great when I’m fishing and my buddy is in his boat also. We could stay in touch without have to text or call. Would just be simple.
What would you recommend for avg civilian without any comms training, background. Was considering 5 of these for each family member but after looking into it it didn't seem like much of an alternative to cell phones.
Yep, all you needed to tell me was the annual fee.. The only reason why I’m here is to see if it was a plain old walkie-talkie from the 80s with a subscription. And my assumptions were correct.
Does it work on any network? In Alaska Att doesn't cover much of an area
If they were a LTE/Radio hybrid system, they would be really Cool.
As is, they should be cheaper per radio since they have an annual fee.
FCC regs mandate that cell towers have a minimum of 8 hours battery back up. Many have 24 to 48 hours and some can have more, depending on their location and ability to house that many batteries.
Why spend $200 plus on a radio that only works on cell towers when you can download the Zello app, have encryption end to end and create as many channels as you need for your group or family. Oh and the best part is, it's FREE. You get text, pictures and voice comms. If the cell towers go down, I believe, I haven't confirmed this yet, but if you have Wi-Fi you should still be able to communicate to other groups on the channel. Just a suggestion. Sorry this sounded like a damn advertisement, but I can say I use it and it does work well.
According to the app description it says it's $79.99 PER MONTH for "Zello Work".? I don't see where it says it's "Free", except for the 14-day free trial? What am I missing?!? Is "Zello" different than "Zello WORK"???? What is the difference??? This sounds like a great app for our family but NOT for $80/mo.!!!
I don't think they are marketing to "older" people. More likely to the younger crowd who never grew up with walkie-talkies.
They require cell networks, so not off the grid, will not work in any real SHTF realities, and they do charge a fee, so boldly lie on their web site. So what benefits vs cell phones? There really is none but for specific reasons. A sat phone is closest to true stand alone coms that are off the grid, and those are getting smaller and less $ quickly.
what secondary device in terms of radios would you recommend that can be used carried for true emergency
and/or off grid use .?
I've only done 100 loadouts with PACE
If you want this functionality just get Zello on your phone and a wireless speaker mic. Cell sites go down, this goes down. Zello, etc, do the same exact thing for free. If you want all in one POC and true UHF/VHF programmable RF functionality get something like a SenHaix 8900.
Wow. Great information and review, they are definitely false advertising ..i was excited when i seen them at first
To add someone else's radio that is not on your account. You will have to contact them and they will add it to your radio remotely. That means they can control it remotely. They can also shut it off remotely. And because it is connected to the cell towers, it can be tracked. Not for me or my family.
I get 20G data with 5G network Canada wall-to-wall for 30$ a month and they even gave me a brand new phone (phone was part of fidelity plan)... and we were listed for the most expensive cell phone plans in the world just last year! It will take a year for me to spend as much as for 2 of these for 1 year coverage and I don't need to remember to renew anything....
Great info… but same thing restated 4, 5, 6….times. I got it the first time. 😆👍
No-go for me too
Great update Randall! Thank you 🇺🇸
So...kinda like an old Sprint/Nextel PTT phone? But you can't change who you can talk to?
I have the inrico t320 it will do pics .it will work were cell phones dont .I am all about rf also
OK, so my question.. if you have cell coverage... when you need this, could it be in an area where you don't have a cell tower and you can't use it... Do you struggle with reception with these radios?Because they're on cell towers like you do a cell phone
Thank you. I was wondering???
thank you, had a friend ask about them, had seem a little about them but was cautious, about and figured it was workable "IF" you have cell signal. Which recent past year here in East Texas there was a short period "ALL" cell towers systems were down ! (but not my wall phone ATT hardwire !)
I run my own wide area commercial radio and broadband network and have communications that don't need the grid or the cellular network and the coverage is much better as well. Rapid Radio I think is a joke.
I like your review of this phone.
Where did you buy them for $250? I'm seeing $400 for a pair. Thanks for the review!
Will this work in the bush of Alaska. I believe GCI phones work
I saw the ad today for the first time and was intrigued as I am working on an emergency plan for our church in case of disaster (we are in hurricane country), this so we can go out and check on members and do field reports on the members welfare. So, since it is almost a given that cell towers will be offline (as it was during Ian in 2022) these will not work. I was really disappointed with their marketing (No fees ever! Yeah, right). I am a general class amateur operator, so I am not a neophyte with radios, especially under field conditions. I tried leaving comments on the Facebook video ad and saw my comments disappear in front of my eyes after only 1-2 seconds. The several Rapid Radio's videos I watched have comments turned off, I can see why. Another You Tube reviewer indicated that he had sent them several posts on their Facebook page questioning their marketing and they disappeared, now they have blocked him. To me this is unacceptable behavior by Rapid Radio. Sure there will be some folks (like construction crews or film crews) who could use something like this but for emergency use? Not for me.
@GruntProof what type of sim card to you use ?
if subscription the "folks" could get your files through the Company., With a call. Then it's not really encrypted. Did i miss something? G. Stores were not supposed to give info either right?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY❤️🔥❤️🔥🇺🇸
If the cell network is overloaded (Think natural disasters where everyone jumps on there cell phone), will these still work?
Cell phones work off "priority" on signals. The simple answer is, it depends
Greatly appreciate the review. I’ve been on the fence about these. Good clarification.
Why not use Zello! Encryption? Session, Signal and the list goes on...
Great video, but I think you missed the point. It’s really an EMERGENCY radio and uses ALL the cellular networks/providers so if your providers network goes down, like AT&T and Verizon went down this year, it still works… even when your wi-if and Signal app fails.
I purchased them for emergency radios.
i have a friend who has a radio group but they use a group of radios called PEAK PTT. I believe they're both 4g LTE. Wondering if you can mix and match on your network ???
What about satellite radio or phone?
Technically if the cell service goes down, then FirstNet is up. They have a legal obligation to have their network up and running for first responders. I don’t know if they can connect to FirstNet though.
One thing to remember about signal, all internet apps is video and phone calls (voice over ip) is not encrypted and last I checked can't be. If you keep that in mind when using it as a video or phone app it's a great app that so far no government has been able to decrypt.
Israel claimed to have a year or so ago but turns out they gained access to the phone then had open access to signal.
Can you explain why you think the government can't decipher encryptions?
@@TheRealWadeW they've not been able to do so with signal so far. I can't tell you why since I haven't coded in years.
@JamesSmullins your comment got me confused. You said it can't be encrypted then you said it can't be decrypted? I'm just curious because I got my ham license (this morning at 630am cst) and been looking into the different modes, nodes, gateways, Hotspot, you name it. You got me interested and confused all at once lol
@@TheRealWadeW I think he's talking about phone calls that go over the public switched telephone network. Signal on the other hand encrypts all traffic from one user to another, and not even Signal can see what messages are being sent.
@@TheRealWadeW read it again, I said calls and videos can't be encrypted. If that confused you maybe this isn't the type of app you're using. I listed what can't be encrypted to make that clear.
Its basicly a VOIP and anyone who can access the Asterisk server where it can be intercepted... reliant on a cellular network... technically not a radio just a push-to-talk over cellular hence its called PoC .... might as well buy a DMR radio
for when SHTF get a real radio...
This "radio" seems redundant:
If you just want a PTT app for your phone, get Zello or something similar.
If you want to talk radio to radio over the internet and subscription free, then get a D-Star or Fusion radio.
Or do both as part of your PACE plan.
An "ancient" 3 war veteran here who does listen to You. Semper Fi!
Jet Skier out on a group ride?
Can you use ear buds or headset with radios?
Yes
Don't know if this has been mentioned, but signal voice data is not secure.
Man this is awesome I've never heard a bad youtube review on any product on this topic until now I stopped watching them because they all just seem paid this one seems more genuine
50$ per year per radio. Works where there is cell coverage.
Agreed. Everyone has a cell phone and signal. Just a gimmick
Signal is only secure to the common people. Government entities have access. Including access to yours and anyone you talk to.
Also, it was apparently a joint project between Gov and the lefties runnin Wikipedia n NPR.
At first glance it seems like a pretty good idea, but as soon as you start to look into it, it’s a radio shaped Jitterbug phone.
What is the patch on your hat?
It appears to be the FBIs old Nextel network. Of course there is Zello as an alternative.
We used these radios for the last 20 yrs in the trades.