Trusted Chat over Radio: Chattervox (Elliptic Curve Crypto)

[@JackMalarkey]

We're not here for production quality, we're here for a shared mindset, information, and support of your vision! Thank you for all your time and hard work!

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

That coffee mug signoff is the main requirement. 😅 ☕

[@blueskies_solutions]

We do not need great production quality, no worries. Just hearing you share is great enough. Thank you for your work

[@TheTechPrepper]

Glad to hear. I was hoping that would be the case. I have a lot to share (successes and failures) but no time to capture them on video with a lot of production behind it. More low production content coming. ;-)

[@Model_Student]

@@TheTechPrepperwould you mind explaining more about why you had been demonetized on KZbin? You don’t necessarily owe anyone an explanation, but it’s just a bit fishy. Plenty of other monetized channels in the radio and preparedness space.

[@TheTechPrepper]

@@Model_Student I've covered this many times over the last two years. I can't give the exact monthly number from KZbin due to their policy, but I have had the same ad revenue dollar amount month over month for the last 24 months even though the channel has grown from 5,000 to 130,000 since then. Views have gone up with with average of 200,000+ views per month. As I have mentioned before, I think it is the word "prepper" in the channel name.

[@JeffKelley-j8p]

@@TheTechPrepperRename the channel. Would be nice to see just to screw with tube.

[@blankreganon5395]

1. "Production quality" isn't important. I love your "unedited" videos. 2. I started my ham radio venture using packet. It has a lot of good points. Thank you for "bucking" the system and presenting us with good info.

[@IG-fc4od]

Function>Form. We just appreciate the content. Keep up the fantastic work.

[@Swamp-Fox]

I like the change of direction. Your time is betters spent on development, not editing video IMO. Keep pressing forward. We appreciate you! Long live packet!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Via la packet radio! ;-)

[@chattphotos]

I can confirm that Meshtastic needs a lot of work to go mainstream in the nerd kingdom The hills can make 915mhz connections challenging without a mountaintop router, but this protocol does support running on Amateur bands at 10W of power Overall, the concept is very cool to securely mesh it up to friends and family if you're 1-3 hops within range of a hilltop router This demo of Chattervox is really cool and I'm definitely going to set that up in the lab :)

[@bthemedia]

Great plan… love the knowledge and capabilities you build and share. All you give to the community is always very much appreciated!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Thank you! I'm glad you appreciate it.

[@ratchetman]

Thank you for your enthusiasm with the hobby.

[@waylonk2453]

I like the lower production quality videos. The information speaks for itself

[@IndependentNewsMedia]

Note GPS spoofing (timing signal has been modified) has been conducted over the UK, and this caused Meshtastic devices to be confused showing 'last heard' to be upto 100 days, when they were connected 12 hours prior before the spoofing started. Packet has the advantage of not requiring GPS, God bless.

[@TheGeekiestGuy]

Utilizing an old standard is a great way to go. Most people don't think to look for something antiquated, so this will be great. The video quality doesn't matter very much. I was watching older John Malecki videos and they had bad audio and bad video at points. Something quality doesn't mean it's polished. I think that the group all get that too. Thanks for the content. I can't wait to see this through. 🤙🏾

[@wheeler7973]

I could care less about production quality.. I'm here for the information and the great community

[@IG-fc4od]

Very excited for this.

[@945-b2m]

Very cool! I think this area is underserved and is highly desirable for small groups/teams/preppers that are wanting more obscured comms and staying within the law. Additionally it is using accessible hardware that many already have.

[@TheTechPrepper]

I totally agree! This is precisely the use case that I am evaluating this protocol for. I'll share our local group's success or failure next year.

[@PauloNeuenschwander]

Hey Gaston ...go for the new format man! We are here to support you wherever the way you choose. Have a blessed weekend man!

[@TheTechPrepper]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@Martin42944]

I’ll recommend that if you as a creator start to get burned out, maybe do a short video out of the shack, but personally I’m here for your thoughts, insights, and the software development

[@TheTechPrepper]

Thanks. I have gone through frequent periods of burn out over the last 5 years making videos. The field is always a great way to decompress. Thanks for sticking with the channel.

[@Indigenous_Patriot_1175]

I love the direction that you are moving and I look forward to all future projects and supporting M-Comm tools . Great work TTP

[@DoniSewell]

Information > production quality. Keep doing your thing man.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Roger. Roger. Good point.

[@neubert500]

I admit, I will miss the in the field vids and AARs BUT I ALWAYS came to your channel for INFORMATION, Just like I do with OH8STN, and KM4MAC. Continue providing information, however YOU choose to do it and I will be a loyal follower! Thanks

[@TheTechPrepper]

There will still be field videos and AARs, just less frequent. I need to test my software in a real world setting--that will be the field.

[@DitWitPortableRadio]

This was interesting. Thanks for filming and sharing this.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Thanks for watching. I am glad you enjoyed the video.

[@mlipscomb3232]

You're the modern incarnation of the 80's cyberpunk. You should be a published character in shadow run.

[@jasperg357]

Your mention of cyberpunk brings back memories of William Gibson’s books, Neuromancer, and burning chrome

[@DarkShadowCustoms]

I didn't start following you for the production quality. I started following you for the emcomm content. Part of what got me into ham radio was the possibility using it for emergency communication after listening to a severe weather net on a local repeater. It is taking time to build out my emergency communication plan, but I am sure yours wasn't built over night either.

[@TheTechPrepper]

You got it. It is a long road, but you’re on the right track.

[@79attaboy]

Sounds like a great change for you. Dont worry about quality.... most dudes dont care we are here to see were that great mind of yours is changing history😊

[@TennesseeFrank]

Ubuntu, my first Distro was 12.04. I've been running MX Linux w/KDE for a few years now and really love it. Good to see someone else using GNU/Linux.😊

[@rickmaudlin2160]

All good. Thanks.

[@josephvanni]

Is there an android version or equivalent of Chattervox? Right now I'm experimenting with digital modes on a galaxy tablet so I cant use windows or linux distros

[@ryanhuggins]

Do what you need to Brother, I'll still be here. I'm fine if you film on a 1980s VCR cassette camera! :)

[@TheTechPrepper]

Time to hit the Goodwill and find an old camcorder. Thanks.

[@elitecombatfitnesscentral6170]

Please please please. Make a video explaining your ammo box battery setup from your YT short.

[@fm71450]

Dear Gaston, no worries - your videos are worthwhile. I am VERY INTERESTED in your tactical foldable yagi. When you decide to go to market, I will be happy to be your first sale. Regards, KQ4IXD

[@xSikks]

Information > Production Quality. With that said, what's wrong with the production quailty of your videos? They look great. Better than most, in my opinion.

[@TheTechPrepper]

After 5 years, I'm still filming with an old phone and a GoPro. I never learned more than the basics of iMovie, so there has been very little growth on the production and editing side. I wanted to learn the advanced editing software as well get into a DSL camera, but never could make the time to learn those aspects of video production. Thanks.

[@hamradiofrequencies]

Will this work with an older packet TNC?

[@TheTechPrepper]

If it supports KISS over TCP.

[@cybersean3000]

According to the FCC, encoding on Amateur frequencies is legal, encrypting is not. Preparing a message for a mode is encoding, such as converting a message to Morse code to send on CW. Encrypting is meant to obfuscate a message. Saying "garage" to mean a remote meet -up location is encryption. Using digital modes gets a little fuzzy. When running TCP/IP on AX.25, can you only use telnet (clear text), or can you use SSH (encrypted)? When transferring a document, can it be password protected, or not? For file transfers, is the only protocol FTP, or can you use SFTP, FTPS, or SCP? Digital modes, such as DMR, fall under encoding, but is encrypting a message on a digital mode encryption? There seems to be no difinitive answers for any of these questions from the FCC.

[@dus777]

the difference is in whether the key is publicly available.

[@ZiggleFingers]

@@dus777 ^this - there is another chat program that encrypts the message, but also sends the private key along with the message using opensource published software. so while it is encrypted, it can be decrypted with the given info, but to the average joe they cannot just listen in.

[@ecmo2007]

Definitely good content although the "see ya later" comment came off a little arrogant. I am from NJ so used to that and not a deal breaker. lol

[@bwillan]

So the actual text communication is not encrypted? It is just being used for user id verification? Did I understand this correctly?

[@TheTechPrepper]

You are exactly correct. The text message is not encrypted, but it can be compressed. The compression is documented on the creator's site. This protocol expressly designed for operator/ID verification.

[@johnbagwell5871]

Just out of curiosity why did you change from a 1 to 7 in your callsign? Is there a personal significance?

[@TheTechPrepper]

I made this change 2 years ago. I was confusing most hams with the 1. They thought was located elsewhere. The 7 in the new call is to align with the US region that I am in.

[@johnbagwell5871]

That makes sense, I appreciate your videos, they are right in line with why I got my license a month ago. I've been watching your videos for a couple of months now and had noticed some say 1 and some say 7 and it had me confused haha. I'm currently building a manpack for my ft-891 how can I buy a bag like yours?

[@johnbagwell5871]

If you want to try a targeted contact in Alabama sometime I am KQ4WRQ

[@WRJK988]

Dangit, I donated $60 to buy me a coffee. I had the $ on me and wanted to go ahead and donate for a year. Didn't realize that didn't give me a membership.

[@MadisonDavis-d2o]

Great content, as always! I have a quick question: My OKX wallet holds some USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How can I transfer them to Binance?

[@justawfulgamer7738]

do you run linux for all your radio stuff? i have PopOS on a laptop and struggle to get anything to work on it. even CHIRP

[@TheTechPrepper]

Yes, I do. Specifically, I'm running a heavily customized version of Ubuntu 22.10 called EmComm Tools. I do not include chirp at this time of that platform as I manually program my radios, then clone them. Good luck and cheers from another System76 user.

[@DanielKuecker1973]

Where do I download the community edition?

[@TheTechPrepper]

There's a link in the video description for the community site.

[@thuff3207]

This is interesting but I am using a hardware AX25 that can a work up to 9600 baud. I agree packet is quite useful and your chatter box does verification so that should be legal since your call sign is sent.

[@SteelWolf13]

What I can't deal with is the waiting for the software "final product". Would love to get this installed on a portable item and then using my FT-897D mobile with a ATAS-120

[@TheTechPrepper]

R3 is out. It was released on Thanksgiving. R4 is the Q1 release for 2025. There will be a new release close to every quarter. Software takes time.

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

​@@TheTechPrepper You're saying there is no "final product" like he seems to be looking for? It's a process of ongoing improvements and experimentation?

[@TheTechPrepper]

@@PatrickKQ4HBD This is not a final product. The last R3 was all about easy-of-use and plug-and-play support for radios. I have roadmap for about about 8 more releases going into the end of 2026.

[@ibuildsheds5654]

Emcomm tools sounds like DigiPi but hard wired instead of Wi-Fi ?

[@TheTechPrepper]

I have not used the DigiPi. The community.emcommtools.com site highlights the goals of the project.

[@myballwilson]

Have you seen the new Yeasu Radio? This is what you waited for.

[@TheTechPrepper]

I'm on the wait list for the Yaesu FTX-1F. We'll see...

[@the_anomaly_channel]

Im an electronic music producer that sells everything to get tnc machines and radios lol

[@RechargeableLithium]

You don't have an old call. You have a call, and the FCC has a call that can be reissued to another operator. You cannot use your prior call. 73

[@ZiggleFingers]

its his old call. he can use it on his private commercial frequency. apparently this was confusing, I dont know if chattervox requires calls. maybe it would have been clearer to use names for the demo instead.

[@justawfulgamer7738]

neat tech, but i just cant see a real world use for this, especially for preppers. maybe if you live in a small neighborhood and want to communicate with everyone, but if your live that close to each other, in a real SHTF situation, you're likely screwed anyway.

[@TheTechPrepper]

We have local nets over voice where we distribute local information regarding weather, outages, security, fire, etc. This is an excellent tool for that and more efficient than voice. Also, we can verify the sender and receiver using trust-no-one public key cryptography. SHTF is not black and white. In my opinion, there are shades of gray.

[@jameshall5314]

In my opinion Meshtastic is unreliable

[@TheTechPrepper]

I am a very late adopter of technology, so I intentionally have been delaying a deep dive into Meshtastic. I'll leave it for the "cool kids" to play with it. I'll take a look once it stabilizes. Thanks for your two cents.

[@justawfulgamer7738]

If you live in a rural area, ( especially with hills), its basically useless.

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

Would Meshtastic in the HF bands be more reliable in rural areas?

[@dus777]

@@PatrickKQ4HBD , my first thought is no, because of much lower data rates. Also, you'd need a combination of bands and antennas.

[@yamez69]

How is Meshtastic unreliable? Packet radio vs Meshtastic, have pros and cons. I'd use both.