I stumbled across this app yesterday. It’s kinda funny since one of my good friends and I had been talking about wanting a simple messaging app to use over radios. I was even debating hiring someone to build us one. Now I don’t have to.
This really is a simple app. You just type your message in and send transmit. You can put up to 160 characters per message I do believe and it take only a few seconds to send. There are some send and receive settings you can change but I just left mine the way they came.
I did have problems with the app when I first tried it. It would work ok for a few messages and then stop decoding. I put the radio volumes on about half volume and turned the volume on the tablets all the way up. After I did that the problems seem to stop.
If you are looking for a simple messaging app that isn’t as confusing as ANDFLMSG I would recommend checking out RattleGram.
Download the APK here
Wyoming Survival 
Concerns about using a cellphone in today’s world?
Have you looked at VarAC? Requires a Windows PC / tablet but no cellphone. It can be used on HF & FM and utilizes the VARA protocol. On FM it is quite fast which allows one to transmit data files along with real time chat.
https://www.varac-hamradio.com/
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I have messed with it. Im actually using wifi only tablets for this app
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I have only used it on HF though
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Good deal. What type of tablet are you using? I have a Windows Surface GO 3 tablet I’m using for digital communications. Will RattleGram work on this, or does it require Android?
To be fair I haven’t tried it myself on FM either. However, it uses the same VARA FM protocol that WinLink Express can use, and I have a local WinLink node near me that supports VARA FM. I’ve gotten impressive transfer speeds via VARA FM on WinLink. I would love to test VarAC via FM, but I don’t know anyone near me using it to try a test. I’ve gotten really good results with VarAC on HF but it’s slower for sure.
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I’m using a Samsung tablet and a cheap RCA tablet in the video. I think it needs to be Android based.
Is there anyway to see other having a conversation on VarAC?
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Thanks.
The latest release(s) of VarAC have added a broadcast and a Mailbox feature.
“VarAC broadcasts are async messages that are sent in AX25 protocol (similar to APRS).
Broadcasts do not have a “delivery guaranteed” mechanism like a VARA link and they may not be received (it depends on received signal strength)
You can send a broadcast to a specific callsign or to all.
With VARA-FM you can also use digipeaters:
➢ Up to 2 digipeaters are allowed.
➢ Use SPACE between digipeater callsigns.
➢ SSID’s are not allowed for digipeater callsigns.
➢ Number of digipeaters affect the message size limit.”
There is also a VARA Monitoring feature available for decoding traffic not targeted to you or a broadcast.
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Thanks for the heads up on Rattlegram. Tested it out a bit and like it. Will have to do some range tests soon.
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I was going to try some distance testing today but didn’t get to it
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Completely understand. So far, it’s a one-man show here but I’m working on it
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Same problem here when it comes to testing comms 😄
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The main reason I use JS8CALL is because I can do testing on my own and my home station will answer 😄
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Digital modes are my weakness. I need to focus on that
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