POCLINK POC-1 Ultra PoC/FRS Radios

[rdunajewski]

To kick off this brand-new forum, I wanted to bring POCLINK radios to everyone's attention, as they have a pretty unique offering that drew me in. POCLINK doesn't sponsor this; I found them through their Facebook ads and decided to try them out on my own.

 

Long story short, I bought a couple of the POC-1 Ultra radios and liked them enough to buy more for family members (particularly one who lives on an island in Florida and may need to call for help if cell is down). They are pretty basic radios, but they have some unique features apart from the analog FRS channels feature. You can share groups by 6-digit code or by Bluetooth if the other radio(s) are nearby, so you don't have to play around with programming them. Ad-hoc groups are dead simple to create. There's a relay mode that lets you use PoC and FRS like a cross-band repeater. Anything heard on the FRS channel is broadcast to the PoC group, and vice versa. There's a mobile app, so you don't need to keep the physical radio nearby; you can join a group from your app. They advertise the FRS channels as being up to 2W.

The thing that may jump out at you is the price: $399/pair, but larger bundles are available for more savings. This initially sounds very expensive, but the other big draw with these radios is that there are no monthly or annual fees for the 4G SIM card or for the radio groups themselves. So essentially, the lifetime costs of the SIM card data plan and the use of their PoC network are prepaid into the device cost. For that reason, these are an excellent option for people who don't want to pay $30 or more per radio to keep it active.

There are now public groups as well that anyone can join with the 6-digit code, so you can use them like a Zello channel or like people used to enjoy linking via GMRS radios in the past.

Has anyone else seen these or used these? If anyone is interested in them, be sure you select the newer Ultra model if you want the analog radio feature as well. I believe the free lifetime data offer applies only to the Ultra model, based on what I could tell. I think the non-Ultra model has 1 year of service for free.

Product link: POC-1 Ultra 4G and FRS Radio

Tech Specs

• Battery: 3000mAh
• 4G Band: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/66/38/40/41 (SIM card can use multiple carriers, so you're not fixed to just one carrier)
• Analog Channels: 16
• Power: ≤2 Watt
• Off-grid Range: "Up to 35+ miles" (Range varies depends on location)
• Charging Method: Type-C charging, optional drop-in charger available
• Screen Size: 1.44 inches
• Headset Port: Kenwood-style 2-pin cable or Bluetooth headset
• Product Material: ABS
• Input Power: 5V 1A
• Operating Temperature: -20°~+60°C
• Charging Temperature: +10°~+50°C
• Waterproofing: IPX4
• Size: 3.43 x 1.14 x 2.17 inches
• Weight: 136g
• Accessories: SIM Card, Battery, Lanyard, USB-C Charger, Cable, Belt Clip

[Davichko5650]

2 hours ago, rdunajewski said:

 

(particularly one who lives on an island in Florida and may need to call for help if cell is down).

If these are POC, if there's no cell service, how will they use it?  Sat Comms embedded into them? I can see if one service is down, they would still work on the other carriers, but if they're all down, how will they get the messages out?  Or is this where that "35 mile range" comes into play on the RF side?

As robust as things are today, probably a moot point, just looking at worst-case scenarios...

[rdunajewski]

3 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said:

If these are POC, if there's no cell service, how will they use it?  Sat Comms embedded into them? I can see if one service is down, they would still work on the other carriers, but if they're all down, how will they get the messages out?

As robust as things are today, probably a moot point, just looking at worst-case scenarios...

They can use the analog FRS channels to reach someone nearby, a la Channel 1. If there's a hurricane and they need rescue, FRS is going to be their best bet if cell and the local GMRS repeater are down.

If it were just a standard PoC radio, once the cell network is down you might as well chuck it into the ocean. 

[Davichko5650]

4 minutes ago, rdunajewski said:

They can use the analog FRS channels to reach someone nearby, a la Channel 1. If there's a hurricane and they need rescue, FRS is going to be their best bet if cell and the local GMRS repeater are down.

If it were just a standard PoC radio, once the cell network is down you might as well chuck it into the ocean. 

You replied quicker than I could edit!  I did say that that would be where that "35 mile range" RF would apply. Still an 2 watt FRS radio would be fine for this if they're anywhere close to another island or the mainland where they would be heard.  

[rdunajewski]

11 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said:

You replied quicker than I could edit!  I did say that that would be where that "35 mile range" RF would apply. Still an 2 watt FRS radio would be fine for this if they're anywhere close to another island or the mainland where they would be heard.  

Yeah that pesky "35 mile" marketing BS again. But 2W for a tiny little cell phone radio is nothing to sneeze at. It just needs to go several blocks so someone nearby will hear. The mainland isn't far away either, but they are right on the water and likely to flood. 

[gortex2]

I do like how these do have FRS built in. None of the other POC radiso on the market have that. There have been a few companies that marketed hey we can do this but never really took off. I'd be curious to see how long these are around due to that fact. 

 

[HHD1]

22 hours ago, rdunajewski said:

FRS is going to be their best bet if cell and the local GMRS repeater are down.

But, how do they communicate with GMRS repeaters if they are FRS?  I would totally buy a radio like this if it was full on GMRS compatible too.

[intermod]

The real question is how we can re-program the analog side of this radio to make it more flexible.   On FRS frequencies, of course. 

 

  

[terrygmrs24]

2 hours ago, HHD1 said:

But, how do they communicate with GMRS repeaters if they are FRS?  I would totally buy a radio like this if it was full on GMRS compatible too.

There are POC UHF and POC VHF radios on the market. The Rescue radio is available at several vendors.  https://www.radiolinkpro.com/  or https://talk2me.us/  I own the radio. It was programmed with the FRS/GMRS frequencies.  I have adjusted those by adding tones using the available software. The repeater function is a very cool feature.  There are more POC UHF VHF radios coming out next year - some will contain DMR (an amateur radio digital mode) and phone calling.

[rdunajewski]

3 hours ago, HHD1 said:

But, how do they communicate with GMRS repeaters if they are FRS?  I would totally buy a radio like this if it was full on GMRS compatible too.

I have a GMRS repeater in Florida set up for their use on the mainland, and they have a GMRS radio for that. If that goes down due to power loss or the tower is damaged, the PoC radio can be used simplex on FRS. In this instance the GMRS radio is way overkill and is much more limited. The PoC radio is more versatile for them, and smaller, but the FRS side gives them a way to communicate if the cell towers are down. 

A lot of other PoC radios run Android which is great for installing apps like Zello but since it's running a phone OS it doesn't last very long on battery. I liked these because they run their simple UI and nothing extra so the battery standby is much better. 

There is active development on the phone app side, and there have been some OTA firmware updates in the month or so I've had mine. So they are growing somewhat which is good. 

[HHD1]

@rdunajewski I'm sorry, I misread what I quoted. For some reason I saw it as you could use a gmrs repeater with it.  So I got confused.  It's been a long morning. Big snow storm last night.

Are there any of these types of radios on the market that are compatible across multiple brands? I don't know much about them because most that I have seen need cell service or they good for nothing. So, I've never dug in.  These that you showed have peaked my interest.

Still, it would be nice to have a choice of brand, and still be able to communicate with others.  One of my friends already has Rapidradios.  He's not gonna buy something different just so that mine will work.

[rdunajewski]

1 minute ago, HHD1 said:

@rdunajewski I'm sorry, I misread what I quoted. For some reason I saw it as you could use a gmrs repeater with it.  So I got confused.  It's been a long morning. Big snow storm last night.

Are there any of these types of radios on the market that are compatible across multiple brands? I don't know much about them because most that I have seen need cell service or they good for nothing. So, I've never dug in.  These that you showed have peaked my interest.

Still, it would be nice to have a choice of brand, and still be able to communicate with others.  One of my friends already has Rapidradios.  He's not gonna buy something different just so that mine will work.

No worries, I was just giving my example for my non-technical family members who needed a simple communication backup since they are high risk for serious hurricane damage. 

I'm not aware of any of these non-Zello PoC radios being able to talk together natively. I know a common network for the non-Android radios is Global PTT but there's very little info on how that works unless you're already creating an account, which I've never done. 

On the plus side you theoretically have two options to make it cross-link to another network: the Kenwood 2-pin headset jack and the FRS channel when in relay mode. 

I suppose you can also use the Bluetooth audio interface as well if you had the audio on a PC or something, but not 100% sure of the specifics. 

[terrygmrs24]

Same boat here with my non-technical family members. I looked at the POClink radios before they came out with FRS version.  Glad the Ultra radio fit the needs for your situation. 

Never knew about the MyGMRS forums until today.  

Very nice!

[HHD1]

12 minutes ago, terrygmrs24 said:

Never knew about the MyGMRS forums until today.  

Welcome!!!

[rdunajewski]

16 minutes ago, terrygmrs24 said:

Never knew about the MyGMRS forums until today.  

Very nice!

Welcome and thank you!

[terrygmrs24]

Thank you both!

 

[AlecKloss]

Great writeup. I was always skeptical since some competitors marketing is all about "off grid" but yet are 100% dependent on the cell service in the area. Completely ineffective deep in the BWCA for us MN people. FRS as an added feature is a must have.

[Davichko5650]

2 hours ago, AlecKloss said:

Great writeup. I was always skeptical since some competitors marketing is all about "off grid" but yet are 100% dependent on the cell service in the area. Completely ineffective deep in the BWCA for us MN people. FRS as an added feature is a must have.

I've actually had Cell service in one part of the BWCA - Trout Lake north of Vermilion my buddy was able to call his dad when we did the >25 hp motor portage into there!  most other parts, nothing but nothing and we just rely on our wits and our outdoor skills!