Using iPhone XR and openSPOT 4 Pro as the transceiver (no HT)

VK3BT

The marketing material implies that the openSPOT 4 Pro can be used as the transceiver, i.e. you are not near any wi-fi connection but you only have a phone with an internet connection and the hotspot. The manual of the openSPOT 4 Pro makes no mention of this capability. (Correct me if I missed it)

Say, I am sitting in my carwithout my HT and my phone has a good data connection, therefore, good internet. How do I use the SharkRF Link app on my iPhone XR to talk to someone?

JohnKerley

VK3BT works well for me in the house, on my PC or IOS.

HA2NON

Share your phone's internet connection with its Wi-Fi hotspot, and connect the openSPOT4 to the phone's Wi-Fi network. Then you can use the SharkRF Link app to talk.

VK3BT

HA2NON The device does not want to forget the house wi-fi, which is a static IP, even though the phone is next to the openSPOT.

Do I need to be away from home to let the device see my phone's hotspot? I seem to be misunderstanding something.

//connect the openSPOT4 to the phone's Wi-Fi network//
How do I "see" that connection within the openSPOT4's interface?

I don't understand "set a valid fallback address".

VK3BT

JohnKerley works well for me in the house, on my PC or IOS.

If I click that, I get the error I pasted in the other reply. Thanks.

VK3BT

I think this is the gap in my understanding. That error message begins with:

Make sure the openSPOT4 is turned on = Yes, of course.
and your phone ... is connected to the exact same Wi-Fi network as the openSPOT = But if I am using my phone's wi-fi as the hotspot and internet connection, how can I choose that in the openSPOT's menu if I cannot see the openSPOT's menu?

micksmith

Get away from your home WiFi or turn it off

HA2NON

You can find the instructions on how to setup the openSPOT4 for both home and phone Wi-Fi connections in the user manual at https://manuals.sharkrf.com/openspot4/en/home-and-phone-wifi.html#page-top

VK3BT

HA2NON Thanks. It was tricky, because adding the phone's credentials caused the interface to log off and try to connect with the phone's internet, which was on a new IP address. I will test when I am away from home.

VK3BT

Still no luck. I set up the phone hotspot's login in the openSPOT's settings. When I try the mobile app's menus, Safari tries to open the IP address at home. I have no way of checking if the hotspot has taken the phone's connection. If I get the phone's current IP address and use it in safari, nothing happens.

HA2NON

The device is connected to your phone's Wi-Fi network if the status LED is slowly flashing green (or green/orange, if a special connector is active).

Based on your screenshots, your openSPOT4 may have the static IP address "1.2.3.4" set, which is definitely an invalid IP address. Try avoid setting any static IP addresses and let your router/phone assign a dynamic IP address to the device.

VK3BT

HA2NON static IP address "1.2.3.4"

Thanks. If you see the image with a time of 12:10, it was after getting nowhere at 12:09 and I pressed the device's wi-fi button. So that's a part of the confusion. At 12:09 my phone's hotspot is still working.

When I am away from home, I cannot see the openSPOT interface. My phone's Safari still tries to show my home's static address.

oxoocoffee

To me it looks like like of of the:

Your SharkRF is on WIFI and you phone is not? Looking at your phone screenshot I see you are on Cell 4G.
The above would work if you set up port forwarding on your router, and use your external ip and port on your phone, so you can access it from anywhere while your shark is at home.
Or Make sure both devices on WIFI and then try static or dynamic Ip assigned to shark.

VK3BT

oxoocoffee Thanks, but I didn't fully understand the tip. My phone gets a dynamically set IP address and I find it via some "what is my IP" service. I presume that is the one I plug into the fallback address, but no go.

I want to run a demo at my ham radio club which does not have internet access and particularly to use the phone as a transceiver. There's something broken in my steps and I cannot figure it out. 🙁

HA2NON

Make sure your openSPOT4 does not have a static IP address set on the Network page, IP settings section. Also make sure the openSPOT4 is not in AP mode (indicated by white status LED).

VK3BT

That was the problem - the static IP at home. I removed it and the iPhone worked as designed.