Agree.

We need a compact short wave transceiver device actually.

I don't see it as clickbait since the realities of the Android ecosystem is a shared context.

Most people know that just about every Android phone has a restricted hardware design, not an expandable one.

So, "turn your phone into X" is bound to automatically evoke images of another device that plugs into the phone via common connectors like USB or the audio jack and an app on the phone to control that device. That's what the phrase means to most people in the context of Android.

"Turn your phone into a ham radio transceiver controller" is neither needed nor entirely accurate, because then people will assume it can control _any_ ham radio transceiver.

VHF is effectively line-of-sight, and no antenna size can change that (although it does improve efficiency for both sending and receiving), so for two handheld radios, you are limited to about 10 km.

The only thing that really helps extend the range is elevating the antenna, and repeaters allow you to do that even between two mobile stations.

You can extend the reach using repeaters. This free app is handy for that https://hearham.com/repeaters

Only on the paper, the real power is around 3/3.5W

Those cheap baofeng's are illegal to use where I live on most of the spectrum they can operate on. Illegal to press the talk button anyway.

So maybe the 1w is also a regulatory issue.

1w is usually okay and using 8w from a phone is probably way too much power demand