SD Storage
Some ChatterBox devices (not yet released) use FRAM for storage. Others (Lilygo) use SD cards. For devices that use SD storage, there are benefits and drawbacks.
| Benefits | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| You can have multiple SD cards that connect you to multiple clusters. One SD card is limited to 2 clusters, but by swapping the SD card, you can connect to as many as you want (one at a time). | The SD-based firmware uses a file system, to work around a well-known issue called ‘wear-leveling’, which is not a concern for FRAM. |
| You can make backups of your data simply by making copies of an SD card. Each copy of the SD card is encrypted in exactly the same way, with your same password. | The SD card, given that it’s removable, can be put analyzed by a computer to see if any useful information can be gleaned. This is where your password and the encryption storage is imporant, but the encryption is only as good as your password. |
| Multiple people may share a single communicator, by powering it off, swapping the SD card, and powering back on. If there is another communicator within range, these device-swapping users could even send one another messages that transmit via the nearby device. | Using SD cards uses slightly more power than FRAM, so it may decrease the length a charged battery will last. I have not tested this. |