Wider-range cordless phones? [Telecom]

My spouse and I are just realizing that rather than attempting to clean up the incredible rat's nest of ancient telephone wiring that runs all through our elderly and sprawling house, we might just install (or leave in place) a single solid line to a convenient central point; put a heavy duty cordless phone base station there; and stick a lot of cordless phones in charger bases all around the house.

Can anyone suggest any particularly good extended-coverage cordless phone models for this purpose? Single line models are all we really need, though a dual or even quad-line model could be of some use. Models where you can exert a fair amount of control over the base station from the cordless handset keyboards would be handy.

[I can and will do my own Googling on this; but any helpful pointers are still appreciated.]

***** Moderator's Note *****

  1. If you have WiFi Internet, do NOT buy a phone that shares the same band. If you have 802.11B, G, or N, you'll need a cordless phone that uses either 900 MHz or 5.8 GHz. If your WiFi is 802.11A, which is very rare, then you must use 900 MHz or 2.6 GHz.

  1. Remeber that cordless phone are radio transceivers first and telephones second. You'll have dead spots, fading, "picket fencing", and other problems that come with talking on a radio. They're also insecure, so remeber that anyone who wants to can listen in.

  2. I recommend Panasonic: I've never been disappointed with them, and they're durable and reliable. Avoid Emerson: they're cheap and fragile.

Bill Horne Moderator

Reply to
AES
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Make sure you have at least one POTS type phone, that isn't dependent on mains power for operation. This will keep your access to your landline in the event of power failure. mm

Reply to
Michael Muderick

Per AES:

We were in the same situation - only a good part of the rat's nest was my own doing, wiring the house 30 years ago.

Eventually I stumbled in to the same decision: wireless phones.

I do keep a hard-wired wall phone in the kitchen just on GPs, but it never gets used.

My brand of choice is Uniden on 5.8 GHz. The base station is in the same room as my PC and server closet - and close to the VOIP box that outgoing calls go through.

There is a handset in almost every room.

They get addictive after awhile.

When I the same system in each of my daughters' houses, the #2 daughter said something like "Why on earth would I want a phone in the garage?"

Now, about twice a year, the subject comes up in the context of her volunteering how handy it is to have a phone in the garage....-)

Reply to
Pete Cresswell
[...]

Before I married, I always had a phone in the primary bathroom, within reach of the throne. Only used occasionally, but glad to have it then. Currently, my wife has asked me not to install one there.

Reply to
Rich Greenberg

Consider getting a DECT (used to stand for Digital European Cordless Telephone but now stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) type phone see:

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Reply to
Joseph Singer

Your wife doesn't understand. When you're in the bathroom, somehow, the people who are difficult to get hold of who won't leave complete messages in voice mail or email just know that's when to call with important information that you need that you aren't in position to act on nor take notes. If you have a phone in there with you, it defeats them.

You want the phone in there so it never rings when you use the terlet.

Reply to
Adam H. Kerman

A phone by the throne may save two or three days of phone tag.

Wes Leatherock snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com snipped-for-privacy@aol.com

Reply to
Wes Leatherock

Definitely! :-)

Which begs the question: which phone instruments are "qualified" for use in a full-use (sink, shower/tub, throne) bathroom?

For example, my RAZR V3 manual states "avoid temperatures below 0°C/32°F or above 45°C/113°F, and don't expose your phone to water, rain, extreme humidity, sweat or other moisture" which is not a formal specification of operating/storage temperature/humidity ranges. The phone does have a non-resettable humidity sensor it in (some kind of chemically-treated paper) and if the color indicates "too humid" the warranty is void. It's 7 years old now and still works perfectly, so I'm not worried about the warranty.

FWIW, after taking a shower and forgetting to close the bathroom door afterwards, one of my smoke detectors 30 feet away will sound its siren.

Reply to
Thad Floryan

I have been disappointed with Panasonic (when it turned out that their "spread spectrum" cordless phones actually weren't, maybe these days they are, I don't know). But I have always found Panasonic gear to be well-designed, very reliable, relatively inexpensive, and a very good value for the money.

Dave

Reply to
Dave Garland

Engenius Technology's cordless telephones are the longest-range

*legal* cordless phones I've ever installed and used They are business-grade and use 1-Watt TDMA handsets in the license-free 900-928 MHz band. In my testing they worked quite well hundreds of feet away from the base station, but the handsets got pretty hot during longer conversations. They even sell a high-quality outdoor discone antenna with low-loss feedline for even greater range:

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-bernieS

Reply to
bernieS

Sounds like the first lines of an up-and-coming new popular song:

"Oh a phone ... by the throne ... Is a must have for my home ... though a bone ... of contention for my Joan ... "

With all best musical cheers, -- tlvp

Reply to
tlvp

I find the best bet is to use a SWB cordless with multiple handset facility, & take one into the bathroom when you need to .The `sealed` number buttons preclude moisture, & if at ease on the toilet, one handed answering & mute button at very private seconds are a boon. If under strain at critical point, & unable to reach it, (the handset), the digital answering part in the base will take over (the call, later playback accessible from said handset.).

Richard Birmingham, England

Reply to
Ricardus

I had a Casio "G'zOne" cel phone that was made to military specifications, which I purchased because it was waterproof. I used it in the shower all the time - it was truly waterproof and quite convenient for those calls that persist in being perfectly timed for when you usually cannot answer them.

--Regina

Reply to
Regina_R_Monaco

At a local swimming-pool-supplies company (Leslie's) I saw a Uniden DECT 6.0 phone which was advertised as being submersible... "meets JIS7 Waterproof Specifications". Suitable for using while you're floating around in the pool on an inflated inner tube, or etc.

Unless you use a *really* harsh shampoo in your bathroom, one of these would probably do just fine :-)

Reply to
Dave Platt

That one is easy to explain. Americium is a weak alpha emitter. It is used in smoke detectors because smoke (and steam!) can block the emissions of Americium.

Reply to
T

Very interesting. I don't think my Samsung Galaxy would hold up too well if it got wet, but my Yaesu VX-7RB is just dying to go out and play in the rain.

The latter is gasketed like nobody's busines and is rated to be able to withstand a dunking with no ill effect.

The gasketing/water tightness is interesting on that radio. Even the earpiece/mic connector screws down and forms a seal.

Reply to
T

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