Who Said, "Don't Get Me Started On Cordless Phones?"

[sarah]

Y'all,

Somebody said it on another thread, and I apologize for getting anyone started, but the comment sure got me started...does anyone have answers?

Why did my old 900 MHz cordless phone have great reception all the way around the block and to the neigbhorhood park when my new 2.4 GHz doesn't even have good reception to the other side of the house or the front porch? I lamentably left my old one out in the rain, and it is beyond dead...so what does a girl have to do to get one as good as the old one--and no, I don't need 17 bases and hand sets, a slicer, dicer, bread baker, color display, video phone or even caller id. I just want a basic cordless phone with good range...

Thanks,
Sarah

 

[petek]

It's a crapshoot Sarah. There are good cordless phones and bad ones and no way of knowing which is which because it's impossible to try them all out. Paying big bucks means nothing when it comes to voice quality it seems so start off with an inexpensive one and it might just be fine. For some reason as well I find that after a couple of years, especially once the original battery has died and been replaced that they never work as well again. They're a pita actually.

 

[petek]

btw my nephew recently bought my mother a new cordless phone and I've begged her to replace it because I can barely understand her when she uses it, so she goes over and uses her landline phone which is crystal clear. I told her to call the nephew and ask him if he can return it for another one but she doesn't want to hurt his feeling.. I said you're not hurting his feelings he won't mind but she won't and she swore that I wasn't to mention it to him either.

 

[DADoES]

There's no need for cordless phones ... everybody has cell phones now! ;-)

That being said, I've not run across a cordless phone in several years that didn't suck on some point. A friend says VTech phones are good. Or were. Dunno if they sill are.

 

[gansky1]

I've always had good luck with Panasonic cordless phones. I usually buy the basic model with caller ID in the handset and rarely have spent more than $40.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

I've always been a fan of VTech phones (remember the fun colored see-through ones?), and we currently have a 5.8GHz set of phones, with two base stations and two handsets... four of the same phone scattered around the house.

Before that, we had a 2-handset diddy, by VTech as well, which I believe was 900MHz, those lasted for a good long time before they were dropped one too many times, and it was time to upgrade.

~Fred

 

[brettsomers]

i got a 2.4 gig Panasonic with caller id and digital answerer. i LOVE it, wish i had gotten it sooner.

 

[irishwashguy]

I have an old one

I bought my cordless phone in 1998, and i have the original battery with it still. I never thought it that being remarable until just now!! i keep it plugged in when I am not using it. It was my comunity phone when I was first in college at my apartment. I payed 80.00 dollars for it which really is alot of money when I got it. I have thought of getting a new one, but, maybe it is just fine. i have also heard that Panisonic is really good. I am on my second cell phone in three years. They seem very disposable.

 

[hoover1060]

I have a Panasonic in my bedroom, and an AT&T one downstairs in the LR. Both have served me very well and I've heard no complaints from callers.

Cell phones are another story. Cingular wireless kinda sucks!!

 

[gadgetgary]

Phones

I actually liked the Uniden phones for quite some time, till I got my 5.8 GHZ V-tech phone......One base, two phones and an intercom system. Don't know if anyone realizes that the 2.4 Ghz phones interfere sometimes with wireless internet(found out the hard way that when I was on the phone with one of those, my internet connection ceased).

Lots of phones are just trial and error and, as my name implies....I love gadgets...cordless phones included. I presently have about 10 of them in my home...along with various other gadgets that we will not mention in this thread...............

Gary

 

[sudsmaster]

2.4 GHz cordless phones are good, I have a Panasonic unit with three handsets and answering machine. However, the biggest drawback to the 2.4 GHz format is that it is subject to interference from microwave ovens and also from wireless computer networks. I know mine gets a lot of interference from the Panasonic microwave that is near the base unit. I could move the base unit to another room, but I like it where it is. I've been planning on upgrading it to a 5.8 GHz unit, but am still waiting for those prices to come down more.

I don't have a cell phone - don't really want or need one, either. I spent 15 years on an electronic leash (pagers, cell phones) in the computer biz, now I like being incognito

Biggest phone problem today is that I made the mistake of putting down my phone number at a political party office prior to the 2004 elections. Now I get innundated for months before each election with recorded messages to vote for this or that person or proposition. It's gotten so bad I've turned off the answering machine, and will simply hang up the phone manually if I detect a computer or calling center on the other end.

 

[petek]

I don't have a cell phone either by choice also having been leashed to one 365 24/7 at work including vacations from near the day they were introduced and had a handbag for the batteries. Never again. Actually I just don't get it. I can't figure out why on earth people want to that "ability" to be able to call anyone from anywhere. When I'm out and about I want to be left alone.

 

[tlee618]

I too have never really had problems with cordless phones. I have a Uniden that is about 7 years old and have only had one battery replacement. Also go one from Radio Shack that has been great. Terry

 

[scott55405]

I haven't had a phone in the house for years (cell phone only) but when I did, I had several Vtechs, all of which I liked, and prior to that a Sony that was good for a few years then wouldn't take a charge anymore.

 

[tolivac]

900Mhz frequencies can penetrate walls,etc better than 2.4Ghz-the higher the frequency-the more likely its is going to be absorbed by common materials around you-one thing you can try--move the phone base station to another part of your house-A few times it worked for me.2.4ghz phones can get interference from microwave ovens-you may not want to put the base station in the kitchen-but the base for mine works well there despite the microwave-go figure.Yes,I have a Panasonic phone-a newer model-the cordless handpeice with this one doesn't work worth a damm.The old Panasonic I had they worked great-then it got blown by lightening.I like the older Panasonics cordless handpeice better.

 

[sudsmaster]

I also have a 900 MHz system, I think it's Uniden, that I retired for the Panasonic. I like the Panasonic handsets better because they have speakerphones. The reception is about the same as with the 900 MHz Uniden, though. I keep a handset in a garage, and anothe rin the patio kitchen, which is very handy when I'm working outside.

 

[Designgeek]

Most of the Panasonic units now also have a headset jack that lets you use any inexpensive cellular-type headset; many of my clients find this especially useful. Clip the phone to your belt and put on the headset, walk & talk handsfree.

If you have reception problems, put the transceiver unit (the base unit with an antenna) as high up in the air as possible and away from metal stuff. On a higher shelf in a wood bookcase is always good.

And no matter what else, always have an oldfashioned wired phone around, since it will keep working when you have a blackout.

I don't have a cellphone, thankfully. My 50- to 70-year-old dial phones with the ancient heavy handsets sound better than that. It's frankly impossible to have a real conversation if every third sentence is "huh? what did you say?" and every couple of minutes is "hello? are you still there?"

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

I still have my 1996 Panasonic 900 Mhz cordless phone and just now had to replace the battery which was about $11.

I highly recommend Panasonic which is what I've been able to convert three of my friends to and they all love their phones.

 

[mixfinder]

Panasonic

Big mertz, small metz, any schmertz, I never met a Panasonic phone I didn't like.
I read a Consumer Reports reveiw in the 90's that highly recommend a GE model. Bought it, it was light, didn't feel quite right and quit in 8 months.
I moved to Seattle and needed a second phone. Bought a Uniden. It sounded like talking into a echo chamber.
Got divorced, moved into a 6 story condo and bought a Panasonic. I can talk from any floor and the ground of the building.
Brand Loyalty serves me over and over again.

A customer told the operator to shove the phone up her butt.

A few minutes passed and there was a loud knock on the door.

The customer opened the door to a huge, ugly, tough repairman from the phone company.

"If you're the jerk that told the operator to shove the phone up her butt you've got two choices. Either you go to the phone and apologize or I'm gonna rip that SOB right off the wall!!!"

The customer meekly walks to phone and dials the operator.

When she answers he says,"Get ready sweetheart, he's bringing it down!"

Kelly

 

[gizmo]

timely thread...

The restaurant where I work has for years had a Panasonic cordless phone, very basic, probably 900MHz. It has had low volume for years, probably been dropped. Trying to use it in the kitchen was hopeless, especially when Japanese tour guides with high pitched voices and little English phone up to arrange their next stop. Finally it stopped charging. I discussed what was needed with my employers, I suggested a multi-handset phone so it could be used as an intercom with the house - they live next door. Previously we dialled their home phone - 25c per call.
With the owners' approval, I picked up a Doro 3-handset + answerphone that was on special at Target for $79. (Was $180). It worked very well but was very fiddly to use - tiny buttons, have to access too many functions via a menu, confusing to use. But it worked, including working perfectly as an intercom.
Nobody liked it much so it went back to Target for a refund. I had since chased up specs for a Uniden WDECT which promised longer range (still 900Mhz I think), simple operation, extra-volume button (perfect for a noisy kitchen) and NO answer machine - it had proved to be an unwanted nuisance on the Doro.
John came home with a Panasonic 5.8 GHz fancy schmantzy costing $280!! More tiny buttons than you could imagine, doesn't work properly as an intercom (drops out or can't contact other handset at all), changes settings by itself especially turns volume down, so cumbersome to use John comes almost crying with frustration to me and says "how do you use this bloody thing again???" for the hundredth time, and the answer phone won't stay turned off - if the incoming call waits more than about eight rings, the answer phone turns itself on. So we get cryptic messages like "hello, Yumiko here, want to change our booking to 6 people plus one guide" when we have no idea who Yumiko is, what day or time she is coming... so we just don't want an answer machine at all!!
To make it harder, the place John bought the phone from is a small 2 person store in a small town, nowhere near as helpful a returns policy as a big company like Target. (no relation to Target in USA) so the best we can get is that the technician will look at the phone and look for a fault... meanwhile we have a battered old cord phone...at least you can hear the callers on it..
Any recommendations for a phone? must be:

-Current model, available new now
-not prone to interference - we have lots of gizmos in the kitchen
-very simple and intuitive to use - owners are in 60s age bracket and not technically minded at all
-NO answer machine or one that stays off when turned off
-just about bullet proof
-able to have raised volume - incoming voice, not just ringer volume
-intercom function that works reliably and clearly across a 50 metre car park.

Thanks

Chris.

 

[jaxsunst]

I am a fan of Uniden, it is a basic caller id model. It was purchased at Walmart in 1999. It was the cheapest one they had. It has been trouble free, with great reception, and only one battery replacement a year ago.

 

[foraloysius]

I bought a Siemens Gigaset 200 recently. Until now I'm very happy with it. One of the ringtones wasn't too annoying. I bought a 4-handset package for €149.- which would be around $190.-. Here's a picture of the 2-handset.

 

[gizmo]

Thanks Louis, that's a great looking phone.
I don't think Siemens cordless phones are sold here but I will chase them up.

Chris.

 

[westytoploader]

Since we moved, we've always had Panasonic cordless phones, and now we're on our third one, the Panasonic KG-TX3244 cordless system, with 2 separate handsets. In the 2 years we've had it, it has been a great performer, and I like the speakerphone capability on the handsets as it doesn't tie you down to the base like our previous phones did. I still wish it had the speakerphone on the base in addition to this, for quick answering; on the old ones I could just walk over to the handset and push a button to answer if I knew the conversation would be quick.

I think the whole MHz-GHz thing is complete bulls**t; no matter what the power is, the range is the same. This one right now is 2.4 GHz, but still, if I'm down in the laundry studio, it breaks up horribly on both ends; I have to be outside in order to hear and be heard. I think the all-metal studio is the problem though; I have to hold my cellphone to the window in order to get reception.

When we lived in Houston, we had a Cobra cordless in the kitchen for the longest time, and that was a great phone. Like the other cordlesses we've had, the batteries started becoming weaker and weaker on that one as well.

--Austin

 

[Cybrvanr]

RF power and wavelength

There are two things that will affect the performance of a cordless phone...or ANY RF device. The first one has been previously discussed. The higher the Mhz, the smaller the wavelength. A 900 Mhz phone has a significantly larger wavelength than a 2.4 Ghz phone. Even better yet, I still have an old 49 Mhz phone that will work two blocks up the street!!! (yes, you can pick up a conversation on it with a police scanner) The problem with wavelength is that if any metallic or organic object comes between the phone and the base station, and it's larger than the wavelength...the phone stops working. You may be able to catch a "bounce" off of another object, for instance, if you set the base in front your car, and then put a gas can in front the base, the phone will probably still work because the signal will bounce off the car's body. It WON'T work behind the car though (unless the signal bounces off the gas can at the right spot)

NOW, the other half of the equasion is RF power. Again, the higher the signal, the easier it is to stop it, so you need more RF power to get the job done. The problem is, increasing the RF power of the handset makes the handset bigger because you need a bigger battery. The tradeoff would be a shorter talk-time. There's also a ton of balarkey going round out there about RF signals causing cancer. Now, a cordless phone doesn't transmit hardly as much power as your local clearchannel broadcast affiliate, or even your microwave oven inside. But still, the manufacturers still use this as an excuse to pull back the transmitting power, and thus build the phones cheaper, all while selling them for more, claiming it's a 'feature'

In all honesty, the ONLY reason to buy a high frequency phone is if you are getting interference problems with neighbors, or other users. 900 Mhz phones are a pretty good choice nowadays, because that's the old analog cell-phone band. Since most people don't have analog cell phones anymore, intereference issues are not the big a deal. You'll only find them used, but if you can find an old 49-54 Mhz phone, that will be the ultimate in distance performance, because they have such a large wavelength. Most of them are huge too, and contain high power RF transmitters and lots of batteries. The drawback to many of these however is that they are AM and not FM. I've got a rare AT&T FM model that was built in 1989, but these are hard to find. It's audio quality is about that of a broadcast radio station. Pretty much all analog cordless phones built after that era are going to be FM, while most digital cordless phones are VSSB