Cordless House Phone

[Leeway]

I have yet to have a cordless house phone that really works well.

Right now we have a Sony SPP-N1020, 900 MHz cordless phone. It functions, but hearing what the other party is saying is not easy. I'm constantly straining to hear.

So my wife went out and bought a Panasonic KX-TG5230M (who comes up with these model names/numbers? ). This one is 5.8 GHz,much more powerful. But we get it powered up, make a test call, and find that the reception isn't much better than the Sony, and has a lot of static as well.

Does anyone have a cordless phone that works well, i.e. offers clear reception and ease of use? I'm really considering to going back to a regular cord phone.

[Jim R]

We've had Sonys and Panasonics over the years, and although one of the Sony models (an older one that we had years ago) performed well for many years, we've had several that had various problems. In terms of clarity of reception, it's kind of odd that you're having consistent problems with different phones. I wonder if it's not really the phones themselves that are causing your problem. Anyway, one thing that has bugged me about the last few phones we had was battery life/performance. I can't remember now what the Panasonic used, but our current Sony had a special rechargeable battery that a) didn't work very well, and b) was not available in any local electronics store (had to send away for one, and that one performed even more poorly, even when "brand new"). This Sony has a phone w/cord attached to the base unit, and the aforementioned cordless handset extension. Right around the time that the "new" replacement battery died, we were at one of these mega-stores that carries everything under the sun, and we saw a cordless phone set- two handsets, two recharchers, but no answering machine- that was very reasonably priced, and used standard AA batteries. The brand is "Vtech". We realized immediately that this was the same brand of cordless phone (without answering machine) that our daughter has in her bedroom- and it has worked perfectly for several years, with no battery problems at all. So far they have performed extremely well. We still have the Sony base unit with answering machine in the kitchen, and the vtech cordless handsets in the bedroom and computer room. I don't even know if they make a model with an answering machine (they probably do), but I can recommend this brand.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

A couple of things to note here:

1) Most of today's wireless phones broadcast at the same frequency as most wireless LANs. If you want to avoid this, stick to 900 MHz.

2) Almost all cordless phones have at least 2 channels. In many environments, one or more channels are weaker than the others. Try switching channels.

As for models, my Dad loves Sony but I don't know why... he's on his third one. I have a Uniden model but it's so old, I don't even know if they're still in business. A friend of mine loves his 2.4 GHz Panasonic phone system. He bought the base station and 3 handsets. The only problem is that every time the phone rings, his Internet connection dies.

Later,

Kevin

[vibes]

Don't get a 2.4ghz phone. Microwaves and wireless networks interfere with them. The 5.8ghz phone should be fine, so I think your problem has something to do with the location of the phone or some electrical equipment near it. I gave my parents an AT&T 5.8ghz phone last year, and it worked great. I could walk down the street with the phone and still get clear reception. I've heard good things about Uniden and Vtech models as well. The Panasonic should be OK - they are the dominant player in the cordless phone market, and it's for a reason.

[vibes]

As for models, my Dad loves Sony but I don't know why... he's on his third one.

He won't have to worry about getting another one. Sony exited the landline telephone business three years ago.