I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

TIA,

Bob Hofmann

"hr(bob) " wrote in message
...
|I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
| and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
| have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
| they consider most reliable and/or repairable?
|
| TIA,
|
| Bob Hofmann

I doubt any are made to be repaired these days. I would suggest you go for a
model that uses individual NiMH batteries as opposed to a custom made
battery pack. The batteries not holding a charge are the most frequent
problem after a couple of years and the custom battery packs are often
nearly the price of a replacement handset. I have had good luck with the
Panasonic DECT 6.0 models. You can often get a set of 4 with base answering
machine for about $80 on sale. A couple of nice features: talking caller ID
for when you can't get to the phone immediately; new message alert flashing
light on all the handsets and the ability to actually listen to the message
from any handset. Good battery life too unlike a Philips model I tried.

hr(bob) wrote:
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

I suggest you look at the Siemens DECT phones. DECT phones use the 1.8gHz
cellular band (it overlaps the US 1.9gHz one, so it is legal there) and are
designed to be used in a shared environment. In plain English, they listen
before using a frequency and skip ones in use. This prevents them from being
interfered with and interfering with other things.

The common 2.4 gHz phones use the same band as microwave ovens and WiFi
networks, so there is a lot of interference and fighting for bandwidth.

5.7 gHz phones, which are legal in the US, but not EU/Africa/Asia, are
shorter range than the others. If that is ok with you (the phones is
going to be used in the same room as the base) then it may be a good choice.

Siemens has a good reputation, and in models I have seen advertised in the
UK (I hope simliar ones sold elsewhere too) have Bluetooth support.

While using a Bluteooth headset with a cordless phone does not appeal to me,
some people may like it. It also allows you to use a PC to synchronize the
directory in the phone with the one from your cell phone.

I don't know about you, but I can't be bothered to put 100 (or even 10)
numbers or so into a cordless phone via the keypad. Since I already have
them on a computer and synced to my cell phone, if I had a Bluetooth
cordless phone I could just pop them into it. Now I have to either look
them up on the computer or my cell phone. :-(

There are many versions of DECT phones depending upon what you pay for. The
cheapest support one line and one base station. You can have 4 phones
registered (using) one base station and call between them. More expensive
phones may have the option to use more than one base station and "roam" between
them if you have a large place, or have multiple phone lines.

You can even buy DECT phones with 2 "lines" one of them being a telephone
line for regular service and one being a USB port for connecting to your
computer and using SKYPE.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

In article
,
hr(bob) wrote:
Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

If I were to recommend one brand it would be Panasonic. Not only more
reliable IMHO but better made and nicer to use.
If you were in the UK I'd also say avoid anything branded BT.

--
*Prepositions are not words to end sentences with *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
If I were to recommend one brand it would be Panasonic. Not only more
reliable IMHO but better made and nicer to use.
If you were in the UK I'd also say avoid anything branded BT.

"British Trash"?





--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

In article ,
Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
If I were to recommend one brand it would be Panasonic. Not only more
reliable IMHO but better made and nicer to use.
If you were in the UK I'd also say avoid anything branded BT.

"British Trash"?

Heh heh. That's a new one. But British Telecom - the once state owned
company that had a monopoly. At one time they designed their own phones
which were if nothing else well made. Now they seem to allow their name on
any old junk.

--
*I have a degree in liberal arts -- do you want fries with that

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"hr(bob) " wrote in message
...
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?


**I've owned a few different brands and three Panasonics. ALL the Panas
still work. None of the others have survived. I only changed them to new
features and better performance. And the latest one is a Hell of a decent
performer. I'm looking at the workshop 'phone now. It's in pretty bad
cosmetic shape, but the damned thing still works perfectly. It's three years
old now and time to upgrade.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

There are other considerations.

More than a year ago, I bought a Uniden system, which immediately irritated
me with its poor design and confusing operation. I replaced it with a GE
(Thomson) DECT 6.0 system, which was much better thought-out. The controls
on the base unit are well-grouped and have different shapes. I never have to
refer to the instruction book.

The hand units have an excellent speakerphone. Unfortunately, they use
shrink-wrapped AAA cells. However, making up a new pack is not out of the
question.

Don't buy a model where the "base unit" is a hand unit sitting in the
charger. There are times when you have to tuck the receiver between your
head and neck.

You should look for a unit whose base station provides basic functions when
the power goes out. "But I have a cell phone." Not if the transmitter also
goes down.

In article ,
Trevor Wilson wrote:
"hr(bob) " wrote in message
...
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?


**I've owned a few different brands and three Panasonics. ALL the Panas
still work. None of the others have survived. I only changed them to new
features and better performance. And the latest one is a Hell of a
decent performer. I'm looking at the workshop 'phone now. It's in
pretty bad cosmetic shape, but the damned thing still works perfectly.
It's three years old now and time to upgrade.

Other thing is to phone a knowledgeable friend and ask how your phone
sounds to them. Some can be OK at 'your' end but sound horrid to others.
Of course difficult to do until you've bought it...

--
*Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 31 ago, 22:06, "hr(bob) " wrote:
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. *Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

TIA,

Bob Hofmann

I have had Panasonic, Sony, GE and Siemens cordless phones in the
past, and to me, the best of all them are the Panasonic ones, followed
by Siemens. Both brands have good features and a very clear sound.

Hi!

I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. *Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone
here have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which
brand(s) do they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

I'd cast my vote for Panasonic.

I still have an old 49MHz "Easa-Phone" cordless phone that works as
well as the day it was made. It's had several new batteries over the
years, and one new antenna for the handset. Other than that, it has
required no repair.

I also have some of their newer cordless phones, covering all of
900MHz, 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz. The 900MHz phones are kitchen phones and
see the most use of any of them. They've been dropped, one was rained
on overnight and other Bad Things have doubtlessly happened to both of
them. Both handsets look slightly rough and one is missing its battery
cover, but they're *still* working flawlessly.

William

On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:06:45 -0700 (PDT), "hr(bob) "
wrote:

I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

I like Panasonic DECT 6.0 phones:
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Phones-Fax/Telephones/DECT-6-0.list.75070_11002_7000000000000005702
I have one of these (forgot the model numbers) and a mix of older
Panasonic 2.4 and 900Mhz phones and fax/answering/cordless phone
conglomerations. They work well and much to my amazement, are
generally not battery killers.

Most of the cordless phone repair I've done is for myself on my thrift
shop aquisitions and for friends and neighbors. The phones are cheap
enough that repair is not an economical option. Parts are difficult
or impossible to find on any of the cordless phones (except batteries,
wall warts, and possibly antennas). Also, check into the availability
and price of additional handsets. Most bases have a limit of 4
handsets maximum, so be careful when building a large system.

The problems are roughly the same with all the phones I've seen.
People spit into the keyboard while talking. The saliva eventually
migrates into the contact area and makes a mess. Add some dirt and
dust to the mix, and the keypad stops working. I open up the handset,
clean up the elastometric keypad, clean the contact board, reassemble
and it's ready for another few years of use.

A good clue on repairability is the presence of case screws. Remove
the handset battery and check for screws. If there are none, you may
have a unit that is difficult to disassemble and repair.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote:

5.7 gHz phones, which are legal in the US, but not EU/Africa/Asia, are
shorter range than the others. If that is ok with you (the phones is
going to be used in the same room as the base) then it may be a good choice.


I can use my Panasonic 5.8 GHZ DECT phones well over 100 feet, and
that is with a metal building between me and the base. My old V-tec 900
MHz had a similar range, but with some static.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense!

On Sep 1, 12:12*am, "iws" wrote:
"hr(bob) " wrote in message

...
|I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
| and answering features. *Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
| have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
| they consider most reliable and/or repairable?
|
| TIA,
|
| Bob Hofmann

I doubt any are made to be repaired these days. I would suggest you go for a
model that uses individual NiMH batteries as opposed to a custom made
battery pack. The batteries not holding a charge are the most frequent
problem after a couple of years and the custom battery packs are often
nearly the price of a replacement handset. I have had good luck with the
Panasonic DECT 6.0 models. You can often get a set of 4 with base answering
machine for about $80 on sale. A couple of nice features: talking caller ID
for when you can't get to the phone immediately; new message alert flashing
light on all the handsets and the ability to actually listen to the message
from any handset. Good battery life too unlike a Philips model I tried.

I'm into around the second year of use of a Panasonic DECT 6.0.
Separate NiMH cells in the handsets. Works fine. Decent range. Decent
sound. Good, fast VOX switch on hands-free speaker use. I'd buy
another... but hope not to have to!
Cheers,
Roger

On Sep 1, 6:13*pm, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:
"hr(bob) " wrote in message

...

I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. *Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

**I've owned a few different brands and three Panasonics. ALL the Panas
still work. None of the others have survived. I only changed them to new
features and better performance. And the latest one is a Hell of a decent
performer. I'm looking at the workshop 'phonenow. It's in pretty bad
cosmetic shape, but the damned thing still works perfectly. It's three years
old now and time to upgrade.

--
Trevor Wilsonwww.rageaudio.com.au

please to here if u want to buy phone
http://www.global-cell-phones.com/

hr(bob) wrote:
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?



Ok, a bit late in the thread, but:

We also have Panasonic DECT now. Good workmanship, long battery life.
However, I have drop-outs from handset to base (not the other way
around) in my office which is very annoying. Also, they completely
screwed up the intercom function. You have to press a three-digit code
number, then select the handset you want to call. That's pathetic. Other
than that they seem ok but the drop-outs are a problem.

The best phone ever was a Cincinnatti Microwave Spread Spectrum phone
but unfortunately they quit making them.

Does anyone else have such drop-outs in locations with lots of RF
reflectors, and maybe an easy fix/hack?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:56:09 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Does anyone else have such drop-outs in locations with lots of RF
reflectors, and maybe an easy fix/hack?

I don't but two of my customers have the problem. They're located
directly opposite a downtown Santa Cruz CA rooftop loaded with
cellular antennas. When the handsets are anywhere near the window
facing the cell site, they drop out. Range is irrelevent as the base
unit is in the same office as the handset user. I don't recall the
exact models, but one is a 4 phone Panasonic, while the other is a 4
phone Uniden (as probably sold by Costco).

The problem is that in the US, the DECT 6.0 phones operate on
1920-1930MHz. PCS cellular base to mobile is next door at
1930-1990Mhz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_frequencies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dect
It's the sheer power of the PCS cell site that rips on the DECT 6.0
phones. There's just not enough receiver selectivity and overload
tolerance available in the average DECT 6.0 handset to coexist in such
an RF environment. The receiver either blocks or hears PCS crud, and
it drops out. The best you can do is position yourself away from your
local cell sites or switch to 5.7GHz cordless phones.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:56:09 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Does anyone else have such drop-outs in locations with lots of RF
reflectors, and maybe an easy fix/hack?

I don't but two of my customers have the problem. They're located
directly opposite a downtown Santa Cruz CA rooftop loaded with
cellular antennas. When the handsets are anywhere near the window
facing the cell site, they drop out. Range is irrelevent as the base
unit is in the same office as the handset user. I don't recall the
exact models, but one is a 4 phone Panasonic, while the other is a 4
phone Uniden (as probably sold by Costco).


Aha, thanks, now we are getting closer. We have a Panasonic set of
three, from BestBuy but similar to the ones they now sell at Costco. I
can't imagine them not using the same chip set.

It's the comm from handset to base that drops out, base to handset never
drops out. The next cell tower is about a mile away though but we are on
top of a knoll.


The problem is that in the US, the DECT 6.0 phones operate on
1920-1930MHz. PCS cellular base to mobile is next door at
1930-1990Mhz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_frequencies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dect
It's the sheer power of the PCS cell site that rips on the DECT 6.0
phones. There's just not enough receiver selectivity and overload
tolerance available in the average DECT 6.0 handset to coexist in such
an RF environment. The receiver either blocks or hears PCS crud, and
it drops out. ...


I would assume the base could also be fooled by a signal from a cell
phone itself if close enough. Why did they screw up the chip sets so
badly? I mean, I can stand right next to a guy with another cell phone
at the airport or even inside the metal fuselage of an airplane (after
landing) and nothing interferes. Did the DECT guys screw it up?


... The best you can do is position yourself away from your
local cell sites or switch to 5.7GHz cordless phones.


5.7GHz doesn't stand a chance in this location. Not enough oomph up there.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:20:14 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

It's the comm from handset to base that drops out, base to handset never
drops out. The next cell tower is about a mile away though but we are on
top of a knoll.

The means the base receiver might be getting clobbered by a cell site.
Move the base away from the window and put something substantial (like
a wall) in between it and the cell site. Experiments with reflectors.

I would assume the base could also be fooled by a signal from a cell
phone itself if close enough.

Probably not. DECT 6.0 phones operate on 1920-1930MHz.
US PCS cellular base to mobile is at 1930-1990Mhz.
US PCS cellular mobile to base is at 1850-1910MHz.

The handset is at least 20 Mhz away from the PCS receiver, which is
sufficiently far away so that a cheap SAW or ceramic filter would
work. That's in contrast to the PCS base, which is literally adjacent
to the DECT 6.0 frequencies.

Why did they screw up the chip sets so
badly?

The chipsets are fine. It's the lack of RF filtering that's the
problem. I haven't looked inside the phone, but my guess is that the
RF filtering is fairly minimal.

I mean, I can stand right next to a guy with another cell phone
at the airport or even inside the metal fuselage of an airplane (after
landing) and nothing interferes. Did the DECT guys screw it up?

Actually, it does interfere. For GSM, the cell site synchronizes
frequencies and TDMA slot times so that they don't directly interfere.
With CDMA (spread spectrum), it's not so nice as additional handsets
raise the base line noise level. With sufficient noise generated by
other handsets, a marginal signal could cause a session disconnect.
The good news is that you won't hear any beat notes, intermod,
crosstalk, or garble. All that will happen is a dropped call.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:20:14 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

It's the comm from handset to base that drops out, base to handset never
drops out. The next cell tower is about a mile away though but we are on
top of a knoll.

The means the base receiver might be getting clobbered by a cell site.
Move the base away from the window and put something substantial (like
a wall) in between it and the cell site. Experiments with reflectors.

I would assume the base could also be fooled by a signal from a cell
phone itself if close enough.

Probably not. DECT 6.0 phones operate on 1920-1930MHz.
US PCS cellular base to mobile is at 1930-1990Mhz.


Just ran a spectrum. Strong signal at 1930.9MHz. Plus a really fat one
at 1901.1MHz. Dang.


US PCS cellular mobile to base is at 1850-1910MHz.

The handset is at least 20 Mhz away from the PCS receiver, which is
sufficiently far away so that a cheap SAW or ceramic filter would
work. That's in contrast to the PCS base, which is literally adjacent
to the DECT 6.0 frequencies.


Yup, looks like it :-(


Why did they screw up the chip sets so
badly?

The chipsets are fine. It's the lack of RF filtering that's the
problem. I haven't looked inside the phone, but my guess is that the
RF filtering is fairly minimal.


I am not at all sure about them being fine. All our previous phones
operated in the 2.45GHz band. You could stand right next to the WLAN
router while it was cranking some fat PDF file and happily talk it up.
No interference. They must have done somthing right.

Problem is, all the phones offered around here are now DECT.


I mean, I can stand right next to a guy with another cell phone
at the airport or even inside the metal fuselage of an airplane (after
landing) and nothing interferes. Did the DECT guys screw it up?

Actually, it does interfere. For GSM, the cell site synchronizes
frequencies and TDMA slot times so that they don't directly interfere.
With CDMA (spread spectrum), it's not so nice as additional handsets
raise the base line noise level. With sufficient noise generated by
other handsets, a marginal signal could cause a session disconnect.
The good news is that you won't hear any beat notes, intermod,
crosstalk, or garble. All that will happen is a dropped call.


I have a CDMA phone (Sprint network) and never had one call dropped. Not
inside an airplane nor anywhere else.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

P.S.: Just spectrum-analyzed the phone system itself. It operates at
1926.9MHz with about 1.4MHz bandwidth. Needless to say, no pointers in
the manual whatsoever on how to move that down in the band a bit :-(

But the manual does say not to put heavy objects on top of the phone, in
English and in Spanish ...

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

On 9ÔÂ25ÈÕ, ÉÏÎç3ʱ38·Ö, Joerg wrote:
P.S.: Just spectrum-analyzed the phone system itself. It operates at
1926.9MHz with about 1.4MHz bandwidth. Needless to say, no pointers in
the manual whatsoever on how to move that down in the band a bit :-(

But the manual does say not to put heavy objects on top of the phone, in
English and in Spanish ...

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

http://www.vkamobi.com
http://www.handbagtime.com

On Tuesday, 1 September 2009 03:06:45 UTC+1, hr(bob) wrote:
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

TIA,

Bob Hofmann

Well, I am surprised by the positive comments on Panasonic Dect phones. Each of the 5 handsets on my Panasonic system have failed one by one. Now only 3 years after purchase I have to buy another complete set and start over.. I will NEVER buy another Panasonic phone. It's all very well having the fancy functions, but not if you can't make or receive a call on it! Trouble is, what to buy that's going to be reliable?

wrote:

Well, I am surprised by the positive comments on Panasonic Dect phones. Each of the 5 handsets on my Panasonic system have failed one by one. Now only 3 years after purchase I have to buy another complete set and start over. I will NEVER buy another Panasonic phone. It's all very well having the fancy functions, but not if you can't make or receive a call on it! Trouble is, what to buy that's going to be reliable?


Any more reliable than some idiot British Google Groups user who
resurrecting a four year old thread? My Panasonic KX-TGA600S phones are
over seven years old, and still have the original batteries. They still
hold a good charge, and are used almost daily.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

On Mon, 12 Aug 2013, Michael A. Terrell wrote:


wrote:

Well, I am surprised by the positive comments on Panasonic Dect phones. Each of the 5 handsets on my Panasonic system have failed one by one. Now only 3 years after purchase I have to buy another complete set and start over. I will NEVER buy another Panasonic phone. It's all very well having the fancy functions, but not if you can't make or receive a call on it! Trouble is, what to buy that's going to be reliable?


Any more reliable than some idiot British Google Groups user who
resurrecting a four year old thread? My Panasonic KX-TGA600S phones are
over seven years old, and still have the original batteries. They still
hold a good charge, and are used almost daily.

But the key point, since he resurrected a four year old thread, is whether
any of the phones that were discussed are still available. I thought a
lot of consumer items were basically one run things, when they run out a
new model is issued, if for no other reason than the parts that were in
the previous model may not be readily available. Functionally they stay
the same, but model numbers and innards may be different.

Michael

On Mon, 12 Aug 2013, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
wrote:

Well, I am surprised by the positive comments on Panasonic Dect phones.
Each of the 5 handsets on my Panasonic system have failed one by one. Now
only 3 years after purchase I have to buy another complete set and start
over. I will NEVER buy another Panasonic phone. It's all very well having
the fancy functions, but not if you can't make or receive a call on it!
Trouble is, what to buy that's going to be reliable?

Any more reliable than some idiot British Google Groups user who
resurrecting a four year old thread? My Panasonic KX-TGA600S phones are
over seven years old, and still have the original batteries. They still
hold a good charge, and are used almost daily.

But the key point, since he resurrected a four year old thread, is whether
any of the phones that were discussed are still available. I thought a lot
of consumer items were basically one run things, when they run out a new
model is issued, if for no other reason than the parts that were in the
previous model may not be readily available. Functionally they stay the
same, but model numbers and innards may be different.
Michael

Had to paste above for some reason..

I still got a trusty analog well over predicted life. Same battery.
My unison phones randomly goes into privacy mode for 20 seconds, then I
say, I was off for 20 seconds. Hope the new phones, still in box, work.
They seem to change models often, and most of the phones, various brands,
are much the same.

Greg

wrote in message
...

On Tuesday, 1 September 2009 03:06:45 UTC+1, hr(bob) wrote:
I am considering buying some new cordless phones with the caller-ID
and answering features. Besides Consumerrrs Reports, does anyone here
have any experience repairing cordless phones, and which brand(s) do
they consider most reliable and/or repairable?

TIA,

Bob Hofmann

Well, I am surprised by the positive comments on Panasonic Dect phones.
Each of the 5 handsets on my Panasonic system have failed one by one. Now
only 3 years after purchase I have to buy another complete set and start
over. I will NEVER buy another Panasonic phone. It's all very well having
the fancy functions, but not if you can't make or receive a call on it!
Trouble is, what to buy that's going to be reliable?

Why don't your open up the battery compartment and check to see what kind of
batteries are in it. The panasonic phone I have has 2 AAA NiCD batteries
in. I found a battery store in town called them and replaced all 6
batteries in 3 phones for $12.00.

Shaun wrote:

Why don't your open up the battery compartment and check to see what kind of
batteries are in it.


NiMh.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

On Tue, 13 Aug 2013, Michael A. Terrell wrote:


Shaun wrote:

Why don't your open up the battery compartment and check to see what kind of
batteries are in it.


NiMh.

But I think the point was whether the phone uses a battery pack, or just
regular off the shelf AA cells.

The former, you either need to put togehter a replacement pack, or buy
one, which can be expensive. If the latter, jsut about any AA will work
so you have options if there is a problem.

There does seem to be a move to regular AA cells (though obviously in the
form of nimh), which certainly makes the phones more useful.

Michael

Michael Black wrote:

On Tue, 13 Aug 2013, Michael A. Terrell wrote:


Shaun wrote:

Why don't your open up the battery compartment and check to see what kind of
batteries are in it.


NiMh.

But I think the point was whether the phone uses a battery pack, or just
regular off the shelf AA cells.

The former, you either need to put togehter a replacement pack, or buy
one, which can be expensive. If the latter, just about any AA will work
so you have options if there is a problem.


if there is a problem, I can always use a different handset. I keep
the base and two phones in my bedroom. One on the computer desk, and the
other on a charger by my bed. The third phone is near the back door. I
paid nothing for these phones. They were given to me used, when a
relative decided to drop their landline. They sat in storage for a year
before they remembered to give me the box, with the NiMh batteries
installed.


There does seem to be a move to regular AA cells (though obviously in the
form of nimh), which certainly makes the phones more useful.


More useful? The phones I have are over seven years old, with the
original NiMh packs that are dirt cheap to replace.




--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


Michael Black wrote:

On Tue, 13 Aug 2013, Michael A. Terrell wrote:


Shaun wrote:

Why don't your open up the battery compartment and check to see what
kind of
batteries are in it.


NiMh.

But I think the point was whether the phone uses a battery pack, or just
regular off the shelf AA cells.

The former, you either need to put togehter a replacement pack, or buy
one, which can be expensive. If the latter, just about any AA will work
so you have options if there is a problem.


if there is a problem, I can always use a different handset. I keep
the base and two phones in my bedroom. One on the computer desk, and the
other on a charger by my bed. The third phone is near the back door. I
paid nothing for these phones. They were given to me used, when a
relative decided to drop their landline. They sat in storage for a year
before they remembered to give me the box, with the NiMh batteries
installed.


There does seem to be a move to regular AA cells (though obviously in the
form of nimh), which certainly makes the phones more useful.


More useful? The phones I have are over seven years old, with the
original NiMh packs that are dirt cheap to replace.


They are dirt cheap wonder boy IF you go to a dedicated battery store and
get the cells or have them make a new pack for you their. If you go to a
regular department store you'll pay an arm and a leg for the batteries. The
prices are so bad at regular store you might as well buy new phones!

Shaun


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

Shaun wrote:

They are dirt cheap wonder boy IF you go to a dedicated battery store and
get the cells or have them make a new pack for you their. If you go to a
regular department store you'll pay an arm and a leg for the batteries. The
prices are so bad at regular store you might as well buy new phones!


Who pays retail for batteries, if they repair electronics? The
Panasonic batteries were under $4 a set, the last time I looked into the
cost.

The Uniden phones I had on the other phone line died before their
batteries, and they were cheap Nicad packs that sell for under $3.

BTW, ar there 'Irregular department stores'?

Where do all of you knuckle dragging fools come from? I hope you
aren't the dumbass 'Shaun' I worked with in Cincinnati, in the mid
'80s. OTOH that's highly unlikely, since he should be dead of alcohol
poisioning by now.

What have you ever done in electronics, other than hang around
'Regular department stores'?


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


Shaun wrote:

They are dirt cheap wonder boy IF you go to a dedicated battery store and
get the cells or have them make a new pack for you their. If you go to a
regular department store you'll pay an arm and a leg for the batteries.
The
prices are so bad at regular store you might as well buy new phones!


Who pays retail for batteries, if they repair electronics? The
Panasonic batteries were under $4 a set, the last time I looked into the
cost.

The Uniden phones I had on the other phone line died before their
batteries, and they were cheap Nicad packs that sell for under $3.

BTW, ar there 'Irregular department stores'?

Where do all of you knuckle dragging fools come from? I hope you
aren't the dumbass 'Shaun' I worked with in Cincinnati, in the mid
'80s. OTOH that's highly unlikely, since he should be dead of alcohol
poisioning by now.

What have you ever done in electronics, other than hang around
'Regular department stores'?

I have Two College Diplomas, one In Electronic Technology and the other in
Biomedical Technology. I Certified as an Engineering Technologist in my
Country. I have an Advanced amateur Radio License just because.

I have worked in a Hospital for 15 years testing and repairing Medical
Electronics - it was a one Man shop.
I have worked at repairing industrial electronics and doing calibrations of
different types of meters for 4 years.
I have built a medium sized Tesla Coil that makes 4 to 5 foot sparks in all
directions.
I build my own computers and fix computers.

Shaun

--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

On 2013-08-17, Shaun wrote:
I build my own computers and fix computers.

Not that big a deal these days. Back in the late 1940s/early 1950s it
was indeed a big deal to build a computer:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...puter-age.html

http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/

--
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"Climate policy has almost nothing to do anymore with environmental
protection... the next world climate summit in Cancun is actually
an economy summit during which the distribution of the world's
resources will be negotiated." -- Ottmar Edenhofer, IPCC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shaun wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Shaun wrote:

They are dirt cheap wonder boy IF you go to a dedicated battery store and
get the cells or have them make a new pack for you their. If you go to a
regular department store you'll pay an arm and a leg for the batteries.
The
prices are so bad at regular store you might as well buy new phones!

Who pays retail for batteries, if they repair electronics? The
Panasonic batteries were under $4 a set, the last time I looked into the
cost.

The Uniden phones I had on the other phone line died before their
batteries, and they were cheap Nicad packs that sell for under $3.

BTW, ar there 'Irregular department stores'?

Where do all of you knuckle dragging fools come from? I hope you
aren't the dumbass 'Shaun' I worked with in Cincinnati, in the mid
'80s. OTOH that's highly unlikely, since he should be dead of alcohol
poisioning by now.

What have you ever done in electronics, other than hang around
'Regular department stores'?

I have Two College Diplomas, one In Electronic Technology and the other in
Biomedical Technology. I Certified as an Engineering Technologist in my
Country. I have an Advanced amateur Radio License just because.

I have worked in a Hospital for 15 years testing and repairing Medical
Electronics - it was a one Man shop.


Good for you. I started repairing electronics in 1965. Back when the
entire RCA replacement transistor line was germanium transistors, and
the cross reference was the size of a small movie poster, or a fold up
price chart for tube prices. At the end of my time in manufacturing, I
was hand soldering ICs with leads spaced .015" center to center under a
stereo microscope and doing a better job than the brand new Heller
reflow oven.


I have worked at repairing industrial electronics and doing calibrations of
different types of meters for 4 years.


Yawn, I built Telemetry equipment for the Aerospace industry for four
years. I also worked as an engineering tech, did failure analysis and
worked in the cal lab. Some of my design work went into orbit as part
of the ISS, and I was a broadcast at three TV stations from the early
'70s to the late '90s. I have a letter of commendation from the US Army
for work I did at a station in Alaska. I never bothered with a ham
license, since most of the hams I knew were lids. Too stupid to solder
a mic plug, or wire a straight key to a 1'4" plug. They would blow up
their rigs, and I would repair them.


I have built a medium sized Tesla Coil that makes 4 to 5 foot sparks in all
directions.


Built one bigger than that in 1969. Anyone who can read and chew gum
at the same time can wind the output coil for a Tesla coil.

I built a two meter repeater on 146.01/61 MHz for my school's ham
radio club. One of the TV stations I worked at was an empty building
before I laid out the equipment room, installed the transmitter and
processing racks. That was a 1952 model TTU-25B UHF TV transmitter on
Ch. 58 that was built by RCA. Parts were no longer available from RCA,
since they were out of the broadcast business. That only made the job
slightly harder, since there had been no new final tubes made for about
20 years, and no company had managed to rebuild one that could put out
anywhere near the rated power. Nice water cooled stainless steel jugs
with 7 KVDC across the coolant. Twin 1000A 1.5V filaments that had to
be balanced by stretching copper bussbars used as variable resistors.


I build my own computers and fix computers.


Anyone with a screwdriver & box of parts can assemble a computer. Let
me know when you design your own from scratch.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


Shaun wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Shaun wrote:

They are dirt cheap wonder boy IF you go to a dedicated battery store
and
get the cells or have them make a new pack for you their. If you go to
a
regular department store you'll pay an arm and a leg for the batteries.
The
prices are so bad at regular store you might as well buy new phones!

Who pays retail for batteries, if they repair electronics? The
Panasonic batteries were under $4 a set, the last time I looked into the
cost.

The Uniden phones I had on the other phone line died before their
batteries, and they were cheap Nicad packs that sell for under $3.

BTW, ar there 'Irregular department stores'?

Where do all of you knuckle dragging fools come from? I hope you
aren't the dumbass 'Shaun' I worked with in Cincinnati, in the mid
'80s. OTOH that's highly unlikely, since he should be dead of alcohol
poisioning by now.

What have you ever done in electronics, other than hang around
'Regular department stores'?

I have Two College Diplomas, one In Electronic Technology and the other in
Biomedical Technology. I Certified as an Engineering Technologist in my
Country. I have an Advanced amateur Radio License just because.

I have worked in a Hospital for 15 years testing and repairing Medical
Electronics - it was a one Man shop.


Good for you. I started repairing electronics in 1965. Back when the
entire RCA replacement transistor line was germanium transistors, and
the cross reference was the size of a small movie poster, or a fold up
price chart for tube prices. At the end of my time in manufacturing, I
was hand soldering ICs with leads spaced .015" center to center under a
stereo microscope and doing a better job than the brand new Heller
reflow oven.

My God..... you must be really old!! Germanium transistors... I've
replaced a few of those. I've never had to work with a microscope, I guess
you needed it to see your dick.

That reflow oven wasn't set up right or you werent using enough flux!. It
should look the same a skilled hand soldering.




I have worked at repairing industrial electronics and doing calibrations
of
different types of meters for 4 years.


Yawn, I built Telemetry equipment for the Aerospace industry for four
years. I also worked as an engineering tech, did failure analysis and
worked in the cal lab. Some of my design work went into orbit as part
of the ISS, and I was a broadcast at three TV stations from the early
'70s to the late '90s. I have a letter of commendation from the US Army
for work I did at a station in Alaska. I never bothered with a ham
license, since most of the hams I knew were lids. Too stupid to solder
a mic plug, or wire a straight key to a 1'4" plug. They would blow up
their rigs, and I would repair them.

I've built a repeater controller in College for my final project. It sent
out morse code ID, it had voice and you could change the way it operated
with a DTMF pad on a radio tuned to the I/P frequency. It was pretty fancy
for a college project.

I have built a medium sized Tesla Coil that makes 4 to 5 foot sparks in
all
directions.


Built one bigger than that in 1969. Anyone who can read and chew gum
at the same time can wind the output coil for a Tesla coil.

I doubt yours would have preformed that well. There is a LOT more to it
than that. There are a lot of calculations to determine the secondary
resonant frequency, primary frequency range, mutual inductance, coupling,
matching the step up transformer to the capacitor size so that you get the
most power output; stuff like that.
Otherwise it is hit or miss and you may tune the tesla coil to work on a
harmonic which results in lower power output and improper tuning.

My output coil is wound on 4.0 inch white PVC tubing, thin wall which is
ideal. I sanded in inside and outside, cleaned it with alcohol and let it
dry while blowing hot air threw it. Coated the inside and outside on the
PVC tube with 2 or 3 coats of polyurethane to seal it. I put the coated
tube in the freezer so it would shrink, then I wound the coil, no kinks, no
overlaps, no spaces between turns, about 1200 turns of 26 gauge magnet wire.
Then over the course of two weeks I coated it 12 times with polyurethane
while it was slowly turning and I'd sand away any air bubbles that I saw.
It worked very well.

Shaun


I built a two meter repeater on 146.01/61 MHz for my school's ham
radio club. One of the TV stations I worked at was an empty building
before I laid out the equipment room, installed the transmitter and
processing racks. That was a 1952 model TTU-25B UHF TV transmitter on
Ch. 58 that was built by RCA. Parts were no longer available from RCA,
since they were out of the broadcast business. That only made the job
slightly harder, since there had been no new final tubes made for about
20 years, and no company had managed to rebuild one that could put out
anywhere near the rated power. Nice water cooled stainless steel jugs
with 7 KVDC across the coolant. Twin 1000A 1.5V filaments that had to
be balanced by stretching copper bussbars used as variable resistors.


I build my own computers and fix computers.


Anyone with a screwdriver & box of parts can assemble a computer. Let
me know when you design your own from scratch.



--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

On 08/23/2013 05:33 PM, Shaun wrote:


"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message

I built a two meter repeater on 146.01/61 MHz for my school's ham
radio club. One of the TV stations I worked at was an empty building
before I laid out the equipment room, installed the transmitter and
processing racks. That was a 1952 model TTU-25B UHF TV transmitter on
Ch. 58 that was built by RCA. Parts were no longer available from RCA,
since they were out of the broadcast business. That only made the job
slightly harder, since there had been no new final tubes made for about
20 years, and no company had managed to rebuild one that could put out
anywhere near the rated power. Nice water cooled stainless steel jugs
with 7 KVDC across the coolant. Twin 1000A 1.5V filaments that had to
be balanced by stretching copper bussbars used as variable resistors.


Didn't Comark (division of Thomson Multimedia) service RCA customers
well into the 1990s? When I went to IOT school in 1995 they still sold
RCA renewal parts. Comark bought RCA (including the rights to Nipper).
Now they are both part of Thales, a French defense contractor.

dave wrote:

On 08/23/2013 05:33 PM, Shaun wrote:


"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message

I built a two meter repeater on 146.01/61 MHz for my school's ham
radio club. One of the TV stations I worked at was an empty building
before I laid out the equipment room, installed the transmitter and
processing racks. That was a 1952 model TTU-25B UHF TV transmitter on
Ch. 58 that was built by RCA. Parts were no longer available from RCA,
since they were out of the broadcast business. That only made the job
slightly harder, since there had been no new final tubes made for about
20 years, and no company had managed to rebuild one that could put out
anywhere near the rated power. Nice water cooled stainless steel jugs
with 7 KVDC across the coolant. Twin 1000A 1.5V filaments that had to
be balanced by stretching copper bussbars used as variable resistors.


Didn't Comark (division of Thomson Multimedia) service RCA customers
well into the 1990s? When I went to IOT school in 1995 they still sold
RCA renewal parts. Comark bought RCA (including the rights to Nipper).
Now they are both part of Thales, a French defense contractor.


They still sold some custom uncased silver mica caps that were used
as coupling capacitors for the 4CX250 drivers, but not much else. The
custom made final tubes were made by their transmitting tube division,
and when RCA shut it down, they destroyed all the design and assembly
information. One of the old RCA Transmitting Tube manuals had a
simplified schematic, and the data sheets for the 12.5 & 25 KW UHF water
cooled power tetrodes. The transmitters were considered obsolete and
EOL, so parts that were designed strictly for that model were NLA. That
custom Mica cap was used in some RCA FM transmitters that used the same
basic chassis as the aural stage of the TTU-1 and TTU-25 series TV
transmitters. Why keep making parts for a transmitter that was
considered too low power for new builds? The two final tubes were
designed for that one series of transmitters.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.