Hey:
I've got a need for a gadget, and I'm thinking that there's got to be something like it available somewhere, but I can't find it. I work in a semi-office type environment, and we have one desk phone for the department. It works for most needs -- people go to the phone to make or answer a call -- but there are times when we've got a tech support call for a piece of equipment, and we'd like to be in front of that machine and on the phone at the same time. But the one-desk-phone-for-everybody thing majorly hampers that.
So what I'm looking for is a way to extend the phone that doesn't involve 100 feet of phone cable strung through the office or spending several hundred dollars on a wireless multi-line phone unit. Is there something that will create a wireless audio link between a phone base and the handset, basically replacing the curly 4-conductor cable? It seems like it'd be a simple enough thing to send two channels of audio through the air, but search as I may, I'm coming up empty. Anybody seen such a thing?
I can't believe I'd be the only one wanting something like this. Or is there an easier solution to my problem?
Assuming it's a standard analog phone, I'd just go out and buy a set of cordless phones that work off of one base. Put the base and one phone at the main desk, then give everyone (or certain other people) the additional handsets.
you're NOT the only one who wants that knid of device...
thats why in 1980 the first commercially available cordless phones were produced... of course these didnt function too well and operated on a 27 MHz bandwidth, which did not offer too much distance, and was succeptible to interference....
then in 1986 the FCC stepped in and changed the cordless phone range to 47-49MHz... which was an improvement, but still not too great..
Then in 1990 cordless phones were made that operated in the 900MHz spectrum (basically, the higher up the spectrum, the more range your cordless phone will have)
Of course, in 1990 a 900MHz cordless phone cost almost $400.00. OUCH!!
This was great, but because the range was so great on these new 900MHz cordless phones, sometimes you would pick up parts of your neighbors phone calls.... so, round about 1995 Digital Spread Spectrum (DSS) technology was introduced into the cordless phone market.. DSS technology functions essentially like low level encryption on the data (voice) packets being sent inbetween the handset and the base. This is good technology, and is still available.
In 1998 the cordless phone industry got a boost again when the 2.4GHz spectrum was opened up for use. Great call clarity [now indistinguishable, or sometimes even better than a hardwired phone] further increased range, and less likelyhood for interference!!!
Amazing how quicky technology advances.
I'd say a simple solution would be to go to your nearest store (be it best buy, or circuit city or whatever) and pick up a $50-$100 dollar cordless phone and a phone "splitter" plug the spliter into the phone line and attach the hardwired phone you have now, then put the cordless phone / base next to it.
problem solved, less than $100.00 (WAY less in fact if you catch a good sale)
Then you can continue using the phone as is, and when you need to be in front of equipment, tell your other party to "hang on" for a second, pick up the cordless, hang up the wired phone, and walk to where you need to be. Remember to hang up when your finished with your call.
/Bill
[quote=evilrobot]
Good thought there, Bill; thanks. That may work for us. The only problem I foresee with that is the desk phone being picked up when the cordless is in use, as the cordless unit would at times be used in a different room. So it'd just be a matter of coordinating use.
Still, with the prevalence of wireless audio technology, you'd think it'd be a simple matter to make a set of transceivers that plug into the base and handset so the existing equipment could be kept in use. I guess providing power to the handset would be the biggest obstacle, but not an insurmountable one.
One thing that I had found was a cordless headset that includes a little gadget that will lift the handset off the cradle when the headset is in use. Those things tend to start at $100 plus though. Hmmm.