From: badmal@tekig1.PEN.TEK.COM (Badri Malynur)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Cordless phone summary
Date: 17 Nov 92 02:40:20 GMT
Reply-To: badmal@tekig1.pen.tek.com
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.

Friends,
I had posted a query for a summary of issues related
to cordless phones working in India last week. A couple
of days earlier I had posted a summary of two responses.
However after that I received a summary posted earlier
in sci long back. Since I requested LOTS of requests
to summarize I am reposting this summary. My apologies
for using net bandwidth and for not replying to each one
individually.
Thanks 
Badri
P.S. My thanks to Venkata Kodali for providing
me this summary.
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Here is some information which I saved from sci long ago.
You might find this useful.

*****************************************************************
I had takem a cordless machine with a range of some 5 miles !!
I declared the phone and showed the instrument at Customs in Bombay
and they did not object to it. The Bombay phone dept, MTNL, requires that
they check the phone and return it. But for a small "fee" that is also
waived.
In any case, if they want to create problem they may do so even if the
operating frequencies and/or ranges are very small.
The one I took works very well. The only problem you might have is
disturbances due to noise.
I bought the adaptor here in Austin, at Radio Shack
if I remember right. You might also buy a small wire
from the input jack of phone machine to the
box installed in your house. This will save you from
opening the phone instruent

2.
To be honest buying a
cordless telephone is not a wise proposition.  Despite the fact that
many
assurances have been given as to functioning of the phone, one finds
it a
wasted effort when it does not work.  First you have the problem with
customs.
Even if you walk thru the green channel the first question asked is whether
you
are carying a fax or cordless phone.  Second the problem with
frequency.Incase
you decide to buy,  try to buy the small pocket panasonic cordless phone.
It
did work for me with a transfomer. I was lucky to get away at the customs
but
not my friend who travelled with me on the same flight.  My dad told
me that he
has some problems on and off-  but no major problem (after all "phoren mall
hai").

3.
I took a Panasonic cordless phone with me when I went to India.Its something
like the range of the telephone should not be more
than x yards/miles/....  I don't remember how much this x is, but
I do know that its a rather large # and most phones would not have
that range. However, unlike here, cordless phones require a licence
in India (i.e. if you choose to tell the authorities !).  There is
an annual licence fee of something like Rs.300.
Your best bet would be to take a
220 V  phone to India. These are available in most big cities here.

As for the phone not working even with a transformer,  its a fact
that the transformers convert only the V and not the Hz.  But, as faras I
know, this would affect only appliances which use a motor. A phone
(unless it has an answering m/c) does not have one. So, I would presume
that it would work in India.
the price difference between 110 V phones and the 220 V phones sold in
Indian stores is
hardly any.  In fact, the Panasonic which I bought cost $70, which was
less than all the models of 110V ones I had seen.
>Is it worth it buying a
>110 V phone and a transformer as opposed to buying a 220 V phone
>directly?

In my opinion, No.  If you happen to buy the 220V one from an Indian
store, bargain.  The Indian shopkeepers here are no different from
the ones in India !


By the way, if someone tells you that cordless phones are lousy for
India as even with a regular phone, the line is usually screwed up
beyond comprehension, don't believe them.  The sound quality of the
one I took turned out to be better than our regular phone

One more thing : When you buy the phone (whether 110 or 220), also
buy a telephone jack which will be available in Indian stores. This
is required for making the connections as we don't have the snap-in
type of jack in India.

One last thing : I shouldn't generalize, but my apt.-mate bought an
AT&T cordless and was terribly disappointed with it. It is lousy.

4.
I recently took a cordless phone to India, bought it athe regular store. I
took a Cobra cordless as it was cheap at that time. I bought a Ac/Dc
battery eliminator for about Rs 50 and everything worked fine. Be sure to
take a converter from the US system to the Indian system for the telephone
connector. The US system uses a rectangular connector whereas the indian
system uses a 2-wire system. You should get this in any store like
Leichmere.
If you get hold of a Telephone mechanic, he should be able to connect your
phone using that connector. This prevents the splicing of the cable on your
instrument. Its probably cheaper to buy a 110v phone than a 220v phone
from an Indian store.
Your posting on Cordless phones.

I just wanted to caution you, that since most
cordless phones work on a rechargeable battery,
their life varies from 1 yr to 2 or even 3 yrs only.
This was the experience of one of my friends.

Make sure, either :
(1)  that the rechargeable battery pak of the phone is
     available in India. these batteries are usually
     not the standard rechargeable cells that we see
     in stores and are often model/manufacturer specific.

(2)  carry two/three battery replacements from here.


It might be worthwhile shopping for cordless phones which
accept standard rechargeable batteries like AA, C, or D sizes,

5.
1) I bought a cordless phone (Sanyo) in April last and took it to India
   with me in May. I needed a converter for 220-110 for it but it is
still
   working fine.
2) You may want to do the above but another possibility is that since these
   phones work on DC you can get a normal adaptor in India that will
convert
   the   220 ac to the required (9V) dc.
3) I bought my phone at Service Merchandise and it was reasonably cheap but
   I may suggest checking out the mail order ones too.
4) Another interesting thing I noticed was that almost all the phines that
are
   available here are also available there. You might find it easier
to just
   buy it there. Just a suggestion.
5) As for customs, I did not declare it but I guess there would be no
problem
   if   you are not carrying anything else. Talking about customs, when I
went
   in the   summer, the customs were not checing all the bags by xrays but
this
   winter
   I noticed that they were scanning the bags with xrays.
6) As for buying it from Indian stores, I don't recommend it as they
would be
   more expensive and also, knowing Indians and being one myself, I
wouldn'ttrust it. Just kidding !!!

6.
>  *  What REQUIREMENTS does it need to work in India.

   You should check whether it has TONE and PULSE dialing. It may be
   helpful if it has battery backup for memory nos.(Considering the
   power failures in india). It may be worth while to check if you can
   use the phone without power atleast from the base( My phone doesnot
   have this feature, hence when Power is down, my phone will also be
down!)
   I remember to have read that cordless phone above 100feet range is
illegal in India.( I AM NOT SURE!, I myself have a Panasonic
   XT-3900 whose range is 1000 feet.) If you get more info. on this
   matter please mail me.

>  *  Should I PURCHASE it necessarily from Indian stores or could we
   Not necessary. Before you buy it, check whether a compatible
   recommended apadater for 220V is available in Indian stores.

7.
1) You can take any cordless phone you want, not necessarily from an Indian
store. They all (presumably !) work in India. I had taken a Cobra brand
phone
with a speakerphone, and it cost me around $90 then. The price , however ,
depends on the company, the features offered (e.g. speakerphone, answering
m/c , intercom etc..) and range from $40 to $300 (maybe even more).

2) The connection is like any other phone. You may take an adaptor which
isused in the US to connect phone lines, and can connect the lines to the
P&T line there.

3) All cordless phones need powewr to run , so be sure to choose one
that
has a socket for external power connection (some have just a cord to
be
connected to 110v mains - avoid this) . You will be required to buy a proper
220v AC to DC (whatever the phone requires - 6v , 9v ..) eliminator in
India.
It is easily available in INdia and works well with these phones (at
least
mine is still working !)

4) All phones have a rechargeable battery unit in the HANDSET of the
phone.
This , generally, is sealed inside the handset and when it runs out of life
(yes, rechargeable battries also have a life !) , the unit has to be
returned to the manufacturer for replacement of the batteries. If you can
find
one that has DETATCHABLE rechargeable batteries, that would be best .
(hoping
that you can get rechargeable batteries in India too, thereafter ..!)

5) Since it is an electronic item, customs would require you to declare it
and stamp a duty on it too. But , if you are lucky, as i was, you may get
away without declaring it. I think, being a wireless equipment , a cordless
phone in India requires a proper license from P&T too, after proper
verification of the range etc..

6) TONE dialing does NOT work in India. So be sure that the phone also has
PULSE dialing.7) Good brands to look for - SONY , COBRA , PENTEL, GTE, AT&T,
PANASONIC,..
   not in any order of preference .

8.
I've successfully installed in India several phones that were bought
here.
The phones, and the telephone lines here will have 4 wires (red, green,
black and yellow). In India, there are only two wires, red and black.You
connect red to red and black to green. Things should now work
perfectly. I have also tried conference calling (with a two-line phone)
andthat also works. Cordless phones also work but you'll have to buy a
transformer (220V to 6V, usually) in India.
I should add this info to my other article about 110v-220v...

<2>
Phones bought over here work fine in India. The trick is getting the
wiring right, and that is not particularly difficult. What you have to
do is go to a shop like Radio Shack, or almost any department store,
K-Mart will do. Buy a wall adaptor for a RIJ-44 (or whatever the plugis
called). This wall adaptor is the thing that you plug your phone
into the wall with.

Take this adaptor to India. It has 4 wires, the Indian phone system
uses 2 wires (Actually, so does the US phone system. The four wires
you see can be used to let two phone lines into your house.) You haveto
figure out which of the two wires in the Indian system work with
your phone. From what I recall, they are either the outer two or the
inner two, and polarity is important. But, experiment, and when you
hear a dial tone on your phone, you are all set. Don't worry about
blowing the phone, that hasn't happended to the three phones I have
installed back home. I think that they are protected against incorrect
polarity.

It is important, however, to take a PULSE phone. Tone phones will notwork in
India. Of course, phones that are switchable between pulse and
tone will work okay.

Phones typically get their power off the phone lines, and all LEDs,
memory etc has worked fine for me in the past. I would recommend,
however, that if you are taking a memory phone, take one that
acceptsbatteries (of the kind that are available in India), because when
thephone goes dead, as will happen, you will loose the memory.

<3>
    I have a little experience in the matter since I bought a
20-memory tone-pulse switchable phone and installed it in
my home in '86. You would need a conversion box/module for converting from
modular jack to the Indian system (this is
very much like what was prevalent in this country earlier, and
can be bought at stores like Radio Shack for a few dollars). Also,
pulse will work, but not tone. Memory, etc. work, and the LED's
on this phone light up too.

<4>
If you cut the wire coonnected to RJ11 jack, you have 4 wires.
Black , yellow ( one pair )  & red and green ( another pair)
Use red and green to black box ending at your house in bombay
or any other place in India. It gets connected.

Warning all phones availbale here are not permitted to connect.
Pl check with local authorities and connect.

9.
My parents had taken a Panasonic cordless phone back a couple
of years ago.
They had gone through the customs at Bombay.
I do not know if they had to pay customs duty, but they were
carrying two or three other items which were also subject to
rather heavy customs duty.
To the best of my knowledge they have not had any trouble with their
telephone.  However I know of a couple of others whose phones
aren't working too well. In both instances, the non-replaceable
rechargeable (NiCad) battery in the handset has stopped charging
efficiently.
They live in Bombay, and have been unable to find anyone capable of
repairing the phones.
If you take a phone along with you, then you are probably better offbuying a
slightly more expensive, but a more reliable brand. (Both their
phones were purchased around the same time, and in both instances
the brand was "Uniden")
Good luck with the customs!
Ashok

***

I took the cordless phone to india in '87 via B'bay customs... if i remember
correctly i paid Rs. 1500 approx.  and Yep! it works great!!:-)

Chandra

***


As far as I know cordless phones are illegal in India because there is no
frequency band available for citizens. Hence walky-talkys are illegal too.
The custom will confiscate it, if it finds out.
However I do know somebody who took it and it works fine. So you may
want
to find out what are the real rules.

--Madhuri Jarwala

***

       I have taken down two cordless phones over the past two years
and
experienced no problems at customs.  The cost of the phones were about $80
and I passed thru the green channel on both occasions.

   The first phone was a Panasonic.  It had a DC jack for power input and I
could easily get a battery eliminator in India for it.  It was
installedeasily and the only problem with it was the rechargeable battery
dying.

   The second phone was a Northwestern Bell.  I had to buy a 220V to
110V
transformer for it since it only had an AC line in.  The phone used to warm
up a bit because of the frequency difference.  I installed this phone
myself.
It was real easy.  The battery on this died in about a year and a half.

   I would suggest taking down a spare battery.  You can get them in
India, but
they may not be the exact one recommended by the manufacturer and they cost
about 3-4 times the cost here.

10.
*The permitted frequency for a cordless telephone instrument
         in India (ie the transmitter & receiver frequncy) is
         about 1650 KHz as per the P&T Dept. catalog.The exact
         specifications can be got from the initial pages of any
         Telephone directory in India.

        *If U are going to buy an instrument with an answering m/c
         or with a built in charger for the handset batteries,
         make sure that U buy an instrument with dual voltage(110/220)
         In this case it would be adsvisable to buy one from an Indian
         store as they are sure to have one working on 220V.

        *When U go to India U will have to get the instrument checked &
         approved by the local P&T officer.This requires a nominal fee
         but will legalise Ur use of the instrument.

        *The most commonly used instruments in India are Panasonic,
         Cobra,Sanyo.
I took 2 AT&T 5500 series CORDLESS phones to India. I went via Bombaythrough
PAN AM. I was ready to declare the phones if they did ask
if I carried any. But all they were interested were items like computers
and VCR's. I went through the XRAY machine via the green channel,
no questions asked. The phones also work very well in India. I also had
a 110V to 12V adapter attached to the base unit. I cut that adapter
off and connected a 220V to 12V adapter and it works just fine.

1)  Phones with ONLY DC input socket are available , and I recommend
those
 only, as I had said earlier. You may find it difficult to find a 220v/110v
 adaptor in India, but 220v to any DC value are easily available, and even
the
 plug connections match well ( the round pin plug that usually comes
with
 AC/DC adaptors).
2) I am not aware of any model wherein the base doesn't require power.
 I think the power supply to the base is essential for recharging the
handset
 which derives power from the base when placed on it. Batteries in the  base
 would not (probably) be able to charge another pair of batteries in
the
 handset. Moreover, the base requires power to maintain 'wireless' contact
 with the handset ( so it cannot be absolutely powerless ). Also,
 if the phone has a speakerphone, a power supply would be essential because
 of amplification needs.

11.
 I took a Panasonic speaker phone to India 2 months ago. You'll need an
adaptor/jack to be able to connect it to the phone lines at your place. You
can get them at any of the supermarkets in the same section where they keep
the phones. One end of the adaptor would have a socket where the small plug-
like thing from the speaker phone would fit in and the other end (oe) would
 have
4 wires - red, green, yellow and black. The indian phone socket (ips) has
only 2 wires - red and green (or black - I've forgotten which). Anyway,
connect
the red of oe to the red of ips and the black of oe to the green of ips (or
else the green of oe to the black of ips - basically connect green with
black)
and ignore the remaining two wires of the oe (don't forget to cover their
open
ends with insulating tape). This was not a cordless phone and the quality of
sound was good - much better than our earlier Indian phone. However it
appeared
that when you spoke with the receiver down (i.e. in speaker mode), the other
party could not hear you very clearly unless you spoke close to the mic.
This
could be partially due to the fact that unlike in the US, our doors/windows
in
India are all open and there's a lot of ambient noise :-) present at
any given
time (more so in my case since we live at a busy part of B'bay with a lot
of noise from traffic etc). Multiple connections on the same line are legal
but one has to pay some fees for that. One is not supposed to use any kind
of telephone equipment that is not supplied by the local telephone nigam
which makes all the telephones taken into India illegal unless they are
officially registered (there is a heavy fee to be paid for using outside
equipment) but I guess everyone uses them anyway... :-).
I have no idea about cordless phones. They are definitely legal but there is
some range restriction etc. plus the usual additional charges to be paid for
using equipment not made by the Indian Telephones.


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Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian