From: clemon@lemsys.UUCP (Craig Lemon VE3XCL)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Cordless phones
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:01:24 EDT
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Organization: Private UUCP "Twig" Node
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In article <65397@cup.portal.com>, David J Bell writes:

> Eric Benson (eb@Lucid.com) asked:
> 
> >I'm looking for recommendations on cordless phones.  Basically,
> >everyone I know who owns a cordless phone hates it.  The sound quality
> >is terrible.  Is this just something one lives with?  I've noticed a
> >few recent models in the stores claiming to work in the 900 Mhz band.
> >Are these really better than the 49 Mhz models?  They are a lot more

> I was hesitant to try the 900 MHz phones, also, but my wife ordered
> one (Tropez) through a catalog (Macy's now carries the same one).
> There is ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON WITH THOSE GARBAGE 49 MHz PHONES!
> There is NO buzz, virtually NO hiss, and the damned thing works
> PERFECTLY two blocks away in a crowded suburban area. The usual
> 49 MHz units MIGHT work two ROOMS away. They definately did NOT work
> 50-75 feet away at the pool, for any practical extent. The new
> 900 MHz (digital, supposedly, and that would explain a lot) phones
> are more expensive, but, IMHO, well worth the difference.

        Well, I've heard that the 900MHz spread-spectrum phones have great
rangem, security and S/N ratio BUT poor audio quality (ie. voice fidelity)
and volume (too quiet).  This is only what I've HEARD however.  If you
would like a good Cordless phone, about a year ago I was putting all sorts
of different brands through the tests (at home and cottage) side-by-side
making all sorts of comparisons.  I had great faith in the Sanyo
Super-Compander II (some long-time netters may remember this :-) but also
gave Panasonic a shot.  The Sanyo has FULL sized antennas whereas the
Pansonic models have antennae half as long as the Sanyo (and every other
brand).  Being a ham radio operator and generic radio hobbyist, I figured
that this would be the downfall of the Panasonic.  What I discovered is
that with both phone on the same level (the bases) the Sanyo went further
but suffered more from noise.  Of the 10-channels I couldn't find a
completely quiet channel and even right beside the base I could always hear
a fair amount of hiss if I was talking in bed or something.  I also found
that I could go fairly far with it before losing contact but as I walked
away from the house, the signal got poor very quickly, held at poor for
about 7 houses and then dropped out.  Throughout the house there were
always bad cells all over the place as well.

        With the Panasonic I noticed that beside the base and whatnot, I
could hear NO noise but I could only get 1/3 to 1/2 as far as with the
Sanyo.  I also found that the Panasonic could cover my house WITH NO BAD
CELLS WHATSOEVER.  I also did a "collision" test and purposely set both
phones to use a channel that my next-door neighbor was talking on.  The
Panasonic won out on this one.  The Sanyo may have had more "power" but the
Panasonic didn't suffer from heterodyning and seemed to utilize a
"capture-ratio" concept where either you had full control of your line, or
you heard the neighbour talking.  NO ANNOYING MURPH-MURMAL IN THE
BACKGROUND OF YOUR CONVERSATION.  I was having a hard time trying to decide
which phone to keep because I was tossed between the extended range of the
Sanyo (suffering from noise problems) and the shorter observed range of the
Panasonic.  When I elevated the base of the Panasonic so that the TOP of
the antennas were the same height, I walked right past the line where the
Sanyo dropped out still with a nearly fully quieted signal on the
Panasonic.  That's when I packed the Sanyo up to return to the store :-).

        I have the Panasonic KX-T3720 (with intercom, no speakerphone or
base dial) and would recommend this series of 10-channel phones to anyone
considering that it is only a 49-MHz phone.  It also has AMAZING battery
life.  I actually get the specified 7 days between charges!

--
 Craig Lemon VE3XCL (Advanced) - Kitchener, Ontario. Amiga B2000  OS 2.04
 +1 519 741 0297    +1 519 578 7817              | 1A Electrical Engineering
 clemon@lemsys.UUCP clemon%lemsys@xenitec.on.ca  |  University of Waterloo
 IP/Packet: ve3xcl@ve3xcl.ampr.org [44.135.84.51]|        Fall 1992