myerston@cts.sri.com (08/18/90)
This old dog again.....
FACTS: 1. In the US cordless telephone are assigned (by the FCC) a
portion of the RF spectrum on a shared, non-interference
basis only.
2. Power output is likewise severely restricted.
3. Given the above, performance is typically poor
particularly in a high-RF environment such as a modern
office.
OPINION: 1. The "range" listed (typically 700 or 1000 feet) is
very optimistic. In the presence of flourescent light
PCs etc it is more like 100 feet.
2. The only legal way of improving range is higher gain
antennas. Valor makes a large whip plus ground plane
arrangement with an alligator clip at the end of the
coax to connect to base antenna. We installed one
in a hallway and outside the building. Performance
improvement was nil.
3. None of this is likely to improve until new
technologies such as Spread Spectrum and the like
are implemented as in CT2 and PCN trials