SKASS@drew.bitnet (No gas will be sold to anyone in a glass container.) (03/20/90)
In TELECOM Digest #186, Brad Isley <bgi@salestech.com> writes: > This is no news to me. My wife works for Southern Bell. They had a > "special" offer for employees several years back for som phones made > by "Bell". She bought a cordless phone through this offer for a huge > discount. Later we discovered why the discount was so large. The > batteries would typically last about 10 minutes. Nice touch (brand > new). At most any time, though it only happened when we were asleep, > it would emit an ear-piercing squeal that would wake us up from the > other side of the house. I don't know what model you have, but it's a Southwestern Bell Freedom phone. I purchased one recently, and it had the same two problems you describe, but they were easy to remedy. The problem with the battery is typical of Ni-Cad rechargeables. You have to discharge it completely (leave the phone ON and set on TALK, with the base unit disconnected, for a day or so), then recharge it completely (again for a day or so, now with the base unit plugged in). The squeal was a bit harder to figure out. Of the four switches on the remote unit, one is OFF/ON and another is STANDBY/TALK. To use the phone, you must turn it ON, then set it to TALK. The other way round doesn't work. Conversely, when you end a conversation, you have to set it to STANDBY, then turn it OFF if you want (the remote won't ring if it's OFF). If you do it the wrong way, just shutting the phone OFF while leaving it on TALK, the base unit squeals at odd intervals (it happened while I was awake, fortunately). Maybe someone with a bit of technical knowledge can tell us why. I'm happy mine (model 1725), though the speaker phone in the base unit is pretty lousy, and programming numbers into the phone is awkward to do, and you can't program a # into a number, making it impossible to have a single button to retrieve my voice mail at work. I chose it over AT&T's model because the base unit is wall mountable. It's widely available on sale for about $149. In addition, SW Bell has a toll-free number for information about the phone. I called for a manual and got one within a few days. I expect my old 2500 set to outlast the Freedom Phone, but I don't regret the purchase. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Steve Kass "An amount in this box means :: :: Department of Math & Computer Science the fishing boat operator :: :: Drew University considers you self-employed." :: :: Madison, NJ 07940 /\/ -IRS Form 1099 :: :: ::::::::::::::::: :: skass@drew.bitnet 201-408-3614 (work, voice mail) :: :: skass@drew.edu 201-514-1187 (home) :::::::::::::: :: rutgers!njin!drew!skass :::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
PMW1@psuvm.psu.edu (Peter Weiss) (03/21/90)
As with all phones that depend on household electrical power, this should _not_ be your one and only phone available to you in an emergency. Interestingly enough, some vendors of these phones put this kind of warning in their instructions, and some do not. Peter M. Weiss | (this line intentionally left blank) 31 Shields Bldg (the AIS people) | advertize here, reach Mega populi University Park, PA USA 16802 | Disclaimer :1 * applies herein