I am currently in the process of scouting out a new phone system that support multiple handsets at the moment. Once I have that all taken care of I shall make my decision as to which VOIP company to go with. Most likely Vonage...

I saw a nice Uniden phone system that came with two handsets out of the box which was really nice. But the thing I hate about Uniden phones is the call transfer between handsets. I want to be able to utilize both phones at the same time, rather than having to worry about transferring the call. I consider that an annoyance.

Would anyone be able recommend a phone system that is just like the Uniden Cordless Phone Bundle (TRU8865-2) but without the call transfer between handset crap? :confused:

Thanks! :)
-SlickVic78

The Panasonic setup that War found is EXACTLY the set up to get; I have 3 additional handsets on that base, for a total of 4 and it works PERFECTLY;
SlickVic, the Uniden stuff SUX!!! Avoid it at all costs;
And yes, you MUST use 5.8 GHZ to avoid interference with your wireless network...

Hello Direct is a bit expensive; I got mine at Circuit City, which had the best price at the time, but check Froogle and Best Buy to see who has the best prices...

if the Panasonic is too expensive for you, there are a couple of Vtec 5.8GHZ units that are ok, but their sound quality is only fair, and the features and sound on the Panasonic unit just BLOW EVERYTHING else away...
I use the panasonic setup with Vonage for my business at home, and the features and sound quality are just the best.....If you want the best, get the Panasonic stuff..

Hey wase4711,

Thanks for the tip. Does that Panasonic Model allow more than 1 handset to be in use at the same time. Meaning that if my brother and I need to talk to the same person that is on the phone, can we do so using both handsets, or do I have to call transfer it to his handset from mine? I cannot stress enough how I hate that! :mad:

Thanks, :)
-SlickVic78

Yes, everyone of the handsets can "conference in" at the same time...Obviously though, with only 1 phone number, only one person can make a unique outgoing call at a time...although, I have the 1 line plus 1 fax line package, and we often make outgoing calls on the fax line when the "voice line" is being used....

This is an interesting bit of information that might be useful for my family and I sometime down the road. Thanks wase4711! :thumbsup:

yeah, KC, you are going to need ALL the phone lines you can as the kids grow up!!

Hey wase4711,

That is good to hear. I went to a few stores today to price out a phone system... I would say 3/4 of the shelves in every store were 2.4 GHz which all came with a second handset as a bundle. The few 5.8 GHz phones that they had of course did not come with a bundle and were rather expensive! :(

I guess I'll be pricing out phones online this evening...

I decided to cross out the the Uniden from the list of phones I wanted.

The 3 phone brands I am looking into now are Panasonic, Vtech, Motorola. I used to have an older Panasonic model which was great, but the battery life was horrible on the phone.:confused:

-SlickVic78

yeah, they are trying to dump all that 2.4 stuff, since 5.8 is the way to go now...
Try Sams Club or Costco for 5.8 "bundle pack"; they usually have Vtec, Uniden, and sometimes Panasonic..Ebay is worth a look for new in the box stuff also..

And, that Motorola stuff is junk too; its not made by them, they just put their name on some cheapo junk phones, and sell them cheap; very skimpy on features, and the sound is tinny...
If you can afford it, get the Panasonic; if you want to save a few $$$, then get the Vtec....Trust me on this one, as I have had almost every make of cordless phone made, and have learned from my mistakes!!

Hey wase4711,

Well then my list has now been updated... Either Panasonic or Vtech. Good looking out. I totally appreciate your help with steering away from the bad brands! It's been a while since I went phone shopping :) (as you can obviously see).

I'll keep you update with what I find. I have seen a few Vtech phones that seemed pretty cool, but did not have as many features that the Panasonic does. I may just take the plunge and get the Panasonic. Let's see what happens...

-SlickVic78

Wow think I made my mind up then. That panasonic model it is unless some one posts another that is equal or better and around the same price.

Thanks a ton for the info.

Take Care,
Will

Well best buy is same price:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....7&type=product

But you get a $30 main in rebate. :)

Well I want to make sure I understand all of this correctly.

So all I need is the phone system above and three more phones right and my router and order VIP with the adapater and thats it?

Anything special I have to do. Do you just connect the adapater to the phone base which connect to my router or what.

Thats what I want to make sure I am clear on.

See the thing is the internet is in my room so I guess thats were the base has to be? I'm sure 5.8ghz will work anywhere in my house even if it is up stairs? I hope so.

Also you can check voice mail using any phone right? What about from a regular phone or cell phone?

Well there is ONE uniden phone that I REALLY WANT! its cool take a look

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Unide...oductDetail.do

but I do have to save money so I was wondering about this one
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/VTech...oductDetail.do

Thanks everyone
~PCT

Hey PCTech,

That is the exact Uniden Phone I was looking into, but decided to only look for Panasonic, or VTech phones.

Did you try looking for the VTech phone over at Epinions? Here is the link:
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Vtech_IP5825_Cordless_Phone/display_~reviews

2 reviews - 5 stars out of 5.

[EDIT] - Well, I ordered the phone. This is the one I picked out:
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11251&catalogId= 11005&itemId=70267&catGroupId=20952&modelNo=KX-TG5212M&surfModel=KX-TG5212M . I got it for $130.00 with shipping (MSRP: $179.95).

What do you think of this one wase4711?

-SlickVic78

Kids Sleeping? The Antenna Will Signal You Silently!
This year, we've found a way to shorten the handset antenna while still maintaining the long range that Panasonic customers have become accustomed to. But what's even cooler is that the tip of the antenna - which lights up red - will alert you to an incoming call (or a message waiting for you1). So turn off the ringer, let the kids sleep, and never miss a call.

Wow thats cool. :)

@PC Tech; avoid Uniden 5.8 phones; they sound lousy, and have a very cheap "feel" to them; Vtec or panasonic, is the way to go with 5.8 cordless;
@SlickVic; that is the same setup I have, except I have the one with the dial pad and speaker phone built into the base...You will love the phone, and you can add 2 more for a total of 4 handsets..
@War; lets see, yes, all you need is the Vonage "appliance", and that plugs into an empty hole on your router; you can buy them at Best buy/Circuit City and get a $60.00 rebate from vonage..then you plug your phone system into the appliance...thats about all there is to the install!
Yes, the base has to be near the router and appliance, unless you have super long cords for the Vonnage appliance and the base station of the phone! But, of course the handsets can be as far away as you want them to be; 5.8 ghz has a very long range, so you can talk outside easily with them.
Yes, you can check voice mail from any cell phone or outside phone. they will give you a local number to call to access your voice mail from outside your house; to check from inside your house, on the Vonnage line, you just dial *123, and follow the prompts.. BTW, you can set it up to send you an email every time you get a voice mail message, and it includes a .WAV file attachment of the actual voice mail!!

Alright I got my vonage package today and the sound quality is superb! now the sound that my dad said he heard was a little softer than a normal phone, but I am useing an OLD cordless phone! so, I'm off to buy a new phone, as discussed here, I am going to buy a vtech phone, I might buy a uniden with the keypad on the base, it just looks cool and dont cost as much as the panasonic! :)

I'll let ya'll know what comes up and what I deciede later..

~PCT

Sweet.

Empty hole though?

What do you mean?

PCI slot, usb, what? kinda lost me there.

Thats cool about the e-mail, will for sure do that. Since most of the messages are from work and pain in the a$$ to check it as it is now.

Hey Will,

I think he meant open port in the back of the router... ;)

-SlickVic78

yes, Will, I meant open port on the router..sorry about that...

oh OK cool

You think another 254 available wireless connections and 7 more wired is good enough. lol

alright, just got the final on the vonage phone# switch, took maybe 2 weeks, not the 20 days below is the time line... just to let everyone know, it doesn't take long! well not for me atleast

January 30, 2005 Awaiting Letter of Authorization
February 1, 2005 Letter of Authorization (LOA) Received
February 1, 2005 Transfer Sent to Carrier
February 9, 2005 Carrier Approved Transf

transfer date: February 10, 2005

not to bad!

~PCT

Don't forget to setup the 911 feature in your control panel. If I remember correctly you have to manually set it up and it takes about 2 weeks or so before they email you to confirm that it's active.

They do ask that you not test it out, even though you know I want to. :p

Well I am still running into problems with gay ass Bell South. :(

Became a Vonage customer this afternoon!
 

Hello All~

Just received my recent MCI bill... Ended up placing the order with Vonage about 10 minutes ago, and already sent out the LOA to port over my existing number. Hopefully everything will go as smooth as PCTech's transfer.

I want to thank all of you for your very helpful input on VOIP services. The info I received here from my B1 family was sure the main reason I went through with this.

:cheers: This round is on me! :)

-SlickVic78

make mine a double...

Well here is an update:

I received my Linksys router yesterday and hooked it up. I had to make some configuration changes since I already had a router, and I just wanted to use the Linksys for the phone, so I wanted the Linksys to work off of the Netgear router. After that was configured, things worked beautifully. I am just waiting for MCI to port the number over.

Right now I have a temporary phone hooked up to Vonage, and my primary phone hooked up the MCI... Once the number porting is complete, I'll go ahead and make the switch, since I think it is pointless to give out the virtual number (it will only be used for a few more days).

It is just so cool not having a phone plugged into a wall jack and when you pick up the phone - there's a dial-tone. So cool! :cool:

-SlickVic78

what's even cooler is how much less your phone bills soon will be!!

its cool, refer a friend and you get free service!

~pct

God I hate BellSouth. Nothing but bs!! I should be switch within anothe two weeks hopfully. :(

Well War, this trouble switching will make you feel better about the switch. :p

Hey Will,

Hang in there. Just like KC said - this should definitely be something to look forward to and make you feel that much better once you switch!

I am currently waiting for the number to port over. I hope I get notice soon. I am only using it temporarily until MCI goes bye-bye... So far, it has been really good.

So hang in there!

-SlickVic78

The Ol' Update! :)
 

Hello All~

Just wanted to give an update. My number finally ported over a month after I sent in the LOA.

I flipped out because I received my very last full bill from MCI (my old carrier) and it was close to $70.00! So I called Vonage on March 11th (took no time to get them on the phone - it actually took more time going through the menu options then to get someone on the phone), and asked them to check the status of the transfer. By the 14th (a Monday), I get notice that a tentative date was set for the 16th. As you can see, March 15 they approved the transfer, and everything was smooth sailing midnight of March 17th. They were not kidding in the email saying that my land line would disconnect promptly at midnight... As soon as the clock struck midnight, I picked up my land line and it was completely dead! So I am now fully on Vonage! No problems at all! Everything is working great! :)

I have to thank you all again for your help in deciding to move onto Vonage! This Texas lawsuit is not concerning me and my decision at all since I was sent a billions notices from Vonage to set up 911 calling within my account - in which I did. So all is well, and I am a happy camper. :beer:

Oh and by the way - I got a call from my old carrier, MCI. They wanted me back, and gave me the yadda yadda yadda - it's a great deal to come back. Whoa! - 5 cents a minute, get to keep Caller ID and Call Waiting - all this for a whopping $29.99. Oh and they forgot to mention to add TAXES to that which would bring the bill close to $40.00 if not more! I told them no thank you and that I am very happy with my choice of switching to a new carrier... a MUCH BETTER carrier! :lol:

-SlickVic78

Yes this lawsuit seems dumb. One of the big problems with our legal system is that the judges are so behind in the world of TECH any lawyer can snowball them with tech info and they don't what's true or not. Once again people fail to follow directions or common sence and then feel the company is to blame. Examples, McDonald's and hot coffee, gun manufactures when some knob shoots himself in the foot and I'm sure others can think of many more.

As for Vonage, still a happy customer both in service and the pocketbook. Gives me more money to spend on gas these days. ;)

speaking of gas, any cheap gas around for under $1.99 or so a gallon? :( I am a very happy customer with vonage as well, happy I made the switch! :)

:D:D:D:D


Well after 12 Invoices from Vonage and 360 days of service with quite a bit of International calling my avgerage monthly bill after Taxes for the last Year and I started when it was $34.99 per month, has Been $25.50 per month (with credits, Although no referal credits ) so from around $50.00 per month for POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) from Qwest not including International or National Long Distance from A Terminally TelePhony Customer No Service Company (AT&T) So I am quite Pleased I wish that there was only a way to Download calls made/recived even to a Comma Delimmited format would be nice feature.

:p I can usally produce more than a galllon of cheap gas for less than $1.99
Via my local Taco Bell,:lol: but for my vehicles, I am looking a around $2.28 per gallon, so don't feel to bad. Propane is not much better here it is running about the same per gallon.

found an interesting article at vonage.com.....no need to buy wireless phones now! :) unless you really want one! :)

http://www.vonage.com/help_knowledge...hp?article=649

this article lets you know that phone lines are wired in parallel, so when you plug the adapter directly into the wall outlet, it will transfer the signal to all other wall outlets!! BUT BEWARE...YOU MUST DISCONNECT the outside wiring of the home, so it wont blow up your inside equipment if your old phone company sends a signal down the line or something, it tells you what to do and stuff, READ the article! :) I thought that was cool, and will be doing it tonight! :)

~PCT

Hey PCTech,

I did see this in the help section over on Vonage's website... This method will support up to around 4 or 5 phones max - which should be more than enough phones in one home. This method won't work on those living in apartment buildings though...

But still, it is so much easier to get a phone that supports multiple headsets these days.

-SlickVic78

Yes, I also know how to wire up Vonage using the regular phone wiring in the house. We only need two phones and I love wireless so the two handset wireless phones I have work just right.

Someone might find the link useful, thanks! :cool:

Well guess we are going with stupid RR. My mom who is getting it not me so...shes does not trust Vonage for some reason...all that bs for nothing...and god i hate BS though...

but nice new feature.... ;)