Wi-Fi and WDECT

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ajobbins

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Topic # 1994 6-Aug-2004 15:36

I am looking at setting up a 802.11b/g network at home to link my laptop into the domain. I have a couple of Wideband DECT cordless phones which operate at 2.4Ghz and I am concerned that the Wi-Fi cards and the phones may interfere. Is this so? If so is there anything I can do?

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BDFL - Memuneh
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Reply # 7580 6-Aug-2004 16:01

It may happen. I was with a friend for a week (in the US) and we had a Dell wi-fi AP, three laptops with wi-fi (one of them with Bluetooth) and my Pocket PC. As soon as a call was answered on the DECT phone the whole network would stop, until the end of the call.

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ajobbins

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Reply # 7585 6-Aug-2004 19:08

Hmmm, that could be a problem seeing as we use the phone ALOT.

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Sooner Al

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Reply # 7592 6-Aug-2004 23:42

You can try configuring the 802.11b network so it transmits on channels 1,6 or 11. Some phones also allow you to change the transmit channel on the base station. Another thing to try is to use a 5.8 Ghz phone system or a 900 Mhz phone system, I presume those phones are available in NZ. Be aware that some 5.8 Mhz phone systems also use the 2.4 Ghz band.

Moving the phone base station(s) as far from the 802.11 gear as possible is also a good strategy.

Ultimately though, you more than likely will have some interference.

ajobbins

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Reply # 7596 7-Aug-2004 12:43

Thnaks, I will try configuring the AP to those channels. My WDECT phones dont let me change the transmit channel but seeing as I just paid a couple of hundred bucks for them i'm gonna hold onto them.

Thanks

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Reply # 7628 8-Aug-2004 23:42

A couple days after this thread started a dicussion with the same topics showed up on Slashdot. The conclusion is no much different than the one here, but with some bad noise in the middle of discussion.

For example, the first reply was to use a 900MHz cordless phone, and someone commented that the discussion was about cordless not mobile - and of course a third one pointed that there are 900MHz cordless phones.

In summary, even /. has its share of people that think they know it all but are really outside the loop...

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Haribolman

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Reply # 7721 14-Aug-2004 21:36

Hello adamj,

What brand WDECT phones do you have? Are they the new Uniden 2355's?

If so, how did you go? Have you set up your network yet?

ajobbins

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Reply # 7729 15-Aug-2004 12:49

Hi Haribolman,

The phones are Uniden WDECT 2300's, just the basic model in the range. No I havent set up my network yet as I hevent decided if I am going to connect in an access point or if I will just try putting an 802.11g card in my domain controller (I don't know if/how well this would work)

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Haribolman

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Reply # 7730 15-Aug-2004 13:33

Thanks for your reply adamj.

I know this is a bit off topic, but seeing as I've been unable to find any reviews of this new Uniden phone what are your impressions? Specifically, how good is the range (I'm currently using a Panasonic 2.4GHz phone that is claimed to have a range of 1km, but I've never got close to that), what is the clarity like, and how good is the handset speakerphone? Because you've got the base model, can they still be used as stand-alone walkie talkie's? And if so, how well do they work? Finally, how intuitive is the phone's menu system.

Thanks in advance.

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Reply # 7732 15-Aug-2004 18:09

It's not a bad phone for $119, I do wish I had paid the extra $20 to get the same model but with the backlit screen and keypad tho. The range is not anywhere near as good as I expected, I get to my neighbours house (about 30m straight line distance, but with about 5 walls in the way and a computer) and it starts to get sketchy (just kinda mutes out intermittedly...hard to explain) but when I get a couple of houses down (maybe 50-60m) I get "Out of range" on my screen. It does have a feature that gives me 30 seconds (I think its 30) to get back in range without dropping my call, which is a bonus especially if your on a capped international call or some such. Clarity seems good but sometimes it echos quite badly for a few seconds and then returns to normal. which is a tad annoying, to say the least. The speaker phone is wonderful, its a good volume and is very clear. I haven't used it much as I am not a big fan of speakerphones but from what I have used of it I am very impresed. This model only allows 2 handsets to be registered to the one base station but yes they can be used as stand alone walkie talkies and they work fine. You can also transfer calls to the other handset as well as copying the alpha phonebook between handsets if you desire, which saves alot of time if your putting the same numbers in both phones. I have no complaints about the menus, being a full alpha screen it is very easy to navigate, and the phone has polyphonic ringtones which I think are pretty cool. Overall I am quite pleased with it, we had traditional analogue cordless phones in the house but one of my computers always interefered with them for some reason that I could not seem to fix, and these digital models have solved that problem nicely, I just hope I will be ok when the 802.11 goes in.

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Haribolman

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Reply # 7734 15-Aug-2004 22:22

Thank you adamj for that excellent review.

The WDECT's lack of range deosn't surprise me. My girlfriend's standard DECT phone has a very disappointing range. Barely makes it out of the house! Although Uniden claim a 600 metre range for WDECT in optimal conditions, I guess the reality is much different. Just like my supposed "1km" Panasonic! I might just upgrade to the Uniden DSS 2.4GHz instead.

The best range I've ever experienced was from my old analogue Panasonic flip phone (loved 'em so much I had 3 of 'em!) Talking to my mum on it one day, I walked out of my house to the end of my street, up the hill, over the hill and down the other side and I nearly made it all the way to her place before the phone cut out. It was a good 500 - 700 metres with trees and a hill in the road! Those were the days!

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Reply # 7752 16-Aug-2004 16:16

They sure don't make 'em like they used to. My old analogue phone had similar range to the WDECT

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Haribolman

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Reply # 7761 16-Aug-2004 19:03

Now you've confused me adamj.

When you say that your old analogue's range was similar to the WDECT, are you saying that it's range was bad or good? Because I thought the range of your WDECT wasn't very good, and you've agreed with my comments on the range of analogue phones (i.e. that they are good!), so how could your analogue have a similar range to the WDECT unless your analogue had a short range. I'm confused!

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Reply # 7786 17-Aug-2004 15:56

What I was saying was that WDECT seemed to offer no advantage in my case over Analogue. I think range on both types of phone is bad.

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Haribolman

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Reply # 7898 22-Aug-2004 22:07

Hello adamj,

I've now got the Uniden WDECT 2355 + 2 cordless system connected along with my wireless adsl network (running 5 devices wireless and two more hardwired) and it's good news all round. Absolutely no interference at all! So I can definitely recommend this setup!

If you do have any interference problems, you could either change the wireless channel or deregister and then reregister the cordless handset (you can do it on my model) and apparently it resets the cordless "code" (which I believe means it changes it to another channel).

I am very impressed with the new Uniden. It suits my application almost perfectly. I'll admit it doesn't have the build quality of my Panasonic, but it is feature rich, and beautifuully compact! (But probably too small for big hands) I'm actually getting great range from it...almost as far as my 2.4GHz Panasonic! And great clarity too!

Good: 1) Groovy orange backlighting....very bright (bordering on TOO bright!)
2) Handset heandsfree...works brilliantly!
3) Global setup...allowing instant transfer of the phonebook from one handset to another
4) Can turn a handset ringer off, yet still reach it via intercom.
5) Directlink mode is fun and could have practical applications.
6) Call screening of incoming messages from any handset or from the base.
7) Do not disturb feature.
8) Pleasantly surprising range and clarity. (I was fearing the worst!)
9) Every handset has a beltclip (easily removable) and a headset jack (comes with what must be the ugliest, bulkiest headset I've seen in the last few lifetimes!)

Bad: 1) Whilst dedicated keys for phonebook, speaker phone, caller id, intercom, etc are essential, the phone's features could possibly be better found using a joystick navigator (like the Panasonic). Uniden's approach doesn't feel as intuitive to me.
2) Why is there one button to "Talk" and another to "End"? I know this is how mobile phones are setup (and the Uniden is small enough to be mistaken for one!) but I've never seen another cordless phone that uses two buttons to do what one usually does! Again, it's not intuitive for the average user.
3) Backlighting swithces off very quickly after use (10 seconds)

Any other negative points would probably be things of minor personal preference.

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Reply # 8646 18-Sep-2004 00:27

I came to this forum after purchasing the WDEC 2355 + 1 and having reception problems. I initially thought it was due to my wireless network, so I turned everything off and there was no difference. After trying the suggestion to re-register the handsets with the base, the problem went away... even works very well with all my wireless gear turned back on..

Thanks for the advice.. and if anyone else is having the problem.. read the manual and re-register the handset as if you were installing a new base.. it's all in the manual.

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