EnGenius Freestyl1 Long Range Cordless Phone

Forums › VoIP › EnGenius Freestyl1 Long Range Cordless Phone - Very quiet

nicmair

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Master Geek
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#226075 19-Dec-2017 12:39

Not strictly a VoIP issue but could find any where else to put it....

Hi, we have a EnGenius Freestyle1 Long range cordless phone connected to a Panasonic TAS 824 Pabx, which for the most part works very well, the range of the phone is incredible and covers our factory area easily. The issue is that the volume on the handset is so quiet that you can barely hear the caller, and in a factory setting (not an overly nosily factory) this isn't workable. We have (of course) adjusted every volume setting we can find, but nothing really increases it.

Is there anything we can do to increase the volume? Could the pabx be a contributing factor?

Any suggestion appreciated.

Cheers

speed

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#1921863 19-Dec-2017 12:58

That's a nice 900Mhz handset - up to 500mW peak from the base and 400mW from the handset. It's a shame it's so expensive and it's PoTS not VoIP!

To diagnose your issue with low volume it sounds like you need to do some simple trial-and-error swapping out of the hardware items to find in which device the fault lies.

For example if you have multiple extensions on your PBX and none of the others are quiet then try swapping the cordless base onto another extension port so as to determine that the port on the PBX is OK. Then if that's OK and you have multiple handsets on your base, does it affect all handsets or only the one? If it affects all handsets, or if you only have one then (and if the PBX port seems ok) then you might have to stump up for another base or handset - or find a dealer willing to lend you one ort the other - so that you can swap one of them out to determine which is at fault.

speed

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#1921874 19-Dec-2017 13:09

Ps, if I mis-read your description and you actually think the phone is operating normally but it's specs are just too low for your environment and you're wondering if it's possible to amplify the volume level on the line before it gets to the phone then it might be a bit more difficult...

There are plenty of HANDSET amplifiers for landline phones available, eg:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CLARITY-TELECOM-HA40-TELEPHONE-HANDSET-AMPLIFIER-1001GA-/282550804878

But these devices go between the landline phone and it's handset, not between the phone and the line. So they can't be used between the cordless' base and the PBX.

If that's what you need then I think you might be up for a bit of DIY electronics I'm afraid (but very happy for others to put be right here if I'm wrong). It would be relatively simple to design but I can't find anything 'off the shelf' for the job. Probably because for them to be used on genuine Chorus lines they'd have to be Telepermitted... (Chorus-e-permitted now?).

sbiddle

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#1921907 19-Dec-2017 13:40

Could me way off the mark but are both the PABX and the phone telepermitted? It could be something as simple as a impedance mismatch.

chevrolux

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#1921914 19-Dec-2017 13:45

Yep dam good phones those Engenius. Not sure if there is a real simple solution to this though.

I would definitely see if you can get an air compressor on to it and blow out around the ear piece - had a whole lot of issues recently in workshops where metal filings were gather around the magnet on the ear piece of Yealink cordless'. Pretty sure those Engenius have some level of IP rating though so probably not an issue.

I can highly recommend the Motorola 0211 long-range kit. Far far cheaper than engenius, good supply (from the NZ Undien importers), IP67 rating. Really dam good phones. Just can't really say for sure how loud the ear piece would be in your environment.