Need Advice for Phone Purchase - 2 Story House

[rmwlaw]

Not sure if this is the correct forum, but....

We have purchased VOIPO for telephone service, and have a 2-story house with pre-poured concrete flooring between the 2 stories of the house. Consequently, I cannot run ethernet cable from where router is on teh second floor of the house to another location down on the first floor.

Can anyone share their experience with multiphone systems for home usage. Has to have HIGH WAF! Would like to use at least 4 phones and be able to all listen in to same telephone call if possible. Have looked at systems available at OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples, etc., but none of the boxes reflect that you can hook up to a voip system, nor that you can have more than 2 units in on one telephone call.

Thanks for guidance, and as stated above, not sure if this is appropriate forum, but if not, sorry in advance.

Richard

[MisterEd]

The phones (hardware) don't care what kind of system they are hooked to ... be it voip or pots.

[rmwlaw]

MisterEd:

That's great news!

So, based on this, any suggestions for multi-unit telephone that more than 2 (preferably up to 4) users can simultaneously be on the same telephone call?

Richard

[usa2k]

This is exactly the forum to post in. :)

As long as your old phone house wiring is disconnected at the NID where PSTN could attach, you should be able to connect the ATA to any phone jack and use the phones like you did with PSTN. If there is power from the old phone company on the line it could damage the ATA.

Personally, I prefer wireless phones. If I were buying new wireless phones I would look at DECT 6.0 phones. That may not work well with the cement construction.

[rmwlaw]

usa2k had stated: "As long as your old phone house wiring is disconnected at the NID where PSTN could attach, you should be able to connect the ATA to any phone jack and use the phones like you did with PSTN. If there is power from the old phone company on the line it could damage the ATA."

I am not sure how to accomplish the disconnection of the wiring, nor as to whether that would be (a) possible, and (b) beneficial. Could you elaborate either here in this thread or via PM? How do I connect the Adapter to the phone jack so that I can use other jacks throughout house for other phones?

Based upon my lack of knowledge as to how to accomplish the preceding, I was thinking wireless, and the phones that I saw at the various office supply stores were DECT 6.0 type. I was curious if anyone had any experience with any of the readily available sets (AT&T, Gigaset, etc.) and knew of any that allowed multiple handsets to participate in the same telephone call.

I suspect that if the wiring issue is simple, that this would be the best solution. I would be able to just use existing telephones with existing telephone jacks.

Richard

[usa2k]

One quick thing (I'm heading out)

Some phones with answering machine (Like Uniden) don't have the Visual Message Waiting Light feature. (It only works if a message is on the built-in answering machine) I know Uniden without answering machine work for Visual MWI. Both types will have a stutter tone when picked up and a message is waiting.

I will find a great link to the answer about Nid later, or someone will beat me to it!

[rmwlaw]

One quick thing (I'm heading out)

Some phones with answering machine (Like Uniden) don't have the Visual Message Waiting Light feature. (It only works if a message is on the built-in answering machine) I know Uniden without answering machine work for Visual MWI. Both types will have a stutter tone when picked up and a message is waiting.

I will find a great link to the answer about Nid later, or someone will beat me to it!

Thank you for information and willingness to get back to me on the technical info on Nid.

[burris]

I have 6 Uniden Satellite Dect 6 phones wirelessly hooked up to the base. Have no problem with reception anywhere even with 2-3 people on the call.
Also on my phone system, I can utilize the answer machine from any phone as if I were at the base station.
For me this is handy, as I don't use VOIPo VM, but use the VM in the base.

[usa2k]

Thank you for information and willingness to get back to me on the technical info on Nid.

Got back a while ago from my CompTIA Network+ exam.
(A successful test of course)
I am now CompTIA A+ certified and CompTIA Network+ certified.
I have a bunch more to take as I am prepared.



This link is pretty good: http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/20/how-to-wiring-voip-to-your-phone-jacks/

DSLReports has many forums including the VoIP Chat Forum (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip). I have been a DSLR member since 2003. Its free with basic membership, or $10 lifetime. You can post anonymously too, but sometimes people are more helpful if you join. The VoIP forum and search utility can find plenty of related subjects like: wiring whole house Voip using DSL? (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24180413-wiring-whole-house-Voip-using-DSL)

With VoIP there is a whole gamut of easy to technical things to play with. I hope to experiment with a $25 PBX soon! (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24479163-Other-Get-your-own-FreeSwitch-on-a-Seagate-DockStar-for-2499) :)

[rmwlaw]

I have looked at the links you had provided, and although I can see that there are a myriad of threads to tear through, there is 1 very important factor that you need to know. My internet connection is cable based (Broadband from Comcast), not telephone (DSL from AT&T).

Is this still possible since I am using cable for internet, and not DSL from AT&T?

Thanks for guidance.

[VOIPoTim]

I'd recommend a cordless phone with the extra handsets.

Using your phone jacks/house wiring is possible, but it's risky unless you know exactly what you're doing with it. If there is ANY current at all from the phone company running through the lines, it will fry the VOIPo adapter.

We see a lot of customers connect the adapters to the wiring thinking that since they don't have service with the local phone company that there would not be anything running through it and then contact us when their VOIPo adapter stops working.

Even if you don't have DSL or service from the phone company, there is likely current still going through it. In a lot of areas they have to do that so that if it's connected, 911 calls will go through even if you don't subscribe to their service and it's also how they can turn service on so quickly (pre-wired so they just do it in the central office).

If you do decide to go the wiring route, the key is that the phone company's connection outside is completely removed so there's no chance of anything going through it.

[usa2k]

Tim's words of caution are good advice.

If the connection to the house is removed (No need at all for it with cable) there is still a slim chance a phone tech may try and reconnect it. Most people suggest tagging the box with a warning.

A modern NID usually has RJ-11 connectors that simply unplug like you would unplug a phone.

Its amazing that ATAs of 2010 do not have protection, but they reportedly don't. Going wireless provides complete isolation. Even lightning would have to take out the modem and perhaps the router before damaging the phone system.

[MisterEd]

I just have my base unit of my RCA multi-handset 2-line DECT 6 phone plugged directly into my ATA since it is about 3' from it and the "extensions" are placed where needed. Didn't have to deal with any house wiring which is the purpose of a cordless phone. :)

The RCA has a nice bright blue flashing message waiting light on the top of a little "antenna-like" stub.

When I had Vonage & Comcast I did the house wiring thing because my ATA was in the garage. With Fios I moved everything inside and within easy reach.

[usa2k]

FWIW, this is the defacto guide I was looking for.

http://michigantelephone.workbench.net/

[usa2k]

If I had money to burn
http://www.snom.com/uploads/docu/data_snom_m9_en.pdf
http://www.snom.com/en/products/sip-dect-phones/snom-m9-sip-dect-ip-phone/automatic-roaming/
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24490808-snom-M9-cordless-IP-DECT-phone-now-being-released

[MacGyverLabs]

Hey Richard,
I'm a VoIPo reseller and user, and during a recent promo I offered a special on a two-line VTech unit that tested really well... and I've been getting great reviews from customers.

You can find details on the unit here (http://www.vtechphones.com/vtechui/store/dsp_product.cfm?itemID=4185&parent=18), but here's a brief summary...


Supports two lines, so you can have a POTS & VoIPo line, or two VoIPo lines
Uses DECT 6.0 wireless technology, so it likely won't interfere with network wireless-G or wireless-N - something I'm finding to be a common complaint with customers and their older 2.4GHz units
Expands up to 12 handsets off of a single base... should be enough for even the largest house
Base & Handsets have speakerphone options for hands-free use
Base & handsets have an answering machine AND a network VM indicator (important!), so you can tell when you have VM waiting on the VoIPo system (some other brands/models only have an indicator for the in-base answering machine - won't help if you're using VoIPo VM)
Should handle your requirement for multiple handsets to listen in to a single line - I believe up to 8 handsets can be on the same line at one time (I faintly recall this from the manual)
IMHO, a decent price for a two-line cordless unit - my promo included 3 handsets (total) and a base for less than $125 - extra handsets around $27/ea.
Of course... no special house wiring required! :-)


Of course, I cannot promise it will suit all of your needs, but it uses the latest wireless technology so you should get great range with no interference. So far I've heard positive comments from all customers, and no returns... So, for now anyway, I'm a fan... ;)

Hope that helps!
-M

[TimW]

I like my Panasonic system that allows me to connect via bluetooth to my cell phone. So I can now use a single phone to connect wherever and however I want.

[timreichhart]

if you know how to wire up your ATA to your pots you would be good to go.

[eagle 1]

The AT&T Dect sets work great. I have a 4 line set that works great...Even works out into the back yard. Plug the base into the ATA and you can skip the house wiring completely,

[rmwlaw]

eagle1:

Thank you for sharing your experience regarding usage of AT&T's DECT 6.0 systems. Would you please elaborate as to how many handsets you can have active on the same telephone call?

What my family is looking for is a system that allows at least 3 if not 4 handsets on the same call. Myself, my wife and our 2 kids. This would allow all of us to be on the phone when speaking to my family, my wive's family or just some family friends.

Do the AT&T DECT 6.0 systems now allow more than 2 handsets on the same call?

[burris]

I don't know the part of the country you live in, but I would try to find a Target, Costco, Walmart or store that allows returns for any reason whatsoever....buy the phone system...hook it up and see how it works in your situation.

Short of that, you will be getting alot of suggestions that may not be applicable for you. Not much different than trying out a VOIP service to see if it works as you expect.

[Russell]

Burris's suggestion is excellent.

Admittedly my experience is limited, but all the multi-phone systems I've used have let all handsets join in.