Cordless Phone

Cordless Phone-s often fail to work in NYC apartments with thick heavy walls.

• and don't get me started on the Baby Monitor market

The 5.8G Hz Uniden I just bought won't even work 1 room away.

I'm hoping that a digital technology will improve things.

• you have to be careful, because some phones have "digital" in the name, but they're talking about the answering machine feature, not the phone radio.

Some different digital technologies are Spread Spectrum (DSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) and Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS).

• It sounds like FHSS will interfere with DSS. And that having multiple FHSS sources is a bad idea. And that multiple DSSS sources is a bad idea.

• This (and this ) makes it sound like FHSS is simply better than DSS.

Jan'2006 - bought the Panasonic KX-TG5431 (5.8G Hz/FHSS) - seems great, good sound quality throughout the apartment. Cost $90 and included an answering machine, so I could give away my old one and free up some counter space. (Product Review)

Feb'2007 - Wired Mag reviews some 5.8G Hz phones. They demand multi-handset support (which might become necessary if I switch over to VoIP and dump my POTS service). They don't discuss DSS vs FHSS, etc. They like the ATAndT phone.

Oct'2012: have been using a Uni Den Power Max 5.8G Hz 4-handset set. But handsets are starting to flake out, so time for a new buy.

• Consumer Reports
  • Panasonic KX-TG6512
  • Uniden D1660-2 - but owners complain
  • Panasonic KX-TG4773B
• C Net says the industry shifts almost exclusively to DECT 6.0 technology, we are only reviewing DECT 6.0 models. DECT 6.0 phones operate in the 1.9 G Hz range and are designed not to interfere with other electronics in your home, such as microwaves, Wi-Fi networks, and baby monitors.