Riding Mower vs Portable Phone

NoTrespassing · Apr 24, 2005

My wife was mowing the other day when the UNIDEN portable phone she had clipped to her pants fell off and was run over by the mower. The blade actually hit the phone and she didn't realize the phone was missing until she got done mowing. She retraced her path back along the woods where she had been and found the phone. They only apparent damage was a broken belt clip and the phone was working fine.

That was 2 days ago and tonight when I put the phone on the charger the indicator light didn't come on. Upon closer inspection I realized that the mower blade had actually hit the charging bar on the bottom of the phone and pushed it up into the case. I couldn't believe the thing was still working. I took the case apart and while I was trying to bend the charging bar back in to position it broke off. I bent the bar back to its original shape with visegrips and pliers and then soldered it back in place. I replaced the cover and put it on the charger. The phone is working like new. Believe it or not. What a testamate to these UNIDEN phones. The also have the longest range I've ever seen for a standard portable and I've never had one go dead on me yet.

Kevin

PS no I'm not a Uniden rep. LOL

slowrev · Apr 25, 2005

Is it a 900 mhz or a gigahz phone ?
I have had better ranges with the 900 mhz phones.
electronics today are pretty tough. We have hardwood floors and I hear my wife drop our remotes and cordless phone on them almost daily.

Ben

thegreatrandini · Apr 25, 2005

The uninden phone I bought quit working the day the warranty ran out. I don't buy uninden any more. Oh you could talk on it but u could not dial a 7!!!! So u could call anyone who did not have a 7 or who had called you and was still on caller id..... The att cordless we bought was junk also but it did last longer. Not near as comfy or nice as the uninden. The battery needed replaced early and the caller id quit working. My Mrs. just picked up a new set of phones at sam's Saturday. I don't know the brand but it aint uniden or at and t.. What ticks me off is each time we get new phones we get the new answer machine that comes with it. This not only increases the expense but you have relearn the new machine. I have a $10.00 bell cordless 900 mhz that has lasted for years in the bed room!!!! Go figure.......

Highbeam · Apr 25, 2005

They are probably all made in the same sweatshop /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

NoTrespassing · Apr 25, 2005

These are the "2.4ghz digital spread spectrum" type.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question326.htm

Longest range - Due to higher transmitter power (1 watt) allowed by the FCC, you can expect seven to eight times the range of an earlier .001-watt cordless 43-49 MHz telephone, and about three or four times the range of an analog or digital 900-MHz cordless telephone. The 900-MHz phones all have a better range due to the wavelengths being shorter -- shorter waves are easier to bounce off objects. However, only the DSS versions of the 900-MHz cordless telephones can use the full 1 watt of transmitting power. The normal digital and analog versions of the 900-MHz phones have a lower power limitation.

Best sound quality - Since the spread spectrum signal is uniformly spread over a wide range of frequencies for transmission, the signal avoids interference and noise from other signals. Older 43-49 MHz cordless phones had only 25 crowded channels and were very susceptible to interference. And 900-MHz analog phones still suffer from the interference problems of any analog cordless telephone, and can be heard on inexpensive radio scanners or your neighbor's same-brand cordless telephone. A spread spectrum phone is much less susceptible to signal fading. This makes the reception of a spread spectrum cordless phone much less sensitive to the location and orientation of the handset than that of a conventional lower-power analog cordless telephone.

Highest security - Due to digital transmissions and constantly changing frequency channels in use, only the matching receiver has a copy of the pre-assigned spreading code. Millions of scrambling codes are available and are selected automatically when the headset is lifted from the cradle. Common radio scanners cannot hear a DSS cordless telephone conversation.

I realize this addresses 900mhz rather than 2.4 ghz. Other sites that I have read say that 900mhz would have a longer range but I'm getting about 1000ft. with these 2.4ghz.

Maybe some of the electronics experts on here can comment further.

Kevin

thegreatrandini · Apr 26, 2005

Wow now I can build that space craft! All these phones that broke are the 2.4ghz type. I am electronic retarded!!!

Dargo · Apr 26, 2005

A current issue now is that most all WiFi network systems also use the 2.4 range. My wireless networking would not work under any setting until I replaced all of my 2.4 phones with the new 5.8 phones. I even had 2 different local computer companies come out to try before dumping all my 2.4 phones. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif That stinks, because I also liked my 2.4 phones.

However, I really had several issues with the 2.4 range. First, my baby monitors played havoc, then it was the microwave, then it was the WiFi! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Hopefully everything doesn't start using the 5.8 range!!