Wireless Telephone Range

[Nearly Retired (I am now)]

We're thinking of buying one of those wireless phone thingies that sit in a charger base station and can be used while wandering about the house and garden - I forget the precise name they go under. Anyway, the range is supposed to be around 300 metres max. and the one I have in England is fine all over the house and garden. Our Charente house has 2ft+ thick stone walls and I wonder if the signal will get through those. Before we go out and buy one (two?) Anybody got any experience please?

[alnmike]

If you put the base station in your roof, you should still get 100m plus reception. If you have it in a corner on your ground floor, it will be restricted and may be intermittant reception.

[Ecossais]

The wireless phone thingies go by the name of DECT (or digital) cordless phones.

 

The 300 metres range (from the base unit to the handset) quoted by manufacturers is the maximum distance in ideal conditions – ie, line of sight.

 

As Alnmike says, you can maximise the operating range by placing the base unit upstairs and in the centre of the house – so long as you have an upstairs and a telephone and power socket there!  Thick walls will tend to reduce the maximum distance the phone will work from the base unit.

 

Note, if you buy a twin pack (or triple pack) of cordless phones, you only need to plug the main base unit into a telephone socket.  The additional handsets come with a smaller base which you plug into the mains to recharge the phone’s battery.

 

 

[Nearly Retired (I am now)]

Thanks for the replies. My particular interest was use in the house where the signal might need to go through a couple of thick walls, but only a straigt line distance of say 8-10m. Sounds like it might be OK.

 

Yes we have an upstairs - a big mezzanine and that's where the base station will probably go.

[Opel Fruit<P><BR>Opel Fruit, Dept. 53<P>]

Neither of our mainstream DECT phones work more than 10ft from the house. Wherever the base station is sited. Likewise, radio is hit and miss, and mobiles work occasionally.... 

DECT really only works if you want a cordless phone within the house, or if your house is NOT mainly constructed from stone. 

[Richard-R]

Our's works fine in our stone house but works even better outside. We get about 25m radius from the base station. I think a lot of it comes down to brand and price. Buy cheap, get cheap.

[Opel Fruit<P><BR>Opel Fruit, Dept. 53<P>]

Mainstream = branded thank you. I don't do CHEAP.