[Asterisk-Users] multiline, cordless, expandable phone system and asterisk message waiting

[Jay Milk]

Consider what I've done -- I picked up three separate 5.8GHz
single-handset phones and run them as individual extensions.  Multi-line
isn't that interesting in this context, as I can always use distinctive
ring or my cid_rewrite utility to identify which incoming line I'm
dealing with.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Harondel J. Sibble [mailto:help at pdscc.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 1:35 PM
> To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
> Subject: [Asterisk-Users] multiline, cordless,expandable 
> phone system and asterisk message waiting
> 
> 
> Basically, pretty much all the 2 line cordless systems I've 
> seen come with a 
> built in digital answering system that I'll never use, the 
> main problem with 
> this is that these units don't support VMWI (visual message waiting  
> indicator) with telco supplied voicemail.  This is a problem 
> because I'll be 
> setup an Asterisk system in the next month or so to handle my 
> 2 analog and 1 
> voip phone lines and I want to be able to know by looking at 
> the phones that 
> there are messages waiting rather than having to check 
> manually each time. 
> 
> In ideal world, I'll link this all together with Mister House 
> and X10 for the 
> 
> connected home of my dreams :-)  I just saw "The Stepford 
> Wives" with Nicole 
> Kidman and I was drooling at the home automation stuff...
> 
> I've been on the lookout for a 2 line, multihandset, 
> cordless, expandable 
> system for a few years now. I already have a couple corded 2 
> line phone sets, 
> one of which will be replaced by whatever system I get.
> 
> I've tried a few, most recently, the AT&T E2562
> 
> http://snipurl.com/dkqc
> 
> Which is pretty much perfect except for 2 things
> 
> 1) The base station/corded phone is not wall mountable (not critical)
> 2) The unit doesn't have WMWI (visual message waiting 
> indicator) for Telco 
> provided voicemail, the VMWI only works with the units 
> onboard answering 
> system. :-(
> 
> I've looked at some Vtech systems, most are pretty nice, work 
> well (I have 
> several clients using them) and have most of the features I 
> want, except the 
> availability seems low as Staples (and other local retailers) 
> have stopped 
> carrying the unit I want.  The local Vtech factory store also 
> closed a few 
> weeks ago :-(
> 
> Panasonic has some really nice units, 5.8ghz, but no 
> multiline 5.8ghz units, 
> they also don't seem to have much in the way of multiline 
> units in general. 
> Siemens stuff looks nice but again, local availability is 
> low. From my 
> browsing there seems to be ZILCH in the way of 2 line 5.8ghz 
> units. Actually 
> I just came across one from Panasonic,much to my surprise.
> 
> Basically I want the following, any suggestions would be much 
> appreciated:
> 
> - 2.4ghz (or 5.8) DSS/frequency hopping
> - 2 line
> - expandable up to at least 3 handsets
> - speakerphone in each handset
> - speakerphone should actually work full duplex, most 
> speakerphones I've used 
> don't work well when it's quiet, let alone when there is 
> background noise
> - if the base is also a corded phone, that'd be cool
> - call waiting caller id support
> - VMWI that works with telco supplied voicemail, most of the 
> 2 line systems 
> that have a built in answering machine don't seem to support this
> - 2.5mm headset jack on all handsets
> - sturdy belt clip on all handsets
> - rings tones for each line that are sufficiently different to really 
> distinguish between lines. I had a 2 line panasonic corded 
> phone that had 
> ring tones that were so similar, I was never sure which line 
> I was answering 
> without looking at the lcd display
> - call logs saved to NVRAM if power goes out, or some kind of 
> battery backup 
> to save the call logs in event of power failure
> 
> I _think_ that about covers it.
> 
> -- 
> Harondel J. Sibble 
> Sibble Computer Consulting
> Creating solutions for the small business and home computer 
> user. help at pdscc.com (use pgp keyid 0x3AD5C11D) http://www.pdscc.com
> (604) 739-3709 (voice/fax)      (604) 686-2253 (pager)
> 
> 
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