Long Range Cordless Phones

[kds1]

I am needing a recommendation for a good rugged cordless phone for a client. The phones will be used indoors and out and are subjected to a lot of wear and tear. I have looked at the engenius durafon, however, the SIP version is not supported by 3CX. Does anyone have experience with these phones? Any idea if I can get basic functionality such as transfers? Any other recommendations for a long range cordless phone?

I appreciate anyone's suggestions.

Dave

 

[leejor]

If it is a SIP "standards" device, you should be able to configure it to work with 3CX even if not "supported". You would simply have to configure manually, which should not be difficult for one or two devices.
The selection of other "long range" cordless phones (single base), is going to be limited.

The fact that this site...

https://www.abptech.com/engenius-durafon-provides-perfect-solution-office-premise-mobility

says... "Works with any IP PBX with standard SIP protocol" I assume means that, a basic feature, like transfers, works.

 

[craigreilly]

Grandstream has one coming soon - but not sure of its ruggedness.

 

[Peter Richardson]

Hi Dave,

Just pick the most rugged phone you can find, and if it's not SIP, just use an ATA. Now you can choose any phone you want.

Almost any SIP phone will work with 3CX, it's just that some of the very advanced features won't work without provisioning, but if it's a cordless, you definitely won't be using such features. Basics only.

If you need help with either of these options, let me know, happy to help!

 

[eddv123]

Hi KDS1,

I see cordless but no reference of whether you are talking WiFi or DECT so let me give you my experience of both with 3CX.

DECT: Officially supported DECT Phones (which are ruggadized) you are looking at the snom M85:
https://www.electronicfrontier.co.uk/project/snom-m85-ruggedized-dect-handset/

It is the only one that fits the ruggadized requirement, I am a big Yealink supporter and they do have a so-called ruggadized wrap-around for their DECT handsets but I have to be honest and say it is not great.

RTX (which are un-supported) provide the model that the M85 is based on (snom have white labelled their product) :https://www.rtx.dk/media/3172/rtx8830-data-sheet-2017.pdf

Where not supported by 3CX I have got this working with the PBX and it is considerably cheaper than the snom.

WIRELESS: Where again un-supported I have got the Spectralink 8440 working without issue (they aren't described as ruggadized but they are really very robust) https://support.spectralink.com/products/wi-fi/spectralink-84-series-wireless-telephone

They do provide a provisioning template (their own which you can adjust) to get them provisioned - in my case I did not use the inbuilt server from 3CX and simply setup a local LAN side server on HFS to do the provisioning.

The only downside with these is that compared to DECT they are quite pricey - but that is wireless phones generally they all seem to be quite expensive per handset. I am hoping that the Grandstream Wifi handsets craigreilly mentioned above to be a lot more cost effective (they are in BETA currently).

 

[lneblett]

The Durfon 1X will work just fine. I use the analog version with a port on the gateways I install for the rooms as the SIP version is more expensive and the clients like spending less. I have about 16 installed. They are predominantly in hotels where the front desk is manned by single person, but they sometimes have to leave the desk to respond to a situation and then take the phone with them. The hotels are minimally two stories (most are more), with over 100 rooms and the phone will cover far more than the hotel property. For fun, I took a handset to dinner at a local cafe some 1/2 mile away and was still able to reach the base back at the hotel without issue. Of course, the positioning of the base and other factors come into play with regard to range, but there is no other phone on the market in the US with this ranger. They are quite durable as they are ruggedized, so they are able to take some abuse, but they are not indestructible and given their cost, should be given some care. They come with a stubby and a whip antenna, the whip being the better for max range. You may also need to order some spare batteries as like all rechargeable batteries, they do not last forever.

These are neither DECT or Wi-Fi as they operate in the 900Mhz range which is what contributes to their ability to be able to penetrate obstacles better than the other devices. They have a max output of 708mw.

While I have not used the SIP version, I have no doubt that it will work just fine. There is ONE THING you should do and that is to go to their site and download both the SIP and analog manuals. You should check to see how transfers and the other call control functions are accomplished in each assume there may be a need. If using analog, you want to be certain that you can match the method to the device that it will connected to. Some ATA devices may use a hook-flash and then a dial code whereas others not. Using what I do, transfers are able to be done, The SIP phone user manual indicates that transfers can be done as well, but the wording used makes it seem as though it may only be possible between the SIP handsets. I suspect this may not be the case, but rather how the manual was written not taking into account other PBX connected endpoints, but a note to their support should clear that up quickly.

The 1X in the analog or SIP is the better phone in the lineup for both range and durability.

The attached will give you some idea of what the phone will do, but still the manual will provide as more as will their support group.

https://www.engeniustech.com/resources/DuraFon-SIP Presentation.pdf

 

[kds1]

Thanks to everyone for their input on this. The original install utilized all uniden yellow water resistant phones. They had very good range, were very durable and came with a disposable price tag of about $35/ea. They quit working and in went to the trash can. Plugged a new one in and off to the races again. Uniden quit producing them and price shot up to about $350/ea. Every since then I have been fumbling with a satisfactory replacement.

Some of the phones, I had issues with poor range, Others, poor durability for sweaty hands, dust and moisture issues and drop issues. I also had issues with transferring calls. I never dug into that problem because I was never sure where to start. Instead, just returned the phone and tried again with another. Thanks for the pointer Ineblett. With that info, I'm quite confident that I can dig in and find a way to make them work. The most recent phones we were using was the panasonic sip ktg something or another. Not compatible but worked great with manual provisioning, however, the range is not there. Tried a repeater, but the closest a/c outlet is on the fringe so it was still unpredictable.

All that being said, I think I am going to give the analog version a try after a tad more research into the durafon/ata inter-operability.

I am using Yealink W56p's, with the case, at another similar site. Range/repeater location is still an issue and the are almost unusable in sunlight. You can't read the display to transfer calls. Indoors, they would be awesome.

I have also found that people in outdoor situations prefer the rubberized keys. Easier to dial, etc. without having to look at the phone.

Again, thanks to all for the input.