Cordless Phone Handset
You may remember the days of old, when carrying a cordless telephone meant holding a large, bulky piece of electronic gadgetry between your head and shoulder. A two foot telescoping antenna projecting from the top of the handset gave you ultimate freedom to walk anywhere in your house, with no cord! It was a great idea, and one sure to stem a popular following among the convenience-seeking public. In production for about 20 years now, the cordless telephone market is an ever advancing technology that began as 1.7 MHz pieces, and now push the envelope of clarity and digital sound-shaping circuitry.
After their introduction as 1.7 MHz units, cordless telephones were found to be susceptible to interference from several outside influences. People found it extremely easy to listen in on a neighbor`s conversation simply by tweaking a phone channel`s sensitivity. The 1.7 MHz phones were also impeded by everyday use of auto ignitions, as well as the frequency emitted from fluorescent lighting. Such problems arising, the market had only one option, and that was to advance.
Telephone makers started coming out with phones that operated between the 43-50 MHz band. These sporty new phones came out with smaller handsets, shorter antennas, and frequency selection channels that would allow the user to select a narrower frequency to operate their phone system on, making it more difficult for phone lines to pick up each other in close proximity. In order to help make this more feasible, some manufacturers used forms of audio scrambling to assist in protecting the privacy of the public. With the introduction of radio scanners, however, this technology became obsolete very quickly as this frequency is easily picked up and decoded by the scanners.
A cheap, reliable phone is the 900 MHz model. These phones come with yet smaller bases, and very short antennas. The higher frequency gives greater protection to interference and eavesdropping. While the phone market was advancing, so, unfortunately was the scanner market, however, the legal system stepped in to protect the public, outlawing the production of scanners that could reach this frequency spectrum. There are older scanner models produced prior to this law taking effect, however, that may still be purchased, with the ability to eavesdrop on the 900 MHz bandwidth.
After another needed advancement, the phone manufacturers began to produce 2.4 and 5.8 GHz, which brought a greater convenience to the ever fawning consumer. Phones were now no bigger than the palm of your hand, and the bases were digital emitters and receivers. Several of the phones using this technology, used it in a one-way operation. The base would transmit to the phone using this higher frequency, and the phone would transmit back to the base using a lower frequency, sometimes as low as the older 900 MHz, in order to conserve the life of the batteries in the handsets. At the time of these production models, it was perceived that, the higher the frequency, the better the range and audio clarity. Eventually, it was found that the phone service providers were operating on a range lower than these phone offered...around 3.6 kHz, which is said to be just enough for humans to understand each other. This creates a loss of frequency between the cordless phone and the land line it uses, which, awkwardly enough, makes it difficult to duplicate the clarity of a corded telephone!
The latest of the phone frequencies can be found in the newer 1.9 GHz bandwidth phones. This is due primarily to the crowding on the other frequencies, such as the 5.8 GHz, and 2.4 GHz. This frequency is found to be less susceptible to intrusion and increases security. When picking your next cordless telephone, do your research, and know the limits of the phone you are considering.
After their introduction as 1.7 MHz units, cordless telephones were found to be susceptible to interference from several outside influences. People found it extremely easy to listen in on a neighbor`s conversation simply by tweaking a phone channel`s sensitivity. The 1.7 MHz phones were also impeded by everyday use of auto ignitions, as well as the frequency emitted from fluorescent lighting. Such problems arising, the market had only one option, and that was to advance.
Telephone makers started coming out with phones that operated between the 43-50 MHz band. These sporty new phones came out with smaller handsets, shorter antennas, and frequency selection channels that would allow the user to select a narrower frequency to operate their phone system on, making it more difficult for phone lines to pick up each other in close proximity. In order to help make this more feasible, some manufacturers used forms of audio scrambling to assist in protecting the privacy of the public. With the introduction of radio scanners, however, this technology became obsolete very quickly as this frequency is easily picked up and decoded by the scanners.
A cheap, reliable phone is the 900 MHz model. These phones come with yet smaller bases, and very short antennas. The higher frequency gives greater protection to interference and eavesdropping. While the phone market was advancing, so, unfortunately was the scanner market, however, the legal system stepped in to protect the public, outlawing the production of scanners that could reach this frequency spectrum. There are older scanner models produced prior to this law taking effect, however, that may still be purchased, with the ability to eavesdrop on the 900 MHz bandwidth.After another needed advancement, the phone manufacturers began to produce 2.4 and 5.8 GHz, which brought a greater convenience to the ever fawning consumer. Phones were now no bigger than the palm of your hand, and the bases were digital emitters and receivers. Several of the phones using this technology, used it in a one-way operation. The base would transmit to the phone using this higher frequency, and the phone would transmit back to the base using a lower frequency, sometimes as low as the older 900 MHz, in order to conserve the life of the batteries in the handsets. At the time of these production models, it was perceived that, the higher the frequency, the better the range and audio clarity. Eventually, it was found that the phone service providers were operating on a range lower than these phone offered...around 3.6 kHz, which is said to be just enough for humans to understand each other. This creates a loss of frequency between the cordless phone and the land line it uses, which, awkwardly enough, makes it difficult to duplicate the clarity of a corded telephone!
The latest of the phone frequencies can be found in the newer 1.9 GHz bandwidth phones. This is due primarily to the crowding on the other frequencies, such as the 5.8 GHz, and 2.4 GHz. This frequency is found to be less susceptible to intrusion and increases security. When picking your next cordless telephone, do your research, and know the limits of the phone you are considering.