Home office hands free, primarily speaker, phone success or failure...

[TexasFlood]

So this could be considered an input device, and output, hah.

I've worked at home for some time now.  Good phones are critical when you're on the phone much of the day.  And to avoid fatigue, headsets and speakerphones become pretty important.  I've had good luck with a Plantronics CS55 headset allowing me to be mobile but if I'm in the home office I'd just as soon not have to wear that.  I've also had good luck with my Panasonic DECT 6.0 phones which double as speakerphones.  About my only complaint is a few folks are so quiet I have to turn the speakerphone on just to heard them.  The batteries run down but I have multiple so by the time I've killed them all the first has recharged so I can basically go forever with those so long as I put them back on the charger when dead.  For in the car I have a cell phone that works OK, speakerphone volume is a bit weak but can be boosted with a bluetooth speaker which I have.  This leaves wired speakerphones.  As old fashioned as land line is, it's nice to have, batteries never run out and a really good wired speakerphone is better quality than all the rest.  This is an area where my success has been limited.

I have an old Sony IT-D200 that's OK but some folks say they can't hear me well and have had issues with it drawing too much line power.  I've tried a few consumer electronic phones from Office {max/depot}, Best Buy, Staples etc, most recently an ATT-CL2909.  None of them have improved on the old Sony and I quickly get complains to some degree.  I could probably go buy a new Polycom speaker and be done with it as they are damn good but not perfect and pricey.  Don't think I'll get reimbursed for any of that any more and am too cheap to foot the bill myself.  I still might try to go that route if I can figure out which older models work with a home line so might be able to pick up a used one cheap if I'm patient.

So...  I decided to try the geekhack vintage route and looked up an older Nortel model I've used at the office before that's home line compatible and snagged one off ebay.  Well technically it was an Aastra, same model though.   We'll see if it solves my problem or not.  The digital phone system integration features like intercom & meridian mail are going to be useless with one phone at home but as long as the speakerphone is usable that's all I care about.

I probably should have posted about this before but didn't think about it.  I knee-jerk bought yet another phone already but it was pretty cheap and no guarantee it's going to address my speakerphone needs.  There was a thread about working from home / home office here not long ago so thought I'd follow up and get some feedback about the results others in similar scenarios have had.

[TexasFlood]

So this could be considered an input device, and output, hah.

I've worked at home for some time now.  Good phones are critical when you're on the phone much of the day.  And to avoid fatigue, headsets and speakerphones become pretty important.  I've had good luck with a plantronics cs55 headset allowing me to be mobile but if I'm in the home office I'd just as soon not have to wear that.  I've also had good luck with my panasonic dect 6.0 phones which double as speakerphones.  About my only complaint is a few folks are so quiet I have to turn the speakerphone on just to heard them.  The batteries run down but I have muiltiple so by the time I've killed them all the first has recharged so I can basically go forever with those so long as I put them back on the charger when dead.  For in the car I have a cell phone that works ok, speakerphone volume is a bit weak but can be boosted with a bluetooth spearker which I have.  This leaves wired speakerphones.  As old fashioned as land line is, it's nice to have, batteries never run out and a really good wired speakphone is better quality than all the rest.  This is an area where my success has been limited.

I have an old Sony IT-0200 that's OK but some folks say they can't hear me well and have had issues with it drawing too much line power.  I've tried a few consumer electronic phones from Office {max/depot}, Best Buy, Staples etc, most recently an ATT-CL2909.  None of them have improved on the old Sony and I quickly get complains to some degree.  I could probably go buy a new polycom speaker and be done with it as they are damn good but not perfect and pricey.  Don't think I'll get reimbursed for any of that any more and am too cheap to foot the bill myself.  I still might try to go that route if I can figure out which older models work with a home line so might be able to pick up a used one cheap if I'm patient.

So...  I decided to try the geekhack vintage route and looked up an older Nortel model I've used at the office before that's home line compatible and snagged one off ebay.  Well technically it was an aastra, same model though.   We'll see if it solves my problem or not.  The digital phone system integration features like intercom & meridian mail are going to be useless with one phone at home but as long as the speakerphone is usable that's all I care about.

I probably should have posted about this before but didn't think about it.  I knee-jerk bought yet another phone already but it was pretty cheap and no guarantee it's going to address my speakerphone needs.  There was a thread about working from home / home office here not long ago so thought I'd follow up and get some feedback about results others in similar scenarios have had.

[TexasFlood]

FYI, got my ebay Nortel 9417CW.  It's just like I remember from my data center office days, the good and the bad of that era of wired phones.  In my case it's exactly what I wanted.  I did have a bit of an issue at first.  I could hear folks great on the speakerphone but they could apparently not hear me well at all!  ARGH!  Thought I was cursed.  I never really paid attention to where the speakerphone mic was and thinking it was on the top of the phone.  Upon close examination I saw it was actually under the front edge of the phone which for testing purposes I had jammed it onto a full desk and it was hanging off the front of the desk just a bit.  Cearing some space and moving it back on the desk made the desk part of the acoustics to channel sound to the mic and all is well.  Finally a usable speakerphone at home.

[Lanx]

i use my cell phone as my home office phone and exclusively use a jawbone icon for communication
http://www.jawbone.com/
ppl said it's no different than hearing me on a regular phone, especially when it's windy outside and i'm walking my dog, i never get a "i can't hear you, static". I also use skype and a olympus unidirectional lapel mic hooked up to a xfi, skype ppl think it sounds great. basically i don't ever hold anything up to my ear.

[mr_a500]

So...  I decided to try the geekhack vintage route ...

You didn't go vintage. This is vintage:



I've got one of those Stromberg phones in black, but without the "hands free" attachment.

[TexasFlood]

I've got one of those Stromberg phones in black, but without the "hands free" attachment.

Pretty cool stuff.  I am on the phone so much I really was on the hunt for a good speakerphone.  I was unable to control myself and put in a relatively low bid on a used but really like new polycom soundstation and snagged it.  Just got it set up and used it in anger for the first time today and it works great.  Reminds me of the old days when I used to sit in real conference rooms which all had these.

[iMav]

I need one of those.  I work out of my home office as well... I mainly use my cell phone as a speaker phone, which is suboptimal but has been worked good enough.  A legit speakerphone would be nice though.

**EDIT**

Just bought one off of eBay.  Thanks for lightening my wallet!

[TexasFlood]

I never really messed with these much in the old days and didn't realize they ran off a POTS line not PBX.  Once I found that out I got really tempted.  I got a Soundstation Premiere.  It's an older model, has an LCD readout but no caller ID.  This was a mistake to not get caller ID so might have to rectify it with a cheap add-on caller ID display.  But there really wasn't as good a deal with the newer Soundstation 2 and I wanted it, sigh.  But it's a really good speakerphone and I was fed up making do with less.  This model also has a remote control which is nice for being able to hang up, dial, or mute/unmute if not right by it.

[TexasFlood]

I never really messed with these much in the old days and didn't realize they ran off a POTS line not PBX.  Once I found that out I got really tempted.  I got a Soundstation Premiere.  It's an older model, has an LCD readout but no caller ID.  This was a mistake to not get caller ID so might have to rectify it with a cheap add-on caller ID display.  But there really wasn't as good a deal with the newer Soundstation 2 and I wanted it, sigh.  But it's a really good speakerphone and I was fed up making do with less.  This model also has a remote control which is nice so you can hang up, dial, flash, or mute/unmute, etc if not right by it.

[TexasFlood]

I need one of those.  I work out of my home office as well... I mainly use my cell phone as a speaker phone, which is suboptimal but has been worked good enough.  A legit speakerphone would be nice though.

**EDIT**

Just bought one off of eBay.  Thanks for lightening my wallet!

I never really messed with these much in the old days and didn't realize they ran off a POTS line not PBX.  Once I found that out I got really tempted.  I got a Soundstation Premiere.  It's an older model, has an LCD readout but no caller ID.  This was a mistake to not get caller ID so might have to rectify it with a cheap add-on caller ID display.  But there really wasn't as good a deal with the newer Soundstation 2 and I wanted it, sigh.  But it's a really good speakerphone and I was fed up making do with less.  See? Hard to resist once the idea strikes you isn't it?!

[sordna]

I have an old 2-line speakerphone (GE 29481GE1) that doesn't use a power supply (it needs batteries for caller-id, but I never bothered with batteries). No power other than connecting the phone line is a big plus for me. It works pretty well, except it sometimes (like once a month) it inadvertently hangs up (I hear a click through the handset and the call is dropped). Other than this glitch, I like the phone, but the speakerphone is a bit weak.

[TexasFlood]

**EDIT**
Just bought one off of eBay.  Thanks for lightening my wallet!

I'll be curious how you like it.  Turns out mine is non-expandable, can't add remote mics, although I'd thought it was.  Doesn't really matters since I don't need that.  Mine has a fairly useless little LCD screen, doesn't do call waiting like a Soundstation 2.  But the primary function is that nice full duplex speakerphone which is working great for me.

[TexasFlood]

**EDIT**
Just bought one off of eBay.  Thanks for lightening my wallet!

I'll be curious how you like it.  Turns out mine is non-expandable, can't add remote mics.  I'd thought it had the option to add them even though it didn't come with any.  Doesn't really matter since I don't see why I'd need that.  Mine has a fairly useless little LCD screen, doesn't do call waiting like a Soundstation 2.  But the primary function is that nice full duplex speakerphone which is working great for me.

[Input Nirvana]

My only real tried-n-true experience with effective speakerphones was with the "new" 2nd gen model Polycon with no extra mics. It was in our 10x22 carpeted conference room, with a 12 foot long table. The unit was in the middle, and when someone spoke from 6 feet away, it sounded clear and distinct, but you could tell they were sitting at the end of the table, not the middle. I was able to get a mental picture of everyone sitting at the conference table when I would call in and talk to them. We had that unit for 3 years.

Thought I would offer that since that was quite a while ago that pretty good technology was available, so I can't imagine it would be any problem to get something reasonable now.

Another item I used for desk sitting (no speakerphone allowed with high level relationship building) was a powered earbud (like cellphone). I would forget it was on sometimes and get up...often a disaster would ensue

[TexasFlood]

My only real tried-n-true experience with effective speakerphones was with the "new" 2nd gen model Polycon with no extra mics. It was in our 10x22 carpeted conference room, with a 12 foot long table. The unit was in the middle, and when someone spoke from 6 feet away, it sounded clear and distinct, but you could tell they were sitting at the end of the table, not the middle. I was able to get a mental picture of everyone sitting at the conference table when I would call in and talk to them. We had that unit for 3 years.

My home office is not that big.  The conference tables we used to use wouldn't come close to fitting.  Those Polycoms we had them typically had two remote mics, the main unit being in the middle and a remote towards each end.  I can't imagine how I'd use remotes in my current setup so no loss really.  I should have looked up the model numbers before I pulled the trigger but didn't.  I'd been watching this one unit off and on then got busy working.  I checked and it was literally on the last minute and bidding was still quite low.  So I made the snap decision to bid and won.  So far I don't regret it.

Thought I would offer that since that was quite a while ago that pretty good technology was available, so I can't imagine it would be any problem to get something reasonable now.

Not quite sure that I catch your meaning here.  If you mean that the technology isn't new so should be able to get something new as good or better, maybe but I haven't found it.  And these older polycoms are pretty cheap used, not the 100s of dollars they originally cost and work just fine.  I'm cheap and not going to put out that kinda cash for something new when I can get a usable used device for much less.  The cheaper current stuff I've tried so far fell far short of the mark.

Another item I used for desk sitting (no speakerphone allowed with high level relationship building) was a powered earbud (like cellphone). I would forget it was on sometimes and get up...often a disaster would ensue

I do need to look at a some newer technology such as bluetooth earphones.  I'll have to look up powered earbuds since I don't recall having heard of those.

[Input Nirvana]

My home office is not that big.  The conference tables we used to use wouldn't come close to fitting.  Those Polycoms we had them typically had two remote mics, the main unit being in the middle and a remote towards each end.  I can't imagine how I'd use remotes in my current setup so no loss really.  I should have looked up the model numbers before I pulled the trigger but didn't.  I'd been watching this one unit off and on then got busy working.  I checked and it was literally on the last minute and bidding was still quite low.  So I made the snap decision to bid and won.  So far I don't regret it.

If you bought well enough, you can easily make a change

Not quite sure that I catch your meaning here. If you mean that the technology isn't new so should be able to get something new as good or better, maybe but I haven't found it. And these older polycoms are pretty cheap used, not the 100s of dollars they originally cost and work just fine. I'm cheap and not going to put out that kinda cash for something new when I can get a usable used device for much less. The cheaper current stuff I've tried so far fell far short of the mark.

Yes, that's what I meant. The Polycoms I had in all of my stores were expensive, but worked well. I assume Polycoms (and others by now) have many more models, work even better, and are more reasonably priced, and/or buy used.

I do need to look at a some newer technology such as bluetooth earphones. I'll have to look up powered earbuds since I don't recall having heard of those.

The perk of the earbud is that it was LIGHT, and had virtually NO MASS. Honestly, I used it in my office for a couple years and constantly forgot it was in my ear, or what was worse, I would try to make a call and wonder where the dial tone was, or reach to take it out and I wouldn't be wearing it.

[TexasFlood]

If you bought well enough, you can easily make a change

That's true.

Yes, that's what I meant. The Polycoms I had in all of my stores were expensive, but worked well. I assume Polycoms (and others by now) have many more models, work even better, and are more reasonably priced, and/or buy used.

Right.  Well the equivalent current model similar to mine would be the Polycom SoundStation 2 (Non Expandable, Non Display) (2200-15100-001) is on Amazon new for $318.99. The cheapest I found this base model for on ebay, with required parts and tested (seem to be an AWFUL lot of these missing parts, broken or "untested" out there), was about $100 shipped and mine was about $50 shipped.  So minimum double the price until I wait patiently for a deal.  Maybe the soundstation 2 is worth it, not sure.  But I can hear find on the older soundstation I bought and I've spot checked with a number of folks who say they can hear me fine.  Could I have done better, maybe but it's working as deired so think I'll not worry about it for now, :wink:.

The perk of the earbud is that it was LIGHT, and had virtually NO MASS. Honestly, I used it in my office for a couple years and constantly forgot it was in my ear, or what was worse, I would try to make a call and wonder where the dial tone was, or reach to take it out and I wouldn't be wearing it.

Out of curiosity would you mind sharing a brand/model of a decent powered earbud so I can go do some research?

TIA

[Input Nirvana]

The ones we had at my office were purchased from Hello Direct. I just went to their website and am looking to see if they have them. I don't know it was Plantronics, we had a lot of wireless Plantronics units the girls would wear as they scampered around the offices in cute outfits. Probably Plantronics OR they self-branded the amplifier and earbud. I'll continue to look and forward to you.

They were about $100 with the amplifier.

[TexasFlood]

The ones we had at my office were purchased from Hello Direct. I just went to their website and am looking to see if they have them. I don't know it was Plantronics, we had a lot of wireless Plantronics units the girls would wear as they scampered around the offices in cute outfits. Probably Plantronics OR they self-branded the amplifier and earbud. I'll continue to look and forward to you.

They were about $100 with the amplifier.

I know Plantronics makes a popular DECT 6.0 wireless headset.  Is this the sort of thing you're talking about?  It looks like this pictures below, depending on which head/ear/neck-band mounting option chosen - like most Plantronics gear there are multiple options.
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24652[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24653[/ATTACH]

[TexasFlood]

The ones we had at my office were purchased from Hello Direct. I just went to their website and am looking to see if they have them. I don't know it was Plantronics, we had a lot of wireless Plantronics units the girls would wear as they scampered around the offices in cute outfits. Probably Plantronics OR they self-branded the amplifier and earbud. I'll continue to look and forward to you.

They were about $100 with the amplifier.

I know Plantronics makes a popular DECT 6.0 wireless headset.  Is this the sort of thing you're talking about?  It looks like this pictures below, depending on which head/ear/neck-band mounting option chosen - like most Plantronics gear there are multiple options.
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24654[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24655[/ATTACH]

[TexasFlood]

The ones we had at my office were purchased from Hello Direct. I just went to their website and am looking to see if they have them. I don't know it was Plantronics, we had a lot of wireless Plantronics units the girls would wear as they scampered around the offices in cute outfits. Probably Plantronics OR they self-branded the amplifier and earbud. I'll continue to look and forward to you.

They were about $100 with the amplifier.

I know Plantronics makes a popular DECT 6.0 wireless headset.  Is this the sort of thing you're talking about?  It looks like this pictures below, depending on which head/ear/neck-band mounting option chosen - like most Plantronics gear there are multiple options.
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24658[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24659[/ATTACH]

[iMav]

I'll be curious how you like it.  Turns out mine is non-expandable, can't add remote mics.  I'd thought it had the option to add them even though it didn't come with any.  Doesn't really matter since I don't see why I'd need that.  Mine has a fairly useless little LCD screen, doesn't do call waiting like a Soundstation 2.  But the primary function is that nice full duplex speakerphone which is working great for me.

I'll let you know once I get home and try it. (I'm in St Paul right now)

After I bought it, I DID see one with extra mics included for a similar price...oh well.  I THINK you can add extra mics with the one I bought.  But, honestly, just like you, I see very limited use (if any) for that functionality in my case.

[iMav]

Using mine now.  Polycom Soundstation EX.  It does not have the LCD display, but can accommodate additional microphones.

So far, I am loving it.  On a conference call right now and it is crystal clear (and I sound crystal clear according to the other participants).  

[iMav]

I'm pretty sure Intel uses those.  You could have "borrowed" one out of their conference room.

We have them in all our conference rooms.  Most of my customers do as well.

I make it a point to spend as little time as possible in McAfee and/or Intel offices.  I'm either with a customer or in my home office.  

I'll be expensing this, so it doesn't really matter.  

[Input Nirvana]

Note--
Unless you work in more than one 'position' in your office like a computing/management desk and a paperwork/filing/reference table area that is 6 feet away and faces the opposite direction (like an echo-y corner), I don't think you will need to have additional mics. In the past, the instructions were to not have an extension mic too close to the base station.

[TexasFlood]

I think it will be fine for anywhere in my small office.  If I'm out of the office obviously, uh, not.  The price was good but part of the reason I was so tempted was it came in a carrying case with some extras that we never had back in the day at my office.  I didn't want to mention them until I tested to be working.  I don't mind looking silly but not stupid, :crazy:.  So it has a remote control which is kinda cool so if I'm wandering around the office all wound up on a call I can mute/unmute.  I know, kinda silly but what guy doesn't like a remote needed or not?  And since I won't be using it on the couch maybe won't get lost, :wink:.

[iMav]

Still loving mine.  Use it practically every day.

In fact, I am on hold waiting for another conference call to start.

[arplod]

I replaced the Soundstation II with a VTX1000 (in fact, after I changed one I made the change pretty much all over) a while back. I was staggered at the improvement - even just calling normal phones was much better, and calling between units? Decent hi-fi quality (minus the bass of course), I'm not kidding.

But these days as a singleton surely you're probably better off going for a USB speakerphone? Even Polycom sells a personal speakerphone for Skype.