Answer Your Cell Phone Like A Home Phone

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Spottsville

Spottsville

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
265
Location
US
Vessel Name
Quiet Company
Vessel Make
Great Harbour GH-47
Yesterday I canceled my Home phone service, no more land line. I was worried there would be a price to pay in the future....it would be a pain.....keeping track of my cell phone..... so I could answer it all over the house. Like most people, having a phone handset in different rooms of the house on the same line is really convenient.

Well my son in law spotted this "Solution" and I ordered it in a flash.....Looks like it solves my "keeping Track of My Cellphone when at home".

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0073W729K/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

What do you think about using this Cell/Home Phone on a boat?

One handset in the Master Cabin, One in the Pilothouse, One in the Saloon...maybe even in the Engine Room.....>>>

I have no connection to Panasonic or Amazon.

Norm
Quiet Company
Great Harbour GH47

Sent from my iPad with big clumsy fingers using Trawler
 
Have a similar unit at home with 6 headsets that Bluetooth links to two cell phones. Works fine.

My boat isn't big enough to lose my cell phone on...
 
How big are you on answering the phone immediately?

Ring tones tell me if it's work or my kids...for those I'll get up and get my phone wherever I left it on the boat. (liveaboard) ..if it's not one of those rings...I'll get it when I get back to my phone.

The older I get the less enthused I am about talking on the phone anyway...:D

I haven't had a house phone in 5 years...but then again I'm very conscious of my phone as I'm on 24/7 call for 8 months straight during the year.
 
Last edited:
We dumped the home phone close to 10 years ago, don't miss it or the telemarketers one bit. Not willing to get up and answer my cell unless it's an expected call. I rule it; it doesn't rule; I don't come running when it calls.

Ted
 
There's a convergence going on between Cell Phones and Wireless Networks at the moment, which in just a few years will lead to handsets that can seamlessly connect to either type of network on the fly.

That system there requires a cell phone to stay present in the home so that the base station can connect to it via bluetooth.

Of course, if you're cool with that, that phone set would be a nice way to go.
 
Norm: With the size of that GH, getting out of ear-shot must be a real issue. Still, my tiny craft would do well with one in the pilothouse, one in the stateroom and one in the galley. I'm already planning for another set at home....thanks for the link.
 
I hate talking on cell phones due to call quality. Probably my hearing mostly.
 
I have not had a land line for 15yrs. I keep my cel. in my pocket and don't need any other contrivances to keep track of it.
 
timjet said:
I hate talking on cell phones due to call quality. Probably my hearing mostly.
Click to expand...

I had that issue Tim and it was my hearing. After trying a variety of blu tooth devices I "discovered" the ear buds that came with my new iPhone eliminated it. Phones in my shirt pocket so keeping track of it is easy.

Land line free for ten years with no regrets aside from work having my number.
 
We haven't had a landline phone for 10 years. Once I realized the only calls I got on my landline were telemarketers it was an easy decision to drop it.

I love life without the landline.
 
CPseudonym said:
I had that issue Tim and it was my hearing. After trying a variety of blu tooth devices I "discovered" the ear buds that came with my new iPhone eliminated it. Phones in my shirt pocket so keeping track of it is easy.

Land line free for ten years with no regrets aside from work having my number.
Click to expand...

And a good idea that was for another reason Craig. I hate the way one's ear heats up when on the cellphone for long, (called mobile phones here in Oz), but there is also building disquiet over the potential for it causing brain tumours, so minimising use of them held close to the ear is definitely wise, in my opinion. I keep calls on them really short. Otherwise hands free for sure.
 
We have a $19.95 Verison that is for home use.

It operates 4 or 5 Panasonic units and one real hard wire phone.

The hard wire phone is superior at audio .

Phone quality stinks as the caller may be a cell, we are a cell, then the wireless all reduce the quality.

But it firs our snowbird lifestyle as it works North or Sounth as well as on board , boat or coach.

Not bad for $20!
 
FF;210416 Not bad for $20![/QUOTE said:
But no data or text.

Try Page Plus Cellular. Uses Verizon's network, 500 mb data, 1200 talk minutes, 3000 text's all for 30 bucks and no contract. I love it.
Click to expand...
 
FF said:
We have a $19.95 Verison that is for home use.

It operates 4 or 5 Panasonic units and one real hard wire phone.

The hard wire phone is superior at audio .

Phone quality stinks as the caller may be a cell, we are a cell, then the wireless all reduce the quality.

But it firs our snowbird lifestyle as it works North or Sounth as well as on board , boat or coach.

Not bad for $20!
Click to expand...

I have been looking into the Verizon Home Phone Connect. The cost of land lines continues to rise ($75/mo) and this device replaces your land line. You keep your home number and calls come in through the wireless device. The big plus I see is I can just take it on the boat with us when we cruise, so your home phone is always with you. Down side is I dont like talking on cell phones.
Just my 2cents
Set Your Location
 
Spottsville said:
Yesterday I canceled my Home phone service, no more land line.
Click to expand...

You will be happy (or not) to know that this post was an inspiration to me, and that I did the same! Actually, I only use my cell phone 99.9% of the time, but had thought that I had to have the home phone service in order to also get internet service (DSL line). But the posting emboldened me to check on that, and turns out that I can cancel the home phone without affecting the internet service, thus saving $28 a month. Not a fortune, to be sure, but that is about a tank of gas in the car. :)
 
So, I have thought many times about dumping the land line but have not got around to it. Just today I had a perfect example of how that could be a problem. I needed to call the Social Security Admin. They advised a 55 minute wait time!! Apart from the fact that this a disgusting level of non service, how do you do this with a cell phone unless it is continuously charging and you have unlimited minutes?? And, it is not as though it is only the government that keeps you on indefinite hold these days. Seems like normal service really sucks whenever you call any company or institution unless you want to place an order, then sometimes you get straight through.
 
I have unlimited call and text so the rare times when sitting on hold is a non-issue for me. Many places give a call back option, though it does not surprise me SSA does not.

I'm on hold right now writing this reply through the app. :)
 
I switched to Magic Jack VOIP and just love it. Free unlimited calls to anywhere in North America. Took 30 seconds to install. Call forwards to my cell phone when we are out. $29 a year instead of $44 a month plus long distance. No brainer.:facepalm:

magicJack
 
Chrisjs said:
So, I have thought many times about dumping the land line but have not got around to it. Just today I had a perfect example of how that could be a problem. I needed to call the Social Security Admin. They advised a 55 minute wait time!! Apart from the fact that this a disgusting level of non service, how do you do this with a cell phone unless it is continuously charging and you have unlimited minutes?? And, it is not as though it is only the government that keeps you on indefinite hold these days. Seems like normal service really sucks whenever you call any company or institution unless you want to place an order, then sometimes you get straight through.
Click to expand...

Haha, wait until you try to cancel your phone service. I called the phone company to dump our DSL. First person answered in seconds, but when I told them I was calling to cancel they said I had to be transfered to another department. I then spent 45 mins on hold! Clearly they don't want to make canceling easy. BTW, we moved internet over to our cable provider for faster speeds, which means we can now dump the land line for VOIP. We are trying out the Ooma system right now. At first I hated the idea of giving up the quality and safety of a landline back up, but since we have cell phones and now voip we already have two options. Kind of hard to justify another $50 a month just to keep a third one (and of course the phone rate went up when we canceled the dsl).
 
Keep in mind when dumping your land line for cell or VOIP service that you are no longer pinging an address back to 911 dispatch services. In other words you must be able to tell them where you are located for a response.

That little nugget was passed to me a couple years ago by a good friend who is the manager for 911 dispatch in our county. A problem they are working with providers to find a solution for.
 
CPseudonym said:
Keep in mind when dumping your land line for cell or VOIP service that you are no longer pinging an address back to 911 dispatch services. In other words you must be able to tell them where you are located for a response.

That little nugget was passed to me a couple years ago by a good friend who is the manager for 911 dispatch in our county. A problem they are working with providers to find a solution for.
Click to expand...


That's not an issue. You just need to set up your E911 information, which basically means entering your address manually when you set up your phone. Your provider can tell you specifically how to do that.
 
CPseudonym said:
Keep in mind when dumping your land line for cell or VOIP service that you are no longer pinging an address back to 911 dispatch services. In other words you must be able to tell them where you are located for a response. That little nugget was passed to me a couple years ago by a good friend who is the manager for 911 dispatch in our county. A problem they are working with providers to find a solution for.
Click to expand...

Hadn't really thought about the 911 ping...

Can most 911 operators detect a cell phone location via triangulation of towers or via GPS from the phone?

Getting rid of our land line for me was more about simplifying communications and "Resetting" those "telemarketers" and "politicians"and '501c3s"!

My Tread on the dropping a landline and Panasonic's Cell/Home Phone technology I hope will also work on the boat. I want it to be...... be low current draw......Not interfere with or cause interference with other electronics.... provide convenience and time savings that can be used enjoying boating vs carrying around a cell phone in my pocket, or on my belt, or chasing it across the helm when that rogue wave rocks the boat.

How about just coming on board, putting your cellphone in the assigned location, and for the time on the boat, you know where your cell phone is, but you can answer it from more than one location (forward, aft, pilothouse, galley) like at home (if you like)?

Glad to hear others are already using the technology with good results.


Norm
Quiet Company
Great Harbour GH47

Sent from my iPad with big clumsy fingers using Trawler
 
Norm it sounds as though MC Escher has more current info than I. The triangulation thing I'll leave to those more tech savvy. Last I heard it was a pain in the rump too but technology marches on.
 
MC Escher said:
That's not an issue. You just need to set up your E911 information, which basically means entering your address manually when you set up your phone. Your provider can tell you specifically how to do that.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
Here is what I found on Cell Phone 911...

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/wireless-911-services

Norm
Quiet Company
Great Harbour GH47

Sent from my iPad with big clumsy fingers using Trawler
 
Actually, the 911 issue for VOIP has been solved - you just need to register your address to the phone number when you set up the account. As for cell phones, yes, 911 location can be an issue.
 
or try Magic Jack with an app on your android phone. The multiple handset unit above will work wit this system, also your cellphone. Need a good broadband connection. then you won't need the landline or the cell contract.
 
We moved aboard now two years ago and did the same thing with a Panasonic kx-tga410 set up with 4 remote phones. It is also set up to Bluetooth to 2 cell phones. Now the wife and I walk on board, plug our cell phones in the chargers and forget it. They are always charged and when either of us get a call it rings throughout the boat. Like being at the house. Not a real problem, you can also make your our going calls from the home phones. Better sound quality coming and going. We have a remote in the kitchen, both staterooms and the pilothouse. Had the same phones in my house when I moved out so it cost nothing to bring them here. Winner
 
O C Diver said:
We dumped the home phone close to 10 years ago, don't miss it or the telemarketers one bit. Not willing to get up and answer my cell unless it's an expected call. I rule it; it doesn't rule; I don't come running when it calls.

Ted
Click to expand...


Hey Ted, can I have your number? I want to call you. :hello:

:socool:
 
Dswizzler said:
We moved aboard now two years ago and did the same thing with a Panasonic kx-tga410 set up with 4 remote phones. It is also set up to Bluetooth to 2 cell phones. Now the wife and I walk on board, plug our cell phones in the chargers and forget it. They are always charged and when either of us get a call it rings throughout the boat. Like being at the house. Not a real problem, you can also make your our going calls from the home phones. Better sound quality coming and going. We have a remote in the kitchen, both staterooms and the pilothouse. Had the same phones in my house when I moved out so it cost nothing to bring them here. Winner
Click to expand...

GREAT!

That was the feedback I was looking for!

Norm
Quiet Company
Great Harbour GH47

Sent from my iPad with big clumsy fingers using Trawler
 
We dumped the home phone close to 10 years ago, don't miss it or the telemarketers one bit.

The robo-calls still come thru , weather you register for Do Not Call or not..
 
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