Anybody ever use a CM-16 cordless phone? 2

[LeeMcCauslin]

By Aastra - says it programs just like a 2616.

Any good?
anything else out there better?
I did a search for "cordless" but most posts seem to be a couple years old. Was hoping something shiny and new had come out...

Also hoping for real experience rather than advertising...

 

[johnpoole]

nortel makes a wireless system but for a single phone that one is as good as the next.. i've only played with a couple and they worked but i was not on site for any long term results

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

I like the idea. Don't know what kind of range is on that cm though. THis is for a one shot deal - our dispatch office would like to wander around, I guess, instead of being stuck at her desk.

She just sent me a note saying she wasn't concerned with having fancy transfer and rollover and caller ID features...I know they have some spare analog ports in the back building. Could I just use a plain old V-Tech cordless handset with some spre codes for call transfer and a hunt/FNA to voicemail? In the past, I've always gotten good performance/coverage from VTech and I expect that would be cheaper than a digital cordless set (I think! Haven't priced them in years)

 

[EddieDuece]

Yeah, we have one hooked up for the Sheriffs dept. Seems to work well. We are in the basement of a 3 story brick courthouse, and from the base unit, can go to the farthest point of the 3rd floor without any interference at all. Actually, it even worked in the elevator and stairwell without issue. Just to give you and idea of range, our building is about 40,000 sqft.

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Eddie, that's the VTech with that kind of coverage? That's good work. I can't get anything to work in our elevators. And the dispatch office doesn't even need that much - 1 floor, maybe 7 or 8000 square feet max and a couple of drywall walls...So that should be great.

 

[EddieDuece]

Lee, ours is a Astra CM-16. A little expensive, but works great. It programs up on a digital port, and act just like a 2616. Great transfers, confrences ect. But it is the CM-16.

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Ahh, OK - I have my vendor pricing one right now. But that really is better performance than I expected...Vendor is supposed to be recommending other options too but I'm liking this one more and more...

 

[EddieDuece]

It's a pretty amazing little unit. I was surprised.

 

[jamie2]

Lee:

The only tricky thing is the enduser training for the CM-16 because you have a feature key you have to press to get to the transfer, conference or other COS you program on the set. Because the handheld unit is so small, there are too many buttons and the users learn it fairly quickly. It is a slick $$$ little unit.

 

[Andras888]

We use Plantronics cordless rechargable headsets with lifters. Work great on all phones including our M3902 and M3904 sets, small and comfortable, perfect sound, great range, can pick up the ringing line remotely. Cons: Only works on Key 0, no transfer or any other features, since it is only a headset. We paid about $250 for each.

 

[Telephonist]

Is anyone using the CM-16 in the same area as 802.11b/g Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz range)? If so, have there been any interference issues?

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Jamie2 - Thanks for the tip. My vendor just sent me back a quote for $280.00 - more than I was hoping for but less than I expected. I'm really hoping my user will go for it because I wanna play with that a little bit instead of using a boring old analog line VTech (or similar). I'm trying to sell her on features and performance.

But, at the end of the day, I get paid by the hour - whether I'm putting in a CM16 or dumb old analog phone.

Andras - Yeah, our help desk guy has one of those things - he can get around most of our floor with it and it is pretty slick too. I mentioned it to my user.

now it's hurry up and wait for them to decide.

thanks all!

 

[Johnthephoneguy]

is the the same as the CTM 16? I had one of those, it was a cordless 2616 with a portable handset, it worked great for about 2 months then just got flaky, alot of people said the same thing happened with theirs. if it's a different phone then I hope it is better.

JohnThePhoneGuy

"If I can't fix it, it's not broke!

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Here's a 2 page pdf product brochure

Looks pretty groovy to me and my user is filling out the purchase request right now so I hope it ain't the same! Maybe a newer model with the kinks worked out?

 

[jamie2]

No, this isn't the same. This one actually works and works well. The handset doesn't sit on a base that resembles a M2616, but it a small standup charger base like a home cordless phone would sit in.

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Sweeeet. That's good news!

 

[TMCTech]

I have one of these in our building, it works great, the base station sits in my cubicle, and I can talk all the way down to the cafeteria, about 500ft away with a few brick walls in between. I was impressed.

When the signal gets flaky you get static first, and then the other side won't be able to hear you but you'll be able to hear them (I guess the signal from the base is stronger than the handset).

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Update - been in for about a month now and they are loving this phone. It was very easy to install too...Of course, it didn't hurt that when I went in to add this phone, I noticed that the programming for the other 2 phones in their little MCR group were programmed wrong - I fixed those too and now they can use fancy speed dial groups and all kinds of things. And they fed me too.

 

[nortelinsd]

We use the Spectralink phones. They are setup in the switch as a 2616.