Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: claris!netcom!onymouse@ames.arc.nasa.gov (John DeBert) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Plantronics LiteSet Message-ID: Date: 31 Aug 89 08:31:57 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: NetCom- The Bay Area's Public Access Unix System {408 997-9175} Lines: 62 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 338, message 3 of 7 In article , cramer@sun.com (Sam Cramer) says: > The latest DAK catalog has this cordless, hands-free phone for $69. It > looks pretty neat - does anyone have any comments on this particular set? > > Sam I have one which I find to be extremely handy. I can put the set in my ear and leave it there, going about the house to do whatever. To answer a call, I need only press one button but I usually hold the mute button down as well because the mike on it is very sensitive and will pick up background noise. Though it does pick up background noise, you can be heard very well on the other end. THe mike is a directional electret that is normally aimed toward the mouth. The reception is fair but it is a little noisier that other cordless phones and the 60Hz hum is louder than even the noise. Even so, the caller can be heard over all that. Plantronics claims that the range is 200 feet. In practice, I find that the reception range is actually less than fifty feet. I increased the range by taking a meter of wire wrap wire and clipping it about one fourth ofthe way up the fully extended antenna from the base. By doing that I increased the range about tenfold, to at least 500 feet: I can go down the street about seven houses or nearly half a block and still get a good signal from the base which is inside a frame house with stucco (and wire mesh). I would like to see some improvements on the set such as a boom extension similar to those on the Starset to bring the mike "closer" to the mouth and an external antenna but Plantronics will no longer make the Liteset. I suspect that the hum is coming from the "el cheapo" power supply which is a small 500mW or less wall transformer. I haven't yet tried a battery on the base but I just got a "round tuit" so that will be done soon. The Liteset portable is made using surface-mount technology throughout. That's why it is so small. There are two small PC boards measuring approximately 1.25x3 inches with components on both sides within the case as well as the keyboard and another tiny PC board for the top buttons, all solidly soldered together. Do-it-yourself repairs would be extremely difficult for experts and impossible for amateurs even with the right tools. For $69.00 the LiteSet is a good buy for those who don't want to be tied to their phone and are tired of the trips to answer a ringing phone. I bought mine from DAK when they were $99.00 and I don't regret it, though the price has dropped. It's worth the money just for the convenience. In other words, the advantages far outweigh the price. Ordering from DAK, though is a bit of a problem: If you pay by check, expect your order to arrive in 4 to 6 weeks. They hold merchandise until your check clears through their tiny bank which does not seem to be a clearinghouse member. It took two weeks for my check to get to my bank (they say that they deposit checks the nest day) then another two weeks or so for their bank to tell DAK that it was OK. I would suspect that interstate transactions take much longer. JJD onymouse@netcom.UUCP (not associated with Plantronics or DAK - just satified with the Liteset [but NOT with DAK service])