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A Cordless Phone's Major Problem - Dealing w/ Batteries?
Brian James asks: "I am sick to death of cordless phone batteries going dead at the drop of a hat. And with frequent recharging they tend not to hold much of a charge. Replacement often equals the cost of a new phone altogether... so what's the point? Ultimately I wish cordless phone manufacturers would design a phone that used standard rechargeable batteries, preferably with 2 battery bays and a switch that allowed you to switch over to the fresh set when one set starts to go dead (of course, I don't see this happening any time soon). Is there any way to modify a cordless phone such that I can run the handset off of standard batteries? I don't care how 'cheap and dirty' it ends up, I just need to know I can pop in a fresh battery and call the guy back, without waiting 8 hours for it to charge up." A few cordless phone manufacturers do have a clue. Some phones allow you to charge an extra battery in the base while the other is being used by the phone, which works well (I have a Sony 900Mhz model that does this). It would be interesting to see if someone has done what the poster has asked, however if you'd like to recommend a cordless phone that keeps downtime to a minimum, I'm sure such would be appreciated.
I never did this before, but this takes the cake! Exactly how is a cordless phone battery life of any importance? News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters?
First of all, the betteries died on all the cordless phones I've ever had. However, it was never more than just a fraction of the cost (less than CAD$20 on a CAD$200-something phone). However, none of them died sooner than 3 years. By that time I was usually tired of the phone, or significantly better ones came out.
Second, maybe I'm not an average phone user, but I never ran out of batteries on any of my cordless phones. I have a Sanyo 900Mhz, and the longest conversation I had lasted 3 hours, on the hands-free speaker (works out really well to coordinate attacks in RTCW). And this is with a 3.6V 600mAh battery.
My advice? Get a better phone. None of the GE 9or the likes) crap. Frm my experience Sanyo, Sony, Panasonic make good phones. It would be pointless to get a phone with rechargeable batteries. Especially since a good set of 4 NiMH are pretty much the same price as the original phone battery.
And here's an afterthought: if you dislike cordless phones so much, why not use one with a wire? They still have those, you know?
Well, I see your point about how annoying it is when cordless phone batteries die, and I agree completely. What I don't understand is why you would wait 8 hours to call someone back because your battery dies. Don't you have any phones with cords that plug into the base? Just use one of those when your cordless dies.