sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Which is a good phone system for a house?

"Caller ID for analog devices is needed for my regular caller ID. Do all phone systems allow you to keep call Logs?"

Vodavi STS and XTS have both unanswered call log and answered call log. Both can be viewed at the phone. Stores the last 100 number/name each.

The idcs 100 release 2 can do every thing yes everything you ask except cid routing but the price you will pay for the voip ability is high and there is no need for it in most situations, that is why you dont see much of it out there. the 500 is the only system that uses m or l software and it is way to big for your app. the 50 call log is per phone the larger log is per system.

as it was stated here before all systems come with almost all the same features its just the price you pay for what you want.

you have mail.

I also need an analog line going into my fax server

Faxes and fax servers belong on dedicated lines and as such would have nothing to do with your system.

Now tell me you don't want to pay for a separate fax line... :bang:

I don't know where you got the impression that Panasonic is "tailor made" for home systems. ALL these systems are office systems. Some may be better suited for residential than others though.

The problem here is you don't know anything about what you are trying to do. As myself and KLD say get a dealer because you are starting to give us a headache.

Oh, if you plan on buying this on the internet and installing it yourself don't even bother to ask here.


-Hal

Sargent:

You have definitely been given bad information about Panasonic. Yes, the phone will have to be a speakerphone model (all models with displays are speakerphones), and since caller ID is a big item to have, you would probably want them anyway. All you have to do is turn on the "auto-ans" button and you will have full two-way handsfree intercom. The "auto-ans" button is simply left turned on at all times.

You will be hard-pressed to find a better and more full-featured cordless phone offering from Panasonic systems. We have two of the 7895 models in use and 24 wired phones, all different models. Even the low-end 7700 series models work, and work well. The cordless phones don't have handsfree intercom, but all 24 of our other ones do.

I have been using a Panasonic KX-TD1232 in my house with voice mail and just about everything you have on your wish list for over ten years. We love it; kids have no problems using it, all kind of different phone models, awesome cordless phones, door intercom boxes, etc. I know that this system has now been discontinued, but their newer systems are comparable in features and price. I speak as a user, not as a salesman here!

The KX-TD1232 can used for both analog and digital lines without different cards? So the system cards are completely universal? or are there special digital cards vs analog cards in the system?

Its kind of funny but this is the exact same system the house I bough came with. The problem is the seller took the entire system(but was not suppose to)! The contract said it was suppose to come with everything including intercom system, house wiring,attached units. It was just not suppose to come with furniture. I guess the seller consider the phone system furniture: mad: I only see some of the papers left behind but this was the system.

What would you say the difference is between the KX-TD1232 vs the New model?

What is the KX-TD1232's replacement?

So it does have room-to-room 2 way speaker if the phones are set to auto-ans? Does the auto-ans only apply to intercom calls right? The regular phone calls are not going to be answer in this manner?

It has call logs, 18 universal button phones, the whole 9 yards etc.. ?


Please let me know.

Thanks.

Sarge:

Yes, the extension ports on the KX-TD1232 will support any KX-model Panasonic phone, whether it be analog or digital. Like I mentioned earlier, I have a mish-mash of them and they all work the same way. You can even unplug the most sophisticated digital phone from a jack and plug in a "Snoopy" phone and it will still work; it just won't be as sophisticated.

The only noticable difference between the old and new systems (except for the fact that the old has been discontinued) is that the new system offers wireless phone "cell cites" that can be located throughout the home. This allows a wireless phone to be tied directly to the system KSU instead of the physical base unit for the phone. This offers a tremendous increase in range, but it's expensive.

From what I can tell, the KX-TDA series of systems is the way to go to get all of the bells and whistles, but the KX-TAW848 appears to offer much of the same with regard to features and capacities in a residential environment. My only concern is that Panasonic seems to be putting all of their forward planning into the KX-TDA family and there hasn't been a whole lot of talk about the KX-TAW series lately. That's usually not a good sign with Panasonic.

Case in point: There was a series (KX-T73XX) of cheaper phones with "Euro" styling that was released a few years back. Despite the fact that their styling was dreadfully tacky, we offered them for customers who were in search of that "European" look. They lasted less than a year from what I can recall, and we never sold a single one. Maybe they were targeted toward the international market. I can't say for sure.

Yes, as long as the "Auto-Ans" button is turned on, any phone model ending in in a number lower than "-50" will provide this function. 50 and above are monitor-only, meaning that you can hear from the speaker but you cannot talk back to it. Since you seem to want a lot of caller ID functionality, you would probably want to purchase display phones anyway. Note that ALL display models of phones in the KX-T family of products are speakerphones, so you will be covered there.

I have to be honest with regard to call logs. We have relatively old ("dash 3") software. We are only able to review logs from a single station as it is currenetly arranged. Since it's our kitchen phone, it works for my family. We all come into my house through the kitchen and scroll it, then head out to our own phones to return calls. We don't need the numbers; we know the names and numbers of people who called. I am not sure that newer versions offer the ability to view the entire log from every phone.

We still have a handfull of caller ID boxes hooked up around the house. They are all connected to a single analog extension (yes, just one station port sent to three CID boxes) that is equipped to extend caller ID to the station. That's all I was willing to pay for. It still displays CID for calls on any of my four lines, so we have the luxury of scrolling back through the cheapo boxes or through the master kitchen phone. One analog extension port equipped for caller ID is really all you would need if you know how to wire this scenario up.

The nicest thing about Panasonic's KX-T series of systems is that they maintain the capability to support many, if not most these days, of phones. Even if a new and improved model of KSU comes along, the old phones will work. They just might not support all of the new features that a system (or software upgrade) might have to offer.

By the way, one of the best features we use is "timed reminder", A.K.A.: Wake up call for teenagers. Other systems may have this, but we use that every day. Even I use it as my alarm clock, since I have a battery backup on the KSU and we have the KSU setup to update the system date/time from caller ID. No more excused for oversleeping!

IP is the only thing that you should think about if you feel your residential environment will ever go that way (not just getting dial tone over the Internet). I mean real off-premise extensions of your system in other cities, states or countries. If that's what you are after, then by all means go for the KX-TDA100 and up. Then send me some of your extra money!

Thank you, that was very helpful.

Let me ask you a few additional questions.

1. KX-T7700, KX-T7885 & KX-TD789 will work with the 2-way intercom(or are they monitor only?)

Did you say that all the Panasonic LCD phone with speaker phone have 2-way intercom/anto-ans or are some monitor only?

2. Do you know if the KX-TA824 has Call Logs on all the phones or only from 1 phone like with the 1232 system?

Its amazing how you can use both Analog and Digital phone on the same station card. I guess that is why they call it "Hybrid" right?

If you could please let me know, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for your help.

I forgot to ask.

Does the LCD display on the KX-T7700, KX-T7885 & KX-TD789 always lite up or only when there is a phone call?

Thanks

Sarge:

Yes, the 7700 series of speakerphones (KX-T7720, 31 or 35) works both ways on intercom, the 7885 is wireless and only originates handsfree calls to these phone models. Calls received by the 7885 must be answered as a ringing call. I don't know what the 7989 is, but I assume you meant 7895. The same applies with all wireless phones on this system, even store-bought retail cordless phones.

I don't know a whole lot about the KX-TA824, but I would tend to assume that its feature set is comparable to the KX-TD series since it came along right about the same time they were discontinued. Still, I think that the 824 will only support the 77XX (analog multi-line) series of phones. You have to jump way up to the KX-TDA to use the new (or old) digital phone models.

Yes, that's exactly why they call their systems hybrids. Some of the larger Panasonic systems, however allow you to choose analog-only, proprietary-only, or hybrid cards to save money. Hybrid capability and flexibility is much more expensive. Remember that the KX-TD systems were the only ones that supported the KX-TD series of phones. This, of course is with the exception of the newer systems, that allow backward compatibility with many phone types. I only speak from "user" experience with the KX-TD816/1232, version 3 family. It was up to version 7 when it was discontinued I believe.

To answer your second post while I am here, yes the KX-T7700 series (7730) remains backlit all the time even with idle, as do several of the KX-TD74XX (digital) models. The 7730 has been replaced by the 7731 which includes a lighted dial pad as well. I don't think that the 7731's dial remains lit all the time, just the display.

There may be others, but again, I only speak from experience as a user. No, the wireless 7885/7895 displays don't remain lit continuously (probably to conserve battery life). They do light up fully when ringing or when placing a call. To help in the dark, you can press any key to wake up the display so you can go back and correct the incorrect digit you dialed to turn it on. The "phone on/off" button is the largest one, so it's pretty easy to feel your way to it after using it a few times. Still, the illumination does go dead after a few seconds while on a call and I don't think that can be changed. In other words, my answer would be no, the wireless phone models don't remain lit throughout the duration of a call and definitely not when sitting idle.

Remember also that when you use the digital (KX-TD74XX phones, they include a separate (independent) analog extension via a jack on the rear of the phone. If the digital phone is ext. 105, then the analog ext. is 205 and yes, they can be used simultaneously without interference for devices like faxes or modems. If you don't want to spend money on voice mail right now, give the kids Wal Mart answering machines and configure the analog port as parallel-connected instead of independent (XDP). This means that you actually get two extensions, one analog and one digital from a single hybrid port as long as the first phone is a digital model.

Newer KX-TDA systems using the 76XX model phones allow you to connect two digital phones to a single station port.

By the way, I went back and edited my original post. I realized that I gave you bad information about "50 and above". That used to be the case (7050/55 and 7750) were/are monitor-only. Just keep as a rule of thumb that if it has a display, it's a speakerphone and will give you the 2-way intercom calling you desire.

Geez, I have reviewed my posts and have confused myself! I think this one is probably the most accurate, but hopefully someone out there is providing me with adult supervision. Folks, please feel free to correct me if my information is too far out of line. :shrug:

Kxt-7700 is a series of phones, 7720, 7731, 7736, 7750. the 7750 is the only monitor phone the rest are speaker. the 7720 does not include an LCD. The 7885 is a cordless phone that does not include the 2 way intercom with handsfree. you would have to answer it. I assume the 789 you refer to is the 7895 which is also a Cordless phone its a spread spectrum phone rather than 900mhz. Yes you can view Caller ID logs from any LCD phone that has been programmed properly, even from a cordless.
The cordless phones only light up when in use. the others lite up all the time and are adjustable, believe the dial pad itself lites up.