My wife spends a fair amount of time on the phone and would like a wireless headset so that she can answer the phone and walk around and do housework at the same time she is talking. I checked around on the internet and see that there is a confusing quantity of options, most very expensive. Any suggestions as to what to get her and where to buy.
One thing that is probably essential for the wireless system is range. From experience I have discovered that many wireless systems do not work well in my house as it is all concrete, brick and rebar. A cordless phone for example needs to be of superior quality and range to work well here.

 

Stan,most folks I know swear by (not at) the "Plantronics" brand.
http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/

 

Thanks, been looking at the Plantronics stuff and it is a possibility. Anybody have any idea how well Bluetooth works within concrete structures and how far the unit can be from the base?

 

Best results are obtained with bluetooth within a few feet of the phone.
The range is supposed to be up to 30 feet, but that will only be obtained under ideal conditions. As long as the phone is near or on you they work great though.

BTW . .yes, Plantronics is a good brand.

 

I use a Plantronics Voyager Bluetooth unit on my business phone it works well but I must stay within 30 ft of the phone. Not really a problem as I keep the phone on my hip in a case. I just push a button on the ear piece to answer the phone.

I have noticed that after 6 hours or so I get a whopper of a headache from the earpiece. It is so comfortable I can't really feel it as I wear it but it pushes on a nerve the same way my glasses do and I can't wait to get rid of it in the evening. If I didn't have to wear it full time it would not be an issue.

 

How bout you get your lazy buns off the couch and do some chores around the house and give her a break!!!!! Your a slave driver!!!!

 

You might want to consider a 5.8GHz wireless phone and a simple headset with a boom mic. I picked up the phone (main station with 4 units) from Newegg and the headset from Radio Shack. We can get over a block from the house and still get a decent signal.

Newegg is having Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, so this might help you keep the cost down.



Kris

 

Hey, no way! I will freely admit that I am too chicken to ever try to push my wife to do anything. Remember, if mama ain't happy.....? I cannot afford those consequences. However, to give her credit, she is more than happy to try to keep me happy.

 

I am using a 5.8 Ghz cordless phone right now and the signal is barely OK in some parts of the house. The concrete and rebar really attenuate the signal badly. Will look at the headset idea, thanks.

 

Well in that case, the best phones we have bought came from radio shack. Believe it or not. Probably just my dumb luck, but we have had real good success with them. I am positive they are a re-label, but they are fairly priced and the wife's office phone has been around for 6 years. Left it in the rain twice, and heck of a snow storm once. Dried it off real good and she worked just fine. We did have to replace the batteries once. I switched to NiMh. One thing for sure is you want to have your wife try the headset on. Sure sure, she will have to be seen in public with you, but that way you know that the headset that she gets will be comfortable. She will also like a shopping trip JUST FOR HER!!!!