Phone system for 2 person, 3 line home office ?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. I am looking for recommendations for a 2, 3 or 4 line phone system for a small (3 extensions, 3 lines as in 1 residential, 1 "modem" and 1 business line) home office, with speakerphone, intercom, paging and transfer (to another extension) features, that also will interoperate with plain old phones and modems. By interoperate I mean that the line-in-use indicators will light up if someone picks up a regular telephone on a line, and the phone won't auto select that line for dial out when it is in use by a regular phone or modem.

A. Even better would be for the phones to have an auxilliary modem/fax jack that would not let the modem or fax pick up the line if it were already in use. (I already know about teleguard, but why can't the phone do this for me!) It seems that the only way to test this is to buy two phones, try them out, and return them if they don't work the way I want them to. I tried two FT484's, and I am about return them. (Besides this issue, I thought they were great. Good speakerphone, and Office Depot is selling them for $100 a piece!) Does anyone have experience with any of: GE/Thompson 2-9450 Phillips/AT&T 843 (no longer available) or 854? (I have heard that these do detect the off-hook, but I would like verification.) What about the new Phillips/Lucent 954? (Why is it late anyway?) Are there any Panasonic phones that work this way? Any other suggestions? Small PBX? Please be specific. I am looking at three extensions for the phone system, and I guess I would like to keep it under $500. The new Phillips/Lucent 954 supposedly retails for $160. You dont want much do you? Panasonic makes a nice 2 line phone with intercom the number excapes me right now, also GE /Tompson has a 4 line phone with intercom both have speaker phone and line preferance. neather will light the line lamp when the modem is in use. The only phone systems with jacks in the phones for auxillery devices will be far more than you will be willing to pay for. If you want to go the PBX route there are several posablitys. The panasonic KX-T 308 will support devices like generic phones and modems, you will need at least one Panasonic LCD phone for programing , and the main answer point. There is the Tanstel SK-408 ( which I sell) that will work simeraly but can provide 4 lines as opposed to Panasonics 3 lines, and the programing is far more flexable for customising the system. dr.d I think those would be the Panasonic KX-TS400 and GE 2-9450. I'm surprised that they won't even light the lamp when the modem picks up. Other non-intercom phones from those manufacturers have line-in-use indicators that must simply detect off-hook status on the line. Are their intercom phones actually less capable in this regard? Does anyone know of any phone that touts an auxilliary data port where the data port is more than just a straight pass through? A Transtel SK-408 with three propritary phones a 2 port C.O. expander, MOH input and and hybread capablity for all 8 station ports would be $875.00. A VSU card for automated attendent routing of incomming calls would be $400.00 extra. I would also gladly preprogram the system for you prior to shipment. I'd have to get back with you on the Panasonic as my price sheets for that are in another location. dr.d

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