Followup remarks on the EnGenius SN-920
copyright Eric Geilker geilker5@aol.com
"My EnGenius project has come to an end due to cheap cell phones."
Ten years ago when I purchased and installed my EnGenius system, cell phones were relatively expensive. Worse, cell phones were an insular techology; what I mean by "insular" is that they were not well integrated with other phones, like land lines.
Things have changed! I can walk into WalMart and buy a $10 tracfone with no expensive plan. Better yet, landline companies have integrated their services with wireless and VOIP. For instance, my landline provider just recently rolled out a feature called "Sim Ring" or simultaneous ring. With Sim Ring, I can list up to six phones that I want to ring when someone calls my main line! This feature works great and has a handy web interface. When somebody calls my home phone, it rings on my cheapo cell phone too.
For me, a cheap cell phone coupled with Sim Ring renders my EnGenius 920 utterly obsolete. Remember, in section 7) above where I answered the "why" question my reason for going with the EnGenius was to turn my home phone into a "super cordless phone" that would operate seamlessly with my home phone: somebody dialed my home phone, I could answer on the EnGenius at a long range of a mile or more. But a $10 cell phone coupled with Sim Ring does the same thing: somebody dials my home phone, I answer on the cheapo cell. Except for one difference--the range is not one mile, it is PLANET EARTH.
Another killer difference is the durability of the handset. The EnGenius handset was hefty & well-made, but my experience was that under heavy daily use you could get just over a year out of a handset...and they weren't cheap! In contrast my cheapo tracfone has dropped from ladders, spent the night outdoors, suffered the tortures of the damned and never blinked.
So was spending all that money on the EnGenius a mistake? No, not then, but it sure would be now! Anybody want to buy a cheap used EnGenius phone system with a half a dozen worn out handsets? Call me on my cell phone and make me an offer.
Update January 2012: too late to call and make an offer. Ebay sale below went for about $75 with the base station & other stuff:
EnGenius SN-920 User Review Home Page
1) Purchasing the EnGenius SN-920
2) Installation Without Outdoor Antenna
3) Testing the Range Without the Outdoor Antenna
4) Installation With the Outdoor Antenna
5) Testing the Range With the Outdoor Antenna
6) Technical Details and Miscellaneous Observations
8) Conclusions about the EnGenius SN-920
10) Ten years later, the Project Ends
