10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
Excellent add-on to the base unit
Date of Review: Jun 25, 2006
The Bottom Line: Excellent handset, long range, many features. Worth every penny.
I purchased this product at the same time that I purchased the base unit KX-TG5240M. We wanted a phone in a room where the existing wired phone jack just wasn't where we wanted the phone and we didn't want to have long cords laying around. I have the option of adding two more of these to my base if needed.
I purchased the handset in Staples during their brown bag sale. It listed for $80 and I got 10% off which made it cheaper than purchasing in the store where I got my base unit.
After setting up the base unit, we followed the installation instructions for the installation of the accessory handset. First we plugged in the AC adaptor that is attached to the charger unit. The charger unit acts as the 'phone cradle' for the accessory handset. We installed the battery and then charged it for 6 hours as instructed. Note the charger unit can be wall mounted if desired.
Next came the Registration process which makes the handset known to the base unit. The base and the accessory handset are used in this process. It took only a few minutes and worked flawlessly. This handset is handset #2 and the handset on the base unit is handset #1.
One of the things that is done during registration is the selection of the display language on the added handset. There is a choice of English or Spanish. Note the instruction manual is written in both English and Spanish.
An optional headset can be added to the accessory handset. I don't have one of these but it looks like no trouble to add it at any time.
Once registered the accessory handset has all the features of the base handset.
There are a lot of features on this handset and I will cover the main ones here. Basically you use this handset just as you would use the base handset.
There is a caller ID screen (You get this feature from your phone company). If you don't have the feature, when the phone rings, the display says 'Incoming Call'. This distinguishes the call as coming from outside the house rather than from the base unit. If a call comes from the base unit, the display shows 'Call from Base'.
When the phone rings, the accessory handset can be used to answer. You can also use both handsets if two people want to be on the line with the caller.
There is a phone book feature in these phones. Up to 50 numbers can be stored. Once we programmed the base unit handset, we used the Copy Phone Book feature to copy everything into the second handset. No retyping necessary.
To use the phone book, press the phone book soft key and then search for the name you want and press the talk button to dial the number.
If there is a message on the base unit answering system, you can retrieve the message from any handset. You have the option of setting the Message Alert to flash if you have a message waiting. You press this soft key and your messages will play. There is no need to physically go to the room where the base unit answering system is located.
One thing I find a little uncomfortable is that when I cradle the handset, it's a little bit too short and I have to be careful not to drop it. A headset would help this problem.
You can't turn off the ringer on these handsets. I used to like to be able to do this on my old phone. It's the only feature that's missing.
Having the ability to add a handset to a cordless system frees you from phone jacks and wire bedlam. I'm really happy with this overall.
