tinaj

We have got a set of 4 BT Quartet cordless phones -. They are really useful as you only have to have one phone socket and you just plug the others into a power socket and you can have a phone where you like.

I know the connection is different in Aus. But can I take them with me, will they work? One of the removal quoters told me they don't use FM radio waves so they won't work.

Any ideas?

welshpom

The quote about FM radio waves has got me stumped. To the best of my knowledge, the air between a base station and a 2nd/3rd/4th handset in Aus obeys the same laws of physics and the air between them in the UK.

It's apparently illegal to plug your UK phone into the Aus system unless it has been specifically tested and authorised by Aussie officials. However, the same is true for other devices that plug into the phone system, and there's never an issue when it comes to laptops from overseas getting used in Aus. (The UK is the same, all phones need that little green sticker of approval).

Tim Sorrell has some hands on experience of UK phones in Aus...
http://emigrate.hotshopping.com.au/

DECT phones are a relatively new introduction out here. I picked up one from a Telstra shop with answerphone and second handset for $300 / £120. I think that's a decent price compared to the UK.

Kiwipaul

The phones will work down here as it's pure physics, they will work anywhere. The problem is the freq they use to communicate between handsets. Different countries use different frequencies for different thing. So in the UK the phones use a freq allocated to phones, down here they could allocate that frequency for remote garage door openers, emergency services, etc and by using these UK phone you would cause no end of trouble.

You might not because the freq for phones might be the same as UK. I don't know.

Thats why they want them tested before use to prevent this type of interference.

welshpom

DECT appears (from a quick google) to be a global standard on 1.88-1.9 GHz.

I'd be a little more concerned about the base station's ability to a) detect a dial tone correctly, and b) detect an incoming call.

Dial tone shouldn't be a problem since foreign spec modems work fine over here. Tim Sorrell makes a point about problems with getting some UK phones to ring when called, but I'd bet that DECT phones are designed to work anywhere in the world.

Your mileage may vary with a cheapo handset.

jwatsonoz

Kiwipaul is correct. You cannot use standard cordless phones in Australia unless they are designed for the Australian market. This is because you are likely to interfere with frequencies used for other services.

Australia uses a different frequency for standard cordless phones than the UK. I would not use it, as you can be tracked down. The law in Australia is very strict and fines are high. Not just that, it wouldn't be nice to interfere with essential services.

HOWEVER - DECT frequencies are currently the same worldwide. Therefore, if your phone is DECT technology you can use it in the knowledge that it won't be detected as illegal or interfere with anything. It is still illegal though, as it will not have been approved by the relevant Australian authority- but they would have to visually inspect it to find out (not very likely).

It is also illegal to connect the phone to the phone line. This is so people don't connect dodgy equipment to the line that could make it live and unsafe. A non Aus phone would not make the line unsafe anyway. If you connect it wrong it will not work, but will not damage anything. However, in the very unlikely event telstra want entry to your house to check the line....I would disconnect your non aus phone from the line.

jwatsonoz

DECT phone [base stations] are created for a worldwide market and should work fine (and ring ok) out of the uk if connected correctly.

Use of the 3rd (bell) wire should be optional now in most modern uk phones as it would cost too much to create a different model for the international market.