EnGenius SN 920 Ultra Phone

The Engenius SN-290 is a long range cordless phone system. It can be set up to work with any combination of up to 4 bases and 36 handsets. Handsets can also communicate directly with each other and not tie up the base, so a 3rd user can make an outgoing call at the same time.

The metal handset is built solid as a rock. It has a high quality look and feel and is built to last. A stubby antenna extends for added range. The keypad layout is clean and uncluttered. The base connects to the power and the phone line. The handset can not be placed in or charged from the base. You use the remote charging stand to charge the phone. The base has a small removable antenna. An external antenna can easily be connected instead of the small antenna for more range.

Extended range is the main reason to buy the Engenius SN-920. It's advertised to go several miles. The actual range with the base sitting on a desk in a first floor office in a commercial area is well under half a mile. If you are higher up, you should be able to make calls from any place you can see out your window. The sound quality is crisp and loud. The phone menu is very logical. Most functions are easy to set up by reading the menu prompts on the phone. Registering handsets and base stations will require the owners manual the first time, but it's easy to do it again just by reading the phone prompts.

The phone uses the 900 megahertz band. The base has 900 milliwatts of power, verses about 100 or so for a typical cordless phone. The handset puts out 600 milliwatts. The power output is automatically adjusted lower when you are close to the base to extend battery life. You can talk for about 3 hours on a charge with a new nickel metal hydride battery. Digital spread spectrum technology spreads your calls over a hundred different channels and combines them at the other end. It's the same technology the military uses. No one can listen in. This system is FCC approved for use in the USA.

Senao, based in Hong Kong, is the parent company of US based Engenius. They make the SN-390, a long range phone that works on 390 megahertz. It has much better range than the EnGenius. It is not FCC approved in the US and does not have the quality feel of the EnGenius. It lacks the flexibility of multiple base stations. The menu is difficult to figure out. The instructions are poorly translated from Chinese. You'll need to interpret and experiment to figure the menu out for yourself, or forego using the advanced features.

The Senao is analog, the Engenius is digital. As you walk away from the base with the Engenius, there is no noise or interference until you get to the end of it's range. Then it almost dies out completely. Being analog, the Senao starts to get a little noisy just a few hundred feet away. The noise gradually increases with range, but you can get about double the range of the EnGenius even though the sound quality is not as good. There is a deli about half a mile from my office. I can make a call from inside the deli with the Senao. I can't even get a signal on the Engenius if I walk outside the deli. So despite the Engenius being higher quality and better sounding, it does not have the range the Senao has. However, if you are used to a typical home 2.4 gig or 5.8 gig phone, the EnGenius range is stunning by comparision to those.

written by Rick Bennette. fineartvideo.com

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