Return-Path: Received: from a.gp.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa23255; 26 Apr 92 17:50:47 EDT Received: from a.gp.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa04834; 26 Apr 92 17:50:17 EDT To: bovik@CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Answering Machine Survey Date: Sun, 26 Apr 92 17:50:09 -0400 Message-ID: <4832.704325009@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Fredric_Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU I made a survey of peoples experiences with answering machines last year. The answers do not point to a uniformly great answering machine. They all fail in about 3 years. I wound up buying a Sony TAM-30 from Silo. I bought the replacement 2 year warranty, and the thing broke after 3 months. So, I just went back and they gave me a new one. The unit is not as convenient to use as the panasonic two tape models. But, the second one hasn't broken yet. Fred Solomon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from f.gp.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa17701; 17 Jun 91 13:44:15 EDT Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 13:39:12 EDT From: Garth.Gibson@F.GP.CS.CMU.EDU To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Answering Machine Survey I've had a Panasonic phone/answering machine for a few years now. I'm quite pleased. It has been dropped and moved; it has seen prolonged hot and cold temperatures. It still works well. I forget the model number now, I can get it for you if you want. It has digital outgoing message (about 30 sec - my message is about 8 sec), speed dialing, 2-way monitoring, remote playback, voice activated recording. It does not have time and date stamp, hands-free phone operation. Today I would get these last two and a cordless phone - I believe Panasonic has sets with all of these features. garth@cs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from ius4.ius.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa17995; 17 Jun 91 14:04:42 EDT Received: from ius4.ius.cs.cmu.edu by IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa25667; 17 Jun 91 14:04:08 EDT To: Fred Subject: answering machines Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 14:04:07 EDT Message-ID: <25665.677181847@IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Reg.Willson@IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU Fred, My Consumer's Reports top rated Panasonic answering machine (KT1460 if I recall correctly) has been working reliably under heavy traffic for almost 4 years now. I couldn't be happier. Perhaps you just got a lemon. -- Reg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 14:40:41 EDT From: William.Welch@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: answering machines I had a top of the line panasonic unit that ate the big one (smoke from the tape drive) after about 3 or 4 years. Now I use the answering service provided by the local phone company for $5/mo. I like the option of having multiple voicemail boxes per household, and the fact that if the line's in use an incoming call is automatically diverted to the answering service. Two things you can't get from an anwering machine. -- will ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from andrew.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa20689; 17 Jun 91 18:01:48 EDT Received: by andrew.cmu.edu (5.54/3.15) id for Fredric.Solomon@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu; Mon, 17 Jun 91 18:01:38 EDT Received: via switchmail; Mon, 17 Jun 91 18:01:34 -0400 (EDT) Received: from po2.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Jun 91 18:01:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from LADON.RESDOC.CS.CMU.EDU via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Jun 91 14:44:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Messages.7.10.N.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NOT.LINKED.LADON.RESDOC.CS.CMU.EDU.vax.22 via MS.5.6.LADON.RESDOC.CS.CMU.EDU.vax_22; Mon, 17 Jun 91 14:44:57 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 14:44:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Jeffrey Basista To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Answering Machine Survey In-Reply-To: References: Fred, I'm not a Panasonic sales rep or anything like that, but I wonder if you just didn't have some bad luck in getting a bad machine. I've had mine for several years now and have had no trouble. I know a half-dozen people who have the same box or slightly different models who've had no trouble. Just my two cents . . . -Jeff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa18732; 17 Jun 91 15:16:32 EDT Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:10:33 EDT From: Mark.Kantrowitz@GLINDA.OZ.CS.CMU.EDU To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: re: Answering Machine Survey Hmm. I've had my Panasonic for six years now without trouble. When my parent's machine broke (the motor gummed up, so it wasn't worth fixing), we replaced it with a panasonic (the one that time stamps the message) and that's been working fine for three or four years now. I looked at digital machines a while ago, but back then the digital recording was only for the outgoing message. If they now also work for incoming messages, make sure that they have enough storage (best way to check is to take the incoming message tape from your old machine, and see how many minutes of it have been recorded). What's wrong with your machine? --mark ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: <@po2.andrew.cmu.edu:lv0e+@andrew.cmu.edu> Received: from po2.andrew.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa19273; 17 Jun 91 15:57:40 EDT Received: by po2.andrew.cmu.edu (5.54/3.15) id for Fredric.Solomon@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu; Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:57:31 EDT Received: via switchmail; Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:57:30 -0400 (EDT) Received: from unix4.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:55:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: from unix4.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:55:25 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mms.0.1.814.EzMail.1.1.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NOT.LINKED.unix4.andrew.cmu.edu.vax.3 via MS.5.6.unix4.andrew.cmu.edu.vax_3; Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:55:23 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <4cLFCfu00WB5IAgFEc@andrew.cmu.edu> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 15:55:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Lisa Laverne Vaughan To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Answering Machine Survey Cc: In-Reply-To: References: I have a GE answering machine that I *really* love, despite that fact that GE has some politically incorrect investments... It has a time/date stamp, clock on the front,remote answer,2 microcassettes(really the only way to go), has never failed,a "reminder" feature, and cost me ~100. ...lisa ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from doberman.ece.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa19657; 17 Jun 91 16:37:17 EDT Received: by doberman.ECE.CMU.EDU (5.54-ECE2/5.17) id AA17607; Mon, 17 Jun 91 16:37:08 EDT From: Karl Brace Message-Id: <9106172037.AA17607@doberman.ECE.CMU.EDU> To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Answering Machine Survey Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 16:37:07 EDT My Panasonic is more than 3 years old. It works great. I have seen many friends' newer and often more expensive machines of other brands that are harder to use, some of which have broken down in a shorter time than yours, so I have been very happy with my choice. It seems to me that it is very common for answering machines to be broken, I can think of several friends who have had trouble with theirs. -karl ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from g.gp.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa20309; 17 Jun 91 17:23:33 EDT Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1991 17:11-EDT From: Tom.Lane@G.GP.CS.CMU.EDU To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Answering Machine Survey Message-Id: <677193093/tgl@G.GP.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Fredric.Solomon's bboard message of 17-Jun-91 13:34 My wife and I each have an AT&T 1330. Neither is more than 6 months old, so I can't speak to long-term reliability. However, we liked the features and functions sufficiently to buy a second one when her Panasonic bit the dust recently. (Hers wasn't real old either... hmmm.) Offhand, I can't think of *any* misfeatures on the 1330s. For instance, they don't lose any state during a power outage, which was not true of the Panasonic. They automatically label each incoming message with time and day-of-week, which is real nice. I think they are about $80 if you buy from Sears or Office Depot (if you go to an AT&T phone store, they charge more). tom ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: <@cs.cmu.edu:magnani@fox.ece.cmu.edu> Received: from cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa21745; 17 Jun 91 19:55:05 EDT Received: from fox.ece.cmu.edu by CS.CMU.EDU id aa22753; 17 Jun 91 19:54:09 EDT Received: by fox.ece.cmu.edu (5.54-ECE2/5.17) id AA07177; Mon, 17 Jun 91 19:53:52 EDT Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 19:53:52 EDT From: Alberto Magnani Message-Id: <9106172353.AA07177@fox.ece.cmu.edu> To: Frederic.Solomon@cs.cmu.edu Subject: Answering Machines... Saw your post about answering machines... I don't think any are totally reliable... I bought an AT&T model 1330 whose features I like quite a bit. I thought that an AT&T machine would be pretty safe given that all their other stuff had been fairly solid and it was a huge company... well after about 10 months it died (within warranty)... they replaced it with a refurbished unit which still occasionally tweaks out... I don't think anything is really safe... ...they can put a man on the moon and they can't make a decent answering machine... what is the world coming to?!? -al ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from ius4.ius.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa25067; 18 Jun 91 8:14:48 EDT Date: Tue, 18 Jun 91 08:13:43 EDT From: Bill.Ross@IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Ans Machines I LOVE my PhoneMate -- had it for years, easy to use, nice features, no problems. Bill ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from v.ergo.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa25557; 18 Jun 91 9:12:41 EDT Date: Tue, 18 Jun 91 09:10:25 EDT From: John.Greiner@V.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU To: frederic.solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: re: answering machines My bottom-of-the-line Coda-A-Phone ($30??) is a year old and works fine, except for one problem: if the person hangs up while the message is still playing, the beep at the end of the message can be registered as someone starting to dial out, and you get the recorded operator giving you an error message which is recorded on the answering machine. jg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from frc2.frc.ri.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa27495; 18 Jun 91 11:19:15 EDT Received: from shovel.frc.ri.cmu.edu by FRC2.FRC.RI.CMU.EDU (4.1/5.17) id AA05277; Tue, 18 Jun 91 11:17:10 EDT Date: Tue, 18 Jun 91 11:17:10 EDT From: Clark McDonald Message-Id: <9106181517.AA05277@FRC2.FRC.RI.CMU.EDU> Received: by shovel.frc.ri.cmu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA00451; Tue, 18 Jun 91 11:17:13 EDT To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU In-Reply-To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU's message of 17 Jun 91 13:29:39 ED Subject: Answering Machine Survey Reply-To: Clark McDonald Frederic-- The shop I owned before being employed by CMU was a factory service center for just about every brand name of consumer electronics product you can imagine. We did TVs, Stereos, VCRs, answering machines, cordless phones, etc. etc. first: Panasonic is one of the better brand names. It is, however a machine designed and built by human beings, and as such, is subject to certain failures and the need for certain maintenance. All machines are. second: IMHO, just because a product is all digital does not really mean that we can make the assumption that it will actually deliver higher reliability in the field. In my experience, the digital units seem to need repair *more* often than the others. The reason for this? Digital circuitry is sensitive to changes in the power line. Power line events such as lightning, surges, power cutoff and cut-on, or even simple static charges can knock the bejabbers out of many digital circuits, rendering them useless, and oftimes more expensive on the repair side than some of the digital/mechanical/analog units. You may not be correct in assuming that you have not made a fairly safe investment. To find out, you must first ascertain (sp?) exactly what the problem with your present unit is. I would suggest that you take it to a reliable repair shop and get an estimate. I recommend you try either J Rudy and associates in Millvale or Audio-Video Service Co. in Monroeville. They are both listed in the yellow pages, and are both known to me as honest and reliable. Audio-Video will probably charge you around 25 bucks to take the unit into the shop and troubleshoot it. Tell them you wish to be called before they do any other work so that you can have an estimate of damage and make a decision at that time on repair or replacement. A two year old Panasonic should be in good shape, really. There is most probably only one little thing wrong with it and that is reparable. Nothing lasts forever. Some things last longer than others. When something breaks, there is always a reason for it. A good repairman can really save you money in the long run. --mack ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from nl.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa09681; 19 Jun 91 11:27:05 EDT Date: Wed, 19 Jun 1991 11:26-EDT From: Michael.Mauldin@NL.CS.CMU.EDU To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Answering Machine Survey Message-Id: <677345167/mlm@NL.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Fredric.Solomon's bboard message of 17-Jun-91 13:35 I am on my second. I think they all wear out after two years. --Fuzzy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from tygar.mach.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa17490; 20 Jun 91 0:47:31 EDT Received: from tygar.mach.cs.cmu.edu by TYGAR.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU id aa03489; 20 Jun 91 0:46:43 EDT From: Doug.Tygar@cs.cmu.edu To: fsolomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Reply-to: Doug.Tygar@cs.cmu.edu Subject: Answering machine Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 00:46:35 EDT Message-ID: <3487.677393195@TYGAR.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU> Sender: Doug.Tygar@TYGAR.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU The AT&T 1337 answering machine is advertised now for under a $100. I have it, and have found it to be adequate for my needs. The advantages: silence, high reliability, easy to skip over calling machine messages and delete messages arbitrarily. Disadvantages: 6 or 7 minutes recording time (not a serious limitation, except when I go on a trip) and no date/time stamp on messages. The only other digital machine I have seen is called the ADAM which looked ridiculous! Look for the follow on model (undoubtedly much more expensive) to arrive in time for Christmas. -- Doug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from ius5.ius.cs.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa27264; 21 Jun 91 0:23:03 EDT From: Tetsuo Kiuchi Date: Fri, 21 Jun 91 00:22:27 EDT To: fsolomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re. Answering machine I had been using a Sony's dual cassette model TR-55 for 4 years until I moved here. I had no trouble with it. I left it in Japan because hooking methods are different between Japan and US, so Japanese models cannot detect an end of talk in the US. But, Sony sells a counter-model in the US. --Ted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: Received: from taurus.ece.cmu.edu by A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa14174; 24 Jun 91 8:20:27 EDT Received: by taurus.ece.cmu.edu (5.54-ECE2/5.17) id AA25589; Mon, 24 Jun 91 08:20:24 EDT Date: Mon, 24 Jun 91 08:20:24 EDT From: Hank Walker Message-Id: <9106241220.AA25589@taurus.ece.cmu.edu> To: Fredric.Solomon@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Cc: Subject: Re: Answering Machine Survey While not an answering machine exactly, I use Bell Atlantic Answer Call. I forget the installation fee, but it cost $5/mo. It provides more features than answer machines provide, but I don't use them all. I just didn't want the hassle of an answering machine since I've been annoyed with them in the past. The main disadvantage of Answer Call is you have to pick up the phone to hear the have-a-message tone, rather than glancing at a light. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------