The Lemon Fool

My B&O answering machine is proving troublesome, the delete message function is faulty. The machine is no longer made, also when i got it i treated myself to the luxury but nowadays I'd prefer something less fancy.

I've looked on Amazon for another machine and phone but am confused by all the options. Can anyone please recommend a simple answering machine and phone that a) would store at least 30 messages of at least 3 minutes length each, b) enable me to vary the length of a caller's message recording (is that the right terminology i don't know), c) have a 24 hour clock and month-day in the display, and d) be reliable.

tia
Bnc

Why not just divert calls to your landline to your mobile, then use the free voicemail facility?

Then you can donate your obsolete B&O machine to a museum somewhere

Because i divert calls from my mobile to my landline.

brightncheerful wrote:Because i divert calls from my mobile to my landline.

Lol. How quaint!

But seriously, why not do it the other way around?

brightncheerful wrote:...a simple answering machine and phone that a) would store at least 30 messages of at least 3 minutes length each, b) enable me to vary the length of a caller's message recording (is that the right terminology i don't know), c) have a 24 hour clock and month-day in the display, and d) be reliable.

We have a Binatone which does nearly all that.

Older version of this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274782306965?hash=item3ffa4d4295:g:TwgAAOSwwq9gjrpf. Ours has three satellites, but the TAM is the same. They are available with 2,3 or 4 satellites.

Previously for nine years we had another Binatone - over the years they made many models which packaged the same underlying gubbins - and the TAM still worked fine, but last year the display on the phones started to degrade.
I think I paid about a tenner for the one we have now.

It does all you ask... except the time/date display.
But these seem quite popular
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303962544744 ... SwvRBgeXai

V8

I used to have a B&O answering machine, they always keep the last, I think 99 messages, when you flag a message as 'read' what it really does is flag that message position as 'available to be overwritten by the next incoming message'.

Not ideal from a privacy perspective but it does help if you flag a message by accident and want to get it back.

For all its flaws, the B&O does seem to be indestructible unlike most modern devices which have a tendency to die after a few years. Mine is still working at a friends house.

Mike4 wrote:

brightncheerful wrote:Because i divert calls from my mobile to my landline.

Lol. How quaint!

But seriously, why not do it the other way around?

Because I don't run my business on my mobile. I only use the mobile for some of the calls I make but mostly the mobile is permanently switched off and I only don't have it on divert to landline when i'm out of my office and expecting a call. I don't want incoming calls to my mobile: partly I don't want to be interrupted and I get lots of calls from people who've never previously called me and I don't want them to have my mobile number. Also I don't keep all my contacts' mobile numbers on my mobile. Might be quaint to you, sir, but my system works very well for me. (The majority of communications are email.)

brightncheerful wrote:My B&O answering machine is proving troublesome, the delete message function is faulty. The machine is no longer made, also when i got it i treated myself to the luxury but nowadays I'd prefer something less fancy.

I've looked on Amazon for another machine and phone but am confused by all the options. Can anyone please recommend a simple answering machine and phone that a) would store at least 30 messages of at least 3 minutes length each, b) enable me to vary the length of a caller's message recording (is that the right terminology i don't know), c) have a 24 hour clock and month-day in the display, and d) be reliable.

Why not use a network-based answering service? This could be free for example https://btbusiness.custhelp.com/app/ans ... structions

It doesn't meet your clock display requirement, but hey, buy a clock...

Scott.

If you use a separate business phone line, you could also look at swapping to VoIP (voice over IP). As an example, I use voipfone.co.uk . An answer service on 1571 is free, storing 99 messages. Messages can also be delivered by email which I find useful. Plus you may be able to cancel rental if you use an additional phone line for business use at home or something. Overall, call quality of at least as good as a normal phoneline, it costs me less, and there are many more services that I can use of I want to.

I have my business phone number set to ring on a physical phone, and also divert to my mobile, and I answer whichever is convenient at the time.