sisemen

The problem:

Aged mother-in-law lives in a large sprawling house with additional B&B residences in the complex. Because of her age and living there alone we decided to get a caretaker for when my wife can't get over there.

We figured that we needed some means of communication between MIL and the caretaker but what?

MIL doesn't want CB radio as she doesn't want "anyone listening in" and computering/mobile is not possible because she lives in mobile signal dead spot and I don't think that a pager is the way to go.

The distance from the caretaker residence to the main house is about 60 metres as the crow flies.

Any suggestions?

mixture

Erm... telephone ?

Alternatively, if you want to be a real cheap about it, I believe you can still rent a private copper line between the locations from BT since they will both evidently be served from the same exchange.

Or if we're talking purely about medical emergencies here, how about one of those "press the big red button on that necklace hanging round your neck" type thingies.

Tableview

I would also suggest the pendant things which can be used to either alert an operator or a pre-determined number.

Something like this :
Careline Personal Pendant Alarms for the Elderly

I think this was the one we got for my mother:
Pendant Alarms For The Elderly - Call Safe

(She refused to use it, but that's another story!)

darkroomsource

those pendant things require a phone line (or if you get the 'mobile' ones, a mobile signal)

as a solution, there are walkie talkies that have number pads on the front of them, you can call someone directly, and people can't listen in.

vulcanised

Wonder if a wireless intercom would travel over the quoted distance?

Mike-Bracknell

Motorola - Talkabout 22-Channel FRS/GMRS 2-Way Radios (Pair) - MR350

Appear to be (partially?) encrypted.

FullOppositeRudder

It's hard to be sure, but this feature looks more like CTCSS encoding rather than true encryption or "scrambling". CTCSS encoding means that the radios hear only other radios transmitting the same or common sub-audable tone as part of the signal. Other listeners on the channel will hear the transmissions but will not be able to break-in unless they identify and use the same CTCSS tone on their radios.

Radios with scramblers are available - but just how private they would be if someone really wants to eavesdrop is not known. When combined with CTCSS encoding, such a system may be quite acceptable especially if the system is used sparingly.

What you can use (legally) really depends on what country you are planning to use such a system in. It's hard to give a really worthwhile answer until that is known.

sisemen

Western Australia FOR. Thanks for all the suggestions so far folks.

MJC2

We have got a wireless Siemens phone system on which one can make internal calls. On this you can either call all the other handsets in the house or choose a particular handset by name. This works from inside the house to the bottom of a longish garden (40-50m).

60m from inside one building to inside another building might be possible - the base station would be in one building and a second handset in the other.

Assuming base station with MIL then she could use it to make external landline calls as well.

FullOppositeRudder

Aha! I'm in the southern province on the other side of the dotted line or "rabbit fence". So we can talk about what's available (and legal) in OZ

I guess one of the prime requirements is simplicity of operation as well as reliability over the given signal path.

MJC2's suggestion is a good one, and some of the Uniden series of home phones in Australia have this feature. I'm a bit nervous about a reliable 50+ metre range - it may be OK if there isn't a lot of material (walls fences etc) between the two units, however it needs to be tested. We have these here - I'll do a bit of a walk-around when it cools down tonight and see what might be expected in a suburban situation.

UHF CB can be an option - 80 channels are now available, and very low power units running CTCSS on one of the new channels might be OK - freedom from intrusion by others is a reasonable expectation under that option, however others would be able to hear your conversations and that's probably ruled that option out. A pair of these on low power and using one of the upper 40 channels will meet the communication options with ease, however as stated, others will be able to eavesdrop. Voice scramblers appear to only be available on some of the advanced mobile transceivers and these become expensive and need power supplies and antennas.

There may be other options altogether but these are the two most immediately obvious ones for Australian usage. I'll give it some more thought and see what might emerge.

FOR

PS It's a bit hot around this part of the world at the moment but I think you are probably well familiar with that .....

sisemen

Not sure if it helps but this is the layout:

Bushfiva

DECT is OK in Australia, I think? As well as DECT phones, there's other interesting hardware out there: my door cam is DECT-based. It's one-way picture, two-way talk.

FullOppositeRudder

Thanks, indeed it does; a lovely setting too

I went for a bit of a walk in the (relative) cool of the evening with one of our earlier mentioned Uniden phones. Its range is variable depending on what structures interpose on the signal path. I had as much as 60 metres down the street with only the walls of our house in the way. However it fell back to about half of that once there was a fence or another building to add to the existing signal barriers.

In everyday use we have a couple of these in the backyard shed of our 25 x 40 metre town block. The master unit is on the most remote room in the house from the shed, and the path is sufficiently reliable for phone communications although it can chop in some instances, which suggests it's on the limit.

If I transpose this observation into your specific situation, I am inclined towards predicting that this particular system could work if it were not for the building (shed) between the two dwellings. A trial would be needed, but I think it's a marginal path at best with the units we have here - assuming that they are still available.

Now it may be that there are other cordless phone systems which give a greater range - ie a better performance when there are structures in the signal path. My older Uniden cordless phone which came along when we left the farm is extremely good in this respect and offers 300+ metres coverage in most situations. Alas it was replaced in the product line by the ones we now use, and it didn't offer the intercom facility anyway. I would suggest that you see what you can find on offer in an electrical store where people can give a reliable and honest estimate of what you might expect once you outline your specific needs and intentions for the equipment.

Your picture suggests a rural location, which if it is indeed so, again raises the possibility that a pair of UHF CBs on a very low power setting using one of the 'new' channels and CTCSS options could be satisfactory.

However I think I have possibly explored the options as far as I should within this forum. If you wish to follow up with a PM please feel free to do so, and I will he happy to try and assist in whatever limited way I can. In the meantime other options may be presented by the members of the forum and you should keep the door open for that possibility.

regards
FOR

Edited to suggest that Bushfiva's suggestion is another possibility if it offers sufficient range / power to get around the building in the middle.

Pelikal

Telepathy? Worked for me once or thrice. Mind you, you have to watch them cold callers from India on the 'waves'. No encryption here and adblock doesn't work. I tried sending an ad, the result? Heavy Karma. Samantha with the big t!tt!ies keeps sending me wonderful invites.......