Tech Notes

When are POTS Lines Going Away?

If you ask anyone selling VoIP products or services, you will likely hear that POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) or PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) lines are either gone or will be gone by the end of the year. Their all-caps announcements appear to be fact filled and quote FCC orders to add to their credibility. Search “POTS Sunset” and you would think the sky is falling. Unfortunately, FCC docs are written for the telecom industry, not the general public, so the facts become easy to blur.

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HD Voice Primer (PDF)

HD Voice for Field Reports and Interviews Many wireless carriers and VoIP providers now offer improved voice quality using what is commonly referred to as HD Voice, or Wide-Band Speech technology. HD Voice is already available on many third party headsets and mobile phones, offering wireless freedom with a significant improvement in audio quality.

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Recording Telephone Interviews (PDF)

The Narrow Pipe (or How to Squeeze an Interview out of your Telephone Line) Go into any office supply and pick up the cheapest pocket micro cassette recorder you can find. With all its hiss, distortion, flutter, and narrow bandwidth, its still far better than any recording you’ll make over the telephone line. The fact is, that telephone audio quality is much worse than it was just 10 years ago. This is due to the propagation of cell phones, low cost long distance carriers, and internet telephony compression.

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Mix Minus What?

Mix Minus is an audio signal that is carefully designed to avoid feedback and echo in a conference or telephone interface application.

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Hum & Buzz (PDF)

You just spent good money on new audio gear to record a telephone interview. You strap on headphones and hear this annoying hum and buzz that you did not hear over you telephone handset. Not quite what you were expecting from this new investment.

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Wireless Phone Compatibility (PDF)

Sending and receiving audio through a wireless phone offers many challenges. There has never been a true interface standard from model to model. While we may be experts at wireless phone interfaces, it’s not easy when the target keeps changing. We simply cannot promise compatibility with every make and model, but we never stop trying.

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About Bluetooth Wireless Technology (PDF)

Bluetooth wireless technology is aimed at allowing users to make effortless, fast connections between various devices. The sophisticated mode of transmission adopted in the Bluetooth Specification ensures protection from interference and seeks to ensure security of data. The radio with Bluetooth wireless technology is built into a small microchip and operates in a globally available frequency band intended to ensure communication compatibility worldwide. The Specification has two power levels defined: a lower power level that covers the shorter personal proximity range within a room, and a higher power level that can cover a medium range, such as within a home. Software controls and identity coding built into each microchip ensure that only those units preset by their owners can communicate.

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