Went to my local OD (one of those going out of business) and saw one of Siemens Gigaset (2.4GHz multi-unit phone systems) Demo units on the shelf. The OD sales guy would not sell it to me because "it's a demo unit and it doesn't work (empty housing) so we cannot sell it. We dump them in garbage containers." I managed to convince the manager to give it to me anyway. Well, it turns out that those units do function: handsets work fine (and those sell for about $80 regular price) and the base is only missing an RJ-6 plug on the board (I'm talking about a Gigaset 2415.) So if you can solder a bit, you may get a perfectly functioning unit for free. 2415 I got sells for ~$170.
Be forewarned, though: some units could be damaged (they stick those security pins into them which get awefully close to units' circuit boards). But then, they are for free.
Alternative: you may still find some Gigaset units at 50% off. Most of those come with rebates from Siemens (siemenscordless.com), up to $50. I got two 2415s at $92 - $50 MIR = $42 each.
Be forewarned, though: some units could be damaged (they stick those security pins into them which get awefully close to units' circuit boards). But then, they are for free.
Alternative: you may still find some Gigaset units at 50% off. Most of those come with rebates from Siemens (siemenscordless.com), up to $50. I got two 2415s at $92 - $50 MIR = $42 each.