A few basic questions about Nortel Norstar MICS phone system

[Sum1Guy]

Hi there. I'm not a phone technician, but I play one at work.

Short story: We've had this Nortel phone box (Modular ICS) since about 2000 and it's been working fine up until about 6 months ago and the problem was that you'd pick a line, get no dial tone. Pick intercom, get no dialtone. A call would come in, the caller wouldn't hear our automated greeting. It could be like this for minutes or hours, then it would just start working. Phones would still look like they're working (date and time would still be displayed). Pulling the power on the box, leaving it off for 15 minutes to an hour, plug it back in, was no garantee that it would come up in working mode. We have 2 trunk modules (I guess these handle 4 analog phone lines each) but we only have really just 1 phone line now (sometimes we use 2 more from magic jack). There is also one of those thin cards that connects to another extension box via optical cable. I've tried running with only 1 trunk card, or swapping the trunk cards around, but that never fixed the problem. The unit doesn't like operating without the thin extension card so I have no choice but to leave that in.

Besides a flash-talk module, that's that whole system right there.

So a few weeks ago I bought another MICS box from ebay. I swapped the boxes and this new box seems to work ok. But we can't seem to make it work the way the old box did. Here are the details of the software modules these boxes have:

Original (but malfunctioning) box:

NNTM040CBP5F 1998/10/21
NT7B72FK-93 Rel 01B
NA-MICS 3.0 V05.02
Made in Canada 2000/04


The "new" system bought off ebay has this:

NNTM040A2S77
NT7B72FB-93
REL 03 MFG 970714
NA-MICS-1.1 V12.7

So my first question is: Can I plug in the old system software module (MICS 3.0 v 5.02) into the "new" system box? The "new" system seems to be a year older than the original system based on the dates I see printed on the various cards. The system I got off ebay came with 2 trunk cards and 1 thin extension card.

If yes, then my next question is moot: Is there a downloadable programming guide for MICS 1.1? If there is, I can't find it. We'd like it so that if someone calls in, hears our voice greeting, then presses 0 (zero), that the system ring about 3 or 4 phones and not just the reception phone (221). Our system used to do that, but this "new" system doesn't.

Thanks for any info on this software-module-swapping stuff.

 

[curlycord]

1. Depends on what version software the KSU had before otherwise phones will flash forever
2. Yes or No does not matter about the manual.....1.1 software is much too old and was not available on PDF back then

Suggest to you call in a tech in to resolve your issues in about an hour rather then company money spent on you for several hours.
Note you wont get training on forums but you can google MICS Installer Guide and get other version software to assist.





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Toronto, CAN

 

[Sum1Guy]

> 1. Depends on what version software the KSU had before otherwise phones will flash forever

Um, what exactly is the "KSU" ?

Is there any chance that plugging the software module / cartrige from our original box (MICS 3.0 V05.02) into the replacement MICS unit will permanently render either the module or the MICS chasis (or any cards plugged into the chasis) inoperable? In other words, is the worst that would happen is that the system will fail to boot up? And if that happens, switching back to the original software module (MICS-1.1 V12.7) will bring the system back up?

 

[Firebird Scrambler]

Key service unit = KSU

Firebird Scrambler

Nortel & Avaya Meridian 1 / Succession & BCM / Norstar Programmer

Website =

http://somertel.com

linkedin

 

[Sum1Guy]

> Key service unit = KSU

So the KSU is just the MICS chassis with the power supply module. So the "SU" - Service Unit part of KSU I can understand. The "K" or Key part - is not intuitive. Keys are meant to unlock things. Why did they attach the word "Key" to "Service Unit" to describe the backplane/chassis/cabinet part of the system?

So I take it I can swap the version 1.1 and 3.0 software cartriges around on these things without frying anything?

Is the firmware / code inside these modules available as downloadable files on the internet? Has anyone made reprogrammable versions of these firmware cartriges? Should be possible, and cost maybe $15 out of China. I'd be surprised if this wasn't available. I mean, these things aren't being made any more - right?

 

[Sum1Guy]

Ok, so I swapped in the newer software cartrige into the replacement "KSU" and it seems to be working fine. Thanks for all the help!

 

[RLSbutton]

Would be a lot easier to upgrade to the E-MetroTel solution! But then again, apparently you had no problems when you replaced the newer software cartridge in.

You might want to familiarize yourself with what the Key stands for, it's quite an important terminology when it comes to setting up phone systems like this. I didn't really know what KSU meant early on as well, and then the light bulb hit me when I read this. I found this rather interesting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1A2_Key_Telephone_System

Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant

http://www.joetheucxguy.com