BCM replacement - help

[Mountainbear]

Was the BCM50 designed to be complicated? I have a customer with a BCM50 and an expansion 4X16. All 11 phones and the first two lines are on the expansion module. The fan is going to quit but the customer insists they can not be without phones during working hours.
I figured I would turn set relocate on and move the phones to the main module, (they would still be 2 lines short until the fan is replaced). Turns out there are no key codes enabled on the main unit. Why would someone sell a BCM with expansion but not activate the main unit other than 4 lines?
What is the best way to remove the expansion unit for a week without shutting them down? I could put in a CICS temporarily but I would need to set up voice mail. I am not interested in purchasing a BCM as a temporary replacement (to expensive). How much is it going to cost to activate 16 sets on the main unit? or is the v.mail also on the expansion? And why are line 1 and 2 plugged directly into the expansion module and not on the 25 pair.
Or can I replace the fan onsite after hours???

 

[phoneguy610]

We have done that before also.. Key codes are expensive and if you have a 4x16 laying around that's cheaper.

Only way to move it to the main is buy the key codes

Bad fan is In the expansion?

ddcommllc.com
Avaya/Toshiba/SyntelSolutions

ACIS

 

[Splic3d]

The answer to your first question is that 1 expansion license is cheaper than 16 set licenses for the main unit. With the expansion license you can put in any module you want to. We usually have replacement units to swap out. Some re-sellers will advance replace modules, but they are getting harder to find. If you had a module they would only be down for the time it takes to swap the module, no programming necessary.

http://www.i3techgroup.com

Avaya/Nortel/NEC/Asterisk/Access Control/CCTV/DSX/Acti

 

[Mountainbear]

The bad fan is in the expansion module. Is ALL the programing in the main unit? If so I may be able to get an expansion module (although this seems an expensive fix for a fan). Would I need key codes? Splice3d would I not need key codes for the new expansion module for sets?
Can I change the fan or am I asking for trouble?
Also why are line 1 and 2 plugged directly into the expansion mod?

 

[Splic3d]

The programming stays in the Main unit as well as the key codes. You could find a fan and change it on the unit after hours if you can find an exact match - but that is for the repair/refurbishing to do. Because if you goof you are up a creek.

http://www.i3techgroup.com

Avaya/Nortel/NEC/Asterisk/Access Control/CCTV/DSX/Acti

 

[ucxguy]

If you want to use a safe approach, get another 4x16 MBM and simply swap them. The downtime will be very short - no programming or new keycodes necessary. Well - just make sure to set the DIP switches on the replacement module correctly.

To replace the fan shouldn't take more than 30 minutes - you'd need the correct new fan, take out and disassemble the MBM, replace the fan and put it back together. The risk is that if anything goes wrong, you'd have no recovery option. As a backup, you should first locate a place from which you could purchase another 4x16 really quickly.

Well - maybe you could try to find someone in your area who would lend you a 4x16 MBM for a week...

The reason why you need keycodes for digital phone ports on the BCM50 unit and not on the expansion is simple. To keep the price of the main BCM50 unit down, Nortel didn't change for the onboard analog ports and digital phone ports - the charge for these ports was in the form of a license. The price of MBM modules (such as 4x16) already included both the hardware cost and margins, hence no license was needed.