Ease of Use for Portable Phone on ATAII on 8x24 w/DR5.1

[peterlargen]

Learned Norstar Scholars:

I'm looking to make the use of a generic portable analog telephone on an ATA as easy to use as possible. I'd like some advice.

This location has only three incoming CO lines. These lines appear on all sets, but only ring on a few selected sets in key locations. After three rings, Flash answers and one of the ACD choices is to ring all sets (in case of an emergency). This choice transfers the call to extension 339. Every set has a ringing Answer DN for 339.

All three lines are in Pool A, and Pool A is the prime line for each set.

There is also a Valcom door phone on a fourth incoming line that rings on all phones.

I added the ATA with the portable phone as DN 330 with two intercoms and no prime line. It is programmed to ring all three lines plus the door, but, of course, it has no Answer DN for the emergency ringing.

The users have mastered dialing 9 for an outside line, and the feature codes they use most often for page, voice call, etc.

I have two functions I would like to make easier.

1. The "emergency ring all phones" doesn't ring the portable. If I put an ATA on extension 339, and put the analog side on an incoming line port, and program this as a fourth line on every phone instead of the answer DN, will I get the same behavior on all sets as I did with the Answer DN, but also get ringing on the ATA? Are there any unintended consequences from this?

2. If the call is answered and put on hold on another set, the user cannot pick up the call at the portable. Or, if the call is answered at the portable, put on hold, and someone picks it up at another set and puts it back on hold, the portable can't pick it up anymore. The call must be parked or transfered to 330, the portable's extension. Call parking isn't used anywhere else at the site, since all lines appear on all phones, so this is something new to remember for this phone. Transferring isn't always the best choice. Are there any other options?

I've racked my brain to find a way to use the portable as a prime set, and use some unique combination to get the calls to go to 330, but I can't figure this one out.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Have a Norstar Day!

Peter

 

[MarvO1]

The main thing with the ringing that you want is that you cannot assign an Answer DN to an ATA. About the only way is to reverse the thinking just a bit, and do it backwords. Have the emergency calls go to the ATA with Answer DN keys of the ATA on all of the other sets.
On your question about getting calls from on hold to the ATA set, have you tried what I call UN-HOLD for some strange reason. Try FLASH (pause) 2. It will probably only give you the call back that you put on hold from the ATA.
You have a Norstar day too.


MarvO said it

 

[peterlargen]

Thanks for the suggestions.

1. Using the ATA as the emergency call DN would definitely work for a single portable. If I needed more portables, however, I'd run into the Answer DN problem on the portable that was on a new DN. I'll set it up this way for now and worry about it if I need to add a second portable. That's when I think the ATA loopback to an incoming line might work.

2. Un-hold F2, which seems to just toggle between the two intercom keys, will only give me calls that I put on hold, and only if no one else picks it up to check it. I'm still looking for a solution for that.

Peter

 

[galfaro]

Unfortunately, you are using a cordless off of an ATA so you are limted. You may want to look into getting a T7406 Nortel phone. It will do what you want it to do. But then you have the reception issues. And you don't need an ATA.
Gabriel

 

[peterlargen]

Thanks.

I haven't heard anyone say anything good about the T7406, especially for the price, so I haven't used one yet. And if the generic portable is run over by a truck, they can run to Best Buy and plug in another one immediately.

I've also decided that I can't really make the portable the emergency ring DN, because then any transfer to the portable will ring on all sets.

I may just test out looping an ATA back to an incoming line and see how that works. I'm guessing that if I set the ATA's prime line to be the line pool, and someone presses the Line 4 key (which they shouldn't ever need to do), it will pick up the ATA which will pick up a real line in the line pool. Or maybe I can leave all sets with an Answer DN, and only put line 4 on the portable...

Falling down the rabbit hole...

 

[MarvO1]

I agree about the rabbit hole.
ATAs seem to act differently when used on the line side depending on what software you have in the KSU. They actually seem better on an 8x24 like yours, than on a newer system.
Also, remember that the ATA does NOT support DS, so you could get your line hung.

MarvO said it

 

[hdingman]

You hit it on the head with two comments - "price" and "run to Best Buy to get another one." The T7406 will give them the features, but not at a Best Buy price. If this is in a place where folks are so careless that "getting run over by a truck" happens, then you've given them as much functionality as they can have with an ATA and a cheap phone. Good for you - you've done a super job!

If that's not good enough, they're going to have to spend the money for the T7406 and take care of it.

A kludge that may work is to call the receptionist and ask them to transfer the call to the cordless. Not convenient, but cheap.

Convenience costs. That's the way it is.

howard