Electra Elite 48 Can't Dial Out (Selectively)

[jtw124]

Equipment:
NEC Electra Elite 48, with CPU 3.10
COIB(4) and COI(8) boards
EliteMail LX UNIX board (2 ports)
5 DTU-16 stations

Carrier:
Ran this system fine for 2+ years with AT&T
Converted over to Comcast, with no problems, for 6+ months
I'm in the Bay Area, CA; area code 415

Problem:
System was running fine. Made no changes. But one day recently, I noticed trouble calling certain external numbers. These numbers (all of which include a "5", see below), give me the female-voice error message "We're sorry, your call can not be completed as dialed. Please check the number and call again." (This error message appears to be coming from my NEC PBX, not from my carrier.)

Around the same time, I noticed a new "hum" on the dial tone when engaging any of my 3 COs to make an outside call. Also, after dialing the outbound number, I also hear a loud click (sounds more like a "crack") noise after the last digit is dialed. (This happens on any of my three COs.)

The problem seems to be only with phone numbers that include the number "5". But, not every number with a 5. For example, I get the error when dialing 525-4909. But, if I dial 1-415-525-4909, the call goes through okay. I CAN'T complete a call to 1-707-543-3500, but I CAN to 1-617-525-4200. I have troubles with some (maybe all) numbers to the 510 area code. It's weird, I know, but the only problems seem to be with phone numbers that include the number 5, usually as the first number of either the area code or of the prefix after the area code.

I'm fairly confident that the problem is with my NEC PBX, because if I bypass the PBX and plug an analog phone into one of the three CO lines from Comcast, I can complete any and all of these calls without error (and, without "hum" or "crack".) (Comcast technician came out, ran some diagnostics, and said the same thing.)

I've just re-read the 914 page user manual and have reviewed and mapped, literally, every single memory block of the system. This is a real mystery to me. The system was working fine for over three years, nothing changed (except perhaps a power-outage/reboot, that I'm not aware of, but is always possible), but now I have the "hum", the "crack", and trouble completing calls to certain numbers that include a 5.

Any ideas? Anything at all? Thanks.

 

[jtw124]

Fixed... Although I did this once before, without any benefit, I shut the whole system down today. Waited a couple of minutes and rebooted. Surprisingly, the hum is gone and the "5" numbers connect.

Odd, but I'm relieved.

 

[gmannatl]

It sounds to me like at least some of the ports on your CO cards are going bad, if not the whole card. You are equipped for 12 lines, but I would assume that you only have around 4-8 outside lines. If you continue to have problems you may want to try moving the comcast lines to a different available port. This involves moving a physical connection as well as reprogramming the line on the phone.

BTW, if it is just the CO card you could even just reset the co card with the small button on the edge of the card instead of powering down the whole system. You can potentially damage the Voice Mail card by doing this.