Installing new ISDN PRI card to MICS 2

[STick170]

I'm afraid once again I'm in need of some Norstar help.

We have an ageing MICS that the phone operator suspects a faulty ISDN30 PRI card due to a crackle on the line.

I can obtain a second-hand part locally and I'm willing to fit it but I just wondered if any configuration is required to get it up and running or is it just "plug and play"?

Many thanks in advance for any help!

 

[curlycord]

Power down system, remove old card, install new card, power up system.


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[STick170]

Super! Sounds like it's within my capabilities then lol. Many thanks for your help.

 

[curlycord]

The KSU has Alarms, it might tell a story.....did the tech Nortar Vendor check them?.


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[STick170]

Many thanks for your help again!

I'm afraid there are no Norstar vendors local to us anymore. The nearest we had was the BT engineer from the phone exchange who plugged his PRI tester into the NTE and we heard no noise on the line through this. He used to install and maintain Norstar systems when BT sold/supported them and he said it was most likely to be the ISDN card.

I looked in the menus and found repeated alarm codes of 41-0 and 42-0 and also event codes of 323 and 328.

The trouble is the clicking/crackling on the line has become so bad that the system is almost unusable now. One thing I have noticed is every click on the line briefly illuminates an amber LED on the ISDN card until it gets so bad it illuminates permanently and drops altogether showing "No free lines." Calls between internal extensions on the intercom are just fine.

I would be very grateful of any ideas you have.

 

[telcodog]

That sounds more like a clocking issue. Make sure your settings are correct. The D channel of the PRI is probably "bouncing" (present then not present, present, then not present etc etc). Continues on until it gradually loses sync and you can't make or receive calls. The static is indicative of frame slips due to unstable clocking.

Have your carrier check it out first but you can swap the card to test. My guess is it's the carrier.

 

[STick170]

Many thanks for your advice! I will go back to the carrier again with your information and see what they say, unfortunately they are becoming increasingly unhelpful to us as they say nothing is wrong at their end; they refused to put a divert on last week when it went down completely. The odd thing is as soon as they begin to test the line, it comes back up straight away.

Am I correct in thinking the ISDN and clock cards are two separate items? If so I think I might just purchase one of each and see what happens.

 

[curlycord]

Clocking is in the Services Card or 6 Port Combo expansion card.


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[STick170]

I think we have a services card rather than the combo card. I'm going to try replacing both the services and ISDN cards as well as speaking to the carrier again. If none of this works I guess it will be bye-bye Norstar time!

Thanks for your help.

 

[STick170]

Just for interest, this is what the ISDN card does when the crackle is at it's worst: Link

 

[STick170]

Well I've installed a replacement ISDN card & services card and I'm afraid it's still crackling away The carrier are still confident that there is nothing wrong with their ISDN circuit. I think we're going to have to reluctantly dispose of the old Norstar and probably go down the VOIP route, it's the only way I can see of being sure to eliminate the problem.

 

[curlycord]

Did you replace the patch cord from the DTI to the pair gain box?



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[STick170]

Yeah I got a brand new one and even checked it with a cable tester first, it made no difference. I must say that although we still have the crackle since I fitted the new parts, it hasn't (yet) got bad enough to drop altogether. Now I'm wondering if one of the replacement parts is also faulty, but less faulty than the original, I guess that's always a worry with second hand parts. Thanks for your help.

 

[hawks]

Are you using the on board csu or an external one? If it's external that could be your issue.

 

[curlycord]

Yep

Post all the PRI settings just in case something looks fishy.

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We take the time to try to answer your questions for free, please return the favor and take the time to answer back and include any resolution you found elsewhere, thanks.

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[STick170]

I'm afraid I don't know what a CSU is

 

[STick170]

I've just been poking around in the menus and I think these are the PRI settings:

Cards on CCU
Cd1-CCURI
Card typeRI
Lines:001-030
ClockSrcrimary

Cd2-CCU:BRI-2
Card type:BRI-2
Loops:231-232

Apologies if this isn't the correct information, I've never been into the menus this far before! Many thanks for your help.

 

[STick170]

Just to conclude this one, after further dialogue with our carrier it has finally been proven to be a fault with the ISDN line. Apparently ours was the only old model ISDN card left in the local exchange and wasn't fully compatible with the new shelf/tray(?) that they had fitted it to as part of a recent upgrade. Now they have replaced the card all seems nice and crackle free!

Many thanks once again to everyone who has helped me out and contributed to this thread

 

[curlycord]

This is a prime example of BS from the carrier and why a client or vendor should never back down.

Glad it was fixed.





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