Lucent Legend 7 Problems

[vtsmike]

I have a used (from eBay) Lucent Legend 7 system with 12 MLC-28D. It is a T1 PRI. We relplaced an old Telrad system with this system. It works, but barely. The old system used a Verizon supplied channelbank.

The Lucent system was installed by a so-called proffesional. It has not worked right since day 1. I do not know weather it is defective hardware, or poor installation.

Here are my issues, I am looking for advice as to proceed from here.

1) There are some programming issues, not all stations work the same (they should).

2) We get a ghost ring about 2-3 times a day. The telco says it is not their problem (do I believe them?)

3) Some stations that originally were working fine, stopped working. For example, they no longer allow calls to be placed on hold, and/or you cannot pick up ringing calls.

4) We have changed and moved around the MLX-28D's, and do not believe they are defective, some of the issues get resolved, only temporarily with a replacement MLX-28D in place.

5) We were sent 2 replacement 008 MLX cards, but they sent 408 MLX, and it made the whole system not work. We put the original 2 008 MLX cards back (reversing the slots they were in) and all the extenstions with problems, 'moved'.

Sorry, if this all seems incoherant. But, we are saving two hundred per month on the T1 (versus channelbank), and I justified the purchase of what I believed to be a reliable used system. Should I try to resolve the Lucent issues with a new installer? Should I scrap the Lucent and look at something else? There is no way we can afford a $10K new system, and my other used options appear to be $4K-6K.

We have a small sales office of 6-7 people with about 200 incoming calls a day.

I am the IT person, but I wear way too many hats to get involoved in programming telephones.

Thanks all.

 

[paul144]

OK... Lets start at the beginning...

The tip-off to the main problem and its cause is the fact that you swapped cards and the problem followed the cards.
You have a bad station card, or at least a station card with some bad ports.
There is also the definite possibility that you have at least one bad set on the system. If they sold you cards that did not work right, then it is possible that they sent you phones without replacing the keypad membranes. The 28-D phones do have the same membrane problems that many other MLX sets have.
Also, realize that you cannot just swap in and out cards, the system needs to be told that the new card is thee if it is a different type of card.
I would call the company that sold you the equip and demand that they send a replacement card for the one that is showing problems.
I would call the tech that set it up and demand that he/she come back in and set it up right.
If they cannot do it, then you should get a decent tech in to set it up the way that you want. Find the nearest authorized Avaya dealer and go with them.
The Legend is a decent system if it is set up properly and you get the keypad membranes replaced as soon as the phone starts doing "flukey" things (like leds lighting at random, the phone going off hook, random intercoming of other stations, etc..).

 

[Pepperz]

If you have vestages of the old programming from the previous user, almost anything could be messed up. Did your setup person default the system and go from there, or did they just make the phones ring and book?

Pepperz@newper.net

 

[TecTel]

I can guess at a number of reasons why you are having problems. You probably need to do a board renumber to have all the cards recognized. Also, because you used 408's in place of 008's any card after the 408 with line ports will have new port numbers. This would cause problems with line assignments.
There also was a very significant problem with the original merlin phones. If moisture got into the set the contacts would cause things like the keys to stop working. The worst part about this problem was if you unplugged the phone for a day or so the phone would work again. But you can be sure the phone will fail again you just don't know how long.

 

[merlinman]

My TWO Cents -

The LEGEND is a RELIABLE SYSTEM.

However, if you buy used stuff on eBay, it's a Crap Shoot!

Unless you know how to test and/or fix this type of equipment, you could find youself of DUCK CREEK without a paddle.

BUT, I feel that you have a very salvagable installation, you just need a little help.

DO you have SPM or WINSPM?

If not, could someone "Dial In" and take a look around?

Also, what part of the country are you in?

Perhaps a "REAL" expert could drop by and "SAVE THE DAY" !

 

[paul144]

I agree with Merlinman. The merlin is a nice system, IF it is set up properly with good equipment.
Also, while humidity does sem to make the keypad problems worse, once they have started, they will get worse, to the point that they will fail whether or not it is humid. A phone with a keypad problem CAN cause issues that appear to be card related as it can start intercomming other sets and grab CO lines and tie them up, along with a host of other problems.
NEVER buy merlin equipment off of E-Bay or from a cheap supply house. A good refurb can cost a little more to begin with, but will save a lot of cash in the long run.

 

[1043]

Merlinman is correct. " Let the buyer beware

 

[franke]

vtsmike,
What part of he world are you in?

franke

 

[vtsmike]

Guys,

Thank you all for your input.

I neglected to 'check' the email notification, so I thought I had no replys. I changed that and will check back regularly.

I am in Sarasota, FL.

The eBay'r sent me more replacements, including the back plane, processor and power supply. I had my tech in, and he concluded that all the problems stem from bad MLX units. I would love to try the membrane route. Where can I get them? I know you can't sell on the board, so email me. Mike is the name and afi-tools is a .com that I have my email with.

I am not sure how to check about the SPM I have.

I think the system was set to 'default' prior to installation, but I have not confirmed this to be true.

I have decided to get this thing working. I appreciate the vote of confidence in the reliability of the hardware. I still have several other issues to work through, and I guess I will plan on learing how to program this monster.

Also, there is an Audix VM that we would like to start using, but my tech is not that familiar with it, and cannot get it to pickup correctly.

Thanks again everyone.

-Mike

 

[aussie88]

Audix is easy. Tell me what cards you have in the system. IF you do not have any T/R cards, you have been screwed, an Audix wont work without those. If you do have a T/R card, what are the extension numbers on the card? This will simply make it easier for someone to instruct you. Do you have the SA, VM, and CRAFT passwords for the Audix?? If you dont, there is a little trick you can use to get in, via Passthrough.

 

[vtsmike]

I found and installed winSPM.

I have all the passwords for the system (incl SPM and Audix).

Aussie, I have R3 Proc., (2) 008 MLX, 012 w/Ring (this one has 4 jacks at the top that Audix is currently plugged into), 100D DS1 trunk, 400 GS/LS/TTR.

 

[aussie88]

Ok, first things first. Does the Audix have 4 jacks on the back of it for the voice ports? Well, if it does, this actually means you have 12 port voice mail. Let me exlpain. Each Audix jack, has 3 pair of wires in it, which means that each jack, contains 3 voice ports. There is an adapter that Avaya makes, to split out these 3 pairs, into 3 different jacks, or, you can simply make them yourrself. TO do this, use the following rig (thanks so much, TouchToneTommy). Make a run to Home Depot, and get the following, unless you have them on hand, then please, dont waste the gas to go to Home Depot. Get: 1 surface mount electrical box, one multi-port plate with 4 ports, 1 8 wire jack insert, 3 RJ 11 (regular) jack inserts, and some cross connect wire (pulling out all of the pairs of a regular 4 pair wire, will do, too). Now, punch 1 pair or wire, down to the 8 pair jack, in each of the positions, except the brown pair position. Now punch each of the other sides of the wires, down to their own 1 RJ11 jack , in the blue position. Ok, now, click all 4 of the jacks in the 4 port plate, and screw the plate into the surface mount box. You have split the 3 pair jack on the back of the AUdix, into 3 seperate pairs. Well, not quite yet. You need to now take a 4 pair cord, and connect the Audix, to the 4 pair jack. And then use regular cords, to go from the regular jacks on the adapter, to the legend. You will need to make 3 of these boxes, to connect all 12 voice ports to the Legend. If you find this difficult to comprehend, it is probably because of my wordy nature. TouchToneTommy can probably explain it alot better then me.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Hey Aussie, thanks for the kind words! However, in the above senario, instead of punching a pair on each except the brown, on an 8-pin 568-B jack, you need a pair on blue, green, and then SPLIT by going on Orange White (pin 2) and White Brown (pin 7). Personally, all we use are 8-pin jacks, so I would explain it by saying take 3 jacks and punch a piece of jumper wire onto the blue position of each, and label them 1, 2, and 3. On the 4th jack, punch the jumper from jack 1 to the blue position, the jumper from jack 2 to the green postion, and the jumper from jack 3 to the Orange/White and the White/Brown. Then 1-2-3 are the stations from the switch, and the 4th jack goes to the Audix.

 

[aussie88]

Durn, I sure did stretch that out.