Merlin Legend incoming calls to DID's get reorder tone 1

[parnellij]

I think our old Merlin Legend system may be dying, but I thought I'd try to get some opinions here.

The trunk on our system is just a bunch of analog lines with DID's. All's been fine for the last decade. Today, when someone calls a DID number from the outside, they get a reorder tone. I had someone restart the system and the DID's started working again for about a minute and then went busy again. We restarted the system again and got the exact same thing, it worked fine for about a minute.

Calls to our main number (not a DID, but just the first number on the trunk) work fine and outgoing calls work fine too.

Maybe the controller is shot? I'd be interested to know if anyone has a better sense of what's happening.

 

[merlinman]

A "better sense" could be found by doing some analysis with WINSPM or some other on-site troubleshooting.

I usually NEVER consider that a Processor may fail, they are pretty solid.

You may, however, have some Touch Tone receivers that are failing. That way, a few calls would work and then some would fail. But, that would require that you are using Touch Tones rather than ROTARY Signals.

http://home.comcast.net/~merlinman

-merlinmansblog.blogspot.com

 

[SYQUEST]

Using SPM, what kind of alarm error codes are being generated? That would be a good place to start, also. In addition to Touch-Tone™ receivers, you could have problems with the DID trunk module or the trunks themselves. Do some troubleshooting and get back to us.

....JIM....

 

[parnellij]

Merlinman,

Your thinking seems to be leading me in the right direction. I'll have to get someone with test equipment over to the site (I'm really a computer guy, not a phone guy), but as it got later (and the phones got quieter), the system seemed to work. So I then tried to call DID's with two phones at the same time. I could get through with the first phone but I'd get a reorder with the second phone, so assuming nobody at the office was on the phone, our second trunk line is probably connected to a failed port.

Thank you for your input!

 

[merlinman]

That's a good start for sure.

http://home.comcast.net/~merlinman

-merlinmansblog.blogspot.com

 

[parnellij]

Now with SYQUEST's input, I just realized I don't really understand the architecture of the Legend system. The whole concept of a touch tone receiver seems silly this day in age, but I'm sure it made sense 25 years ago when electronics were more expensive.

Thanks for the input, I'll leave this one to the experts.

 

[parnellij]

I thought I'd update this, because it should be a lesson to all of us when it comes to troubleshooting. When problems like mine arise, it's natural to look at the equipment (especially old equipment) and assume that it's malfunctioning.

It turns out that we had several employees on a conference call where the conferencing system would call their direct lines and these users would sit for hours tying up all of the available DID trunk lines. It was that simple. In all of the years we've had our phone system, this scenario hadn't played out until now.

Happy troubleshooting!

 

[dagwoodsystems]

Your remark about touchtone receivers tells me that you are REALLY new to this industry. Whether it's VoIP, SIP or other modern ways of providing links, DTMF or Touchtone (the AT&T branded name for DTMF) will probably play a roll in communications for a long time.

Having said that, I give you a star for your honesty (and overcoming the "isn't a touchtone receiver like an old concept" take on the problem...LOL. Not all guys post back when the problem is solved--yet you did. That gives power BACK to the board and to all who will see your post. Thank you.

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com

 

[dagwoodsystems]

BTW, are you a fan of "open wheel" racing as I am? I'm just guessing because of your handle. Parnelli Jones is now retired, of course. I really dug A.J. Foyt back in the day and the whole Indy scene long before I began to work for Motorola (and follow the Andretti family).

Just curious.

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com