New system design help requested

[uconnman]

I am building a new (large) house and I am trying to decide what to install for a phone system and where to buy one. I will probably have 10+ phone locations where I want to be able to provide phone service and intercom capabilities.

Is there some place on the web I can see system designs examples that will help me spec/design/layout a system for a large house?

Any suggestions on equipment to use or avoid?

Any other advice is appreciated

 

[jlshelton]

Well, you jumped into a nest of Partner people. Many of us use or install Avaya Partner systems, and are (mostly) happy with them.

Avaya specifically markets the Partner to upscale residential use; a simple control unit handles three phone lines and 8 phones, and can be grown to much larger capacity. Voice mail is an easy / inexpensive option, and most other features are built it. A multi-line cordless handset option is available, though expensive.

One particular plus to Partner is that you can plug in regular phones and accessories to any port. So, if your kid absolutely loves their M&M phone, they can still use it.

Personally, I am very pleased with my Partner system for residential use. We have about a dozen stations, 3 lines, voice mail. We use the "Euro" 18 button sets with lighted display and they work well.

Your first order of business is to get the wiring in the walls done correctly. Proper wiring will support nearly any phone system. Typical residential phone wiring is junk, and will cause you many headaches.

Every place you want a phone, you need a wire run back to a central location. (Garage? utility closet?) This is called Home Run Wiring. Such wires are useful for phones and for networking connections. So-called CAT-5E wiring is inexpensive, yet supports high-speed network connections, and can be used for phones. (Consider running 2 wires to each location). Obviously, you need to know more, and also think about video/cable/satellite wiring, etc.

Some developers offer advanced "structured" wiring, using thick cables that contain CAT-5E, telephone, and other wires, all strung back to a cabinet. Nearly every installation I've seen has run the wires back to a bedroom closet, which seems inconvenient to me.

Partner systems have been made for nearly 15 years, and there's a good market for used and refurbished parts if you want to start cheaply. To get the latest features, you want the Partner ACS model, but earlier types (Plus, II) are very good. All the phones are interchangeable between old and new systems; the newer phones ("euro style&quot are more reliable and have larger displays, more buttons.

Another option to conisder is the older, smaller Merlin systems, such as Merlin Plus. These are very inexpensive on the used market, and used some classic phones that some consider very attractive. Smaller Merlin systems didn't have Caller ID support, however, and voice mail integration was not as clean. Yet there are literally millions of Merlin systems out there.

Some people are now forgoing wired phones and getting the Panasonic (or other brand) multi-handset cordless systems. While not of "business quality", they offer a lot of bang-for-the-buck. No wiring needed. Support for up to 4 lines, 8 handsets. Intercom between handsets. Every handset gets a charger. Built in voice mail, directory dialing, etc. Worth checking out if you like cordless phones.

 

[392]

A couple of corrections required......

Structured cabling is a system of pre-engineered hardware designed to join together to create a complete system for a given location. Such designs are generally engineered around a specific manufacturer's product line so that all elements within the design spec will have a known quality once completed. In this way, a structured, tiered communications system can be considered from a basic entry level to a complex campus adding elements as needed to create the final structure, either all at once or added to over time.

A hybrid cable is a cable that incorporates several media under a single sheath. Many "smart home" solutions will offer a single hybrid cable to run between each living space access or device point and the main controller area data frame that may have RG6 for CATV, RG59 for CCTV, CAT5 for LAN, CAT3 for voice and several audio/security/device control wires under one sheath. While the breakout can be a pain, the convenience of a single cable and the simplicity of allowing the electricians to place the cable can be a big sales point. The cable itself is very pricey, and multiple cable pulls of individual cable types competes with hybrid cabling pretty well.

Stay away from yesterday's technology. Merlin Classic systems have not been manufactured in 10 years. Nuff said.

Avaya Partner ACS is a valid home system. I've installed many in homes with great success, even though developed for small business use. Panasonic is another good choice, but I believe Avaya has them beat in overall quality. Nortel, Vodavi and Toshiba have no comparable systems.

Wireless phones can be wonderful, until you introduce the next-door neighbor's wireless router into the mix. While a nice adjunct, I would stay away from wireless as the primary communications platform.

You have a lot of choices, so research your options and ask questions. Properly done, an entire home can be done with the latest and best for $5K or less. But if you spend another $2K later to replace a poor match in a phone system, you've saved nothing.

 

[jlshelton]

The hardest thing to replace is the wiring, so pay attention there first. Add more telecom drops than you imagine you might need. Put them in the bathrooms too. In some rooms, it may make sense to install a floor box in the middle of the room (junction box mounted in the floor, with special cover plate to prevent damage.) That would let you install a phone on a coffee table that isn't next to a wall, perhaps in a large family room.

I personally like corded phones, and the Partner phones seem to take a beating. I agree with 392 that cordless phones can be a mess, but I also know many people who won't live without them. For our personal money, however, we spent for the good Partner phones, commercial quality, and have no regrets.

One feature rarely seen outside of Partner is that the displays are lighted (3 brightness settings + off.) Since the displays are very useful, it's really nice to be able to read them. Also, the displays tilt to 3 different angles, independently of the phone itself tilting. This thoughtfulness of detailed usability is uncommon.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi uconnman,
I have installed an ACS system in my new home. I wired for network and phones in every room, two in the kitchen. Satelite and speaker wiring in select locations. Cat-5 is the way to go here, everything went to one location in the basement. I just installed one in our president's new house plus many more. We use a cordless phone plus a fax machine on the system. A phone in the garage is blocked from LD calls. With three daughters, I love the voicemail (that's where the boyfriends go sometimes). No more lost messages. We use outcalling as well on some mailboxes. Really handy.
Yes I'm spoiled rotten. Why not?
-Chris

 

[upstateny]

Yikes - you thought this was a simple question - i have put lots of Partner system in houses with tremendous results - Basically you need at least a six button set anywhere you want to receive an intercom call or all page, an 18 button if you will be using voice mail or will take advantage of programmed buttons for other extensions or speed dials or an 18 Button Display phone if you want to get caller ID info. throw in a 2 line cordless phone and you will have a tremendous intercom system as well as a phone system - the PVM voice mail cards allow 4 or 16 mailboxes and the bigger voicemail would outcall to pager or cell phone or forward calls if that is beneficial - put in a Partner - you'll be glad you did!!!

 

[lcfnsjr]

jlshelton,

Would you mind giving some more information on the backlit displays? I have two MLS-18D's and neither one is backlit. Is it only on the euro design? If I have this feature, I would love to use it.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi Steve,
MLS-18D sets have a backlight. Unless there are some really early ones I don't know about. MLS sets are okay but have problems with the flex PCB assy. That's for all your buttons and lights. The Partner (euro) series are much nicer phones and use real circuit boards for the buttons and lights. Thus they should be more reliable in the long run. Given a choice, use the current Partner series phones.
-Chris

 

[TouchToneTommy]

lcfnsjr: To get the backlight to work, with the handset in the cradle, press "*" and then use the volume up and down buttons to adjust the backlight.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi All,
Just fired up a Partner system with MLS-18D's that I had turned the display down on. The system defaults to display's up one down from max brightness. Someone would have to turn each display down. Could Steve's leds just be very dim?
-Chris

 

[lcfnsjr]

Thanks for the info guys. I kept trying to get it to work with no success. I then realized that I have MLS-12D not the MLS-18D. Do the 12D's have a backlight? I tried holding down "*" while pressing volume UP and nothing happened. I was all excited that I would have backlights and then nothing. Oh well, if you guys know about the 12D I would appreciate your input. I am relatively new at this, do you guys have any favorite references that you used to learn how to setup and maintain the system?

Thanks again,

Steve

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi Steve,
No, MLS-12D's do not have a backlight. Not worth buying new phones just for a light though.

 

[Ghostin]

Thought I would chime in a say that the Nortel ICS makes a good system for residence as well, and only requires one pair to operate. I sure wouldn't mind having the backlight display option, though. But with the intergrated flash voice mail, and some other features, it works very well. As far as wiring, if it is a new house, consider using some ENT conduit from the wall boxes to a central location. If you ever want to change out or add something, you can do it, and the cost is minimal.