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Partner phones

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Jd925

Technical User
Jul 16, 2003
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Hi can anyone tell me are partner phones compatable with the Legend phone system R.7 On any card? Thanks
 
Only on the 012ETR and 016ETR cards. As well, those cards will not work Below a R7.
 
016etr are those analog cards? whats ETR? Thanks
 
016 ETR cards will hanlde up to 6 standard tip and ring ports (the last six logical id's on the board). They need to changed in software from ETR (stands for Enhanced tip and ring) to accomodate standard tip/ring under Extensions > ETR.

Also there is not a 012ETR board available, only an 016ETR.
 
ETR is Partner lingo for Enhanced tip & Ring.

That's the kind of phones used on a Partner.

On the 012 ETR Card the top 4 PORTS can be used for T&R phones. On the 016, the tp 6 ports can be used for that purpose.

However, unlike the Partner, the setting is Either Or, not simultaneous.

 
Hey guys...I have no record anywhere of the existence of a 012ETR board. I find it nowhere in documentation from R7 Legend thru R3 Magix. Just curious where you found your info on that piece of hardware?
 
I only learned about it in Legend class. I have never seen one in the field. They didn't even have one in the class, they had the 016ETR to do demo's. I'll check the sourcebook for you tommorrow and maybe I will be able to give you a comcode.
 
Actually, there was a 412 ETR as well, but it never went into production.

 
What exactly, if any, are the functionality differences between partner and magix sets
 
Magix supports both the 44xx series sets and the older MLX sets, of course you need different station cards to support 44xx, MLX, and Partner phones.

Among some differences:

Partner sets with displays have adjustable backighting.
The current series of partner sets have 2 line by 24 character displays; only the 12 and 24 button 44xx sets have full 24 character width.

Partner phones have a base stand with three adjustable angles, and can be flipped over for wall mounting. In addition, the displays themselves have three adjustable angles. (I personally find the lighted, angled display one of the best features of the partner phone.

Only the 44xx sets have built in separate headset jacks with independent control. Both Partner and MLX sets require an exernal amp/switch box that plugs into the handset jack, though MLX sets provide buttons to control the handset jack (so you don't have to lift the handset to use the headset.)

MLX and 44xx sets use digital signalling, potentialy a plus in areas where RF interference might disrupt a traditional T/R line.

44xx sets have a T/R adjunct jack for attaching gadgets. (I don't know if they get a separate station ID.) MLX sets (some) can be equipped with a MFM module to give you a T/R jack with its own extension. Partner sets have a T/R extension jack that shares the same station ID as the Partner phone. All the partner phone buttons are useful while using the attached T/R device.

You can get some quick at-a-glance views at
Legend/Magix support of Partner phones doesn't mean you get all the Partner features, but sure seems to preserve some investment when upgrading. I do not know if the Partner adjunct Direct Station Selectors (24 and 48 button models) work on Legend/Magix.

Labeling Partner phones is a damned nuisance, since to do a good job of it, you need prepunched forms and (free) software to print nicely on the forms. Line/Feature buttons are tightly spaced (so a Partner phone with equivalent number of buttons to either MLX or 44xx phone is smaller. Desk space savings may be a feature, but there's less room to label each button, and the blank pre-punched labels are expensive. MLX and 44xx phones have large label areas using rectangular cut-out paper. You can buy these, or, you can just print nice labels from your computer on standard paper and make 4 straight cuts. Having someone at the office who can run off new labels in minutes at essentially zero cost makes it easy to keep everything professional looking.

It would be enjoyable to hear some other comments, particularly about the aesthetics of the various phones. I still think the orignal Merlin (ATL) classic phone were the best looking, and am not fond of the round buttons on Partner and 44xx phones.
 
I'd just point out that the Partner phones lose the T/R functionality when used on a Magix/Legend with an ETR board. The T/R jack is still there on the set, but it has no function. You can't use a T/R device in parallel with it, and if you were using a Partner Base headset, you need to give it up and switch to the more traditional type that plugs into the handset connector.

 
I agree with JShelton on the comment about the older ATL sets. On my switch (Legend 7.0), I'm still running about 2 dozen of those sets and we love them. No "weird problems" found in some of the MLX sets. This is the reason why we haven't upped to Magix...since Magix doesn't support these anymore. A bad move in my opinion on Avaya's part. One of the reasons we upped to Legend from Merlin II was we had assurance from AT&T/Lucent that all Merlin sets new and old would always be compatible with future relases and versions on "Merlin" systems. Magix is still a "Merlin" system they claim...so what's the deal here.

As such, in our home, we went with a Nortel MICS switch since there seems to be more consistency with re-using existing hardware, and still being able to get newer features via a flash card update.
 
Merlinman... got a page not found when I clicked on your documents link...
 
I just found out my link was broken.

I will try to fix this PM.

Thanx,
 
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