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[markatcristorey]

Hello all --

I work at a school where we installed a used Norstar Meridian system. We use it in the morning for announcements, by using the page function. It works incredibly well -- the speakers on the phones are remarkably loud, and it's been a huge success.

Long story short, we inherited the school building we're in, and there is not a working bell system already in-place. Right now, I have a scheduled task in Windows to play a bell sound at the change of classes every period. It works decently well, but not exceptionally. I'd love to be able to run the bells through the phones as well, by using the page function. The thing is, it would need to be automated / scheduled somehow.

So I guess my question is this -- is there any way I could schedule a page? I'd like to set it on a schedule, and then be able to play an audio clip. I was thinking it might be able to be done with a macro, using the soft phone in the FastRAD, but that seems awfully clunky. Is there any other solution? Is it possible to page from an analog phone / line? If so, I could see maybe using a modem in a PC to accomplish this.

Thanks!

 

[curlycord]

Not possible to schedule or play a tune.

If your software allows for Hospilatlity maybe look into that to see if anything can be done.


=----(((((((((()----=
curlycord

http://www.curlycord.com

 

[fireeater]

if you could get a third party software/device that uses a analog set/(or digital set) then you could page over the phone sets

depending on system you will need a ata/iata
and program a link(hookflash) then *610
(internal all page code)

HALLOWED ARE THE ORI

mike

http://www.ics-on.ca

 

[markatcristorey]

I think programming it from an analog line would be my solution, if I can get it working. I'm going to have to look at this more, but I have several old laptops here with modems. If I can create a script that will dial the correct code through the modem, then play a sound and hang up, I think I could make it work.

It's good to see that it is possible to page from the analog line -- the more I think about it, the more I think this is a real possibility.

 

[fireeater]

i found this ,but i think it requires a paging amp(external speakers)

http://www.vikingelectronics.com/products/view_product.php?pid=419

if you can script it the laptops would be perfect
if you can use visualbasic or such programing even better

HALLOWED ARE THE ORI

mike

http://www.ics-on.ca

 

[RikRodgers]

If it used to be a school, it would suprise me if there weren't already paging speakers installed. You may just need a tech on site to connect the system's output to the paging equipment.

 

[markatcristorey]

There were paging speakers installed, as well as an AMP and bell system, and actually the whole thing worked when I first got here (we acquired the building, built in the 50s, and then did fairly significant renovations) , but during the renovations, a portion of the cabling was destroyed when a ceiling was removed, and the AMP (which was from the 60s) was damaged. They also took down the speakers in each classroom (but I have them and could put them back if needed).

I will probably investigate repairing / replacing the old PA system later in the year, but if I can get the bells working through the phones, it's really a solution that could last for a few years, if necessary.

Assuming I am able to make this work, I'll provide an update. Thanks!!!

 

[jerryreeve]

fireeater came close to what I would suggest.

use the CTG-1

http://www.vikingelectronics.com/products/pdf/ctg-1.pdf

for the clock control and tones (bells) that you want to play.

connect that to a K-1900-5

http://www.vikingelectronics.com/products/appnotes/contclosure(818).pdf

to dial the page code via an analog phone

control the K-1900 from the CTG-1 Via the relay output of the ctg-1 I am not sure if the K-1900 can give you a hook flash (needed to access the feature codes) but call viking and they can probably help you. I have called them several times for oddball setups and they are real helpful.



----------------------------
Hill?? What hill??
I didn't see any $%@#(*$ Hill!!
----------------------------
JerryReeve
Communication Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[markatcristorey]

Hey everyone --

Just wanted to provide an update on this thread.

I was able to scrounge up an old ISA hardware voice-modem (with microphone and speaker ports on it), and an old computer that had ISA ports. I loaded Linux onto the machine, and after a fair amount of work, was able to (using minicom) get the computer to dial the appropriate numbers (ATDT!,*61) to page a zone, then play a sound (I play a schoolbell sound from the soundcard's output and then back into the modem's microphone port), and hangup. And now I've got it scheduled with cron. I know it's possible to do it more elegantly with things other than minicom, but I had a hell of a time getting them to work, and using expect to run minicom seems to be ultra-reliable.

The only issue I do have is that it takes the modem about six seconds after dialing the page before the modem replies with a VCOM and allows sound through. If anyone knows a way to lessen this delay (or let the modem ignore the VCOM entirely), that would perfect this. The only reason this is an issue is that when the page is issued the phones sound the tone (indicating a page), and then there is a six second silence before the bell rings. If I could make it NOT tone for the page, that would work too.

Other than that, this solution works great. I've got it paging just my phone right now, so I can make sure that there aren't any hiccups, and that the schedule is correct. Thanks to everyone for your help! When we were installing this system, this forum was the best resource around!

 

[RikRodgers]

You can turn page tone off. It's under Sys Programming/Feature settings.

My suggestion- Patent your PC config, package it, and give me a call when you clear $1,000,000.

Congratulations on making it work!