So Many Phone Manufacturers.. How do you service it all? 1

[CablingContractor]

There has to be several dozen different brands of PBXs and Key Systems... How do you service systems you are unfamiliar with? I figure there's only so many things a phone system can do and I figure that every manufacturer implements the same features, more or less.

For example, I was in a wiring closet the other day and they had a NEC PBX. I have no experience with NEC but it shouldn't be rocket science, it's is a phone system and all phone systems have various features and can be configured by a human.

How do you guys configure systems you are unfamiliar with? Do you search for product documentation and take some time and "ramp up" on that particular model? Is there a CD or library somewhere with all product documentation.

I'm very interested in how you guys handle this. Thanks in advance!

 

[kwing112000]

I usually do not touch a system that i am not familiar with. i would try and become a vendor for the particular brand before i work on it. If you go in and start playing with a system you dont know and you mess it up then the customer calls the manufacturer and they ask who was working on it and they say joe blow the manufacturer says they are not supposed to work on the system your warranty is now void and you have to pay for support.

Some systems are complicated. there are some systems you program from the phones then there are systems with dedicated terminals to program or they could be a IP based system. I have worked on alot of different systems and they may have the same features but how you program those features is very different. i have alot of training and usually only work on systems that i can get support on.

 

[LkEErie]

You start by RTFM. You're right, each system has features that are similar to other systems. Since I work for a national contractor, I might move from an Avaya Legend to a Comdial Executech 2000 to a Nortel CICS to a Nortel 824 to a Tie Onyx. I sold early Tie, Comdial, Mitel, Vodavi, and Panasonic systems and repaired all of the major brands. Back in the day, I paid huge bucks for manuals compiled on CD. I would guess that I have dropped about $300 on digital manuals. I have also purchased BBS Telecom Plexus, Tie Businesscom, Comdial DX-80, a Venture IP system, and I stock various Panasonic, Comdial, Avaya, Nortel and Vodavi systems. There's even a Toshiba DK key system and an Executone system that I took in trade.

Whenever I get a service call on a new system, I get a manual and read enough to know how to program it. Then, sometimes, if I feel that I'm learning on the job, I'll give the customer a break, by only charging them for the time to repair if I actually knew the system. Yes, sometimes I get a system from Heck, but not very often.

LkEErie

 

[SYQUEST]

In a certain way, learning phones systems is like learning a language. If you can identify with the similarities the rest will usually fall into place. Also understanding the technology helps...

Over the years there certainly been a lot of different phone systems out there! Is there anybody that remembers the ToshibaCom or how about the TIE Grey Whale (TIE10S)?

The first CrossBar PBX I ever worked on was an NEC NA120 "DIANA" at the Crystal Cathedral. The TouchTone™ receivers were made by TELTONE. The interesting thing about that service call was what I found causing a "ring no answer" condition on the main number. The NA120 had 10 trunks and Telco had installed an MLH with only a pilot number and trunk terminals. The trunk terminals did not have DNs, so you could not call them individually. So I tested what was terminated on the NA120 and found no problem there. So I thought, something odd here. Then I busied out some of the trunk terminals to see if I could get a "busy" when all 10 were in use. I did't give a busy! It rang no answer! So I held the line with the RNA and took my test set and started checking Binding Posts for a ringing line, and viola' I fond it! Turns out there were actually 11 terminals in the MLH instead of 10, and 11 had never been connected! Don't know how long it had been like that, since it only happened when the group was busy with traffic. So I put a short on it to busy it out until it could be disconnected from Pacific Bell. But I guess stranger things have happened!

....JIM....

 

[donporter]

It has been an antitrust industry for years. No sharing of information and a lack of standards. But now it is a little better with Q-sig, SIP and other. The Computer and Networking industry has the Phone Vendors on their toes. The problem is the Computer and Networking Vendors (Cisco & 3Com) are not taking out all the old ways but running with the punches.

I remember, a Cisco manager talking with us about how easy it would be to setup a phone system and that it was only the phone vendors who were making it look hard. My thoughts 50/50, they are trying to keep service calls up and a non-telecom person cannot learn it easily.

Maybe GNU will take it to the next step.

Shadowing and Training are the best ways to learn each system.

 

[DigitelD]

For several years the company that I worked for installed and serviced many different manufacturers. I had a couple of totes with manuals in them. A key system is a key system and a PBX is a PBX. They are all trying to get to the same place but some just find a different way to get there. If I am going to install a piece of equipment that I am not familiar with I will read as much as I can first and then tackle it. Our company now is a Nortel shop only. I like this because I can now focus on 1 manufacturer and learn as much as possible. You can install and service many different brands if you take time to research them.

SHK Certified (School of Hard Knocks)

 

[grumpyone60]

Tell me what each of these mean, this is just to set up a phone. Then you would need to set up callRouting, system features, numbering plan, voice mail, etc..... and this is just one manufacturer. Each one has it's own acronyms (or language) then you can tell me it is 'easy' to set up a PBX...

Good Luck,

CLS CTD FBD WTA LPR PUA MTD FND HTA NDD HFD
MWA LMPN RMMD SMWD AAD IMD XHD IRD NID OLD VCE DRG1
POD DSX VMD CMSD SLKD CCSD SWD LNA CNDD
CFTD SFD MRD DDV CNID CDCD MSID DAPA BFED RCBD
ICDD CDMD LLCN MCTD CLBD AUTU
GPUD DPUD DNDD CFXA ARHD FITD CLTD ASCD
CPFA CPTA ABDD CFHD FICD NAID BUZZ AGRD MOAD AHD
DDGA NAMA
DRDD EXR0
USMD USRD ULAD RTDD RBDD RBHD PGND OCBD FLXD FTTU DNDY DNO3 MCBN

 

[SYQUEST]

I won't go thru all of them, that is the Class of Service options list for a station on a Northern Telecom Meridian1 PBX. Most of the options are Denied. On the acronyms the ending "D" is Denied and the "A" is allowed.

...I remember doing lots of those in the 1990s...

....JIM....

 

[RussellMcL]

There is no way you could program every phone system in the world without having at least some formal traiing on it. Granted you could change names and groups etc, but try and set up anything semi complex or investigate anything semi complex fault wise, and you would be completely lost.

You have command driven systems, GUI based systems, menu driven systems, systems programmed through keysets, Madness to suggest you could work this out on site. This sort of gung ho attitude just puts everyones integrity at risk and will end up causing more problems than it fixes.

 

[EddieDuece]

Unless you work for a shop like Verizon, Qwest, Bell South, Black Box, ect., there is no way to know all the systems. Sure you could hack your way through some admin, but I guarentee you won't be able to explain what you have just accomplished to the customer. And at these companies, there are techs that work on Avaya, so the Nortel tech has the Avaya tech as a resource and vice versa. That's how they get away with working on systems that they probably shouldn't touch. I work stricly with Nortel systems, mostly PBX but we do have all flavors of Norstars and BCM's. I can talk to the PBX like it's a second language, but with the Norstars, there are hundreds of feature codes to remember...Not as fond of those as the PBX. But I started my career working on Merlins, Vodavi's, Panasonics, Partners, Protege's, comdials, 1A2 systems. Took a few years to get to the PBX level and that's where I'm staying. I love the Nortel switches, and that's all I really care to work on. I go home at the end of the day with a feeling of accomplishment, and can explain how those systems work in depth or at a high level.