Sometimes lines do not ring

[korz]

Help! Sometimes during business hours the lines do not ring, and they get picked up by voice mail when ringing is not heard (after four rings, as they should). What do I check to get the extensions to ring and blink all the time?

We had a Merlin 410 wired with 4pair; 4 lines in; and ten extensions installed in 1982.

This was upgraded by replacement with:
Partner ACS Release 5.0 Processor
Partner ACS 308EC Expansion Module
Partner ACS 2-Slot Carrier
Partner ACS Voice Messaging PC Card Release 2.0 (2-Ports x 4-Mailboxes)
Partner ACS Contact Closure Adjunct
Partner Door Phone (ext 24)
Partner MLS - 18D (x 1) (ext 10)
Partner MLS - 12 (x 12) (ext 11-22)
TowerMax 8 KSU Surge Protector Base Unit
Lucent 146C Line Protector CO
-the card scanner (ext 25) has assign line 4 (no restrict)

Most of the time calls ring thru all line and blink. 20% of the time no ring nor blinking lights, and voice mail always picks up after 4 rings. Need ringing always!

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi korz,
How many extensions do you have set to ring? You might try to turn off abbreviated ringing (#305) to see if people are not hearing the ring if they are already on a call.
The only other comment I have is to change to a 5 slot carrier. I have found that systems in the 2 slot carrier always seem to cook the processor after a while.
-Chris

 

[korz]

Half of the extension ring. And the first processor lasted three weeks before calls stopped ringing thru all the time. The replacement lasted abut a week. Only about 20% (a guess) of the calls do not indicate on the extensions, the rest ring and blink lights as normal.

 

[skip555]

have you checked loop current ?

too high and it can fry cards

I would also put a meter on and check ring voltage

 

[korz]

>have you checked loop current ?
> too high and it can fry cards

the Lucent 146C Line Protector CO should protect 100%

>I would also put a meter on and check ring voltage

the lines do not ring for about 15 minutes at a time, then everything works fine. If we happen to pick up the phone line a "limbo" call connects thru, and we can make calls out while no incoming calls are acknowledged by the system.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi korz,

Your original report indicates that the system is responding to the incoming call as the attendant picks up. How hot is the processor running? Is the system on a UPS?
Your normal loop current should be on the order of 30mA. Put a meter in series with your butt set to test. Go off hook and take your reading.
-Chris

 

[skip555]

info on loop current here

http://www.sandman.com/loopcur.html

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi Skip555,
Decent artical. There is an error in the loop current. It is a DC loop, unless you have shunt resistance (and likely a hum), the series current will remain contant. The voltage will drop on a long run. I normally measure 30 - 35 mA in the Toronto area. Also, the current supplied is energy. There is a cost to that. I'm sure the "phone company" wants to give you just enough and no more. (comment to high current)
Kortz, have you been able to run some tests? Try to cool the system down to see if it behaves itself. Let us know.
-Chris

 

[korz]

We've swapped out the 2 card carrier for a 5 card, but the intermitent problem of no ring-no blink still occurs. The processor was never really hot anyway.

The tips on low current do not apply [

http://sandman.com/etc

]
- there is no "poor voice transmission quality" nor "low volume"
- we get no "ghost rings"
-we get no "wrong numbers"
-we have no "lost calls during transfer"
-and there is no "data loss" when the remote software connects.

Our problem is on the westside of Chicago. And I'll have to invest in a set of meters for testing.

 

[skip555]

The tips on low current do not apply [

http://sandman.com/etc

]
- there is no "poor voice transmission quality" nor "low volume"
- we get no "ghost rings"
-we get no "wrong numbers"
-we have no "lost calls during transfer"
-and there is no "data loss" when the remote software connects.

re-read it it says these are common problems
not the only problems
differnt systems will react differntly to loop current problems I have found it as high as 80ma in this area and it does cause strange problems
most any DMM will do it just be sure there is a MA setting.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi kortz,
If this fault occurs often enough you might be able to catch it with your butt set. See if you can get a line ringing with a system phone beside you to monitor the system's response. I have never seen a system answer a call with auto attendant delayed without ringing the phones.
Is the attendant delay set the same on all lines (stupid question, but...).
Good luck & happy hunting,
-Chris

 

[korz]

Yes, auto attendent is set the same on all ext.
I had reset each phone to ring when I installed the door-phone, but today I set only four of the tweleve extension to ring. I measured each of the four lines as follows:
Line 1 is 31.84mA
Line 2 is 31.70mA
Line 3 is 30.08mA
Line 4 is 31.80mA
Don't think this is too much, series loop current/off hook to fret about.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi korz,
Those numbers look bang on. You are right, the problem isn't with loop current.
-Chris

 

[mrpeabody]

If the voicemail is always picking up, then the system as a whole is always sensing a ring. It sounds like a component is bad. If you said only x18-25 are the ones that won't ring, I would say your 308EC module is bad. If its on x10 or others, look at the carrier. If there are certain periods of time when it fails, I would look at environment/heat issues.

 

[korz]

After studing this problem for some weeks I've found that voice mail does not always pick up when there is no ring-blink of any phone; but sometimes voice mail does answer without ring-blinks. NONE of the extentions ring in that case. The 2 card slot was replaced with a 5 card AND same problem. This no ring indication happens at all times of the day.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi korz,
Have you tried removing the line protector? It might be loading the ring signal down. That's the only thing I can think of right now.
-Chris

 

[korz]

We'll try removing the line protector next. Also noticed that when someone rings the door phone during an incoming call, the incoming call rings very low, but you can still see the blinking light, so in itself that's no problem. The door phone rings loud and clear. Don't know if that's normal.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi korz,
That's normal, the door phone is an internal call and has priority (being a door phone). I somehow don't think that you have a system problem. Another thing to check are the old carbon lightning protectors on the Bell surge block. That is if you have old wiring from the street. I have noticed that the bell tech's simply unscrew them. They do not replace when blown.
-Chris

 

[korz]

Found the solution.

Seems the original eight wire Merlin wire was defective somewhere along the lines -- had to re-wire the extentions from the processor and everything works fine now.

 

[korz]

Found the solution.

Seems the original eight-wire-Merlin wire was defective somewhere along the lines -- had to re-wire the extentions from the processor and everything works fine now.