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White Noise on CS1000 Meridian 1 handsets 1

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RLSbutton

Technical User
Mar 2, 2010
712
US
Why do all CS1000 and Meridian 1 handsets have audio white noise in the telephone earpiece, even after the called party disconnects? If you are on a call and the other party hangs up, the finished call timer appears for 5 seconds but there is still white noise in the handset. I assume it's white noise created by the call server to emulate background noise to show that the handset is working. BCM doesn't use this technique though.

Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant
 
Did not happen on any of my Nortel handsets, does it happen extensions to extension too, or just external calls? Could be Telco issue if only off site calls affected.
 
I have never heard of this. There should be no noise of any kind, just silence.
 
Sorry I should have clarified in more detail.

The noise I am talking about is not something abnormal, but it's a noise common to all telephones: analog, digital, and IP. Everything but cellular phones. The noise is a soft background whooshing noise that assures the user that the line is connected. I've heard cases where Cisco needed to create this noise because their IP phones are so silent, users didn't know if they were connected to a line or not.

So try this if you are bored. Take a Nortel Unistim IP phone or Meridian Digital set, connected to a CS1000, put your ultra dog hearing on and make a call....you'll hear the background noise softly in the earpiece. Then once the other caller disconnects, the line will hang up and the call timer will appear idle, but the background "soft whooshing" noise continues. I believe the audio is always there even if you pick up the handset and press goodbye/RLS while still listening to the handset.

On the contrary on a BCM, you'll have the soft white noise, but once the second party disconnects, you'll hear a soft termination (not a CO click) of the "whooshing" audio and the handset audio is completely off.

I may have "canine" hearing though.


Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant
 
Still don't hear it. There is side tone or as we used to call it "Blow Battery" on analog and digital but the IP sets don't even have that. But just idle mine are as quiet as a mouse. Maybe it's you? Just kidding!! I dated a chick once that had a lot of whooshing noise in her head.
 
LOL! Haha, that's hilarious, I do wear earplugs a lot living in downtown Chicago, that could have something to do with it, :) I've dated lots of women I wish whooshing in her head was the only problem they had. Finally I've found a good one.

Did you have the volume on the handset up to the highest setting?

Hmmmmmmm, you know, maybe it's something with this particular CS1000. It's at the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids, MI. They have 2 1120E series IP phones in each room, and while my honey was getting ready for the day, I was playing around with the features on the phones and discovered this white noise.



Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant
 
Could be a bad ground, or electrostatic/magnetic interference from elevators etc, or just plain bad connections in the jacks. There are so many things it "could" be ......
 
I don't believe it's a problematic noise.....it's the same noise you'd hear when connected to any call on any phone system. It's just in this case of the CS1000, the background noise in the handset never stops, even when the telephone is inactive. Wow, maybe I have ultra sensitive hearing.....my lady always says I am deaf though....hmmmm.


Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant
 
It might be that after many years of dealing with it we do not hear it any more too!
 
My wife says I have selective hearing. Basically I hear what I want to, she's right.
 
Is it true most of our lady friends don't like telephones? Mine argues with me that telephones are dead and to forget about them? I remind her of 911 centers, hospitals, grocery stores, airports, correctional facilities, fire stations, department stores, etc. etc. and she says, "why can't they just use a cell phone from ATT?"

Anyways, the CS1000 is such a fine piece of engineering. I don't have one in my lab, so the only chance I get to experiment with the features and user interface of the CS1000 is when I go to this hotel in Michigan. Hence, me discovering this white noise feature.



Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant
 
There is a comfort noise setting (idle noise level) on the media gateways. It's intended to help overcome a call being too quiet and one of the parties hanging up because they think the other party has disconnected. Maybe yours is set a bit high.
 
I can't hear what you guys are talking about, but after 40 years of toners and noisy PBX rooms, I can't hear much.

It's a phone system, NOT a clock!
 
Just look at it this way, there is always "side tone" or "air tone" active
On the meridian digital and iP phones no matter if they are connected to a call or not. Some peoples hearing sense it others don't. BCM doesn't have side tone so when a call releases you hear pure silence.

Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant
 
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