jeffj@uunet.uu.net (03/25/91)
I just obtained a set of three AT&T Comkey 416 phones. Now it sinks in: How do I use them? Two have the power supplies, one doesn't. Do any of you know what they do and how to wire them? Much to my disappointment, they seem to require 50 wires to each phone. (A-ha! Now I see all the fuss about Merlin, Spirit, etc. They work over four or six wires!) I guess that the phones all wire in parallel. It handles one to four lines, but where do I connect the tip and rings? I also got two ivory push-button multi-line desk phones (the type with the six buttons along the bottom). Am I correct that their only value is to someone that needs a replacement? Does anybody want them? I have two wall phones without dials or ringers. What the heck am I to do with those? I can buy an external autodialer with a horrible membrane keypad and that'll make them DTMF, but it adds an external box. They're for sale, cheap! Thanks in advance. Jeffrey Jonas synsys!jeffj@uunet.uu.net jeffj@synsys.uucp
DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan.edu (Douglas Scott Reuben) (03/26/91)
I have a few ComKeys myself, and it works pretty simple: You need to get a hold of something called a "91B Wiring Block", which were (are?) manufactured by Western Electric. You may be able to get these through AT&T parts, or through the AT&T catalog, as they still sell (expensive) ComKey units. Perhaps companies like Graybar have these as well. In any event, once you get these blocks, it is pretty self explanatory. All you do is connect your incoming phone lines to modular sockets on the "91B" block, and you are set. Each block can accomodate two lines. Both the red/green and yellow/black pairs are used, so you would put "line 1" on the green/red pair, and "line 2" on the yellow/back pair, and then "plug" this wire right into the "91B" block. (I think this is called a RJ-14 type jack, but I can't remember right now.) You can also re-wire the wires inside the "91B" block, if you have some odd sort of configuration of lines coming in, ie, your "Line 1" is yellow/black and you want it to be that way on the ComKey as well. If you want more than two lines, it becomes complicated. In order for the ComKey to take four lines, you need a "different" "base/power unit. I'm not too sure about this, but it seems that one of the base/power units (the larger units) will power lines one and two, while the other base/power unit powers lines three and four. I have looked extensively at all the markings inside and outside of the power units, and see no indication which would easily tell me which one is which. There are movable blocks inside the unit (under the DSS/intercom page buttons), but I dunno if they have anything to do with selecting whether the unit runs L1/2 or L3/4. I found this out via experimentation with the equipment I have, and there is perhaps a much simpler way to connect all four lines. (Perhaps something like a "91A" block, etc?). In any event, assuming you have all the right equipment (ie, the blocks, and two power units, one to run L1/2 and the other to run L3/4), you may want to select the intercoms. To do this, open the tab with the Bell System symbol on it, and underneath you will see four switches and one, long, sliding switch, with numbers one to ten on it. These numbers correspond to the DSS buttons, and if you select "2" on the sliding switch, every time anyone presses DSS button two (leftmost one on the bottom row), your speaker will go off. (The "tab" you are supposed to remove may just say "ComKey" on it - I've seen ones which do NOT have the Bell logo on it, for some odd reason.) The other four switches are for lines one to four, and they will tell your specific phone what line to ring on. I usually have only the main phone ring on all four lines, and the rest are silent, so the main phone gets 1-4 as "on", while all the other ones have 1-4 as "off". You can also change these whenever you want, so if you want to temporarily disable ringing on one line, just turn "off" the corresponding switch. And yeah, the cables are a pain. Almost like the 25-pair amphenol cables on 1A2 systems. I think this was a hybrid system, between the old 1A2 key phones, and the newer, electronic systems. I recall that a few years after the ComKey came out, there was a similar system, but without the amphenol. I can't recall the name right now, but I think AT&T still sells those as well via its catalog. But the 25-pair cables have their uses: I've managed to combine a ComKey unit which had a burnt out speaker/amplifier card to work with my 1A2 system by just cutting one wire. And, if I remember correctly, the only reason I had to cut a wire on the ComKey was because I like the red HOLD light on the 1A2's to be lighted to show that the power is on, and this modification somehow messed up the ComKey. (I think this can be done on each individual phone without sending power down through the whole system, but I was lazy.) I wouldn't suggest connecting a ComKey to a 1A2 unless you don't mind blowing a few things out on it, since 1A2s can be wired slightly differently from installation to installation, and I don't think they were ever intended to be used as part of the same system with ComKeys. So perhaps it is best not to experiment unless you don't care what happens to the ComKey. (And use an unpowered/slave unit if you do try this ... I've never tried to connect a ComKey power unit to a 1A2 system! (The 1A2s, of course, don't have any cards to blow out, at least not in the phones themselves.) Anyone have any ComKeys they want to get rid of? I'm looking for a speakerphone unit, but AT&T wants to charge something like $400 for this, which is a bit too expensive for me! I could also use a new touch-tone pad and an amplifier card, but AT&T will not sell these to me. Hope this helps (and was essentially correct :) ), Doug dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu // dreuben@wesleyan.bitnet
IZZYAS1@mvs.oac.ucla.edu (Andy Jacobson) (03/28/91)
In TELECOM Digest V11 #239 Douglas Scott Reuben <DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan. edu> writes: > while the other base/power unit powers lines three and four. I have > looked extensively at all the markings inside and outside of the power > units, and see no indication which would easily tell me which one is > which. There are movable blocks inside the unit (under the > DSS/intercom page buttons), but I dunno if they have anything to do > with selecting whether the unit runs L1/2 or L3/4. I found this out > via experimentation with the equipment I have, and there is perhaps a > much simpler way to connect all four lines. (Perhaps something like a > "91A" block, etc?). Yes those movable blocks will select for lines 1/2 or 3/4. One of these Molex-like connectors can be moved from one set of pins to another, making the switch. > I've never tried to connect a ComKey power unit to a 1A2 > system! (The 1A2s, of course, don't have any cards to blow out, at > least not in the phones themselves.) These things are possible. In basic operation, without the various added features, the ComKey is really a 1A2 compatible beast. But don't try to connect them directly as the A/A1 control does not match. 1A2 type phones can certainly be used as stations if you match the proper wiring, and make sure the 1A2 unit has no conflicting option wiring in the spare pairs of its 25 pair cord. The one basic incompatibility is the lack of ringdown. Best to break out the wiring on a jiffy box or other 66-type block and jumper only the leads in use. I have two AT&T Touchamatics, and several 2565 type phones run off of my 416 base unit, and everything works fine save for intercom signaling, which is unfortunately incompatible to the best of my fiddling. Also, I have found the power supply on the thing amazingly resilient as I have inadvertently shorted out the DC on it several ways with no damage. Andy Jacobson<izzyas1@oac.ucla.edu> or <izzyas1@UCLAMVS.bitnet>