"Ole J. Jacobsen" <ole@csli.stanford.edu> (08/22/90)
Why is it that most phone systems insist on "knowing" about CO lines, *only* if these lines are properly "grabbed" by requesting extensions on the other side of the switch? If I can buy a cheap "line status indicator" which "knows" that a CO line is off hook, why can't the switches use similar brain power to figure the status of CO lines? The problem arises when you try to hook devices (modems, answering machines, faxen, etc.) *directly* to CO lines (which are also connected to the phone system). The phone system (stupidly) has no way of knowing when such a line is active and will merrily grab it at random with disastrous effects. Please don't tell me to hook my modem into an extension port, I only have 16, and that's not enough for a one bedroom place, besides having to dial 9....:-) P.S. This problem is present on both cheap systems like the Panasonic KX-T61610 and the expensive Merlin 2. Both fail the basic intelligence test in this respect. Arrg. Ole J Jacobsen, Editor and Publisher ConneXions--The Interoperability Report Interop, Inc. 480 San Antonio Road, Suite 100 Mountain View, CA 94040 USA Phone: (415) 941-3399 FAX: (415) 949-1779 ole@csli.stanford.edu
John Higdon <john@bovine.ati.com> (08/22/90)
"Ole J. Jacobsen" <ole@csli.stanford.edu> writes: > Why is it that most phone systems insist on "knowing" about CO lines, > *only* if these lines are properly "grabbed" by requesting extensions > P.S. This problem is present on both cheap systems like the Panasonic > KX-T61610 and the expensive Merlin 2. Both fail the basic intelligence > test in this respect. Arrg. Are you serious? What you describe is also true of the most expensive Mitels, ITT 3100s, Meridian/SL1s, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Why on earth should a PBX be equipped with "line status detection" when it was never intended that a trunk would be shared with foreign equipment? Would you dangle some gadget off of a four-wire E&M trunk and then expect a PBX to detect it and deal with it? A trunk to a PBX, whether it be two wire (ground or loop start) or four wire E&M is supposed to be a trunk to a PBX and is not intended to be shared with modems, answering machines, dialers, or any other doodads. Some PBXs accept trunks as T-spans. What kind of gadgetry would you expect to be able to tack on to those circuits and have the PBX recognize it and deal with it? John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) (08/24/90)
Why not stick an answering-machine-cutoff gadget on the line to the switch that you want to put the modem on? Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U` peter@ferranti.com
Beach@cup.portal.com (08/25/90)
> Why is it that most phone systems insist on "knowing" about CO lines, > *only* if these lines are properly "grabbed" by requesting extensions > P.S. This problem is present on both cheap systems like the Panasonic > KX-T61610 and the expensive Merlin 2. Both fail the basic intelligence > test in this respect. Arrg. The Merlin PLUS has an RJ-11 on the line card to which standard telecom stuff can be placed (modem/fax/etc). When a device loads this jack, by going off hook, the Merlin + busies out the associated line. I am sure the Merlin 2 has capability to connect standard equipment AFTER the switch. I suspect the reason most switches don't monitor incoming lines as you suggest is that doing so would probably cause more problems than the mostly nonexistant need for it would benefit. Steve Warner fremont, CA, usa, etc