iPECS 100 / SLTM8 / Panasonic Tape Answering Machines 2

[Kosty]

Hi everyone,

I please excuse my post I am not very familiar with telephony technology.

We have had an iPECS-100 system installed for a few months. We receive our calls through a BRIM module which then goes to an STLM8 module that we use to hook up three tape answering machines to take all our after hours orders.

The problem that we are having, that my telephone person has not yet been able to solve is:

When a call comes through it goes through the answering machine and the message is taken fine. But when the caller hangs-up the tape does not stop recording for approximately 30 seconds.

The last 30 seconds of the message are a series of long beeps around 1 second in duration for about 25 seconds then at the end the beep becomes shorter and higher pitched. The answering machines seem to have trouble with hangup detection.

This takes up considerable amount of time on the tape and makes taking the messages off the machine longer. Not to mention the extra wear and tear on the answering machines.

Because the answering machines are old analogue tape machines I am wondering if there is a setting that can be changed to make the hang up beeps sound more like and old analogue hang up signal.

I am aware that the iPECS system can record voicemail. It is something I am looking at doing within the next 6 months but until then I am hoping there is a quick fix to get us by.

I could be able to record the beeps and upload them if that would be of any help. Also I am in Australia if that makes any difference.

 

[doktor]

The IPECS-100 has a build in voice mail system, so try to use it.
It is possble to record messages for all phones installed with this system.
If you are using system (LKD/LDP) phones or IP (LIP)phones a message waiting lamp will light up for each new message.

So save your tape, and use the build-in voice mail system.

Check the table in the middle of this web page:

http://www.capstanlg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=98

///doktor

 

[Kosty]

Thank you for the reply.

I am definitely considering it in the near future.

I have not been able to find any documentation on how the voice mail playback system works.

My main concern is the ability to rewind the message back about 1 to 5 seconds. Our after hours messaging service allows our customers place orders after the office is closed. These orders can be around five to ten minutes long and there can up to 20 - 40 of these messages on a big night.

The customers leave a list of products very quickly so if the person data entering the order after hours misses a product then they need to rewind back to hear it again. Unfortunately with most of the standalone digital answering machines that I have seen, when the rewind button is pressed it goes back to the start of the message. This means that up to five minutes of the message would have to be listened to again just to get the missed product.

If incremental rewinding is not possible then my other alternative is to have the messages emailed and have an application that plays the messages in the email. I am capable enough of coding such a system but this would take a bit of time for development and testing.

As you can appreciate our data entry people have been using these tape machines for several years and the moving to a digital system would require a bit of training. In the mean time I am hoping these is a solution that can buy me some time before I migrate to the internal digital system of the iPECS.

 

[doktor]

I can see your point.

We have installed iPECS for a few years now, so the expeierince learned by this is telling me that either the software of the iPECS is too old or the country code is wrong.
See each country in the world (more or less) have their own setiings for analogue lines (phones, modem, fax and answering mashines).
If the answering mashines worked well with your old system, and that system maybe had another country code setting, then the iPECS must now be able to simulate this country code.
There are a few (read many) country code settings in the iPECS, and especially in the SLTM8 module.
These settings deal with tones and signaling for the analogue circuit, and has to be adjusted.

As you are using ISDN2 (BRIM), I am sure of this, because if you used analogue CO lines, then the answering mashine would have had even more problems with hanging up.

So my advice is to let the engineer that installed this system go over it once again with these settings in mind.

To check the system software, just press [PGM] or [TRAN/PGM]
and 72. then you will see the software level written in the display of any system phone.

///doktor

 

[doktor]

With the iPECS internal voice mail system you can not go back and forth in the messages, so you need to listen from the start of the message again.
I am not sure if these messages are in vaw format, but I think it was a specific proprietary format.

///doktor

 

[doktor]

Hi again

I have found a quick reference guide for the voice mail system.

Check this link to fin my data:

http://www.kandu.dk/spg97163.aspx

///doktor

 

[SteveBUK]

Hello,

One thing you may have your telephone engineer check is
PGM 111-113, Option 5 - Howling Tone to SLT
Turn this OFF for the stations with the answer machines.

Some answer machines are vox activated, so when they hear a sound they record, when the line goes quiet they stop recording.

Regards
Steve