MCIS DR6.1 MRFC Loses control of CI lines... 2

[hma3]

Here is what we have…
[ul]
[li]MCIS 0x32 w/ DR 6.1 MRFC software[/li]
[li]6port expansion card ,no timing module (NTBB06)[/li]
[li]12x0 expansion case (NTBB20)[/li]
[li]3 4-line CI card (NT5B41)[/li]
[li]25 M7324 stations[/li]
[li]CallPilot 100[/li]
[li]SMDR-6 (NSSMDR6)[/li]
[/ul]

Now we have a T1 line coming into a CAC box that splits it out to 12 analog lines, and are all in a hunt group. We have recently been having the phone system (randomly) stop responding to lines, where someone tries to pick it up, and they hear nothing, and the station acts if everything is all good (no errors). This doesn’t go away until either we reset the whole system (which takes too long) or through the config, disable and re-enable the card (which takes out 2 or 3 of the active lines). Also this will happen to what almost seems like any line.

Anyway, here is what we’ve done to try to fix it…
[ul]
[li]Got a new KSU and software, no change[/li]
[li]Got two new 4-line CI cards and swapped then around, recording what lines drop on what card.[/li]
[li]Moved all 3 CI cards to the 12x0 box are re-programmed the system.[/li]
[li]Re-wired just about everything.[/li]
[li]And finally got the TelCo (after much time spent on the phone) to replace the CAC box.[/li]
[/ul]

Now when these lines do go out, we can plug a standard phones in and take calls, and the procedure is to remove the line from the system, and take that line off hook so calls will hunt to the next available line. Moving the lines from the TelCo to another port on the system and everything seems fine with the line. So it is the port on the Norstar box that is dieing, and according to the status of the port, its idle. Also the staff knows something is wrong when the line rings but no one is there. One of the phone installers that we’ve had into look at it said it is if there wasn’t enough power on the system to pick up the call, but he has no other suggestions.

So the only way things have been stable is if we put in the three original DS cards (NT7B75) and loose all the CallerID info from the sets and the SMDR reports.

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone had ideas on why this is happening, and what if anything I can do to fix it.

Thanks

-hma3

 

[senk1s]

do the trunks provide disconnect supervision?
are the trunks programmed in the norstar as super(vised)?

 

[bkrike]

I would check the voltage coming out of the CAC. I have had problems in the past with CLID cards not working well with channel banks, especially when the voltage of the channel bank dial tone is out of whack when compared to normal copper CO lines. For whatever reason, I have found the CLID cards to be more sensitive to such issues. When dealing with this issue I have found if you put a buttset on the lines, but don’t go off hook, you will hear a loud screaming through the buttset.

I don’t know that you will be able to fix it without changing something like: no CLID cards, or get rid of the channel bank.

 

[hma3]

I believe when I brought in the second phone guy to look into it we just turned on disconnect supervision on all the lines. After this was activated (and I'll need to double check that is what we turned on), the system would drop the line if the other party hung up or if you switched to another line. I also believe this cleared up an issue we were having when our voice mail would forward night calls to a company cell phone, the system would have every line tied up because it didn't want let go. But this was also before I learned (from this site) that you can just do a CO-LINK (# before number) in the voice mail, thanks rconn.
Anyway the point being, I believe they have been both ways, but I'll double check, thanks for the info senk1s.

As for the voltage, I did some testing per my phone guys instructions, and I hope I did it right. Anyway the levels for both AC during a ring and DC at normal off hook were what he said it should be. I can't remember now, but if there is a guide I should look to, I can try it again and report my results.

I would agree with bkrike however, it seems that the CI cards are more sensitive to the problem. The last time it happened, 2 lines when out on a card, and I was fortunate enough to be there to disable and re-enable the card via the software, taking the other two lines down for a few minutes. But after that the system seems to have been working fine for the past few days (I completely expect a call tomorrow now that I've said that).

Now hopefully one good thing to come out of this, we have just signed up to bring in a new PRI-T1 with 14 channels, and I'm getting pricing on the cards and software necessary for that change over. So we will skip the CAC Channel Bank (thanks bkrike for the correct term) and have the phone system handle everything. This will be a complete shift for the client in the way they handle calls, but I'm hoping it will be smooth transition. I know this should be a new topic, but any suggestions for this transfer would be gladly accepted.