by Walt Medak
Q: After attending one of your classes I decided to try to automate some of the processes we have by writing a few simple vectors. I’m having a problem with one that I hope you can help me figure out. I am trying to give the caller the option to “Press 1″ and be transferred offsite via an 800 number to one of our other locations. If I set the “route-to” step up with the 800 number (91800….) the call does not go through. However, I experimented enough to figure out if I used that “route-to” step to send callers to an extension (5249) that is call forwarded to that 800 number, the call does go through. Shouldn’t I be able to route calls directly to that phone number?
A: The quick answer is yes, you should. When a call gets sent to a vector, the COR that is assigned to the VDN gets associated with that call. When you try to route a call directly to an offsite phone number with a “route-to” step, it is the VDN’s COR that gets used to determine if the call can be made or not. If instead of routing directly offsite you route the call to a station like 5249 in your testing, it would be 5249′s COR that would be associated with it and used to determine if the offsite call can be made. My guess is that 5249 has a COR that will allow the offsite call and the VDN has a one that will not allow it. Try changing the COR on the VDN to the same as extension 5249 and I bet routing directly to the phone number will work.
Q: I was doing some work in our switchroom yesterday and had some of our equipment shut off. I don’t know if this just started recently or was because the sound level was so much lower, but I heard an intermittent noise I could best describe as a vibration, or grinding sound. I finally tracked the noise down to our Intuity. I’m concerned that we may be looking at a major failure that’s about to happen. Obviously it’s hard to troubleshoot a sound you haven’t heard, but is this something that you’ve run into before?
A: You’re right, without being able to see and hear the problem firsthand it is difficult to say for sure what it could be. However, one very common point of failure on an Intuity that can make a sound like that is the CPU cooling fan. What I have witnessed is when the bearings in the fan start to go bad, it will run for a while and then start making that grinding/buzzing noise and either slow down or stop completely. It then usually starts back up within a few seconds and starts the cycle all over again. In the beginning the ratio is much more run than stop time. As the bearings get worse, the ratio moves toward more stop than run time, until finally the fan stops working.
There are two reasons for this. One is the age of the equipment. Things like fans start to fail after years of 24/7 duty. The other is dirt. It is very important to keep your equipment clean so proper airflow is maintained for cooling. It only takes a few minutes to take the cover off the Intuity and make sure all of the vents are clear of dust and debris, and that all of the fans are working.
However, if you are going to use a can of compressed air to blow out any dust, be very careful around the fans themselves, as I have seen one come apart because of the blast of air. If you do notice a fan that isn’t working, you need to get it replaced as soon as possible. You should be able to find a replacement at just about any store that sells PC parts. Or give us a call and we can make sure your system is taken care of for you.
If questions please call 800-452-6477.
