Before getting to the first question, I have a few pieces of information that may be useful to you.
I was installing a 22-button module to a 2616 set recently and couldn’t seem to get it working. I tried two different NT2K modules with an NT2K16 phone but both were dead. That’s pretty unusual so I tried another phone with one of the modules and it worked. I used the LD 32 IDU command to identify the phone and figured out the problem. Even though my original phone was labeled as NT2K, the system identified it as NTZK. You may or may not know that an NTZK phone requires external power to operate an additional module. The lesson I learned is that secondary market refurbishers are not always careful to properly identify phones, so don’t completely trust the aftermarket labels.
Speaking of add-on modules, not everyone knows there is a simple test to show whether the buttons and displays work on the sets. Before you plug in a set you can hold down the Release key, then release it after you plug it in. This activates a self-test that will light all of the indicators and put a test pattern on the display. Press each key to see the indicator extinguish and press all the other buttons for a confirmation tone. Even the hookswitch will activate a tone. Last of all press the Release key to exit the test and the phone should become active. This test is very useful when adding a module or making other physical changes to ensure everything works before performing other tests.
For many years I programmed ACD sets with keys 0-2 always set for ACD, NRD and MSB in that order. I had an ACD supervisor question that decision recently and it made me reconsider whether I should use that key arrangement out of habit only. The supervisor noted that it was too easy to hit the MSB (Make Set Busy) key by mistake when attempting to press the Activity key directly above it. She wanted to know whether the MSB and NRD key could be moved up higher on the keystrip. We finally settled on placing the MSB feature on key 6 (right below the Program key) and the NRD (Not Ready) feature on key 5. That group of users has been very happy with the modified arrangement. The point of the story is to listen to your users and even ask them whether any changes may make things better for them. Sometimes a good solution is very simple to implement and makes a big difference in user satisfaction.
Q: Is there a way to make different trunk groups ring inbound differently to 2616s and 2008s?
A: I haven't tried it but the Nortel documents seem to indicate it's possible. Try this and let me know.
In LD 17:
REQ: chg
TYPE: cfn
PARM: yes
NDRG: yes
In LD 16 for the trunk group you want to have distinctive ringing:
REQ: chg
TYPE: rdb
CUST: (0, or whatever customer number you use)
ROUT: (the number of the route you want to have the different ring)
DRNG: yes
You may need to change the number of rings before FDN occurs. In LD 15:
REQ: chg
TYPE: ftr
CUST: (0 or whatever customer number you use)
DFNA: (the default is 4, but you can make it any number 1-15)
Q: A question regarding distant steering codes. I have a major project at one of our facilities that requires me to create DSCs for coordinated dialing between Nortel and Siemens phone systems while I migrate the campus from a Nortel to Siemens platform. As a test I have added 2 DSCs but when entering the third I receive an error: ESN0138 Number of steering codes exceeds maximum number of steering codes (MXSC) defined.
Nortel says I have virtually unlimited DSCs in the PBX but is there a threshold I must increase in order to configure the appropriate number? Will TSCs accomplish the same task?
A: There's no cost to increase the number of DSCs in the switch. The system allocates memory based on settings like that so it requires you to increase the number on purpose instead of just reserving memory you don't need to use.
In LD 86, PRT the ESN. Look at the number of MXSCs and decide how many you want to increase it to. These don’t seem to take much memory so you should be able to be pretty generous.
Again in LD 86 CHG the ESN and this time enter the new number after the MXSC prompt. The change should take effect immediately.
Reach the author at philruffin@hotmail.com.
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