Scenario: If we get this PMS to work, we pick up 5 mid-price motels.("Several different 'Mitel' techs have tried in the past 2 years") Sound like a setup for failure? Here's what we did, and YES we fixed it. (Lite 18, 2 cabinet) (Note that all through this, I'm a consultant at home.)

First we loaded PMS emulator software on our laptop, programed an old lite15 system in the shop for PMS, and became thoroughly familiar with the software. (Been a while!)

On site, there is a constant alarm that isn't an apparent failure. Emulator gets no response from PBX. So much for the easy, 'The pbx works, what have you hosed in your PMS, Mr/Mz support person'.

Moved the 1103 to the phone room and hooked the laptop to the maintenance port. Looked at programming, PMS is turned on, dataset programming ??? but leave it for now. Port for dataset is blinking red. Tried to move PMS to a new unused port, no joy.

Cannot delete the old port, although we can re-assign PMS in 34. Suspect software is confused and holding onto the PMS somehow. No joy.

Found ANOTHER port that had apparently been programmed for a dataset in the past! Could delete that!

The card is a BNIC, that I have no love for! Darn things have teeth that fit my butt very well!, so we changed it out for a DNIC. Again, no joy.

At this point, it was 4PM and time to head home. Nothing fixed and nothing new broken, a good time to leave and sleep on it.

Today, I logged in via Team Viewer and looked at the programming trying to find ANYTHING amiss. The dataset programming was not to my liking, so I changed it to what has always worked in the past,no joy.

The system still has that nagging minor alarm that we can't find in the logs, and the original PMS port is STILL blinking red. Desperation time, I've done the following before and fixed odd problems. Busy out the offending port, wait 5 minutes and return it to service and try to delete as fast as possible! IT WORKED!! Alarm gone, port programming deleted.

Deleted and re-installed the PMS port in the new location referred to above, assigned PMS to it, hooked up the laptop and TA-DA, it works!!!!

Moved the dataset to the front counter in original location and tested AGAIN with emulator, STILL JOY.

Checked all PMS interface wiring. PMS goes to a 4 to 1 USB (!) concentrator. So far away the concentrator is in the air, cable is too short. Moved stuff around to compensate and called 'PMS SUPPORT'. (There's an oxymoron!)

They said, "It still doesn't work" We said "It does with our Emulator, and we've cleaned up the mess left by others". Once they programmed the PMS to come in on port 4 of the 4-port concentrator, instead of PORT FIVE(!), IT WORKED!!!! (DUH-UH)

So, what was wrong?

Dataset port may or may not have been busied out. Why, who knows.

Dataset programming was probably not quite right. Why, who knows?

Installation at front counter was a mess. Why? You know why. I don't have to tell you that. If I do, you are part of the problem!

PMS programming mildly hosed. Why? NORMAL, that's why!

This is for all you guys that fight PMS every time! Ask questions, make comments, whatever. PMS is, at least for me, the biggest problem in hospitality!

When I was young, I was Liberal. As I aged and wised up, I became Conservative. Now that I'm old, I have settled on Curmudgeon.