I have a scenario where a plant has moved most of their lines onto an avaya pbx. Several strategic lines (all analog) across the plant were left as direct CO lines in situations when power is out and there is an emergency.

The phones are labeled as such, however in the effort to make things more obvious to the users and to appease the plant safety guy, I'm looking to see if there is some device that can be placed inline with the phone that will indicate the phone is alive (LED, LCD, other).

I'd check out Mike Sandman's on-line catalog at www.sandman.com since they have all kinds of gadgets like that.

When I did Hospitals and other "mission-critical" locations years ago, a lot of them would have a "Red Phone" System in addition to their PBX or Centrex. The system was there in case the main Telecom system failed. It was usually a PAX or small PBX system and we would put Red CVs and CVWs at critical points. In order to make sure that the system was working when & if it was ever needed the staff was encouraged to use it on a specified day (1st Friday of every month). This way they got used to using it and if any component ever failed, they knew about it right away and the problem could be promptly addressed.

I would assume (hope?) that there is some procedure in place for the useage of these phones and a listing is available of all the emergency phone numbers in service. Why not use them, even when you don't really need them?

Sam

if I understand the question you would like a light as a visual indication that the line is alive

I don't see that working simply from the perspective that you can have voltage on a line thats non functional

I think Sam's Idea is the best , even go a little further and assign somebody to go to each phone weekly and make and receive a test call

you could assign a co with CID to call into and therefore have a log of the weekly calls

I like Sam's idea as well. It also tripped me into thinking along the lines of the weekly phone test as well. Inasmuch, looking through the sandman catalog, I came across a 'Phone Line Fault Relay' which looked promising save for the 12/24VDC requirement. The 'line in-use indicator' also had possibilities but it doesn't appear that it stays illuminated if the phone is on-hook.

All the phones have emergency contact numbers located nearby, the CO based phones are also labeled /stickered "911 Emergency", the concern is that the floor personnel may have seen these stickers for so long that they're apt to be forgotten and/or ignored. When the plant switched to the PBX, a number of the analog phones were simply reconnected to the PBX. It was felt that the environment on the floor would literally eat up an IP phone. As a result it's possible to have a phone on one I-beam that is a PBX phone and the next beam over is a CO phone but they physically look the same.

Thanks again Sam for the "Red Phone" concept as well as Skip for the routine verification suggestion.

Although the previous replies do make a lot of sense, if you are still not satisfied, or if your customer is a worrier (man, I would hate to think about what else are they bugging you about), I would suggest to connect the line/s to an fxs ata box, which will enable remote activation of a script which will have the efect of initiation a periodic phone call to the plant safety guy... you could even add a prompt that says "this is your xxx line calling you.. I am alright "...
Really overkill, but there you are, all possibilities covered.

The key words here are "mission critical" and an fxs capable box would need power which in turn would also become a point of constant worry and checking.

CO line voltage is always there and much more reliable than any power outlet during an emergency.

If you look into exactly what Silversam is saying. It is the best possible route to take. If I were to suggest something other than that it would be along the lines of contact you local alarm vendor. Have them install a box with the lines in question passing through it via RJ31X to the phones. Pay them to monitor the lines and feel much more at ease.

Like the man said, presence of line voltage (you wouldn't get to measure line current unless something was drawing dial tone, and drawing dial tone for any reason other than to make a call or to check for VM is an FCC violation -- part 68.312[i] -- ) is no guaranty that the line will work when needed. You need to simulate a real phone call, and receive it reliably to be assured that it's working.

Why not get some of these, and program them to dial the boss/engineer/safety guy/whomever. They can dial a predetermined number, and speak a voice announcement, or just send CID to a cell phone or pager.

The trigger can be any contact closure (or opening) that you desire to use. For instance, the morning ritual of disarming the alarm system, turning up the thermostat, or turning on the coffee pot. Or put an alarm clock at the receptionist's desk, and wire an output to the dialers.

Viking dialer

Can't you run a cable and duplicate the lines in the new location?

Check out Mike Sandman's catalog. They sell a loop current regulator that slips on the posts of a 66 block and does have a LED to indicate the line is in use even when it is on hold.

Matter of fact I have 7 or so that I could sell you if you'd like.

On rereading I realize now that you are more concerned that the line is able to be used rather than actually in use. Short of usuing an autodialer to call another of your CO's that can log the calls each day there is probably no reliable way to do this that wouldn't violate a TOS agreement or FCC regs.

how would making a weekly or daily test call "violate
TOS agreement or FCC Regs" ? :shrug:

how would making a weekly or daily test call "violate
TOS agreement or FCC Regs" ?

It wouldn't. But without using an autodialer to do so the verification system is being left to the human element to be performed, thus adding the element of unreliability.

The device wanebo is talking about is a ITW Linx LXSCP-1 with a loop current indicator. It will also indicate if the phone is off-hook or if there is a short on the line. Being that on-hook voltage is 48vdc any lamp installed in a phone will work. The only problem is that if a phone receives calls the 90 volts will blow the lamp. I also have 40 available for sale.

but that wont verify that dialtone is present or that the line is able to used it will only verify voltage is present

That's true. I don't know of any way to indicate the presence of dialtone without actually going off-hook. Of course there is no guarantee the dial tone won't be lost, especially during a storm or any other cause to cut, knock down phone lines, equip. failure, etc. I did an experiment using an SCP-1 and it does not lite while on-hook or flash on ringing. I did use a standard red LED with a 10K 1/2 watt resister paralleled across t/r and it works fine. This may not be the answer, but at least it will indicate if it is live. So, during their inspection if they see a phone with a dead lite they can go off-hook to check. And of course, safety inspectors seldom leave anything in doubt.

We used to replace the bridging clips on a 66 block demarc with tricolor LEDs. If the line was polarized correctly (very important with ground start trunks!) it glowed green. If telco flipped polarity it would glow red and it would flash yellow on incoming ring.

I haven't thought about that much since we've moved away from analog ckts but it might help. Of course as Skip said, it would only verify current not DT on the line.

I still say the best way to test it is to use it regularly. That'll also test the dials and ringers too.

Sam

There may be a problem with testing if the lines are true power failure(live when system is powered down). You would have to manually power down and that would be a SLIGHT inconvenience to say the least. If not, then that would be the most efficient verification process.

PI