atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems Mitel Telephones & Systems Mitel SX-50 set up--LS/GS and ONS cards

Good morning all! I've only been a member for a few days, but I can already see that this is going to be a very valuable resource for me!

Here's what I have--a Mitel SX-50 with a Control Card 2, generic module, ONS card (16), ONS card (8), and 2 LS/GS Trunk cards.

Here's what I am doing--I live in an old victorian home, which at one time had an intercom system in it. I am now setting up a series of older rotary phones as an 'intercom', where you can dial a number and get a certain room (no different than a hotel setup, really).

Here's what I have so far. I have the two ONS line cards (which give me 24 phones if I want) hooked up to 2 66-blocks. I can then run the Tap/Ring pairs up to each phone. That part makes sense.

The part that I need help on is--I have a 25-pair cord (Amphenol) running from the LS/GS card onto a separate 66-block. How do I hook it up from there to my outside phone service? It seems to me that I would only need one pair hooked up to the outside line.

Also, is there anyway to be able to call certain phones from the outside line (for example 'dial 121 for the second floor, etc...)?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on, especially when it gets time to program this thing! I'm still in the installation process!

Thanks in advance, and look forward to getting some info on this LS/GS card issue.

Question 1. Do you have a manual for the SX-50.
Question 2. Do you have a console?

Without these 2 items, you are hunting quail with a Bow and Arrow. In other words, it's REALLY tough! Without the manual, you have no idea what you are doing. You can only make program changes via the console or an RMATS module.

LS/GS card, White/Blue-Blue/White pair is the first trunk T and R. Put the trunk card in slot 10! Put the 16-ONS in slot 1, 8-ONS in slot 2. This is the Mitel recommended configuration method.

Call certain phone from phone line? Sure, Auto Attendant.

Lightninghorse,

Thanks for the help so far! Yes I have the manual, and yes I have the console.

I have the 16 and 8 in slot's 1 and 2, respectively. I think the LS/GS card is in 4 and 6 currently (that's how I received it). I can move it over to 10.

I turned it on just to see what it did (nothing's hooked up to it). All cards were normal, except the one that's in slot 4 had '5' and '8' lit up on the red led lights, but nothing was connected to it! I moved it to another slot, and it did the same thing on another number.

So to make an active line go out to my service, hook up white/blue-blue to the first Tap Ring on the LS/GS output?

Which phone will ring then? Can I assign that phone?

Also, can I use the ONS cards as an intercom without even hooking up to an outside line?

Look at program 573 which would be the program for the 1st trunk in slot 10. Normally, the trunks would ring either to the Console, or to an Auto-Attendant.
IC is easy, just call station to station. If you don't know the numbering plan, just call the console (dial 0) from each station and have someone answer and write down the number.
I would suggest you replace the memory battery and default the system. That way, you will know 'what's what'! What version of software? It may be written on the generic module. If not, push and hold the "STATUS" button and read the version. Note that each consecutive time you push the "STATUS" button, the display toggles to another "subject". To reset it to the 'get-go', push and release "CANCEL", the push and release "RELEASE".

Ports 5 & 8 can be straped as a Ground start lines that is why they lit up.

Thanks for the info again! I'm going to check it all out tonight.

here's what I found last night while trying to work out the system:

1. I hooked all cables up and clipped a phone to different ports on the 66 block. Some pairs rang busy, some didn't have any dial tone, some had a dial tone, and some didn't seem to do anything. However, all pairs read on the ONS cards in the panel with their corresponding red LCD light.

2. The console is flashing the time and right after it "88-ER0" (that's a zero after ER). I try to push buttons on the console but nothing does anything. It will then switch to a flashing "SYSTEM RESET" for a while and then go back to the time/88-ER0 flashing screen. Is there a login or something that I'm missing?

Maybe the issues here are because I replaced the battery with no power connected and lost all previous programming (which is fine as I probably wouldn't have used the other person's programming anyway--I bought the system used).

Any help is appreciated

Well, as you may have discovered by now, 'all good things come to those who re-initialize' to paraphrase another saying. Instructions for initialization are in the front of the programming section. BUT, note that it is VERY important that you have the CORRECT manual! The MS55 manual will do for MS53 and MS54. The 3504 software is a different beast. The MS51 and MS52 also have their own manuals that are HARD to find! Let me know if you find either!

Re: the red LED's on ports 5 and 8 of your LS/GS. When the system is loaded with garbage, they don't mean anything! Ditto errors and operational faults. And don't look for straps to move on the LS/GS, ONS, COV, and DNIC cards. There aren't any. Vad is thinking of 200 digital, or analog, trunk cards. Also, the driver circuit for the LED's can go south and show incorrect status, or NO status.

The generic module that I have is the MS-55. I think I need to unplug the generic module and replug it back in. does that sound like it might help 'reset' everything, seeing as I installed a new battery with the power off. It probably dumped all programming.

Error codes are coming up on the lower right LCD display inside the SX-50 cabinet on the control card. That's the only thing I can think of to completely reset the whole system and get ready to start fresh.

Again, the system was in 100% operation before being disconnected and sold to me.

DO NOT UNPLUG THAT MODULE WHILE POWER IS ON!!!!!

And to initialize the program, you have to follow the instructions in the book! Unplugging the module, WITH THE POWER TURNED OFF, will not accomplish a thing! There is a SPECIFIC set of operations to default the system and wipe it clean or install a basic program. This is done with the power turned on.

Do you really have an installation and repair manual, or are you talking about the console manual? The I and R manual is a 3-ring binder about 4 inches thick. The console manual is about 1/2 inch thick.

yes, I have the large manual which includes the standard practices, trouble shooting, etc...

It's a very confusing book, however. Not a whole lot of info on startup, or maybe I just don't know where to look.

Look up the section on programming. Section 9104-091-210. Page 4, Initial Power Up Procedure. -105 is the features description. It IS your friend, READ IT!

Bob-o, you posted in the wrong thread! Your answer is that when the system is uninitialized, any displays and work or not work reactions are of no interest, you cannot 'fix' the mysteries of randomly loaded RAM! Just imagine the result if, on a binary level, you changed all the 1's to 0's and vice versa in 'WORD' for instance. "Same game, different name", so to speak. You cannot hurt anything by initializing the system, even if you do it wrong! However, I would suggest you initialize it at least 2 consecutive times. Sometimes, if it's REALLY hosed, it doesn't get cleaned up completely with only 1.

And if I remember correctly, Mitel suggests initialize 3 times with cards out, 3 times with cards in! That should give you a really clean start!

No argument here.

Well thank you, JC.

Thanks to all for the help. It's amazing how ignorant I am to these systems, and then how a light bulb just kind of 'goes off' once you start reading the manual.

I reset the system, and everything is 100%! The system does exactly what I need it to do, and it's going to work out great.

I'm sure I'll have questions again, but I do have one now. How would you set up a courtesy phone (i.e., dial a number automatically from a handset when the receiver is picked up)? I didn't see that anywhere in the manual, of course I just may not have looked in the right place.

Make a COS for the Hotline and set it up as an Automatic Ringdown Circuit (Command 121-129, Reg 2, Field d)

Set the Hotline extension up in Hotline Group 2-9 (Command 301-310, Reg=Circuit #, Field c=2-9).

The Hotline Groups 2-9 correspond to Abbrev Dial 102-109. If these are blank, the extension dials the console by default.

Good luck,

Just wanted to give an update on everything. I reset the system as per the suggestions given by Lightninghorse and westerntelephone. Everything works great.

I am currently running 24 1930-1950's vintage rotary phones (some old PBX phones, some candlesticks, space-savers, some 500's, old explosion-proof phones, etc...). All of them work flawlessly on this system. All features seem to work great, i.e., hold, conference, transfer, night ringing, overflow, hotlines, etc...

Just wanted to give all of you a pat on the back for helping me out!

Enjoy your day...

Bob-o, thanks for getting back to us. And come back anytime! John C.

Another satisfied customer, way to go guys

Another quick question that I was wondering if anyone had the answer for.

The printer connection in the Mitel SX-50 is the standard parallel connector. HOWEVER, it looks like it needs some sort of slim design connector, as the connection sticks WAY outside of the cover when you try to put it back on. Maybe a connection almost like the Amphenol connectors, where the cord is perpendicular to the connector, as opposed to in-line?

Any thoughts what to call it, where to get it?

Try to find a 25 pin ribbon cable.


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Of Course! I'm not sure why I didn't think of that... Probably because my printer that I'm using came with a standard cable and I was racking my brain trying to make it work!

For the record, the connector is a 25 pin EIA-232(RS-232) serial port.

Voicemail question for the SX-50--

I would like to add voicemail to the system. What is the easiest way to do that?

Someone said that a Dialogic 4 port system would work? I'm not sure what that does.

Do I need a COV card installed? I don't currently have one, and I thought that they were used for supersets and voicemail.

The whole voicemail issue is foggy to me with this system. Also looking for an auto-attendant feature if possible.

Dialogic is a brand of interface card. Another is Callista. You need a system that interfaces to the SX50. Brand is not all that important! Everybody here will have a favorite. Why don't you click on the "Equipment" link above for starters. If they have something, it will be competitive! (And they do support this forum )

I've seen a few MS55 with COVoice voicemail. COV ports are good for VM on SX50s because they have good "answer supervision."

You can also use an analog voicemail -- it would work on the same kind of port that your room phones connect to -- such as an Active-Voice Repartee or Active-Voice Lingo. Lingos are great if you can find them. Apparently they were originally made for distribution in Australia, but some seem to have made their way here.

I'm a fan of Active-Voice.

Gotta ask, how do you get VM to work on analog SX50 ports? As far as I know, there is no in-band signaling on SX50 analog ports!
The reason COVoice works on SX50 is that the interface cards actually use a Superset interface and 'read' the display info. John C.

Come to think of it, that would explain why the Lingos I've seen on SX-50s are usually just an auto-attendant. It always seemed like overkill.