atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information System upgrade from a SWB FS246

I work at a small company that uses the Southwest Bell Freedom phone FS246 system with 10 phones. This system is on its last legs and the boss has tasked me with finding a newer used system (read as: eBay cheep, cheep, cheep) that can utilize the same two wire pairs that the FS246 system does. In other words, unplug the old, hang up the new KSU, plug in the phones and go. We looked at the Merlin 820D but found it used 4 pair. His only requirement is MOH and paging output for external paging amplifier.

In a previous life I worked as a PBX tech with old 10A systems so know color code and still have my punchdown tool, butt set and toner.

Any help or specific name and models to investigate would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Sam Dillon

Well you have a task there.
You can use any system that uses two pair to the sets or a single pair as with digital systems.
You probably cant go to wrong with Avaya partner
or nortel .

I would caution you about ebay purchases and you may get something nice ,or again someones garbage with no warranty ,and a nightmare of problems.

So cheep may get very expensive in time and money.


There aren't any reliable phone vendors in Iowa.????

Good luck and happy motoring.

old stowger.

You are far from the first to ask these questions.

One, the current system is analog, ie., two pair. Even though the Merlin 820 uses the 8 position plug, it is still only two pair.

Two, look for a digital system. They are one pair.

Three, almost all systems today have MOH and Paging either onboard or with an option card.

Four, Cheap is as Cheap does....oh, I think I heard something like that before. A new or refurbished system can be a better investment. That way you know you have a warranty, manuals, and tech support (depending on the purchase).

Five, Don't buy name....I assume you will be installing and maintaining it....get a system that is user friendly. Some major names are somewhat involved and not as end-user friendly.

Six, Look for one you can get parts for....a ten year old system may have problems getting repair parts ten years from now.

That being said, look at the top of this page. You will see tabs indicating manuals, systems, et.al. And of course, the Tech Talk board.

As kenb said....Avaya Partner. Lots of equipment out there, easy to get parts, easy to administer, and user friendly.

Good luck, old stowger. Let us know how it comes out.

Thanks KenB and KLD for the advice. The owner is pretty close to retirement so he doesn't want to put alot of money into the business soooo thats where the cheep cheep comes from.

FYI I worked for General Tel of Indiana right after I graduated from university in 1970. Worked on 10A systems install/repairs and keeping old up and around Strowger switches clunking away as well as Liech (sp?) all relay systems. Did this for year and half then went back for my EE degree. Now I am semi-retired to the above business and since the owner knew I liked phones, I got the go-find-a-new-system task.

Thanks again,
Sam from I-O-WAY

No system you get is wire it, plug it in and it will do what you want out of the box. There is going to be some programming involved. So if you're not comfortable with that part of it you may want to let your boss know. Avaya isn't bad for programming, but if you've never done any programmig it may seem monumental. As has been said don't go e-bay, there are many people who've post on this board who were burnt doing that. The sponsor of this board sales refurb products, I suggest you start there, just click on equipment at the top of the page.

call some local vendors , explain the situation and see what they can come up with

most of us have used equipment we would be willing to sell cheap and install and program with a limited warranty reasonably

chances are you can find something local (single cheap )that will work just fine bur more importantly work well from the start

ask the man how much he will lose if the eBay purchase crashes in a few weeks and his phones are down for a few days while you search for a "cheap cheap " replacement

I have a new SW 246 control unit in the box and a bunch of phones. This was an OK system for the price.

The best part of this older system was the Field effect pickup on the MIC. It was over sensitive.

You could monitor a 20x40 room without a problem.

Another great feature
was the built in Auto Dial disconnect busy feature built in.

Be the tenth caller with six lines and win the prize.


If you don't like harrasing phone calls from Telemarketers this system can drive them nuts.


In my thoughts this system should have been in the marketplace longer with upgraded sets and features.


Question of the day.
Who killed the SWB 246?

Hi JustBill,
Programming doesn't bother me as the owner had me futz around changing a few parameters, so this is easy as long as there is a manual in front of me and I know what is suppose to occur.

Hi Skip555,
We have a bunch of telephone installer companies in the Cedar Rapids area, so I will start calling Tuesday. I have to stay with 2 pair as that is what the old system used and it would be a royal pain in the keister to try and wrangle 3 or 4 pairs per phone.

Thanks, appreciate everyuone taking time to help a lowly mortal like me to keep from making a stupid mistake.

Sam

Sam, you have come to the right place.

This fellow member has just what you are looking for. If he still has it that is.

It is single pair with all the right stuff! After the purchase and install you can stay with us for Q&A not to mention it is probably remotely accessible for service and programming. Send him an email or PM for a price. I'm just guessing but from the prices I see on ebay the difference won't be much. You will definitely be dealing with a solid upstanding reputation from both the seller and the equipment.

I'll alert him to your possible contact!

Hi John,
Is there any online install manuals for this system so I can see what is involved? Not That I am afraid of the work but if it involves a major tearout and install with 66 blocks, jumpers etc and the phones are off line for several days..... Which is why he was hoping that maybe there was a simple new system where we could unplug the modular connectors plug in a new KSU and go. I realize there is programming etc, but he does not want things out of service so if I can do it on a Sat and Sun then hes happy camper.

Thanks for forwarding my request to upstateny.

Sam