atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems NEC Telephones & Systems Elite IPK / Dterm 80 calls dropping

For about six months now we've been having periodic issues with dropped calls. At first I made repeated requests for help to our phone company (CLEC), and they spent a considerable amount of time both monitoring our T1 and tinkering with the onsite equipment they installed.

The phone company insisted there was no problem with the T1, so I had our telephone system vendor come check the system several times - they couldn't find anything wrong with the Elite IPK unit.

Out of frustration, I swapped out a few of the Dterm 80's for individuals who were making the most complaints. We happened to have several new-in-the-box Dterm 80's on hand for a planned expansion of our offices. Complaints from those individuals about dropped calls immediately stopped, leading me to conclude that several of our Dterm 80's are physically defective. Of the fifteen original units installed with our system, five have repeatable intermittent problems such as dropping calls in the middle of a conversation, and not properly going off-hook (i.e. no dialtone when the user lifts the handset).

This failure rate (30%+) seems excessive for units that are less than four years old.

Does anyone have experience with these kinds of problems? Is there anything I can do to get these Dterm 80's working properly again? Are there any more-durable alternatives to the Dterm 80 stations for the Elite IPK system?

Thanks in advance!

Matt

Are these I-series Dterms?

There was an issue with I-series Dterms in certain lot numbers -- want to say that it's lot number 60 or lot 63, something like that. The lot number is the first two digits of the serial number.

The new elite phones are I series phones, they just have them labeled as Dterm 80's.

NTAC NEWS

Revised : October, 2003

Problem Description:
There has been an issue found in the Hook Switch in a small number of DTR/DTH
Terminals. Symptoms of this issue can be seen when a user tries to go off-hook and
a dial tone is not present. The Hook Switch will not completely extend or it will
appear to stick in a down position. This issue is most commonly seen when the
Handset is raised in a very slow and soft manner. A simple tap of the Hook Switch
will introduce dial tone to the handset. Any other Hook Switch related issues should be reported directly to NTAC for investigation.

The percentage of terminals that may display this issue is very small and is predominantly on DTR/DTH Terminals with Rev. B and B1 and in very rare cases on higher revisions. All DTR terminals with Rev. G and DTH terminals with rev. D have had this production issue corrected.

Resolution / Enhancement:
The modified Hook Switch was added to all production terminals in the Rev. numbers listed below:

Terminal Rev #
DTR (8, 8D, 16D) : G or Higher.
DTR-(32D) : H or higher
DTR-(16LD): B or higher
DTH-(8, 8D, 16D) : D or higher
DTH-(32D) : E or higher
DTH-(16LD): F or higher
ITR – (8D, 16D)-1 : G or higher

This enhanced hookswitch is supported on all the above listed Rev. numbers and higher.
DTR-1-1, DTR-1HM-1 and DTR-2DT-1 terminals are cosmetically different and do not
require this modification.

Solution:
When addressing this issue contact NTAC at 800-852-4632 with the following
information:
1. Customer or Dealer name
2. Number of Problem Terminals
3. Type of Terminals (DTR-8/8D/16D/32D-1)
4. Color of Terminal
5. Lot Number of Terminal
6. How long installed

Thanks for the help! I contacted our vendor, and mentioned the recall - they did some research and determined that all of the problem handsets were covered, and they are working on getting replacements.

I did find it irritating that, after repeatedly talking to them about these problems and paying them to come on-site to look at the system, I had to resort to an internet message board to get straight answers. It seems like poor business, and they should have proactively handled the recall problem for units they sold.

Anyway, I appreciate the help!