atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Telephone Repairs & Equipment MLX 16DP & MLX 10DP

These phones go "dead" on me about every 4 months or so. It seems to happen after a lightning storm but I have installed a lot of lightning protection. I have about 15 of these and only about 3 or 4 go out. What gives? Is there a source for the circuit boards or do I have to buy "refurb" phones all the time. Thanks

1) It is much much cheaper to have your phones refurbed than it is to buy refurbs. You can give me a call or hit me with an email if you would like to discuss it.
2) Are the phones that are going out always in the same location or on the same station ports? If they are, and especially if they are in another building, then your lightning protection may not be as good as you believe.

Is there a source for these circuit boards? If so where can I buy them direct? How do you repair or refurbish them? Thanks for your help.

We repair and refurbish at the component level. If this is in fact being caused by lightning or surge damage, there are a number of components on the board that can be affected, from I/C chips to resistors and everything in between. Depending on the severity of the hit, they are usually repairable, but it requires some fairly detailed knowledge of the circuit paths and some good diagnostic equipment.
If you are going to try to replace the complete main circuit board, the only condition that you will be likely to find them in is Out-Of-Service (maybe working, maybe not) and they will most likely cost almost as much as a replacement phone.
Unless you have a great deal of knowledge regarding low-voltage circuitry and some good diagnostic equipment, trying to fix them yourself would not be smart.
Second, you did not answer my question, are these in a seperate building?
You have 2 seperate issues here. One, you need to get your phones fixed and two, figure out what part of your lightning protection is not working and get it fixed.

Yes they are in a separate building and I have surge protection on both ends of a 50 pair wire. I also have 3 ground rods at each location for the power.

I am going to suggest that you start a thread in outside wire construction regarding your setup. I can almost guarantee that the hits are coming in through your 50 pair cable. The moderators there are fantastic and I am sure can help you find a way to stop this from happening again and again.

First thing I would check is if the phone ground is bonded to the electrical and building grounds. Just having 3 ground rods for the phones isn't wise if they're electrically separate from other grounds.

Post in outside wire, you'll get a lot more help there.