sundance-communications.com/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems Comdial Telephones & Systems Old Comdial 616 / 6414 question

Hello all!

At my work we have an ancient Comdial Executech system. I am trying to get a replacement handset to work with it, but am having some issues and wondering if they can be resolved. The system is located in a small home office above a garage at my boss's home. The box in the closet says 616KSU on it. Three lines in, 7 stations at the moment. The handsets are a mix of 3503 and 3508. It's from way before I got here. Just for kicks and out of sheer curiosity, my boss wants to see if he can drag this system out until he retires.

What started me looking into this was the keypads failing on a few of the phones (little plastic pins broke that held the circuit boards tight to the rubber buttons). I repaired a few about 5 years back or so by epoxying the keypad circuit boards back on, but now the button contacts aren't working - probably need to be cleaned - but of course I can't get to them now because of the thorough epoxying job I did. <smacks forehead> I was young(er) and stupid(er) then.

Anyway, I started hunting the interwebs for documentation, finally found a PDF with a chart of compatible handsets and KSU's, but of course I couldn't find a plain old 616KSU listed, only a 616X or NO616. I decided to take a stab at it and ordered a 6414 off ebay because it seemed to have the best chance to be compatible, and seemed to be newer, so perhaps a better chance at physically lasting longer. It is compatible....sort of Which sent me searching again, and I landed on these forums.

I have read through some of the programming I can do, but I didn't want to try anything until I double-checked some stuff first. So, here are my two questions. Hoping there are still some experts on these old systems still hanging around the forum!

1) Is a 6414 (or 6414L, which what I ended up with) compatible with a "616KSU"? If it's not, I'm guess I'm going to stop right there and will have to track down a 350 or 3503 after all.

2) When I plugged the phone into my station (#13), I managed to get a dial tone and make calls on lines 1, 2 and 3. However, what is weird is that the HOLD button is line 1, button B1 is line 2, button B2 is line 3, button B3 is.....nothing? And ITCM seems to do something, but not an intercom function. I don't know why HOLD is connecting to line 1, and if that's something I can reset. This is where I stopped and decided to go looking for help.

Thanks in advance for any help! I'd be happy to post any pictures you want, or link to them externally somehow. Just let me know.

Comdial made a couple of different versions of the 616. The best thought is to take a picture of the label and see if it gives a software version, then grab a manual for the system. The original 616 used 350x-xx-CT-900 or 935 phones. I don't know if you can use any other phones in the original KSU, but you need to follow the button mapping program to change them.

Carl

Thanks for the info. I don't see anything obvious on the label that indicates a software version. Says 616KSU in big letters, has an FCC Reg No, CVW7WC-12829-KF-E, has another line "REN: 0.3B". And then electrical input info. There is what appears to be a sticker under the electrical input info with "UL Listed" on it - maybe there's software info under it? Lastly, there's a sticker on the front that someone handwrote in sharpie, "616" and "G8545". Might that mean anything?

Also, is there a plain 616 system distinct from a 0616X system?

Where might I find a manual for the 616? The one I found with the compatibility table at the end is called "Comdial Executech XE System Manual rev P"

There's a 616, a 616B, an XE616 and probably one I forgot. The 64xx series needs an X system.

The key question for your boss, who wants to retire with the system is: How many lines, how many phones, and how many years? The landfill got my Comdial's in the second move in 2021. However, a clever shopper could pick up a Comdial DX-80 with 8 phones for less than $200. And, you get voice mail and caller ID!

I sent you a link to a 616 manual. You might try plugging in the phone and follow the button mapping program in step (15?). I forget. It's probably time to budget a few dollars to change that unit out.

If you buy a replacement 616, I think it comes with a tube of lipstick...for that pig LOL




Carl

Thanks so much for the info. I'm sure I've already spent more time researching and fiddling around with this than it is worth. In the end, keeping the system isn't as important as a functioning system, and there's a threshold of how time I can invest in keeping the old system limping along just for the fun of it.

In looking through the manual you sent, it looks like we've got a plain old 616, and looks like I'm stuck with the 35xx phones. Unless I missed something, I didn't see a way to reassign the Hold and Itcm buttons - only a way to reassign which of the three outside lines goes to which button. I'm hesitant to invest in a bunch of replacement 35xx phones (up to nine stations) because of how expensive used ones are, and because of the possibility of them breaking in the same way again. Unless you know of a good source for repaired ones?

I'd be happy to swap out the KSU with a NO616, which seem pretty inexpensive. However, I'm trying real hard not to get into having to reprogram everything - especially the KSU. That's why I was initially pursuing finding plug-and-play replacement phones. The big question I have with swapping a 616 with a 616X or NO616 is, is it plug and play??

Finally, wow, those DX-80 phones and KSU's are plentiful and cheap, and have such amazing modern features! I don't know if we could handle such luxury. But again, as much fun as it would be, I'm so swamped right now that I don't want to get into programming an entire new system, unless it really is so easy I could walk through it in an hour or so following some good instructions or videos. A few years ago I would have no problem devoting an entire weekend to changing everything out and programming a new system, and would have considered it great fun. I've got too much work and too many kids now to lose an even a whole Saturday. If you think a DX-80 system would be a quick and easy swap, and have some instructions or videos you could send over, I'd be happy to consider it.

Again, thanks for all of your help with this!

I can assure you that a swap out to a DX-80 system is NOT an easy undertaking. Not only is it not compatible with ANY other Comdial system, it was made by a completely different manufacturer. Additionally, despite the numerous features that the DX systems offer, the product line was of a very low quality.

I apologize for having missed this original post and ensuing thread. Ironically, my company was one of the first dealers for the Executech systems and I am still fairly well-versed in the systems, phones and their compatibility. Many thanks to Carl for stepping up and providing the extensive amount of support that he was able to provide. It's how we roll around here.

I do have to ask one question in closing: Your original quest was seeking replacement handsets for the original Executech system phones. Were you truly seeking replacement handsets or were you using the common misnomer for the entire phone sets themselves? I ask because you went to an awful lot of trouble to locate a simple and inexpensive handset replacement if that was the case. In any event, thank you for coming here for guidance and feel free to come back anytime for just about any system.

I don't like when phones are referred to as handsets! I'll ask customers to elaborate and I'll explain the difference.

Don't get me started on, "I need a new line." 🤣

Sorry for disappearing for a few weeks. Been (figuratively) putting out fires constantly for weeks on end. I keep thinking, one of these days I'll be able to just come in to work and work on a normal project. One of these days....

My apologies for using the wrong terminology - yes, I meant the entire phones. I promise to do better! In my line of work, the common misnomers are references to vertical load bearing members as "beams" and that appliance in the basement as a "hot water heater".

Back on topic! So my next question is, since it seems pretty certain now that we just have a plain old 616 KSU, which is the recommended route?

1) keep the 616, and track down replacement 35xx phones - PRO: would work without much extra fiddling, CON: old, rare, expensive, maybe will break again in the same way as our current ones?

2) swap the 616 KSU with a NO616 or 616X - PRO: can use newer 6414 phones and possibly others, CON: will I have to reprogram the new KSU and/or all of the new phones? Is it especially awful to do so? Or would the KSU be plug and play?

3) abandon these altogether and move to an entirely different/newer system. Since you said the DX-80 is not an easy swap (what in particular is difficult about it?), and is not great quality, what IS a good option in the myriad of secondhand systems available on eBay and the broader interwebs?

I covet any advice you all can offer. Thanks again!

1. Buy a tube of lipstick for the pig. A pair of 350X phones have to be pricey and way more expensive than an NO616. Early 350X phones, IIRC actually needed a tube of superglue to keep the line buttons from falling into the phone, but that's another story. If you already bought the 64XX series phones, then you probably need to use option 2.

2. Of course you would have to program the system. For your 9 or so phones, that can't be too difficult. The button mapping commands differ with the models as XE or NO series, but they are fairly easy to grasp the concept. As far as plug compatibility, the first cable in the 616's are usually numbered 10-19 which makes the first 10 extensions exactly the same; you don't have a clock or printer cable in a 616 nothing. You do have to find 4 conductor modular plugs because the lines use RJ-14 (or RJ-25) instead of RJ-11 jacks on the 616.

3. It comes down to what you have or don't have with your current system. The 616 replacement route can run you $40-250. You have all the phones you need, you have no system clock, maybe, and you have no caller ID display to the phone. The DX-80 swap that Ed (EV) bashes, is not a difficult system to wire..remember you're only talking 8-10 phones. That's 2 wire modular jacks on the bottom of the card(s), using the center pins...basic wiring with a modular crimp tool available at any Home Depot/Lowes/Mennards. A shout out to Ed, the Comdial Impact series phones were American made and sturdy, more so than the 3503 and 3508's. The Comdial DX-80 series phones and system were made somewhere overseas, like Singapore or Thailand or Korea. I thought the quality was similar to the 3503's.

I'm sure someone on this board will have some different ideas about phone system prices. If I needed a phone system in a hurry, I'd pick option 2 because I don't have to learn anything new and I own 100% of the phones.

Personally, if my Panasonic dies, I'll just grab another one from the warehouse or actually fire up my IP Phone system. Pretty easy to do in a one-man 2 phone 4 line office.

Carl