I believe the answer to my question is yes, but can't find reassuring evidence anywhere. Who better to ask than the users here?

Can talkback be used with 70v paging HORNS on a PCM2000 by Bogen?

Are there certain requirements besides flipping the 'TALKBACK ON' switch?

I can't remember the model number of a Bogen school intercom system I was working on but I do remember we could not get talk back to work through a horn.

We mounted a regular classroom speaker near by and it worked out for that particular situation.

No. Looks like talkback can only be used if a single speaker is connected directly to each zone and a talkback module is added.

If you are using an external amp after the PCM2000 how is talkback going to get back through it?

-Hal

The talkback module takes care of amplification back to the phone system. I've never had a really successful talk-back installation, there are usually problems with background noise affecting the sensitivity, especially forklifts in warehouses (go figure!)

The whole idea of the PCM2000 is so that you can have areas or zones using only one amplifier (a second amp may be present just for back ground music to the zones not being paged). The PCM2000 acts like a source and speaker switch.

The talk back module part of the PCM2000 has to be wired to this central amp (instead of the CPU module). You will have to check to see which way the original installer did it. Obviously a trunk port has to be used as well, not a page port from the phone system.

Yes, the original 70V horns will work just fine. The actual horns (speaker line) is wired to the PCM2000 so it has the ability to grab this line (away from the central amp) and it has a small built in internal amp for the talk back part.

Okay, then it should work.

I am planning only one horn per zone (small areas that just get loud enough at times). I wanted to make sure it would work, because I know the dual-horn systems don't work, they squawk back in your ear during a page.

:confused: ??? On any talk back system, the entire zone goes to either transmit or receive. There should be no feedback. You can have many horns on a zone without trouble. Some systems (brands), only use 1 horn for the TB (mic) but respond back on all speakers in that zone. The only way you should get a squeal is a page from a phone that is within ear shot of a paging horn. There are various ways to solve this, but with TB, you are limited to moving the station or speaker.

Is this a new install or is the PCM2000 existing? The reason I am asking, I thought from your first post the equipment was already there and you are just reconfiguring it. From your second post it sounds like a new install and if you are looking at only one horn per area, the PCM2000 is not the most economical way to go. If this is the case, look at the smaller Bogen units or Valcom.

Well, it is a new install. Six zones:
1- One horn
2- One speaker
3- four speakers
4- one speaker
5- two horns
6- one horn

On existing systems i've seen the station has been rooms away, not close to any horns, but it just squeals. TB is on, but you don't get anything.

I chose PCM2000 because of the built-in features: override, nightringer, timetones, codecall, zones, zone combinations, etc.

Yep, your right, the PCM2000 is the best for what you are doing.

Sounds like you definitely had a feedback problem. The way it works, you broadcast (page), and when the unit detects you stopped speaking, it switches over to TB mode. If it is stuck on some feedback, it will never switch to TB mode. Some units have sensitivity adjustments for that detection circuit and some even have a delay adjustment for the time it takes to switch to TB.

Keep in mind if you are doing an all call page to sets and speakers, two sets in proximity of each other can also cause this feedback. This will keep the TB unit from switching even though it wasn't the speakers causing the problem.

I can't decide whether or not to put the PCM2000 on the PAGE PORT or not. Talkback can't go thru the page port can it?

Depends on the system it is connected to - for instance, Partner's have 2 way page ports.

Oops, that would have been a good thing to post! Norstar 824DS DR5

Not a 2 way page port on the Nortel.

Okay, I'll put it on a trunk.