I inherited a DK40i when I moved into my office (base cabinet w/ expansion - 4 lines, 16 stations) and I've been using it for a year with 3 simple direct phone lines (no rollover) with telco voicemail, and 3 2020SD phones. I just bought a system from a neighbor (moving out of my building) that includes an identical base+expansion cabinet and the following:
8x 2010 SD phones,
RCOU1a,
RCOS,
KSTU2,
K5RCU,
Stratagy Flash 4-port voice mail w/ PC cable and software.

Basically, I want to know if I have everthing I need to do the following:
(1) Go from 3 incoming lines to 7, with 3 rollover and 4 direct lines dedicated for use by individuals.
(2) Have the secretary be able to transfer a call that comes into the main line (rollover) to a direct line.
(3) If a call comes into a direct line that is busy, have the call transfer to the main line instead of voice mail.
(4) Have messages lights work finally with the voice mail system (they didn't with the telco's voice mail).
(5) Add fax capability, but still be able to use the line for phone (I get and send only 1-2 faxes a month).
(6) Music-on-hold.

Thanks for any help in advance.

txgman - Welcome. You'l find a wealth of information on this board!

1. Yes, you can have 7 CO lines, in fact you can have 12! An they can be programmed as rotary and/or private B1's.

2. I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, It would require the rotary lines to be Centrex in order to transfer to another telephone number. Why not just transfer the call to another extension?

3. Again Centrex or Call forward busy on the line to the main number. That doesn't sound practical. Just give the receptionist access to the private lines and transfer the calls to her extension.

4. Yes the Stratagy Flash will light message lights on the phones.

5. Yes, the fax can be wired into the switch and used for outbound calling. Just don't program it to ring!

6. There is a MOH plug on the main board in the system. Its in the lower right corner and labled "M.O.H."

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Dan

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fingerlakestelecom.net

Voyager,
Thank you for your reply.

Perhaps I'm confused on the terminology for Centrex, rotary and B1's. Does a "Private B1" allow me to give that telephone number to select clients in order for them to bypass the main line of my office, and prevent any of my other employees from getting on my line? If so, then that is what I want to do, I just used the wrong terminology.

Two more questions.

(1) Should I look into a firmware upgrade to install the voice mail and new cards, or is it not very important as long as the phone has been working? (I have no idea what my firware is currently).

(2) I would like to put a battery backup on my system and voice mail box, since our local power is terrible (lot of brownouts and blackouts at least once a month). Would an American Power Conversion BackUps 350 be adequate, since I have an extra laying around, or do I need a special type of battery backup?

Yes - a B1 is a stand-alone line that does not roll in on the main line. It can be programmed to appear and ring only at one station.

There is no software upgade needed for the DK40i. The Flash VoiceMail will work perfectly if it is programmed properly.

An APC Battery Back-up is a good idea, as is lightning protection on the CO lines. I would recommend something a little bigger than 350 to hold up the phone system AND VoiceMail. You can probably get a 650 fot under $150. Its cheap insurance!!

Let me know if you end up with extra equipment.

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fingerlakestelecom.net

FYI when you bring in a line like that, it will ring busy if you were to get another call, it will NOT go to your on premise Vmail. I have seen it too many times that customers get a line thinking it will be a "private line", then use it for their outgoing calls, etc. and wonder why they never get a call. It is hard to justify the cost of a dedicated line like that, unless you get that many calls. If that is the case then you would need multiple lines so they would roll over to Vmail.

You could also use the auto attendant (for Bob press 1...) to answer calls and route them to whatever extension you want, with all lines in rollover.

Voyager,
Thanks again.

OhioTelecom,
Now you have me worried. I definitely need a direct telephone number to give my clients, but losing calls to a busy signal would be a disaster. If I'm on the line, can I set it up to forward to the main line instead of a busy signal? Is that something I would set up at the telco level?

junkman,
I'm trying to avoid auto attendant if possible. I would rather my clients get a live person answering the phone (I'm "old-school" ).

You can have the phone line set up thru your local telco to "hunt" to your main line. But make sure the main lines don't "hunt" or rollover to your direct lines. The only other real option to not get a busy signal would be to place voicemail from your provider on the line. Which seems like a waste of money seeing that you already have VM.

[This message has been edited by mminelli (edited April 29, 2005).]

txgman - it kind of sounds like you are expecting a high volume of calls on private lines. Yes, you can call forward/busy the private line to the main number, but that is done at the telco level.

Think about this. The DK40i, with the proper software level and motherboard version, will support a T-1 or PRI. Some CLEC's will provide a fractional T-1 with as few as 8 channels. If you can do that, then program DNIS digits to your phone and you should never get a busy!

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fingerlakestelecom.net

Okay, so using an example, I set up Lines 1-3 as rotary, and 4-7 as B1's with telco-specified forward busy to Line 1. Say my personal direct line is line 7.

(1) If I'm on line 7, an incoming call will forward to line 1, right?

(2) If I'm out of the office, an unanswered call coming into line 7 will go to my mailbox on Stratagy voice mail?

(3) If I'm talking on line 3 at my station, an incoming call on line 7 does what? (I would prefer it forward to line 1, if possible, or my personal mailbox is my secondary preference.)

(4) If I'm talking on line 3 at my station, a call on line 1 forwarded to my station by another employee does what? (I would prefer it go back to the rotation of lines 1-3, if possible, or voicemail secondary.)

(5) If I'm out of the office, a call on line 1 forwarded to my station from another employee does what when I don't answer?


I'm starting to think I may be better to put all 7 lines on rotation, since I'm not a big office anyway. That way, if line 7 rings and lines 1-6 are not busy, then I would know the call is for me.

1. = Yes
2. = Yes
3. = Rings your phone then goes to VM
4. = Rings your phone then goes to VM (You wouldn't want it to go back to the main lines anyhow because a new person could answer and start the process all over again angering the customer.)
5. VM

Having all 7 lines together would work fine, but also having the 7th line stand alone would as well. As long as you don't use that 7th line to make outgoing calls and only recieve calls on it I don't see it as a problem.

mminelli has all the right answers!

Let us know if you need anything else.

Dan

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fingerlakestelecom.net

Thanks everyone. I think that answers my questions for now.