We are attempting to expand our phone system and are running into some issues. We had a T1C/PRI card for our outbound lines and a second T1C card that was used as a tie in to another building in our complex.

We stopped using the second T1C card a few years ago and wanted to use this card as a second PRI. We purchased the daughter card to turn it into a T1C/PRI.

When we insert the card in the cabinet, the T1C immediately goes to a red alarm and when we plug in our new T1 line to the T1 Span port we get a Blue Alarm.

Connecting the two T1C cards to a computer through the RS232 port and examining the DT1 info, we notice the following:

System Sync Source on the upgraded T1C card shows as "Other T1" while original T1C card that we've been using for outbound shows as "This T1".

Is this because the card was synching to the card at the remote location before we disconnected it or is it trying to synch with the working T1C card in our system? Should they both say "This T1" or is it correct as is?

On the upgraded card, both the RX Blue Alarm and the Red Alarm are at YES, which I would expect since those are the lights flashing on the card as well.

The Sync on the upgraded card is No, while the original card is Yes.

At the bottom of the screen the 4, 5, and 6 ERR LEDs flashing.

Do I have a bad T1C or daughter card or is my System Sync Source incorrect on the upgraded card, or am I way off base on all of this?

Thanks,
Bob

When you added the daughter board to the T1C, did you change the card type in the cabinet from T1 to T1/PRI?

For each PRI, the Reference Clock List should show Slaves to Public Network. Make sure it’s not still set for Private Networking.

Thanks,

Yes, the upgraded card was changed to T1/PRI. We added the T1 circuits and ensured that the other information matched the settings of the working T1/PRI.

Both T1/PRI cards are listed in the Reference Clock List as "Slaves to Public Network"

Bob

Hi Bob,

Have you tried swapping the two cards and seeing what happens. It might help you trace down the problem to slot, card, or 2nd T1 circuit.

You can also try re-flashing the 2nd T1C especially since you've added a PRI Daughter board. Hold down the Make Busy button while seating the card. A yellow and red late will begin blinking slowly as it is downloading its flash code.

Let us know what you find.

Thanks,

Unfortunately we can't swap the cards right now since the original card is still live with our old provider.

I did try holding the Make Busy button while reseating the card, but that didn't do anything. This is an older Inter-tel 5.353 system if that makes a difference on flashing the card.

We had our local rep come out and look at the card yesterday. He put a loopback connector in the T1 Span port and after about 15 seconds the red alarm light went off and everything looked good on the DT1 display. He said the cards were good and most likely the problem was with the ethernet cable that goes between the new provider's equipment and our phone switch. They set up the cable to be a crossover and the rep said it should be straight-thru.

When we rewired the cable to straight-thru we still didn't have any luck. Instead of the RX Blue Alarm, we now have a TX ESF Yellow, RX Loss of Signal, and a D4 Yellow Alarm along with the red alarm.

Do you know what the pinout is on the T1 span port?

Thanks,
Bob

The T1 span port has a standard pinout. Either a crossover or straight through cable will work just fine depending on what the provider needs.

If you can't swap the physical cards for verification purposes then I would try the following.

Make a female loopback connector and plug it in to the cable right before it goes into the T1C card. This will test everything all the way back to the provider. Have them see if they can see the loop, keeping in mind that you might have to switch out the cable to be a crossover and vice versa. If they never see it loop up, then I would imagine there is a problem with the circuit. If they do see it loop up and you have already proven that the card will sync to itself, then I would imagine there is a mismatch of settings between your card and the provider's equipment.

Verify Framing Type, Zero Code Suppression and Central office Switch Type.

Thanks for your assistance. We found out the problem was at the new provider's end. They hadn't turned on the lines yet, even though the installer said they were on and available.

They were activated this morning and everything is working fine.