I've encountered a motel with a dead console (Superconsole 1000). Upon arrival, I found three line cords in the area of the console. One was completely dead. The second caused the bottom row of LEDs for hold/park, etc. keys to flash every few seconds (I suspect this is the correct cord). The third results in the following display message:

"Waiting for syncronization 845690106"

This display never changes. I suspect that this is actually for a superset because I traced this cord to a jack on the other side of the wall in the manager's office labeled X460. The customer doesn't have a superset or another console for me to use to confirm anything. I toned out both of these back to the switch and they are the only two white/red jumpers. All of the other ones are white/blue for room phones, so finding them wasn't difficult. On the first one, I can clip on with a butt set and receive about a second of talk battery every few seconds, which I'm sure is in unison with the flashing LEDs.

The system has two bays as follows:

Bay 1: ONS/CLASS, ONS, ONS, ONS, ONS, ONS, ONS, ONS
Bay 2: ONS, ONS, ONS, ONS, ONS, T1/DS1

I have rebooted the system to no avail. This trouble was reported as a phone not working; a typically easy fix. Had I known it was the console, I would have rejected the work order. If this is something I shouldn't be messing with, just tell me and I'll advise they call someone else. I'm hoping it's just something simple that I can finish for them. Any advice?

There should be either a DNIC card in one of the bays or a 2U server with an amphenol connector on the back that the console would connect to. If the port has gone bad and not the console, you'll need to reprogram another DNIC port to connect the console to.

So the console doesn't use a regular digital (COV) port?

Usually the console is connected tip and ring, to the 1st port on the Digital Line Card. Then assign in forms 07 and 08.

There would have to be a Digital Line card or a Universal Line card with a Console Module for it to work. The T1/DS1 card would have to be in slot 10 or 11 over by the Main control card. If you trace the wiring back to the system where does it show up on the blocks?

Steve: There are only two jumpers on the entire site that appear to be digital, the console and the manager's office. All others are analog room phones. The blocks aren't marked, but it would appear that the tail they are cross connected to is coming from slot 1 in bay 1, which is an ONS/CLASS card. I can't say for sure since the conditions are pretty poor with regard to accessing the blocks behind the rack.

It almost sound like someone has changed that card from a digital to the ons. Do they know if anyone else has ben in there recently? Any way to get a DNIC card to try in that slot?

No, we're not willing to go that far. My company was hoping it was just something simple like a wiring issue, but it turns out that we really don't have any business messing with it at this point. They told the customer that they'll need to just wait for their original vendor to respond. I hate to leave them hanging, but we aren't doing the customer a service without having an inventory of parts and expertise. Thanks to everyone for the guidance anyway.

Words to live by. Learned this the hard way many years ago. I specialized in Avaya but some of the posts here got me thinking that I could make more money taking service calls for other systems. How hard could it be, right? So I get this call to move a couple of extensions on (I think) a Toshiba system. Sure, OK. I run new wire and connect it as the original extensions were and every thing is fine, give me my money. But the customer comes to me with a "while you are here". Could you add another two extensions? Umm, I remember that there were no more extension ports so now I would have to add a card and program it. So I tell the customer that they would be better off contacting the original vendor. Now they are pissed. "Why did we call you!"

It took me months to get paid for that one.

So now I laugh when guys post here asking us to tell them how to do something on some system they don't know anything about and don't want to turn the job down.

-Hal

Hal-

One interconnect I worked for wouldn't turn any phone call away. That's how I was first introduced to:

• Sun, Moon, Star
• DASH Open Phone
• Northcom
• Macro-Tel
• Trillium

And of course almost anything else!

So tell me what the customer thought when you spent an hour scratching your you know what.

-Hal