just looking for ideas. At the school i work at we have a lab that is used after hours. Due to staff abuse we removed the phone, but for security (chem lab) we have been asked to put a phone that calls the police station directly (small town already ok'd) Now here is the issue, we have 8 lines comming into the school. 1 is for the elevator so its a no go, one for the fax (maybe) and the other 6 go into the 8x24. My suggestion i submitted was a red 554 in the lab, run through an ATA to the phone system, that way the phone system can simply handle dialing and its not dependant on someone not using the fax machine. Now my other less expensive option i was looking at was using a regualr norstar phone, the issue there is people using it thinking its a regular phone. Anyways, just wondering what alternatives or ideas there are out there. thanks

Viking makes a phone with a dialer in it that can be programmed to call the police.

If you put up a sign that clearly says that is what it will do and it has no dial pad, they won't mess with it.

It goes parallel with the system, maybe the third line so it won't be busy for any voicemail calls.

thanks for the input, this is a highschool, and staff seems to mis behave more than students, hence the no dial phone!

Use an ordinary norstar phone (the older style with flat fronts) - remove the buttons. Glue a piece of rigid plastic over the front to blank the holes. Spray phone red. Label accordingly (that flat front will come in useful again). Hey presto, a no-dial Norstar phone!

You could set the extn to hotline dial the police, but retain the 0 button. Then anyone pressing 0 before the hotline dialling timeout wil get the system dial 0 extension, which may be useful for daytime calls.

I've used a single line phone connected to an ATA and programmed with a hotline number in a room used for shipping deliveries. There is a sign that clearly states: just pick up the phone and it will automatically dial the front desk if you need assistance.

Just program for local police number and make the sign read accordingly. It works fine.

Jim

jim thats my plan, just making sure there were no alternatives. thanks everyone for the input!

There is, simply use restriction filter and restrict all digits but 911 on the Norstar set.

That's what Restrictions are for.
No need for spending money on a 500 set or ATA.

I know on a Norstar that you can use the hotline feature to set the phone to dial a number as soon as you take the phone off hook, but I am not so sure that the 8x24 supports it. I only did it on 0x32's.If not, do what Curlycord says, block EVERYTHING then make a exception for 911.

Yes it does, as do the 3x8, and 6x16. Might need DR5 but I can't remember that and too busy to bench test a DR1 & 2.

I also agree with Curlycord. Use a cheap M7100 and use restrictions.

yes i know for a fact this system used to have an extension that did just that in the wood shop. the phone was lost in a fire and the ATA in a move. My initial question was possibly unclear, it wasnt the "is" it possible, but if there are alternatives. As for the restrictions, i would have liked that but they really want a hotline, and in this town there is no 911 service.

I may be misreading the question, but you can set the restrictions for any number. For examplem if the hotline number u want is 555-1234, you can block 5*(in the Norstar a dot signifies any) then allow 555-1234.

If you do this by restrictions, people are going to have to know what number to dial - and if it's an emergency they may not be thinking straight and forget it's not 911.

so, Jay, why can't you use a "Hotline" direct to the cops? You can do that on any system phone or any SLT connected to an ATA. You won't need restrictions with a Hotline or am I missing something?

im doing a hotline with a slt on an ata, i just wanted to see if anyone had ideas about alternatives.