Gearmash

Thanks John for your reply, I too have been a bit manic. Just sat my Comptia N+ exam and passed so been a bit slack on pursuing the PABX system, having a weeks breather before embarking on the CCNA What you suggest is a good idea, I have asked the owner to sort out the issues with BT and get to the bottom of what they think they provide and what they actually provide. Once that is done I shall at least have a baseline on which to work, I will then look at getting BT to reposition the MTU's at a better location, then all that is required from me is too rip out the mess currently installed, I dont really fancy trying to trace all the cables out and run the risk of making a meal of it. Let BT take the risk on that Many thanks for your assistance on this matter, very much appreciated. Once its done I will try and remember to let you know how the install went.

Hi John, Apologies for 'targeting you' about this PBX system, but you obviously know what you are talking about. Its turning out to be a whole load of fun and games. Namely, the three lines that BT are billing for dont even go to the pub, the MTU's I have found so far (NTE5, about 5 or 6 of them) only one works, i.e. having checked on the A/B wires with a multi meter, although BT still say they are functioning when they conduct a line test........ namely cos the lines (as mentioned above) go to a fax/modem, private house telephone and a local scrap merchant some where on the same exchange but not to the pub. The main crux of my enquiry with you is when I mentioned to BT that I was installing a PBX system and tried to get to the bottom of the supply of what lines they mentioned one line was reserved for the ADSL connection and that I could not put this on a PBX. My understanding and through basic logic was that so long as the ADSL router was filtered at source on entry to the building or at the LJU and it was prior to the PBX then it would be fine, without any impact on the function of the PBX itself? I have no intention of installing the phone supplied with the ADSL router on a common LJU. In essence my design was based on hybrid topology, whereby the line for the ADSL/PBX was a Bus topology upto the PBX i.e MTU-----ADSL Ext-------PBX and the other analogue line MTU-------PBX. Where the PBX phones 'hang off' the PBX CCU in a star topology (ie dedicated lines between CCU and PBX). I have attached a PDF of a logical plan of the system I hope to install. By all means tell me to get stuffed but I would appreciate some feedbacks. Apologies for my visio work and the icon I used for the LJU's......... If you do me the coutesy of having a look I was wondering if BT would supply a small distribution frame as opposed to 3 seperate MTU's? It seems daft to have these when they wont fundamentally provide any function beyond the BT demarc and a means on which to install my system. Regards Ben Quite willing to buy consultancy time in £ or beer if required Fishpond Logical Plan_Rev B_17092011.pdf

Thanks John, I have had a nosey at ebay and there are plenty on there. Plenty of ISDN configured options too. Will fire off some questions to the sellers. One finally question for the time being, and its purely to clarify my understanding or lack of it. Evidently I plan on configuring the CCU with the software and cable, therefore hopefully being able to backup a system config in case of a failure. However if I wished to, or the end user wishes to, cofigure basic call settings via a handset does this need to be a specialist phone or just a feature phone configured on ext 20(?) with suitable rights and passwords given to a suitable administrator? There seems to be plenty of different descriptions from sellers on ebay.......... is a system phone just a generic description of a V8 lor V16 phone or is it a fancy job? Cheers Ben

John, Many thanks for your response Hotel may well be a grandiose description, its a large multi level building which may have some accomodation in the future (probably unlikely though). The primary reasoning behind the possible use of the PBX system is that there are two bars, 1 kitchen, and general office located at disperate locations invariably on different levels. The main purpose behind the PBX system is for dialing extensions within the pub and also to provide a certain level of professionalism for call handling from customers etc. Divert functions, forwarding, extension, auto attend and call grouping would be the main functions that would be required. From what I have gained from the installation manual I managed to locate on the BT website is that the Analogue lines come into the CCU and kroned into two blocks by the side of the 8 extension blocks. This leads me to my next question and apologies for its rudimentary nature, if there are 8 extension blocks on the CCU how can the system support upto 40 users and REN limit as pointed in the BT literature, this is not important really as the system would never require so many, its more out of curiosity? Many thanks for the ADSL info, the internet module certainly looks very useful but not for this system. Their requirements are not beyond their current single WLAN maybe with an additional AP at the far end of the 'ballroom' (told you it is a big pub!). I have also downloaded the Wizard software tonight and having a brief look its hopefully straight forward. Im not a telephony bloke at heart so may have some head scratching to do first. Can the programming cable be bought for cheaper than £50 as I have seen it? Its not a standard rs-232 15 pin connector is it? Could a wiring diagram be sought and a cable made up instead? Anyhow, many thanks for the info so far. I have noticed that you are Yorkshire based, can you recommend (without upsetting the moderators) a supplier of refurbed systems a bit closer to the Derbyshire/Yorkshire border? Cheers, I may well be back with some more questions!!!

Hi everyone, Just signed up to the forum to hopefully get some feedback on the BT Versatility PBX system. The reason why I'm asking is that a friend of the family has ask for some assistance on setting up an Intercom/Telephony system in the pub/hotel he has recently bought. I have some networking experience, system configuration experience as well as being a newly qualified Cabling Install (Ethernet and Data primarily). His idea of an intercom system seems pretty rudimentary and doesn’t allow for the fact that the telephone install currently is a real mess. The BT system seems to check all the boxes for his requirements but I need to find out some basics before I suggest it and get myself into trouble. There are two analogue lines coming into the building, I assume that I'm wiring both into the PBX from the Master Telephone LJU's, does this involve IDC's or RJ11 sockets? With this in mind is there a 'soft switch' function within the system that allows me to route calls from one analogue line to specific handsets? Or is the Auto Attend feature best for this? The pub currently has a Wireless ADSL router, can this still be installed on an existing extension and what’s the best suggestion for filters? At the Master LJU or on each subsequent LJU? if the later, does the PBX require filtering at source? Once installed how intuitive is the programming? Finally, based on the above questions am I biting off more than I can chew? I’m willing to give it a go but obviously he is stumping up the cash for which ever system is installed. Also any other pointers are greatly received Apologies for the long winded post in advance