Cisco VG310 Line Not Ringing an External Amplifier

[benschell26]

Hello-

We recently decommissioned our Avaya PBX and fully converted our campus to Cisco CUCM 11.5.  We have a warehouse where, previously, a single analog port off the Avaya connected to 4 analog phones spaced throughout the warehouse. It also rings a very loud buzzer to alert the warehouse staff as it is very loud in there. 

Regarding the setup...

The VG310 is in a different building, and there is a 100-pair extender cable that connects the warehouse and the building where the VG is. My effort to convert the analog line from Avaya to Cisco was to simply run a line from the Cisco VG310 and punch it down on the appropriate pair on the 110-block where the Avaya connection was made. Once I did this, in the warehouse the phone line doesn't work and the buzzer only makes a very short abbreviated ring. I did not make any changes at all to the wiring in the warehouse. The only change was in the building with the VG and former Avaya equipment.

I do not know if the Avaya generates more voltage and/or the Cisco VG generates a lower voltage. But it seems that the VG310 is the culprit and I was wondering if there was anything I could configure on the VG to hopefully solve this issue.

Thank you for your time.

Ben

[mradell]

Hey Ben. From what your describing it does sound like a ring voltage issue. I have seen issues with Analog VGs and devices with older style ringers/buzzers in the past. There are a few things you can check here:

- Even though the Avaya system was working, you may want to test the copper between the VG and the buzzer for any faults (opens, shorts, HR opens, etc.) to be 100% sure there isn't a physical issue. If you aren't sure or are unable to test the pair, try another pair on your extension cable and/or to the cable to the buzzer just to be sure.

- I don't believe you can increase ring voltage on the AVGs, but you can increase Idle Voltage and the Ring Frequency as noted in this document (Ringing and Idle Voltages on Cisco FXS Interfaces - Cisco). These commands should work on your VG 310. These may or may not help.

- There are devices that can boost ring voltage (Google "Ring Booster"), but I have never used one and don't know if it would work in this situation.

Hopefully one of these suggestions will help. Let us know what you find.

[Nithin Eluvathingal]

"The appropriate pair on the 110-block where the Avaya connection was made. Once I did this, in the warehouse the phone line doesn't work"

That means, the phone ls not working. Am I right ?

[benschell26]

Hello and thank you both for responding. I got over to the warehouse this morning and it turns out that the phones lines are in fact working, but there is a CUCM config issue I need to resolve regarding outbound dialing. That is what the User meant. Sorry for the misrepresentation. However when I call the line I still do get the abbreviated "bell" ring which I believe is caused by too-low voltage. Thankfully the line is still functional and not out-of-service. 

In light of the fact that the phone line still works and when I go off-hook I get solid dial-tone, will increasing the voltage on the analog port affect the dial tone negatively? Or should it be un-noticeable and hopefully solve the bell ringing via the amplifier?

Thank you.

Ben

[benschell26]

Hi Everyone, well I figured out the problem. It is a bad port on our VG310. I moved the line to another port and it worked right away. Loud bell blaring, everything works fine. I can't believe i didn't try that from the outset. Have a good day.