Re: Comcast Telephone Service!!! The saga continues!!

["Roland Moore" <roland@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think a call to the alarm panel manufacturer would give more detail on the
telco spec, but to me the off hook at 6VDC seems a little on the too light
side for some TLM specs I have seen, especially if the line is bogged down
with old gear with a high ringer equivalency.

"ABLE_1" <royboynospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:VJudnY_fkeYl9_rYnZ2dnUVZ_oSdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Re: Comcast Telephone Service!!!  The saga continues!!
>
> Well I now have some more info to throw into the mix on this Digital Phone
> issue with Comcast that I will share.  My hope is that it will help others
> as well.
>
> It has been about 2 weeks since my last post on this subject.  Since that
> time the customer has had continued daily problems with his phones as well
> as his high speed internet connection.  He was ready to pull the plug on
> Comcast when they determined that there was a problem with an 'amplifier'
> in his area as well as a 'bad cable' underground and some connectors that
> was affecting some three other customers in his area.
>
> Three days ago the equipment was changed and the cable replaced and all
> has been well since.  Today I performed another test of the system to
> Central Station and OK.  Did a DL and all OK.
>
> The customer made the comment that most people at Comcast seem incompetent
> except for one the has made the above repairs and suggested that I call
> him since I did have some more questions.
>
> I contacted the tech and he explained as above what he knew about the
> issues.  I asked if he could tell me what the line voltages were so that I
> may re-activate the line monitor so as to be a little more comfortable
> with this Digital Voice technology.  He indicated that he was not sure
> what the voltages were but would get one of his tech's on the line.
>
> The tech said that (reading from the book) the following were the
> voltages.
>
>    ON Hook Voltage     24 - 48vdc
>    OFF Hook Voltage      6 - 12vdc
>    Ring Voltage               60 - 90vac
>
> I explained about a concern with the ON Hook voltage potentially be as Low
> as 24vdc since the line monitor may see that as a problem on the line.  He
> asked if I can adjust the threshold of the line monitor and I explained
> not any more possible than him boosting the output voltage of the modem.
>
> I then asked if they had wired the panel properly for line seizure thru
> the RJ31X and he said that he did not know exactly.  I put enough doubt in
> his head that he wanted me to talk to the 'Comcast Tech Trainer' that
> would know more about the details of what I was asking.
>
> I had to explain that I will discuss with their Trainer but did not want
> to get into a long consultation in teaching Comcast how to connect an
> alarm panel for line seizure.
> He indicated that they have been installing this equipment from
> Philadelphia to Harrisburg for quite some time and didn't seem to have any
> problems with other alarms.  I explained that maybe "others" were not
> looking as hard.
>
> I am presently waiting for a phone call from the Trainer and will post the
> results of that conversation.  Maybe Monday till I get a call back.
>
> I already have an appointment next week to visit the site for a small
> upgrade and at that time will look at how they have put this together.
>
> More to follow, and maybe pictures.
>
> Les
>
>
>
>
>
>> Ok, more info.  At some point last night after the successful test the
>> customer no long had phone service.  Can you say crashed???
>>
>> Today Comcast came out and determined that the modem (Motorola) was
>> defective and they replaced it with a Arris Model# TM402P\110.  And the
>> phone is working again.  Sent signals to Central Station and all OK.
>> Tried to Download to my office PC and again all OK.
>>
>> I Googled the model number and the .pdf spec sheet indicated that it uses
>> Codec G.711.  So based on the info below this is good.
>>
>> I asked my customer to do some regular test for the next few weeks.
>>
>> He agreed.  More info later.
>>
>> Later,
>>
>> Les
>>
>>
>>
>>> It seems that transmitting touch-tones is a known problem with some VOIP
>>> systems, and it has to do with the "codec" being used.  The codec is the
>>> equipment or program that converts digital data into voice, and vice
>>> versa.
>>> Codecs based on the G.711 standard transmit touch-tones seamlessly, but
>>> they generate a 64kbps output.  Other codecs, such as the G.729,
>>> compress
>>> things down to an 8kbps data stream, which apparently raises hell with
>>> touch-tones.  Even when using a "full rate" codec such as the G.711, it
>>> helps if "echo cancellation" and "silence suppression" are turned off,
>>> but
>>> I have no idea who does that, or how.  The 8kbps codecs presumably cost
>>> less and allow more calls to fit within the same bandwidth.
>>>
>>> So, the key to determining whether an alarm system will work on a VOIP
>>> system may be to determine the type of codec that is used by the VOIP
>>> interface.  Assuming the cable companies won't tell or don't know,
>>> googling
>>> the part number might produce some useful information.
>>>
>>> - badenov
>>>
>>
>>
>
>