atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems Comdial Telephones & Systems Serial Connection Continues to Fail

I have a Comdial MP5000 with Keyvoice voicemail system. I am having an issue where about every 30-45 minutes I will lose vmail/message count indicator on everyone of my user stations (Comdial Impact Phones). If I do nothing it will reconnect after about 90 seconds. I have, I believe, tracked this down to a serial port communication error. However, I have been unable to resolve the problem. I have replaced the serial ports on the voice mail server as well as the serial cable that goes from the voice mail server to the phone cabinet. The phone cabinet has to 9 pin serial connections, I have of course tried them both with exactly the same results.

Has anyone else faced this issue. If so what did you do to fix it?

Again I will appreciate any help that you can offer.

Doug

You could many possible issues. What release Key Voice? If it is pre RLS 12 and you have Windows Time Manager enabled on the VMail then it will do as you are reporting. Have you looked at the error logs?

we are having the same issue on a FXII software revision 198 17F
it is running with a DOS 8.2 VM. we have tried replacing the cable, db-9, processor and services board. Have not tried Shielded cable, as ours is located about 50 feet from switch, however it worked for a few years and recently started when upgraded from 195 17D. there was also lightning involved causing all the replacements. Is there a time issue with 8.2. I have seen the issue on windows programs but do not know if this could be an issue with old VM's

Since you're running a DOS version of KeyVoice, Windows Time Manager is irrelevant to your situation.

You might try slowing the baud rate down a notch, and see if that helps. I've never had a need to use shielded cable with any Comdial serial integration. I'm also pretty sure that the voice mail count indication on the phone's displays will hold, even if you unplug the serial cable for a bit.

Welcome to the board.

Have you confirmed that the serial port on the PC isn't shot? There is a test application on the DOS voicemail, designed to allow you to test your serial port. It helps to have a DB9 loopback plug.

Justin

This might be a stretch, but I had a similar problem between a Panasonic system and an external PC for call accounting. The equipment was connected two two different UPS and there appeared to be a measurable difference in frame ground potential as a result. When we made a cable that passes pin 1 (FG) between the machines, the problem went away.

It appeared that signal ground (SG) was being adversely-affected as a result, causing erratic behavior and serial port lockup. In our case, the port on the KSU was locking up and had to be manually reset in order to restore communication.

The phone cabinet has to 9 pin serial connections, I have of course tried them both with exactly the same results.

Are they both the same baud rate?

Use the software that Justin mentioned to check the voicemail and use hyperterminal to check the KSU. There should be no problem with the original cable so don't introduce more confusion by changing it.

Thank you for the advice, the connection is good most of the time but will drop for a minute or two an hour. we will replace the serial card and try other tests later this week

josh

Did your system reboot normally after the new bin file was loaded?

You most likely have a ground issue which is causing your intermittent problem.