atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Executone-Isoetec Telephones & Systems IDS-228 station lockout on startup

Do you have the left side 228 power supply plugged into the right side power supply?
(and the right side power supply connect to you A.C outlet)

The 'short cable run' issue wasn't related to software, it was certain revs and part numbers of the IDS station card and DTMF combo card. The original fix was for part number 15750 rev C or lower, and for all 15740 (both of these are station cards). It required a 10 ohm, 1/4W resistor in series with each side of the transmit (white blue) pair on short runs. In January 1993 Executone began referring to the above cards as "long loop", supporting them for runs of 1000-2000 feet with 24g wire and 1500-2500 with 22g, without the resistors. If the resistors were added, or if the "short loop" cards (15750 rev D and higher) were used, the supported loop length was 0-1500 ft 24g, 0-2000 ft 22g. The same thing applied to the DTMF card, part number 15550 rev C and lower - these were "long loop", rev D and higher became "short loop" (resistor built into card), and no "long loop" DTMF cards were made after rev C. Later, Executone found the base cords which were actually made by a different company, and Executone just sourced them (as Executone part number 45-30-00006). These base cords added 3 ohms rather than 10, don't know why. I couldn't find them just now with a quick web search, but you can just add the resistors at the frame. Remember, you don't need the resistors if you have 15750 rev D and higher, and that card (which was the majority of station cards they made) is limited to 1500 ft. If you have runs longer than 1500 ft (2000 ft 22g) you need to gather those runs on the same card(s) and find the "long loop" card(s) listed above. This issue is definitely a possible cause of flakey station operation, including the problem you have, when the loop is either too long or too short for the card you have.

Thanks for all the feedback, you guys are all great. I did go out to the site on Monday to "review" all the simple things since I inherited this install from a vendor who was "asked to leave" last year. I went to verify the ground connection and found that the previous vendor had just taken the ground wire which was clipped off and stuck it into a hole in the wall, so it was flapping in the breeze. I also found some rolled pairs on their house cables, but only one of them was in use. We correcter the reversals anyway and verified that the cross-connects weren't rolled. Of course I didn't check the base cords yet but I fear the end user or the previous vendor may have replaced an end or two and may have taken the "flip" out of them. We re-ran a new ground to an earth ground (merely 4 feet away on the outside of the wall...hackers). This didn't alleviate the problem, but it did appear to correct the issue for at least 6 of the problem sets. This really makes me think that this is PS related. We do have the power supplies "chained" left to right to source. I've scheduled to go in this evening so that we can check the supply voltages on startup and running. I'll also check the rev level on the cards; although, I am pretty sure that they are Rev D or better because the date on the KSU is 1998 I think. Thanks again, more to follow

sounds like you have a short loop problem. the reason we suggested 10 ohm resistors to correct this problem was that they were readily available at the local Radio Shack stores. Wh/Bl is your trasmit pair that is why the resistors were required on the one pair instead of both pairs. Problem was that the technicians in the field were accidently shorting out the pins on the MDF block so 10,000 mounting cords were made up to correct this problem and were colored dark grey to distinquish between these special cords and the regular grey mounting cords that were already in use in the field.
The "special" mounting cords were actually the older stranded type cords with an inherent resisitance of 3 ohms vs the newer 26 gauge AT&T cords that were sourced that contained less than an ohm of resistance. It was these newer AT&T mounting cords that were causing the short loop problem. If you're not sure what cord you have, just use an ohm meter and measure.
The actual problem was caused by a different manufacturer that designed IC chips for the station (and DTMF) boards. This was cleaned up on the later board revisions but it was cheaper to send mountng cords to the field rather than replace the station boards.This problem rarely shows up unless a system is relocated and thus the loop lengths are changed.
TJ

Well, here's the latest scoop. After we fixed the ground issue, the problem continued to recur. We went out and swapped the right & left power supplies since the cabinet was heavy on the right side and nearly empty on the left. Initially, there was no change so we scheduled to come out and do another voltage test including a startup bounce test. The morning of the the scheduled visit we got the classic call, "what did you do? everything is working right today." So we gave them the classic answer, "nothing." And they agreed to keep an eye on it and see if the problem recurs. So far (2 weeks and counting) everything has been stable. On the one hand I want to know the "why" but the very busy and overworked phone tech part of me that seems to work too many "after hours" cuts and weekends wants to let sleeping dogs lie and not generate more work that is difficult to bill for. So for now, we wait and see if the gremlins return, and when they do, we put it back on the big board. All of the information you guys provided is excellent background to keep things in focus (and much of it simply not available in any manual or guide, thus invaluable!) I'll post more if/as things develop. As always thanks for the assist and remember to check your dailtoner, it sucks when the phone system runs out.