Call Management Products: LineFinder 208 Support Tips

LineFinder 208 User's Manual (discontinued)

Call Management Products Inc. reserves the right to make improvements to the product described in this manual at any time and without notice.

This manual is copyrighted. All rights are reserved. This document may not, in whole or part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form without prior consent, in writing, from Call Management Products, Inc.

Rev 00A0720

INTRODUCTION:

LineFinder is a line pooling device that is designed to allow up to 8 telephone devices to access either of two telephone lines. A sample application is to connect 4 modems, a fax machine, and 3 credit card verifiers to LineFinder. When one of these devices attempts to make a call, LineFinder will examine the two telephone lines that are connected to it and will place the call on a free line. If both of these lines are in use, the device attempting to make the call will receive a busy signal; the calls that are in progress will not be interrupted. Incoming calls on both lines can be directed to the attached devices in any of four different modes.

LineFinder is compatible with standard telephone lines (48 volt lines) and with low-voltage telephone lines (24 volts). The LineFinder is also compatible with all telephone equipment, modems, credit card verifiers, fax machines, key systems, and PBXs.

This manual explains the installation and operation of LineFinder.

NOTES:

The LineFinder needs to be installed “in front of” your telephone system or phones. In most cases, this means the LineFinder must be installed where the phone lines enter your office, at the Telephone Company Network Interface. Please read the Installation Section before attempting to use your LineFinder.

LineFinder is compatible with most Telephone company services, such as Voice Mail, 3-Way Calling, Caller ID, and Distinctive Ringing.

OPERATION:

OUTGOING CALL OPERATION

If your LineFinder has not yet been installed, please refer to the Installation Section later in this manual. Once the LineFinder has been properly installed and powered up, it is ready to begin routing calls. No programming is necessary.

When the LineFinder detects an attached device going off-hook, it examines the phone line(s) connected to it until it finds an available line. It then connects the device to that line. If all connected lines are in use, any other device attempting to access a line through the LineFinder will hear a busy signal and will not be allowed to interrupt the calls in progress.

INCOMING CALL OPERATION

LineFinder can direct incoming calls to its Device ports in any of four different ringing modes, depending on how the DIP Switches on the front of the LineFinder are set. These different modes are described next:

DIP Switch 1:	DIP Switch 2:	Ringing Mode:
DOWN	DOWN	One Fax Machine
DOWN	UP	Two Fax Machines
UP	DOWN	Distinctive Ringing
UP	UP	Hunt Group Ringing

ONE FAX MACHINE (DIP SWITCH 1 DOWN; DIP SWITCH 2 DOWN): With the DIP Switches set this way, LineFinder will direct all incoming calls that arrive on either line port to the device connected to its Device “1” port. If this port is busy, the caller will continue to hear ringing, but no ports on the LineFinder will ring. If the Device “1” port become available (i.e., hangs up its current call), then the new call will ring through to it. This mode is designed primarily for applications where one fax machine needs to answer calls on two phone lines, and no other devices receive incoming calls. This is the default ringing mode.

TWO FAX MACHINES (DIP SWITCH 1 DOWN; DIP SWITCH 2 UP): With the DIP Switches set this way, LineFinder will direct all calls that arrive on either line port to the device connected to its Device “1” port. If this port is busy, the call will instead ring to the Device “2” port. This mode is designed primarily for applications where two fax machines can answer calls, and no other devices receive incoming calls.

DISTINCTIVE RINGING (DIP SWITCH 1 UP; DIP SWITCH 2 DOWN): With the DIP Switches set this way, LineFinder will direct incoming calls to devices by using Distinctive Ringing Services* from the local telephone company. With these services, each telephone line can be given up to three telephone numbers by the local telephone company. Based on which phone number the caller dials, the phone line will ring with a different ringing pattern (a single long ring, or a double-ring pattern, or a triple-ring pattern).

* Distinctive Ringing Services are given different names by different local telephone companies. Examples are: Custom Ringing by USWest, IdentaRing or Ringmate by Bell Atlantic, RingMaster by Bell South, Multi Ring by Ameritech, Personalized Ringing by Southwestern Bell, Smart Ring by GTE, etc.

LineFinder will direct calls that arrive with a single-ring pattern on the Line “1” port to the device connected to its Device “1” port. If this port is busy, the caller will continue to hear ringing, but no ports on the LineFinder will ring. If the Device “1” port become available (i.e., hangs up its current call), then the new call will ring through to it. Similarly, calls that arrive on Line 1 with a double-ring pattern will go to the Device “2” port, and calls on Line 1 with a triple-ring pattern will go to Device 3. Calls that arrive on the Line “2” port will be directed in the same manner, but with the single-ring pattern going to Device 5, the double-ring to Device 6, and the triple-ring to Device 7.

HUNT GROUP RINGING (DIP SWITCH 1 UP; DIP SWITCH 2 UP): With the DIP Switches set this way, LineFinder will direct all calls that arrive on its Line “1” port to the device connected to its Device “1” port. If this port is busy, the call will instead ring to the Device “2” port. All calls that arrive on the Line “2” port will be directed to the Device “5” port, and if this port is busy, the call will instead ring to the Device “6” port. This mode is designed primarily for applications where incoming calls should be distributed among multiple telephones or modems, either evenly or based on the telephone line the call arrives on.

INSTALLATION:

LineFinder must be installed “in front of” any telephone equipment on the line, including the phone system. This means it normally must be installed at the "Telephone Company Network Interface" - the point where the phone line enters your building or place of business. For this reason, LineFinder should be installed by a professional telephone installer.

LineFinder has 4 ports on the front of the unit that are collectively labeled “Phone Lines 1 & 2.” These ports are for connection to 1-2 telephone lines. On the back of the unit, there are two groupings of 4 ports each, that are for connection to 1-8 telephone devices, such as fax machines, credit card verifiers, modems, or a telephone system.

CONNECTING TO PHONE LINES

Before installing LineFinder, determine which telephone line(s) will be used with the unit. It is usually most effective to connect LineFinder to the least-used telephone line(s). One or two lines can be connected.

The first telephone line that is to be used with LineFinder should be connected to the Line port labeled “1” on the front of the LineFinder unit. The second telephone line should be connected to the Line port labeled “2.” Both lines should be connected to the LineFinder in front of any other telephone equipment that is connected to that line, and this other equipment should then be connected to the LineFinder’s device ports. The LineFinder must be the only device that is connected directly to these phone lines.

An overview of the installation is shown in the following figure:

If a punch-down block is in use on the premises, the installation should be done as follows: For each phone line that is to be connected to LineFinder, punch a telephone cord to the tip & ring connectors on the tel-co side of the punch-down block for that line. Plug the other end of this cord into the Line port labeled “1” or “2” on the front of the LineFinder. Also, REMOVE any shorting bars that are used on the punch-down block for this line. This installation is shown in the figure below.

If the phone lines that are connected to LineFinder will also service the phone system: Use a 2-wire telephone cord to connect one of LineFinder’s Device ports to the desired trunk / line port on the phone system. If using a punch-down block, punch a cord to the tip & ring connectors on the phone system side of the punch-down block for this line, and then plug the other end of this phone cord into the LineFinder Device port; this installation is shown in the following figure:

Installation Notes:

Once the LineFinder is powered up, if you hear clicking, or if any of the connected devices begin to emit short ringing bursts when there is not a call ringing in, then there is a polarity-reversal occurring. In this case, move the telephone cord from the Line “1” port on the front of the LineFinder to the “1R” port, and move the cord from the Line “2” port to the “2R” port.

If your telephone network interface and wiring are NOT accessible (e.g., in an apartment), LineFinder should be connected to wall jacks. For this installation to work, all telephone devices on the lines must be rewired so they connect directly to LineFinder’s ports instead of to other wall jacks. No other wall jacks should be used.

In most businesses and homes, the telephone company network interface is located inside the premise and is accessible. If the telephone company network interface is located outside the premise and is inaccessible, the phone lines will need to be broken BEFORE any modular jacks, so LineFinder can be installed at the start of each phone line.

LOW VOLTAGE PHONE LINES

If your telephone lines are 24-volt lines, rather than the standard 48-volt lines, set DIP Switches 3 and 4 on the front of the LineFinder unit to the DOWN position.

CONNECTING TELEPHONE DEVICES

Up to eight telephone devices can be connected to LineFinder: modems, fax machines, credit card verifiers, answering machines, telephones, a PBX or Key telephone system, etc. These devices will share access to the 1-2 telephone lines that are connected to LineFinder. These devices will not be able to access other phone lines.

Before connecting any devices to LineFinder, first determine whether any of the devices will need to receive incoming calls (such as a phone or a fax machine). Then, pick the appropriate Ringing Mode to direct incoming calls to these devices (Ringing Modes are described in the previous “Incoming Call Operation” section). Based on the selected Ringing Mode, connect the devices that will answer incoming calls to the appropriate Device ports on the back of the LineFinder. After this, connect any remaining devices to the unused Device ports.

Note that every device that is to be connected to LineFinder must be plugged directly into one of the LineFinder’s Device ports. Thus, in order to locate a device where desired, you may need to use a long modular cord. It may be possible to re-wire existing telephone jacks so that they are connected to a Device port on the LineFinder rather than directly to a telephone line; in this case, the device can be plugged into an existing telephone jack. However, if this rewiring is not possible, then any existing telephone jacks for these phone lines must not be used.

IMPORTANT: The line lamps on your telephone system’s phones will light up when one of the phones on the telephone system is using this line but not when a device that is connected to LineFinder is in use. However, anyone who attempts to pick up the line when it is in use will hear busy tone and will not interrupt the call in progress.

CONNECTING TO POWER

Once LineFinder has been connected to the telephone lines and the desired devices, the LineFinder must be powered up. Connect the 20 VAC transformer that comes with the unit to a standard 120-volt wall outlet. Then, connect the other end of the transformer cable to the “Power” port on the front of the LineFinder unit.

Note: Once the LineFinder is powered up, if you hear clicking, or if any of the connected devices begin to emit short ringing bursts when there is not a call ringing in, then there is a polarity-reversal occurring. In this case, move the telephone cord from the Line “1” port on the front of the LineFinder unit to the “1R” port and move the cord from the Line “2” port to the “2R” port.