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Posted by Someone on May 11, 2006, 9:01 pm
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We've got an old phone system we're looking to replace. I've had
good experience with Panasonic in the past (D308 & D1232), so
I'm looking at their offerings. We currently have 6 CO lines and
17 sets, so I was looking at the TA824 because it would provide
room for growth over the next few years. Features we'd like are
voice mail, outside notification, and AA. (AA would be only for
after-hours.)
One question I have is about voice mail.
The 824 accepts an expansion card that, "provides basic voicemail
service, with 2 ports, 24 mailboxes, 60 minutes recording time." But I'm
concerned about two VM ports being enough (4 would be better.) Also,
Ablecomm says that they don't recommend this card at all and, instead,
suggest something like the TVA50 external VM cabinet. OK, except that
they also say they do not recommend the TVA50 in anything more than
the 2-port configuration on the TA824. So I'm still concerned about having
only 2 ports for VM.
Should I scuttle this TA824 idea and look at something bigger like the
TAW848, since the D1232 is now discontinued?
Should we look at other brands?
Any advice is welcome!
Thanks.
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Posted by Carl Navarro on May 11, 2006, 11:04 pm
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wrote:
>We've got an old phone system we're looking to replace. I've had
>good experience with Panasonic in the past (D308 & D1232), so
>I'm looking at their offerings. We currently have 6 CO lines and
>17 sets, so I was looking at the TA824 because it would provide
>room for growth over the next few years. Features we'd like are
>voice mail, outside notification, and AA. (AA would be only for
>after-hours.)
What phones do you have now? Are you spending an extra $2k on 17 new
phones, or upgrading an existing phone system?
>One question I have is about voice mail.
>
>The 824 accepts an expansion card that, "provides basic voicemail
>service, with 2 ports, 24 mailboxes, 60 minutes recording time." But I'm
>concerned about two VM ports being enough (4 would be better.) Also,
>Ablecomm says that they don't recommend this card at all and, instead,
>suggest something like the TVA50 external VM cabinet. OK, except that
>they also say they do not recommend the TVA50 in anything more than
>the 2-port configuration on the TA824. So I'm still concerned about having
>only 2 ports for VM.
Two ports for 17 phones is not unreasonable, and yes, avoid the BVM.
While you're avoiding, you might want to avoid the TA824 or TAW848 if
you are buying new phones or trying to reuse old TD phones.
A TDA-50 fits comfortably in the 8x20 starter range and handles 4 VM
ports, but the phones need to be digital. That's good, because a full
fledged VM system requires 3 buttons for call handling and the more
buttons you have the better.
It's also a possibility to get into a used TD-1232. I have one that
is going to be 6 months old coming available in September. It's
carded 12x24.
Lastly, you might look into other brands. The Inter-Tel EncoreCX, a
Partner ACS, or even the NEC DS-2000 are pretty competitive if you
have to buy all new phones.
Carl Navarro
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Posted by Someone on May 11, 2006, 11:48 pm
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> What phones do you have now? Are you spending an extra $2k on 17 new
> phones, or upgrading an existing phone system?
Yes, I forgot to mention that. This is an old Merlin system, so everything
including
the sets will be replaced.
> Two ports for 17 phones is not unreasonable, and yes, avoid the BVM.
I'd still like four VM ports because we get a fair number of calls.
> While you're avoiding, you might want to avoid the TA824 or TAW848 if
> you are buying new phones or trying to reuse old TD phones.
Is that because of the VM limitation? We're getting new sets anyway no
matter what we go with.
> A TDA-50 fits comfortably in the 8x20 starter range and handles 4 VM
> ports, but the phones need to be digital. That's good, because a full
> fledged VM system requires 3 buttons for call handling and the more
> buttons you have the better.
Good suggestion, and the TDA sets have lots of buttons!
> Lastly, you might look into other brands. The Inter-Tel EncoreCX, a
> Partner ACS, or even the NEC DS-2000 are pretty competitive if you
> have to buy all new phones.
Thanks. I'll look at them too.
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Posted by Carl Navarro on May 12, 2006, 2:43 am
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wrote:
>
>> What phones do you have now? Are you spending an extra $2k on 17 new
>> phones, or upgrading an existing phone system?
>
>Yes, I forgot to mention that. This is an old Merlin system, so everything
including
>the sets will be replaced.
>
>> Two ports for 17 phones is not unreasonable, and yes, avoid the BVM.
>
>I'd still like four VM ports because we get a fair number of calls.
>
>> While you're avoiding, you might want to avoid the TA824 or TAW848 if
>> you are buying new phones or trying to reuse old TD phones.
>
>Is that because of the VM limitation? We're getting new sets anyway no
>matter what we go with.
>
No, it's because the analog phones only have 12 worthwile buttons.
>> A TDA-50 fits comfortably in the 8x20 starter range and handles 4 VM
>> ports, but the phones need to be digital. That's good, because a full
>> fledged VM system requires 3 buttons for call handling and the more
>> buttons you have the better.
>
>Good suggestion, and the TDA sets have lots of buttons!
Yes. Make sure you get 7633 or 7636 sets so you can add the optional
12 button modules if you need them. 7630's won't work.
>> Lastly, you might look into other brands. The Inter-Tel EncoreCX, a
>> Partner ACS, or even the NEC DS-2000 are pretty competitive if you
>> have to buy all new phones.
>
>Thanks. I'll look at them too.
>
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Posted by Someone on May 13, 2006, 4:44 pm
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> >> A TDA-50 fits comfortably in the 8x20 starter range and handles 4 VM
> >> ports, but the phones need to be digital. That's good, because a full
> >> fledged VM system requires 3 buttons for call handling and the more
> >> buttons you have the better.
> >
> >Good suggestion, and the TDA sets have lots of buttons!
>
> Yes. Make sure you get 7633 or 7636 sets so you can add the optional
> 12 button modules if you need them. 7630's won't work.
Thanks for all the helpful advice, Carl. You're a real asset to the group! As
for
my situation, the TDA looks ideal. A couple of things bother me about it, neither
of which is technical.
First, Panasonic tries to lock the distribution channel for this line ("sold
exclusively
by local Panasonic KX-TDA Certified Dealers.") Second, even if I get one
and install it, Panasonic won't let me "activate" it. ("TDA50 must be
installed by a local certified dealer, and activated remotely by Panasonic.")
Since bringing in an outside company to do this will instantly add well over
100% to
the cost, I'll concentrate on other brands. Too bad.
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