Wired buzzer/intercom in old appartment building

[katsik]

Will it work with OBI110 when connected instead of land line?

[Shale]

I doubt it [if you are talking about hooking the OBi phone port to the buzzer/intercom]. Instead, I would hook your OBi to a cordless phone base, and use cordless phones. That would be the simplest way. I don't think you want to tie your OBi to a buzzer system.

If you want to use the wiring in the apartment for phones, I think you will need to isolate the room-to-room wiring from the intercom system. It would take some wiring expertise to figure out how to do that, but it probably could be done.

Edit: After seeing Rick's post, I realize I forgot abut the OBi100 Line port. I was thinking Phone port when I made my comments above.

[Rick]

The answer is "it depends".  Many systems like this hook to the normal phone line, and ring your telephone when someone pushes the buzzer.  You then push numbers on the phone to buzz them in.

If that's how your system works, then you can plug the OBI 110's LINE port into the phone jack on the wall, then plug your phone (or base station of your wireless phone) into the PHONE port of the OBi, then test calling, then test the buzzer.

[katsik]

Ok, bought obi 110.
Test failed.
I can see incoming ring from wired buzzer/intercom on device indicator lamp, but device does not merge call to phone. I guess it because rings frequence and period are much shoter than phone rings. 
Can obi110 be tuned/adjusted to catch those rings and merge them to headset.
May be Obi Expert configuration?
Can RingFrequencyMin or RingFrequencyMax   or else be adjusted?
Thanks

[ianobi]

Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > Ring Detection

There are seven variables here. The most likely to make a difference is RingThreshold. Try a lower value. The other likely candidate is RingValidationTime. Again try a lower value.


Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > RingDelay

By default this is set to 4000 (4 seconds). This is set to allow the CallerID to be captured. It's of no use for your door alarm, so set it to 0.

[katsik]

Thank you very much. Will try soon and report.
My neighbor connected Magic Jack and buzzer to same line. And it works somehow!
Isn't danger for device: I am assuming both (intercom line and IP phone) generate some voltage and could interfere/burn each other?

[ianobi]

The OBi Line Port simply looks like a passive telephone as far as anything trying to connect to it sees. It will accept up to 100v a.c. as ringing voltage with no damage. When the OBi answers it expects to see up to around 50v d.c. on the Line Port. I'm guessing the door phone system is likely to put forward less than both those voltages.

[Shale]

Thank you very much. Will try soon and report.
My neighbor connected Magic Jack and buzzer to same line. And it works somehow!
Isn't danger for device: I am assuming both (intercom line and IP phone) generate some voltage and could interfere/burn each other?

I presume "works " means that he hooks a phone in parallel to the Magic Jack phone jack and having the phone ring when somebody is at the door. Also being able to pick up the phone in the apartment and dial out. Is that it? I doubt that the MagicJack is responding with something useful when somebody presses the doorbell or intercom button in the lobby.

What would "work" mean in the case of your OBi110? Same thing?

[katsik]

All correct. Only 1 line for all. We can say MagicJack is analog to OBI100.
Somehow handset (wireless BTW)  responds properly to MagicJack and to doorbell...and opens door too.
May be doorbell/intercom was designed not to interfere with analog land line, what actually MagicJack emulates.

[katsik]

"The OBi Line Port simply looks like a passive telephone as far as anything trying to connect to it sees. It will accept up to 100v a.c...."
Same thing about Phone port?

[Shale]

Ok, bought obi 110.
Test failed.
I can see incoming ring from wired buzzer/intercom on device [intercom panel or OBI?] indicator lamp, but device does not merge call to phone. I guess it [the phone that is in parallel with the OBi and the intercom line] because rings frequency and period are much shorter than phone rings.  
Can obi110 be tuned/adjusted to catch those rings and merge them to headset.
May be Obi Expert configuration?
Can RingFrequencyMin or RingFrequencyMax   or else be adjusted?
Thanks

Why is it important that the OBi detects a ring? What should it do if it detects a ring? Are you planning to use this as a remote for the intercom/door opener rather than as a way to make phone calls on the attached phone? Are you using something like this to hook the OBi110 Line port to the intercom and the phone instrument both? Or are you plugging the phone into the Phone port of the Obi expecting that phone to operate your intercom?

[ianobi]

katsik,

"The OBi Line Port simply looks like a passive telephone as far as anything trying to connect to it sees. It will accept up to 100v a.c...."
Same thing about Phone port?

No!! The phone port has around 50v d.c. on it and will send out up to 90v a.c. ringing voltage. I suggest that you should not connect it to the door system.

[Rick]

katsik,

"The OBi Line Port simply looks like a passive telephone as far as anything trying to connect to it sees. It will accept up to 100v a.c...."
Same thing about Phone port?

No!! The phone port has around 50v d.c. on it and will send out up to 90v a.c. ringing voltage. I suggest that you should not connect it to the door system.

Just to reinforce this.  In a non-OBI setup, the door buzzer is connected to the phone wiring in the apartment.  Pushing on the button at the entrance "rings" the phone, which you then can answer and perhaps converse with the person at the door.  You can then push a combination of buttons on the phone and the person will get buzzed in.

If you add the OBi to the mix, it's important to ensure that you add it properly.  What that means is that the OBi has to be connected to the incoming PSTN wiring on the LINE port.  You then connect a phone (or the base station of a wireless phone) to the PHONE port.  After making adjustments as suggested earlier, you will likely then be able to get the phone to ring when someone buzzes.

You do NOT want to connect live phone wiring, whether fed by the phone company OR the door buzzer, to the PHONE port of the OBi.  This port powers telephones - it does NOT accept current coming in from another source.

IF you have a need to connect the OBi to the existing apartment wiring to power multiple plug-in phones around the apartment, you MUST do the following (which is the same you would do in a house):

Disconnect the PSTN wiring where it comes into the apartment from powering all the phone jacks.  Near the point of entry, the incoming wiring should go into a jack.  That jack should then be connected to the apartment wiring, which powers the phones.  If you disconnect that wiring and plug in the LINE port of the OBi, then plug the PHONE port of the OBi into the house wiring, you would be all set.

If you cannot find the feed in your apartment, or do not want to mess with it, then your only option is to plug the OBi LINE port into any phone jack, and then plug a single phone (or the base station of a wireless phone), into the PHONE port of the OBi.  Note that if you do this, any phones plugged into other wall jacks will NOT take advantage of the services connected to the OBi, so you'd still be making calls with your old telephone provider if you used those phones.

[lucycandy]

There are seven variables here. The most likely to make a difference is RingThreshold. Try a lower value. The other likely candidate is RingValidationTime. Again try a lower value.






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[katsik2]

Oops.
All seven variables at
Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > Ring Detection
are greyed out and not changeable.
All I can do is check/uncheck Check boxes "OBITalk settings <=> Device Default.

Please advise.

[RFord]

Oops.
All seven variables at
Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > Ring Detection
are greyed out and not changeable.
All I can do is check/uncheck Check boxes "OBITalk settings <=> Device Default.

Please advise.

What??  This comment is rather silly!  If you uncheck the boxes, doesn't the options become changeable?  I guess some folks just like to ask question without stopping to think for a minute.

[katsik2]

Confirmed.
Can you update variables?

[Rick]

Confirmed.
Can you update variables?

We wouldn't suggest changing them if you couldn't change them, would we?

You uncheck the Default Box, change the variable, click Submit on the bottom, and then reboot your OBi. 

[Shale]

You uncheck the Default Box, change the variable, click Submit on the bottom, and then reboot your OBi.  

When I change variables and click Submit in the expert mode on my OBi202, the reboot is automatic.

[katsik2]

Tried different browsers...same result-negative.
Could be something wrong in my profile  setups?
Any workarounds like update "expert" config file and upload it?