Panasonic Phone Equipment

OK, so now that you have learned a little about how the lines are coming into your business, lets talk about the various equipment that actually allows you to work with that on a daily basis. I mentioned before that I work with three different manufacturers, but I am going to start with the Panasonic since that is our highest seller, and the most economic for a small to medium sized business. I am going to start by breaking down the various equipment and options with the Panasonic systems, and then I will finish off by explaining the three different ways to have it set up.

Part 1 - Panasonic systems and equipment

So there are 7 different systems when it comes to Panasonic's latest technology. The 7 systems are separated into two different categories, hybrid allowing both a straight digital set up, and an IP telephony trunking set up, and then there is their pure IP telephony option. The two series are, TDA which is the hybrid, and the TDE which is the pure IP.

When it comes to the TDA series there are 4 systems you can go with, the TDA30, TDA100, TDA200, and the TDA600. I am sure you have figured this out, but the only difference between the four systems is the size and capacity it can handle. when it comes to the TDE series there is, TDE100, TDE200, and the TDE600, much the same, the only difference is size and capacity. As of right now we are going to completely forget about any pure IP options, and I will touch base on VOIP and the options in a later post.

So lets start with the TDA30, and we will work up from there. The TDA30 is a hybrid IP solution starting with a base cabinet coming with the max capacity of 12 business lines, and 48 telephones. The system comes built with 4 digital station ports and 4 analogue station ports. Now for anyone who doesn't know, each jack in your office needs to be connected to a port to work with the system, this configuration means that you can have 8 phones working with the system and 4 analogue devices right out of the box. An analogue device would be considered one of the following options, a computer modem, a fax machine, a POS system, or an analogue telephone. An interesting feature with the Panasonic though, is it allows you to do what is called a DXDP, or a Daisy Chain. This means for every 1 digital port you have, you can have 2 phones connected, you are able to daisy chain one phone to another, and Panasonic is the only company that allows this.

So now that you know what the system is capable of right out of the box, lets take a look at the cards you can put in, their model numbers, and what each of them do. So again, as you can see, all systems come usually with a base configuration, and then you just add the components you require for you business. This is a good thing, because now you can build your system the way you need it, and not pay for a whole bunch of things that you don't require. Now I will explain the cards, options, and what they all do, and I will do it in a very easy lam ens term kind of way so that everyone understands, but if you would like it more technical, please just message me or comment and I will give you the more technical breakdown.

Lets get started. The TDA30 again comes with 4 digital station ports, and 4 analogue station ports, and then you have the option of adding this cards to build your system.

KX-TDA3180 4 Port analogue trunk card - This card is what actually connects the Bell line to the phone system. You can have up to a maximum of 3 on your TDA30 system, meaning you can have up to 12 business telephone lines.

KX-TDA3193 4 Port caller ID - If you would like to have caller ID for your phones, then for every KX-TDA3180 you need to have one of these cards in.

KX-TDA3171 4 Port digital station card - If you recall, your TDA30 system already comes with 4 digital stations, but if you need up to 4 more, then you would add this card. Again this is what your phone jacks connect to. Maximum on the system is 1 of these cards, so if you need more than 4 additional stations, you will have to go to the next card.

KX-TDA3172 8 Port digital station card - This is the same as the previous card, but it has the capacity for 8 jacks not 4, and you can have a maximum of 2 of these cards on your system. Remember your system can have up to 24 digital station ports, so to reach capacity you would need 2 of these cards, and 1 of the KX-TDA3171.

KX-TDA3173 4 Port analogue station card - Now again if you recall, your system already comes pre-built with 4 analogue station ports, but if you will require up to 4 more, you will get this card up to a maximum of 1.

KX-TDA3174 8 Port analogue station card - The same as the last card, but with the capacity of 8 analogue stations, with a maximum of 2 of these cards.

KX-TDA3196 Remote modem - This card allows your interconnect(who you bought your system from) to dial in to your phone system, and make programming changes, and do other maintenance to your system. This feature will normally result in a cheaper labour cost then if a technician has to physically come to your site.

KX-TDA3480 4 Channel VOIP gateway card - This card allows you to connect your system to a data network and use VOIP functions between yourself and a remote location. 4 channels means 4 connections can be made through this card. Note: I will explain VOIP in part 2 of this post.

KX-TDA3161 4 Port door phone and External input/output card - This card allows you to connect a door phone or intercom to your phone system. This also allows you to dial unlock a door. Up to a maximum of 1 card.

KX-T30865 Door phone - This is Panasonic's made door phone. You can have up to a maximum of 4 of these connected to your system.

KX-TDA3166 8 Channel echo canceller card - This card reduces background noise and echoing when using the speakerphone or conference function.

KX-TDA3168 Extension caller ID card - This card allows the caller-ID function on any alogue devices connected to your system.

KX-TDA3191 2 Channel message card - This card allows for 2 separate messages to be played simultaneously.

KX-A236 and KX-A228 Battery back up cables and AC adapter.

Alright, so now that you have seen and know a little more about the system and it's internal components, lets take a look at the phones, and other external Panasonic phone equipment. We will start with the phones, then we will move to the portable phones.

KX-T7667 - This phone is the smallest of the digital desk phones provided by Panasonic, it has all the same features as the larger phones, but with a few minor changes. This phone has 12 programmable keys, and a 1-line display. Other than being much smaller, these are the only differences.

KX-T7630 - Here we have the most common of the digital desk phones, this model has 24 programmable keys, and a 3-line display. For smaller companies that feel that this phone is to large for them, I will still always recommend having at least one to be able to do minor programming changes.

KX-T7633 - This phone is the exact same as the 7630, but with a few small usually unnecessary differences. This phone also has 24 programmable keys and a 3-line display, but this display is back lit. It also has the option of a USB port to connect the phone to your computer and allow computer telephony integration. You can also add 12 additional programmable keys with this phone.

KX-T7636 - This is the top model of phone for the Panasonic series, but seldom do people go for it. This phone has all the same functions as the 7633 model, but it has a 6-line back lit display.


Now lets take a look at some of the other phones you can get, ie. cordless options, and their components. Panasonic runs their portable phones with a cell phone technology, you place cell stations through out your office or warehouse, and ass you get out of range, it simply passes your call to the next station so you never lose your call, and always have the same quality. This is just like your cell phone, each provider has towers conveniently placed through out, and as you get out of range of one, there is another one waiting to pick up the call. Each cell station connects to a digital station port.

KX-TDA0141 2 Channel cell station - This is the station that allows you to walk through out while on a portable phone and never losing the call. Being 2 channels you can only have to people talking at a time connected to a cell station, but Panasonic also offers a 3 channel station as well.

KX-T7680 - This is the basic portable digital phone that Panasonic offers, it is a little larger, but still has all functions of the digital desk sets. This phone has a 3 line back lit display. Please go to this link to see the Panasonic brochure for this model phone and to see all the other features.
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/telecom/business_phones/hybrid/pdf/kx-td7690_80.pdf

KX-T7690 - This is the upper scale model portable phone, and the main difference is size. This phone is actually very small, and easy to use. It has a 5 line back lite display. Please check brochure for further details.
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/telecom/business_phones/hybrid/pdf/kx-td7690_80.pdf

Unfortunately this took me longer to write then I expected, but I will come back tomorrow and write part 2 explaining the different ways to set up your system.

Thank you again for your reading.

Basics and how they work

Hello again, in this section I am going to explain how phones and phone systems work, the difference between your home phones and business, and then I will break down all the systems I work with on a daily basis.

Part 1 - How phones and phone systems work

Ok, so a lot of people look at the phones at work, and really don't know or understand the difference between what they have their, and what they have at home. There are two parts to making a phone and there components work, first is the line coming in from Bell Canada or whoever your service provider is, then there is the actual hardware. The lines coming in from your provider is the same no matter where you are, or what kind of set up you have, and that means work or home. I am sure that everyone has driven around their city, and noticed buildings located through out with no windows, one door, and a large Bell Canada logo, this is called the Central Office or CO. All of Bell's lines come into this Central Office, and this is where it all starts. From the CO Bell will then run a line to the local switch box in your area. The local switch box is the various green metal boxes you see also located all through out your city, this is just basically a a smaller CO. From that green box another line is run, and this line is what actually comes directly into your home, or into your business office. The last part of the whole process is your physical demarcation point, and this is a little beige panel that sits on your wall, we call this in the business a bix panel. This is the last component to the process of the line coming in, and beyond this is where the differences come between your home and business telephone services.

Within your home you have several different jacks placed through out for you to plug your phones into, now all the jacks have seperate wires, but they are all connected to the bix panel, and run off of what we call a loop set up. I am sure at one point in your life you have picked up the phone, and noticed that you are listening to someone elses conversation, this is what happens when you are have this loop set up, all jacks are connected to the same line, and as long as you have multiple phones plugged in, everyone can be on the phone at the same time in the same conversation. In this diagram you will see a picture showing how this works.

Okay, so now that you know how your home is set up, let me explain how the office is set up, and the difference. In regards to the physical line coming in from Bell Canada, everything is exactly the same, but after the bix panel everything is being controlled by the phone system you have purchased. Take a look at the diagram below, and you will see how this works, and the further explanation will be below.

So as you can see that everything is the same, but instead of the line being run straight to the jacks, it is sent to the phone system, and this turnes it into a controlled digital set up instead of the standard analogue loop. Each jack is individually run to the system, and this is what allows the privacy of single lines, also all the other added features that your purchased system may contain, ie. voicemail, transfer, paging etc.

Ok, now you understand the difference between your home and your business, but unfortunately something has come up and I won't be able to touch base on basic phone systems until later.

Until then, I hope you learned something useful, and thank you for reading.

Introduction

In this post I will explain in further detail as to what I do with my interconnect, and touch a little bit on myself personally.

Part 1 - Personal

I was born in 1984 in Hamilton, Ontario, and grew up in Burlington. My father has been in some sort of technology or another my whole life, and that is what eventually sprung my interest. I travelled around with my father at a young age watching him in his various positions taking in as much as I could, later finding myself taking as many technelogical classes through out high school as I could. As I got older and my parents divorced, and my father remarried, my step-mothers father owns a local electronics shop in town so I also tried to spend as much time as I could trying to learn from him and his technicians as I could. Unfortunately I have not yet had the chance to go to a post secondary school, I did however fall into a very well paying job in sales with medical supplies. Here I truely learned the skill of selling, and working with people, and this is where I decided that sales is what I wanted to excel in as long as it had to do with technology somehow. Unfortunately I left this company for several reasons, and found myself bouncing around various sales positions for the next couple years. Last year I luckely located my current position, and haven't been happier since. I am now with an interconnect in Waterdown, Ontario, named Instatel Communications.

Part 2 - Business

With Instatel I am classified as a consultant and Account Manager. Here I spend my days mainly educating local businesses on up to date telephone and networking solutions, and work with my current clients with whatever they may need. Instatel specializes in Panasonic, Toshiba, and Nortel phone equipment, and due to the length of the list, I will touch base on our data products in a later post. Although most people in the average public look at the phone sitting on their desk, and think nothing of the technology behind it, believing it is no different then the phones they have at home, in all reality this isn't true. The truth is I spend most of my days, nights, and any other time I have constantly trying to keep up to date myself on all the new released technology, and learning learning learning. Cables, phones, phone systems, and every other piece of the puzzle is changing monthly, the regulations are changing monthly, and that is why working with an interconnect and a personal consultant is so essential, the average person doesn't have the time to invest in learning all this on their own.

Part 3 - Goals of this blog

A quick note of the intentions of this blog. I hope that people will be able to read this blog, and potentially educate themselves as to their current equipment, other equipment, and new equipment coming to the market in the future. I plan on doing a few small post introducing the equipment I work with on a regular bases, and later begin to talk about the daily situations I am in, in hoping that you can relate to these stories. Lastly I am hoping that enough people will be interested in what I am writing about to be able to interact, comment, and ask questions and this can then become an easy, free tool for you to come to and get the answers you need that you would otherwise have to pay for.



Thank you for your interest in this blog, and I intend on posting daily from this point on, and I hope you enjoy.

Sincerely,

Justin Hawes