Speaking of phone systems...

[Robert L Bass]

It's been years since my brief excursion into the interconnect world. My
business is growing much faster than I anticipated. I'm now in need of a
new telephone system. Calls come in at a rate of about one a minute lately.
I need 4 CO lines with expansion to 8 and 8 stations with expansion to 24
later.

Voice mail and auto attendant are essential. Integrated wireless,
multi-line stations would be ideal.

Any suggestions?

--
Regards,

Robert L Bass

===========================>
Bass Burglar Alarms
http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com
http://www.Bass-Home.com
===========================>

[Bob Dozier]

I high recommend the Avaya IP Office. PC/Server based voice mail and
auto attendant control and easy (GUI) auto attendant flow programming.
Price wise, in my opinion, it is not low end but it is not near as
costly as the Avaya Definity G3 we replaced with the IP Office. We had
the G3 for 5 years and the IP Office was one fifth the price of the G3.
Physically much smaller as well. Not including the server, the module
units are standard desktop design (about the size of a VCR) that are
3U rack mountable if desired. For our application, the IP Office does
far much more than the G3 did for us AND is much more user friendly.
The G3 could have maybe done more for us, but it was way too complicated
to configure ourselves and it cost an arm and a leg to have minor features
setup by our Avaya technician, which, by the way, we never have to call now.
It uses single pair digital stations and although we don't use VOIP, the
system is easily upgradeable to VOIP and I believe they can coexist.

We have had our IP Office in place for just over a year now with no problems
whatsoever. I'll be glad to answer any specific questions.

http://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/products/offers/ipoffice.htm

Here is a link to some user guides that may show you some of it's
features and ease of setup and configuration.

http://support.avaya.com/japple/css/japple?PAGE=avaya.css.DocList&temp.groupID=107529&temp.selectedFamily=129044&temp.selectedProduct=129487&temp.selectedRelease=153355&temp.selectedBucket=160257

--
__________________________________________________ ___________________
Bob Dozier
Apex 2000 Internet Services Corporation Phone: (432) 570-1676


"Robert L Bass" <RobertLBass@Comcast.net> wrote in message
news:0KCdnWl4rcsv-W_cRVn-rw@comcast.com...
> It's been years since my brief excursion into the interconnect world. My
> business is growing much faster than I anticipated. I'm now in need of a
> new telephone system. Calls come in at a rate of about one a minute
lately.
> I need 4 CO lines with expansion to 8 and 8 stations with expansion to 24
> later.
>
> Voice mail and auto attendant are essential. Integrated wireless,
> multi-line stations would be ideal.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Robert L Bass
>
> ===========================>
> Bass Burglar Alarms
> http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com
> http://www.Bass-Home.com
> ===========================>
>
>

[BruceR]

To get all of what you want in a fairly well integrated package I'd
suggest looking at the Panasonic line. As a dealer you'll have access to
some very good pricing and support. Once you have it and gain some
expertise with it you'll probably want to add it to your product line as
it's very friendly to HA DIY'ers. I've installed a number of them over
the years and they're pretty much bulletproof.

From:Robert L Bass
RobertLBass@Comcast.net

> It's been years since my brief excursion into the interconnect world.
> My business is growing much faster than I anticipated. I'm now in
> need of a new telephone system. Calls come in at a rate of about one
> a minute lately. I need 4 CO lines with expansion to 8 and 8 stations
> with expansion to 24 later.
>
> Voice mail and auto attendant are essential. Integrated wireless,
> multi-line stations would be ideal.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Robert L Bass
>
> ===========================>
> Bass Burglar Alarms
> http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com
> http://www.Bass-Home.com
> ===========================>

[L. M. Rappaport]

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 21:32:11 -0500, "Robert L Bass"
<RobertLBass@Comcast.net> wrote (with possible editing):

>It's been years since my brief excursion into the interconnect world. My
>business is growing much faster than I anticipated. I'm now in need of a
>new telephone system. Calls come in at a rate of about one a minute lately.
>I need 4 CO lines with expansion to 8 and 8 stations with expansion to 24
>later.
>
>Voice mail and auto attendant are essential. Integrated wireless,
>multi-line stations would be ideal.
>
>Any suggestions?

Panasonic KX-TD1232 does exactly what you want along with one of their
Voice Processing Systems. You can DIY or (better in my judgment) hire
a pro to install and program it if you're anywhere near one.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

[Robert L. Bass]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. The Avaya system looks pretty
interesting. I can order Panasonic at wholesale through ADI, too. As to
hiring someone, I prefer to DIY.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
2291 Pine View Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34231
877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
=============================>

[L. M. Rappaport]

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 13:36:44 -0500, "Robert L. Bass"
<robertlbass@comcast.net> wrote (with possible editing):

>Thanks to all for the suggestions. The Avaya system looks pretty
>interesting. I can order Panasonic at wholesale through ADI, too. As to
>hiring someone, I prefer to DIY.

Just a note to someone who I know has more than a little bit of
experience. I did the 1232 Panasonic system here myself - 4 lines, 32
extensions, CID, VPS, etc. While the wiring was trivial, and you
would find it so yourself, programming was a REAL PITA. It is not
intuitive, and took an inordinate amount of time. While I have the
complete manual set, there are mistakes in the manual. Panasonic does
not supply software except to certified dealers. You can sometimes
get it from others and there are two pieces of software - Voice Mail
Master and Programmator both written by a Russian programmer - which
will help a lot, but when you want to do something a bit obscure, it
becomes a real nuisance. (for example, leaving a message to a ghost
extension in the VPS and then turning on the "message waiting" light
on a group of unrelated extensions.) There is a mailing list for
Panasonic (KXT Help) where there are a few folks who are willing to
help you, and others who think they own the keys to the kingdom!

Good luck,
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

[Robert L. Bass]

Thanks Larry. You're right I have more than a little experience. However,
it's been quite a while since I did any telephone interconnect work and I'm
not up to date on the latest phone systems. The manuals to the smaller
Panasonic system I messed with several years ago were about as non-intuitive
and poorly written a POS as I've dealt with yet.

Maybe I'll take a deeper look at the Avaya. Thanks to all who offered
advice already. If anyone else has thoughts on this I'd be interested to
hear them.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
2291 Pine View Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34231
877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
=============================>

> Just a note to someone who I know has more than a little bit of
> experience. I did the 1232 Panasonic system here myself - 4 lines, 32
> extensions, CID, VPS, etc. While the wiring was trivial, and you
> would find it so yourself, programming was a REAL PITA. It is not
> intuitive, and took an inordinate amount of time. While I have the
> complete manual set, there are mistakes in the manual. Panasonic does
> not supply software except to certified dealers. You can sometimes
> get it from others and there are two pieces of software - Voice Mail
> Master and Programmator both written by a Russian programmer - which
> will help a lot, but when you want to do something a bit obscure, it
> becomes a real nuisance. (for example, leaving a message to a ghost
> extension in the VPS and then turning on the "message waiting" light
> on a group of unrelated extensions.) There is a mailing list for
> Panasonic (KXT Help) where there are a few folks who are willing to
> help you, and others who think they own the keys to the kingdom!

[BruceR]

Robert, Another brand that ADI sells is Vodavi. Haven't used them in
some time but they were always good and easy to install.

From:Robert L. Bass
robertlbass@comcast.net

> Thanks Larry. You're right I have more than a little experience.
> However, it's been quite a while since I did any telephone
> interconnect work and I'm not up to date on the latest phone systems.
> The manuals to the smaller Panasonic system I messed with several
> years ago were about as non-intuitive and poorly written a POS as
> I've dealt with yet.
> Maybe I'll take a deeper look at the Avaya. Thanks to all who offered
> advice already. If anyone else has thoughts on this I'd be
> interested to hear them.
>
> --
>
> Regards,
> Robert L Bass
>
> =============================>
> Bass Home Electronics
> 2291 Pine View Circle
> Sarasota · Florida · 34231
> 877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
> http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
> =============================>
>
>> Just a note to someone who I know has more than a little bit of
>> experience. I did the 1232 Panasonic system here myself - 4 lines,
>> 32 extensions, CID, VPS, etc. While the wiring was trivial, and you
>> would find it so yourself, programming was a REAL PITA. It is not
>> intuitive, and took an inordinate amount of time. While I have the
>> complete manual set, there are mistakes in the manual. Panasonic
>> does not supply software except to certified dealers. You can
>> sometimes get it from others and there are two pieces of software -
>> Voice Mail Master and Programmator both written by a Russian
>> programmer - which will help a lot, but when you want to do
>> something a bit obscure, it becomes a real nuisance. (for example,
>> leaving a message to a ghost extension in the VPS and then turning
>> on the "message waiting" light on a group of unrelated extensions.)
>> There is a mailing list for Panasonic (KXT Help) where there are a
>> few folks who are willing to help you, and others who think they own
>> the keys to the kingdom!

[Robert L. Bass]

> Robert, Another brand that ADI sells is Vodavi.
> Haven't used them in some time but they were
> always good and easy to install...

How is their auto attendant? I looked at them several years ago when a
client asked about them but he changed his plans so I didn't follow through.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
2291 Pine View Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34231
877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
=============================>

[BruceR]

You'd have to take a look at their latest stuff, which I haven't since I
don't sell or install anymore.

From:Robert L. Bass
robertlbass@comcast.net

>> Robert, Another brand that ADI sells is Vodavi.
>> Haven't used them in some time but they were
>> always good and easy to install...
>
> How is their auto attendant? I looked at them several years ago when
> a client asked about them but he changed his plans so I didn't follow
> through.
> --
>
> Regards,
> Robert L Bass
>
> =============================>
> Bass Home Electronics
> 2291 Pine View Circle
> Sarasota · Florida · 34231
> 877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
> http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
> =============================>

[Robert L. Bass]

> You'd have to take a look at their latest
> stuff, which I haven't since I don't sell
> or install anymore.

Thanks. I ordered a catalog and manual from one of my suppliers. Looks as
though their auto-attendant should work OK. I'll study it a bit and let you
know what I learn.

Much appreciation to all who posted.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
2291 Pine View Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34231
877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
=============================>

[Frank Olson]

"Robert L Bass" <RobertLBass@Comcast.net> wrote in message
news:0KCdnWl4rcsv-W_cRVn-rw@comcast.com...
> It's been years since my brief excursion into the interconnect world. My
> business is growing much faster than I anticipated. I'm now in need of a
> new telephone system. Calls come in at a rate of about one a minute
> lately.
> I need 4 CO lines with expansion to 8 and 8 stations with expansion to 24
> later.
>
> Voice mail and auto attendant are essential. Integrated wireless,
> multi-line stations would be ideal.
>
> Any suggestions?


Sure.

"Hello, you have reached the home/office of Bass Burglar Alarms, and Bass
Home Electronics. Your call is important to us, but owing to high call
volume and the fact that there's only one of us here (and he rarely responds
to email and may even be visiting relatives in Brazil), we are unable to
answer the phone personally and you may experience severely long "on hold"
periods or even a "busy" signal. May we suggest you visit
http://www.norcoalarms.com, http://www.tech-man.com/estore,
http://www.alarmcontacts.com, http://www.alarmsystemstore.com or
http://www.smarthomeusa.com while you're waiting. Thank you."

:-))

[Tyson]

I would also recommend the Avaya IP Office. It is very easy to program
and very powerful.. very flexible. If you want a live person to answer any
questions you can contact Jay Patel @ www.totalworxgroup.com . I worked with
Jay at my last job. He's extremely knowledgeable. Good luck.

~Tyson
NOBU, LLC.
130 McCormick
Suite 110
Costa Mesa, Ca 92626
http://www.nobuusa.com



"Robert L. Bass" <robertlbass@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:-9-dnThTnfbE3GXcRVn-rw@comcast.com...
> > You'd have to take a look at their latest
> > stuff, which I haven't since I don't sell
> > or install anymore.
>
> Thanks. I ordered a catalog and manual from one of my suppliers. Looks
as
> though their auto-attendant should work OK. I'll study it a bit and let
you
> know what I learn.
>
> Much appreciation to all who posted.
>
> --
>
> Regards,
> Robert L Bass
>
> =============================>
> Bass Home Electronics
> 2291 Pine View Circle
> Sarasota · Florida · 34231
> 877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
> http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
> =============================>
>
>
>