Problem with Brinks Home Security and Vonage

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 2

Hi all,

I have searched through the various posts about getting a home security system working with Vonage and haven't seen a resolution the the particular issue I am having..
The system works.. I can send a test call from my panel and the test results in a success. One thing that is happening though, is that the alarm system keeps trying to dial out to the 800 number to update the panel (time synch). It tries to call at random times but appears to not be successful. (as evidenced by the incorrect times on the panels and the fact that it is still dialing out) One annoying part is that it dials out during times when we are using the phone. It siezes the line (and our call gets dropped) and does its thing. I've seen well over 40 calls placed to the 800 number. I called Brinks and we (along with Vonage) went through the steps of reducing the packetization to 10 but the problem persists (plus the bandwidth setting is maxed at 90). The only thing I've been told is to throttle bandwidth (presumably on the Voip router) from 256 to 192 kbps. I have no idea what this will do to correct this issue (I'm a network engineer so I have some understanding of IP networks). I'll be calling Vonage tonight when I get home to discuss this with them but I thought I'd ask here first. Has anyone had similar experiences? If so, have you found a solution?

Posts: 8 · New Forum Member Joined: Apr 06, 2004 Posts: 8

I have had the same problem, I signed up with Vonage, and for 4 mouths it work without a problem.. Then would not work again, spent several hours/days/weeks on the phone with both Vonage and alarm co... even changed out the VT..

Gave up!!!
I had to go to back to POTS just for the alarm, I got a line SBC called F4, metered phone for $10.75 mo...

Since I pay the alarm once a year, a $15 mo (with tax) is will worth the peace of mine.. even had one alarm since then And was VERY glad to get the call for the Alarm co...

Stick with the POTs line until NET-I becomes cheaper ($600 for the unit)

BAT

Posts: 8 · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 9:14 am Post subject:

I have a Dish Network receiver that does the same thing. Viewing my bill I've found hundreds of calls to the same 800 number and it also interrupts me while talking. In addition to my main number I have a Vonage fax line. I hooked my receiver up to the fax port instead of the voice port and the receiver was able to dial out and do it's thing. For $10 a month I have a dedicated fax number and my receivers work. I'd prefer it to work on the main line though because the Dish receivers also provide caller ID to my TV screen and no one ever calls the fax number.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 2

IS there something special about hooking the line into the fax port on the Vonage device? If there is a specialness to the fax line, how can I emulate this on my Line 1 output (since I only have a single line). I'm trying to avoid having to buy a second line since if I do, it would be with the telco. I had read about using a *99 prefix? (I think it was *99). What does this do exactly?
Also, I determined what Vonage or Brinks was askign me to do. I modified the QOS for voice from 256 to 192kbps. I was told that at 256kbps, the connection might be overwhelming the Brinks end of the connection (which really makes no sense at all..) Anyway, I did this change and (as I expected) the problem continues...
I had read somewhere that Brinks needs to step down to 9600 baud for this to work correctly. Any thoughts / experiences with this approach? The really frustrating thing is that the alarm system works (tests = success) but the time synch (call home) is not working...

Posts: 8 · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 9:58 am Post subject:

When I test my receiver on my main line, I also get a "passed" result. I spent time with Dish tech support and Vonage tech support. From Vonage I was told the fax line is setup to handle purely data where as the main line needs the voice capability. I played with everything available like firmware and bandwidth settings and nothing made it work. I do this stuff at work but unfortunately I'm the pioneer within our corporation when it comes to Voip. I can tell you this. AVAYA and CISCO offer Voip solutions for business. I have an AVAYA system in work and our faxes and modems won't work over the network. They need copper. I understand CISCO has a device that converts fax and modem data to acceptable data for use over the LAN but, can't tell you the cost or how to get one. The point is, these devices need to be handled differently then voice. Vonage has it figured out with their dedicated fax lines. I'm guessing the fax line settings provide much to slow transmission speeds to provide a decent QOS (quality of service) for voice.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 14, 2004 Posts: 2

Striiker
I am also in same boat. I hooked up my Vonage line to internal wiring in my home. After that I expected Brinks alarm to work as any other phone line. But I see Trouble light on the panel all the time. I send Test signals but they do not seem to get them. Now they are saying that it will cost 45$+ to send a technician to check it out.
Anything you find out about this will be help ful to me. Likewise I will also post my findings here.
Thanks

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 12, 2004 Posts: 1

Here's the deal:
I'm a tech with Brinks in the Seattle area. We are aware of the problems with our newer panels & Vonage. I personally have Vonage & am unable to get a panel to connect to the server, or get my Series 2 TiVo to connect for that matter. I have a call in to find out if there is anyway to slow down the modem in the new 3000C panel that we are currently installing. The older 2000 series panel used a modem that was 9600 or slower. I believe that the new panel runs at 28.8 & most everybody knows that nothing over 9600 will work with Vonage. I've called & talked to tech support at Vonage & am doing some testing to see if I can get something to work. Rumor has it that the Linksys adaptor MAY work better than the Motorola that Vonage was/is shipping. I'll do some more testing in the next couple days & post what I find.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 14, 2004 Posts: 2

Vonage tech support pointed me to following website:

http://www.vonage-forum.com/home-wiring-installation-guide.html

Posts: 12 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 12

This exact issue just started happening to me a couple days ago. I had the Brinks system installed about 5 months ago when I moved and it seemed to work fine for most of that time. Now its giving me problems with Vonage. It keeps dialing out an 800 number and reporting a problem ("trouble") on the alarm keypad. The test signal still works OK.

Please post if someone was able to resolve this. I really don't want to get a line from my local phone company (Sprint) as I think they are scammers! When I tried to get a line before moving into my current place (and before Vonage), I told them I just wanted a plain, simple line with no "extra features". I called 3 different times, and each time I was quoted 3 different "plain, simple lines". Each customer service rep said something different! The rep that quoted me the lowest amount said it was $21 and the rep with the priciest said $32. I STILL think there should be a basic line cheaper than that ($21).

Thanks for the info already given in this thread.

Posts: 12 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 12

captenblack wrote:

Please post if someone was able to resolve this. I really don't want to get a line from my local phone company (Sprint) as I think they are scammers! When I tried to get a line before moving into my current place (and before Vonage), I told them I just wanted a plain, simple line with no "extra features". I called 3 different times, and each time I was quoted 3 different "plain, simple lines". Each customer service rep said something different! The rep that quoted me the lowest amount said it was $21 and the rep with the priciest said $32. I STILL think there should be a basic line cheaper than that ($21).

PS- Does anybody have advice as to what to ask for when calling your local phone company for a basic line? Is there some terminology I'm not using that will get me the cheapest line? Just curious! If I remember correctly, I got the cheapest quote from a rep when I asked for a line "for my alarm system". I still think there are cheaper lines. Thanks for any ideas.