VT2542 with Simon Home Security System Drops Incoming Calls

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 28, 2005 Posts: 3

About a year ago, I moved into a new home that had a GE Simon Alarm System already installed. I already had Vonage and I have no desire to sign up for a home land line because of bad experiences with Qwest. For home insurance, I was offered a significant discount if I signed up for a centrally monitored security system. So I called our local utility company that also offers security system monitoring to ask if they had some solution that supported those with Voip. They sent out a technician that actually connected my home telephone wiring to Vonage adapter and it worked great, every test I did over the past year worked flawlessly.

However, recently I started experiencing some of the common problems that have been reported with my router/phone adapter(WRTP54G) such as router freezing, slow internet connection, packet loses, lost connection, and I had to reboot the device almost daily. However, as long as the internet connection was active, the phone still continued to work fine.

The network problems were annoying and I eventually got fed up and upgraded to the Motoroal VT2542, my network is working the way it should be and I now have a superfast connection. However, I am now having phone issues for incoming calls (outgoing calls work great 100% of the time). About 50% of the time when an incoming call is received, I'll get a quick ring or two and then nothing, the person making the call will either immediately be disconnected, or will hear some very loud static after a couple of rings.

I experimented and discovered if I disconnect the VT2542 from my home phone wiring the problem goes away. I've disconnected my phone from my home wiring so the only thing connected was the security system and the problem exists, so for some reason it isn't playing well with my security system. Since my phone works without my security system, one may assume that my security system is at fault, yet the fact that it worked great with the WRTP54G for about a year leads me to believe that it has something to do with the VT2542. I should also note the problems exist only for incoming calls and the security system. All tests made with the security system and outgoing calls work great.

I have called and e-mail Vonage several times, they say they changed a couple of settings, we give it a try, it works 50% of the time, and when it does they say 'problem fixed' and hang up. But the problem inevitably returns. I have looked at the telephone NID and verified that all wires to the landlines have been disconnected, I have tried using a splitter to the phone adapter so one line goes directly to the phone, the other to the home wiring without any success.

Does anyone have any advice? I have searched long all over the 'net and can't find anyone with similar problems.

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

This is a total shot in the dark, but you could have a polarity issue. Phone systems are DC. Usually it doesn't matter which wire is positive and which is negative, but with security systems it sometimes does. If the technician got the polarity wrong, it might not have bothered the Linksys but does bother the Motorola.

Is there any way that you can check polarization? (A DC voltmeter would do nicely.) If not, do you have access to the wiring so that you can try switching it?

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 05, 2007 Posts: 3

Steve48,

Thanks for suggesting a polarity check. Today I activated monitoring on an Ademco Lynx security system. My Vonage call log showed two outgoing calls to the service center, but the tech didn't call back. I spotted your post and dug the polarity checker out of my toolbox. The polarity was reversed all through my house, through the distribution panel, through the RJ31X, all the way back to the line out ports on my WRTP54G TA! Eek

I never thought to recheck line polarity when I switched to Vonage.

When I called the monitoring center back, they confirmed the system check worked fine. FWIW I'm using an Ademco LYNXRPK-EN security system, a WRTP54G Vonage adapter, and Ocusafe/Criticom monitoring through safemart.com . I had to switch my service to the Line 2 port after a lightning strike last year.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 1

I've been trying to figure out myself how to hook up the monitoring to my security system via my Vonage connection as well. Back when I finally spliced the line for the security system and plugged it into the house wiring (after disconnecting my home from the phone company outside my house) my dial tone for normal voice calls via Vonage would go away. If I unplugged the cable from my sec sys, then the dial tone would return. I stopped pursuing things at this point thinking it just wasn't going to work.

It sounds like polarity may be my issue as well. How do I verify either way as I'm not 100% how to go about checking?

If I find out my polarity is reversed, how do I correct it? Just flip the green/red wires? If memory serves me correct - when I look at my sec panel - there's a total of 4 wires connected from the house wiring...not sure if they are all being used as I think only 2 wires are for voice. Are the 2nd pair being used for anything?

Any help to get this straight would be huge as the wife is not letting the house not being monitored go quietly.... LOL

Secondly - to allow my security sys to ride over the Vonage connection - is it necessary that I plug it directly into my phone adapter and pay for a 2nd line? Is it better to do it this way versus using the house wiring?

I have since stopped using my internal house wiring as for whatever reason...over the last year I couldn't get my dial tone to work....so I took my 5.4G phone base and plugged it directly into the phone adapter...not sure why my house wiring suddenly stopped working. No idea...needed the dial tone so stopped using that wiring. Could a fw upgrade have done it somehow?

Appreciate any insight from folks in this area...this would be a huge monkey off my back if I could get this workin properly!!

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

If you have a voltmeter, check the polarity on the red and green wires at one of the jacks. The green should be positive. If you don't have a voltmeter, then just try reversing it. Flip the red and green wires at the jack where you're plugging in the Vonage box, assuming that's how you're doing it.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 05, 2007 Posts: 3

khan59, your alarm system should be connected directly to the Vonage box, and your house phones should be connected to the alarm system (hence four wires to/from the alarm.) Double check the splice to the alarm system. There's a nice explanation of the splice you need to make at http://www.hometech.com/learn/rj31x.html#sec

Alarms are almost always wired up so the alarm can seize the phone line, using four wires to an 8 pin ethernet-looking RJ31X jack. The incoming land/Vonage line is connected to the two center pins of the jack, and the house phone(s) are connected to the two outside pins. When the alarm cable is not plugged in, the jack itself bridges the inside pins to the outside pins; when there's an alarm system plugged in, the alarm system bridges the pins unless/until it has to seize the line away from the house phones. To do that, the alarm system has to have a 4-wire cable leading to the RJ31X jack.

Go to Ace or Home Depot and pick up an inexpensive phone line tester. It should glow green when you plug it into your Vonage adapter, when you plug it into the RJ31X jack, and when you plug it into a house phone jack with or without the alarm system plugged into the RJ31X. If it glows red, the polarity is reversed somewhere. If it doesn't glow, something's not connected.
See http://www.acehardware.com/sm-gb-telephone-tester-line-gtt-200--pi-1292790.html