No Ring

Posts: 3 · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:16 pm Post subject: No Ring

I just installed my phone adapter linksys RT31P2 and I can make and receive call, however my phone doesn't ring. On my digital phone I see the light flash, Caller ID number and if I pick up the phone I can talk to the caller. On a analog phone connected directly to the adapter it chirps but does not actually ring. I talked to tech support and they tried to increase the ring current but that didn't help. Has anyone had this problem and is there a fix or should I get a new adapter?

Posts: 3198 · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 1:00 pm Post subject:

I had a problem where my GE phone would barely ring at all, and caller id would disappear after a split second. After Vonage upped the "voltage" (according to tech support) on my linksys, it works almost perfect now. (ring is a tad weird but never drops cid). unfortunately it sounds like they tried this for you already.
questions: what phone is it and how many phones do you have that are using Vonage? it could be an REN issue, but if there's just one phone probably not.

Posts: 78 · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 2:15 pm Post subject: Ring Voltages and frequencies

Standard ring in the United States, and North America for that matter is 90VAC at 20Hz.

Vonage ships the RT31P2 with ring set at 60VAC at 20Hz. When I hooked mine up my ancient (Well, 40's throug the 80's) phones wouldn't ring but chirp or ding instead. I put my scope on the line and saw the problem immediately.

Tried my 90's vintge AT&T phone with the electronic, non-mechanical ringer and called my Vonage number again. Rrrrriiiinng.

Tried the support 800 number - it's useless. I called the normal Vonage number and got through to support.

Supposedly setting the RT31P2 to normale 90VAC ring 'stresses' the unit according to the Vonage rep. I told him to crank it up and if it breaks, Vonage will simply have to send me a unit that doesn't have this flaw since the technical specs for the Linksys unit say it can go from 60VAC to 90VAC as well as varying the ring frequency.

It's been four months now and it still works fine, with the exception of that trademark Linksys hiss on the line.

I'm getting read to install Asterisk PBX as it supports both the SIP that Vonage uses and the G.711 codec they use right out of the box.
What will be interesting is to see if Vonage tries to bill me for SoftPhone services even though I'll be simply replacing their crappy Linksys modem with something a bit more robust, namely a cheapo PC with a NIC and a Digium FXS 3-port unit. I suppose I'll just put a sniffer on the line befor the Linksys unit and watch what it's doing. Encryption isn't an issue.

Posts: 227 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Dec 10, 2004 Posts: 227

altondw,
I also had this same issue and it was fixed by maxing out the ring voltage setting. They also said they had to adjust the "wave form" for the ringer. I would call them back as they may have only "incrementally" increased your line ring voltage. Ask them to up it either all the way or to incrementally do it and make them test it by calling you after the adjustment.

Posts: 3 · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:15 pm Post subject:

Thanks for all the feedback. I have requested a new unit but I will call back and ask them to raise the output voltage to max. Can you check the voltage level with a meter or do you have to use a scope?

Posts: 78 · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:38 pm Post subject: Meter vs. Scope

Sure, just set the meter to the correct AC range and measure away.

The nice thing about the scope is you can see the voltage over time, thereby you'll also see the frequency of the ring as well as the amplitude of the signal, etc.

Posts: 3 · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:28 pm Post subject:

Thanks, I just tested with a digital meter and the voltage peaked at 45 VAC. This is less that the 60VAC mentioned as the value for shipped units and no where near 90 VAC that the unit can put out. I guess it is going to take another long wait on hold to get them to raise the voltage to max.

Posts: 86 · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:34 pm Post subject:

I'd be happy to jack up the FXS Gain on my side.