The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
designated UTAM Inc. to manage the installation and
relocation of Unlicensed Personal Communication Services
(UPCS). This includes Norstar Companion Base Stations and
Portable Telephones.
Companion Base Stations
The radiated and conducted emissions of the Companion Base
Station radios must not exceed the requirements for digital
cordless telephones as outlined in FCC Part 15-subpart D
(DOC RSS-130 documents in Canada). Do not install the Base
Station in ducts, plenums, or hollow spaces used to transport
environmental air.
Note:
In Canada, Base Stations may be installed where the
duct, plenum or hollow space is created by a suspended
ceiling having lay-in panels or tiles, in accordance with
CE Handbook Rule 60-402.
Activation (U.S. only)
Wireless communication on a Companion system cannot be
activated until installation at its authorized location is verified
and approved by UTAM Inc. This system is equipped with an
automatic mechanism for disabling wireless operation in the
event it is moved outside the area where its operation has been
approved by UTAM Inc. This mechanism complies with FCC
requirements.
Do not connect the administration set or Base
Stations directly to a CO line.
Doing so may result in equipment damage.
The Norstar administration set and Base Stations
must not be used as off-premises equipment.
Installers must check the lightning surge arrestors at
the cable entry point to the building with special
attention to the grounding. Report any problems to
your telephone company in writing.
Do not install Norstar administration sets and Base
Stations outside of the building because they are not
lightning protected.
Norstar Companion provides mobility in the workplace. With
Companion, your telephone can go with you, allowing you to
make and receive calls while on the move. Calls that used to
ring just at your desk can also appear and ring at your portable
(this is called twinning). Twinning works provided that the
portable is assigned the desk telephone DN as an Answer DN.
Wireless twinning is improved by assigning the same answer
key to your Norstar desk telephone and to your wireless
portable telephone.
The portable telephones can access most Norstar business
features such as call forward, call transfer, conferencing, and
voice mail. Companion on Norstar consists of four main
components:
ICS and Norstar XC software
manages the telephone traffic between Companion Base
Stations and portable telephones. Base Stations are connected
to the ICS in the same way as Norstar sets. Companion
portable telephones are registered on the system and do not
take up any ports on the system. Up to 60 portable telephones
and up to 32 Base Stations (32 cells) can be connected to the
system.
Companion Base Stations
throughout the coverage area to send and receive calls between
the portable telephones and the ICS. The Base Stations use
advanced digital radio technology and support handoff and
roaming within the coverage area which can be up to 160,000
square meters (three million square feet) when using the
maximum number of Base Stations.
Before the Base Stations can be used in the United States,
UTAM codes must be obtained and entered using an
administration terminal or Norstar Remote Utilities (NRU).
See “Software keys (U.S. only)” on page 68 for more detailed
information.
Companion Portable Telephones
- The portable telephones
used with your Norstar system are small, lightweight units
with fully digital performance to provide clear voice quality.
Companion portable telephones feature a three line, 16character, alphanumeric display. For more information on the
portable used with your MICS XC system, refer to the
Companion Portable Telephone User Guide
that is supplied
with it.
Before the portables can be used in the United States, portable
credits must be obtained. See “Software keys (U.S. only)” on
page 68
Administration and Maintenance Tools
- Programming of
the Companion system is easily and quickly done through an
M7310 or M7324 digital telephone set. You can assign
portable telephones to the system, check Base Station
parameters, and enable and disable registration.
System programming can also be done using Norstar Remote
Utilities (NRU) software on a personal computer (PC).
Companion Diagnostic Software allows diagnostics to be run
on the wireless system and can be done either locally or
remotely via a PC.
Norstar Voice Mail
- If you are using Norstar Voice Mail
with your Companion system, Version 3.0 is recommended as
a minimum Voice Mail software version.
Norstar introduces Hunt Groups capability plus two new
features including two wireless call pickup features, Directed
Call Pickup and Group Pickup, and wireless Portable
Language Selection. Enhancements have been made to
wireless Call Forward No Answer and wireless Twinning.
For a complete list of other features supported on Companion
portables refer to the
Coordinator Guide
Hunt Groups
Your Norstar system now allows you to establish Hunt Groups
in your system. Hunt Groups are a group of Norstar sets that
can be called by a single directory number. The Hunt Groups
feature ensures calls are easily routed to the appropriate
people. For information about which features are affected by
Hunt Groups see the
Coordinator Guide
MICS-XC Norstar-Companion System
.
MICS-XC Norstar-Companion System
.
For information on how to program Hunt Groups see the
Modular ICS System Coordinator Guide
Wireless call pickup features
The wireless call pickup features allow portable handset users
to use a feature code to answer internal or external calls which
are ringing at other sets. Two types of wireless call pickup are
supported:
Directed Call Pickup
Directed Call Pickup allows you to answer any telephone that
is ringing in your Norstar system by entering a feature code
and specifying that set’s DN. For more information see the
MICS-XC Norstar-Companion System Coordinator Guide
Group Pickup
Group Pickup allows the portable user to answer a call ringing
on another set in the same pickup group by entering a feature
code. For more information see the
Companion System Coordinator Guide
MICS-XC Norstar-
.
Wireless Portable Language Selection
This feature allows you to change the language of the prompts
controlled by the ICS as they appear on the portable’s display,
including both the display prompts and voice prompts from
voice mail.
Norstar supports English, French and Spanish. For more
information see the
Coordinator Guide
MICS-XC Norstar-Companion System
.
.
Wireless Call Forward No Answer enhancement
This enhancement stops the Companion portable from ringing
when the call has been forwarded to its new destination. The
portable user can still answer the call, but it does not ring. For
more information see the
System Coordinator Guide
MICS-XC Norstar-Companion
.
Wireless Twinning enhancement
Wireless twinning is improved by assigning the same answer
key to your Norstar desk telephone and to your wireless
portable telephone.
Maximum number of Norstar Companion Base Stations on a system
mini
ICSSM3SM4SM7SM8SM13SM14
16
midimaximega
163216321632
Configuring expansion modules
With the addition of an Expansion Cartridge or a Combo
Cartridge in the ICS, you can add Trunk Modules and/or
Station Modules to increase your system capacity.
Previous users of the Norstar 0X32 system should note that the
Key Service Unit (KSU) has been renamed the Integrated
Communication System (ICS).
Installed in ICS
XC system
Combo cartridge (6-port +
Services) (maxi)
Combo and 6-port cartridges
(mega)
Two Combo cartridges (mega)612*12
Two 6-port cartridges (mega)612*12
*The last two ports are reserved for Companion use only.
Note:
For each type of expanded system above, Norstar
Additional modules allowed
TrunkStationMaximum
666
612*12
Companion capability is supported. For wireless
capability you must install MICS-XC software.
On a “mini” or non-expanded system, port 1 on the ICS
(station ports 101 to 132) is used for both Base Stations and
Norstar sets. No fiber ports are used since no Station Module
is required. Directly connect your Base Stations or Norstar sets
to port 1 on the ICS via a wiring distribution panel.
On a midi system
On midi and maxi systems, the highest numbered ports can be
used for
both
Base Stations and Norstar sets. Therefore, sets
and Base Stations can share the two highest numbered fiber
ports.
A system expanded to 4 ports (midi size) includes one 2-port
expansion cartridge with fiber ports numbered 3 and 4, and 1
and 2 on the ICS. The Base Stations
must
be physically
connected (via a Station Module) to fiber ports 3 and 4 only. If
only one Station Module supporting Base Stations is required,
connect it to the highest-numbered port (port 4).
A system expanded to 8 ports (maxi size) includes one 6-port
expansion cartridge with fiber ports numbered 3 to 8, and 1
and 2 on the ICS. The Base Stations
must
be physically
connected (via a Station Module) to fiber ports 7 and 8
only.There is a maximum number of two Station Modules per
Base Station. See “Six-port Expansion Cartridge with
Companion” on page 13.
If only one Station Module supporting Base Stations is
required, connect it to the highest-numbered port (port 8).
Tip -
If Both ports 7 and 8 are used for connecting
Station Modules supporting Base Stations, connect
Trunk Modules starting at port 6 and working down.
Connect Station Modules (for Norstar desk sets)
beginning at port 3 and working up.
Keep in mind that 10 station modules is the limit for regular
Norstar sets, and 2 station modules for Companion Base
Stations is the limit on an XC configuration.
For example, a system expanded to 14 ports (mega size)
includes two 6-port expansion cartridges with fiber ports
numbered 3 to 14 on the expansion cartridges, and 1 and 2 on
the ICS. The Base Stations must be physically connected to
fiber ports 13 and 14 only. See “12-port Expansion Cartridge
with Companion” on page 15.
Tip -
In the fully expanded mega configuration, Station
Modules 13 and 14 are reserved for Base Stations only.
Port 3 is the bottom fiber cable port on the
two-port and the six-port Expansion Cartridge in
slot 2. Port 9 is located on the leftmost Expansion
Cartridge in slot 1.
Installation planning is required for Base
Stations.
Before connecting any Station Modules required
for Base Stations, please see “Configuring
expansion modules” on page 10 for more
information on the installation rules involved.
In order to keep the default port and extension numbering,
connect Trunk Modules to the Expansion Cartridge beginning
at the top and working down; connect Station Modules to the
Expansion Cartridge beginning at the bottom and working up.
Installing Remote Power Interconnect (RPI) units
The RPI unit should have the DC backup power
supplied by a UL listed UPS.
The UPS should have an output voltage rating of 44 to
52 V DC, with a maximum fault current limit of 6 A to
protect the RPI’s output wiring. Otherwise, it may be
necessary to use class 1 wiring.
The RPI units must always be installed inside a
building.
The AC outlet powering the RPI should be installed near
the equipment and should be easily accessible.
The length of the RPI cord, from the outside surface of
the unit to the plug, should be a minimum of 1.3 m (4 1/
2 ft.) and a maximum of 4.6 m (15 ft.).
There are two versions of the RPI unit: the RPI-8 BIX UL,
which supports up to eight Base Stations; and the RPI-16 BIX
UL, which supports up to 16 Base Stations. Each RPI has a
connection board and either one (RPI-8 BIX UL) or two (RPI16 BIX UL) power supply units (PSUs). The maximum input
power consumption of an RPI is 240 W. If a UPS 48 V DC
backup source is used, the maximum input power requirement
of the RPI is 135 W.
You can upgrade an RPI-8 BIX UL to an RPI-16 BIX UL by
installing a second PSU to the RPI-8 BIX UL. See “Upgrading
an RPI-8 to an RPI-16” on page 111.
If RPIs are distributed throughout the site, the number and type
of RPIs depend on the placement and powering plan of the
Base Stations.
To determine how many Base Stations and how many PSUs
you need for the number of Base Stations, use the following
table:
1. Position the screw holes for the RPI using the dimensions
shown in the following figure.
RPI mounting holes
25 mm
(1 in.)
325 mm
(13 in.)
50 mm
(2 in.)
Keyholes
300 mm
(12 in.)
To provide adequate ventilation and to prevent
overheating, leave a clearance of at least 125 mm (5 in.)
around the RPI.
If you are mounting two RPIs, one above the other, leave
a clearance of at least 300 mm (12 in.) between them to
provide adequate ventilation and to prevent overheating.
Mount RPIs at least 300 mm (12 in.) from the ceiling.
2. Insert wall plugs in the holes.
3. Partially screw in two #10 50-mm (2-in.) screws for the
keyholes.
4. Open the hinged cover with a screwdriver by pushing in
and then down to release the catch on the right side. You
can remove the cover by lifting it off its hinges.
Opening the RPI cover
5. Hang the RPI on the two keyhole screws and tighten them.
6. Install the remaining two screws.
7. Feed the power cord through the bottom of the RPI and
route it through the clip and around the strain relief support
as shown in the following figure.
8. Route the power cord to the input power socket just to the
left of PSU 1. Connect the plug to the socket.
Note: Distinctive labeling of RPIs may help to diagnose any
Do not apply power to the RPI until its installation and
wiring are complete.
The RPI-8, which has only one power supply unit, has
grounding straps and plates fitted so it can be upgraded to an
RPI-16 (see illustration “RPI components”).
Wiring the RPI
Do not run unprotected power cables outdoors.
The maximum two-way DC loop resistance for power pairs,
including interconnections for each Base Station, is 90 ohms.
You need one or two power pairs between the RPI and the
Base Station, depending on the wire size of the power pairs
and the distance between the Base Station and the RPI.