Talkaphone EC-8 User Manual

®

Installation & Operation Manual for

EC-8 Phone Line Consolidator

For Use With Talk-A-Phone Hands-Free Emergency Phones

Section

Getting Started 2
Hardware Installation 3
Software Programming 5
Operation 8
Frequently Asked Questions 9
Basic Trouble-Shooting 11
Talk-A-Phone Co. Limited Warranty 12
FCC Information 13
Phone Line Specifications 14
Information to the User 15

Page

Quick Programming and Setup Guide on Page 5

Talk-A-Phone Co. Rev. 11-30-09

7530 North Natchez Avenue • Niles, Illinois 60714-3804
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail] http://www.talkaphone.com

All Specifications and other information are subject to change without notice. © 2009 Talk-A-Phone Co. All rights reserved.

I. Getting Started

A. Introduction

Thank you for your purchase of this Model EC-8 Phone Line Consolidator.
This unit is built with an exceptional standard of quality and should provide
years of reliable service.

This manual will guide you through the installation of this unit and provide
comprehensive operating instructions. Please read this instruction manual
COMPLETELY before you install this unit.

Once you have installed the unit and are familiar with its operation, store this
manual in an accessible location for future reference.

B. What Is In The Box

• One Phone Line Consolidator with Auxiliary Output Cable

• One Owner Information Card

• One Power Supply

• One Instruction Manual

You should inspect your Phone Line Consolidator when you open the box for
possible damage in shipment. If it is damaged, or any of the components are
missing, contact your Talk-A-Phone Co. distributor immediately. Do not
discard any hardware or packing material before you are certain you have all
the items listed above, and the unit is installed and functioning correctly.

C. Technical Requirements

 120V AC 60Hz power source with output of 24V DC (Model ETP-UPS is

strongly recommended as a back-up power supply)

 Maximum impedance between the emergency phones and the EC-8 is 25

Ohms. Maximum cable length will vary with gauge (see FAQ, page 9)

For Local Mode only:

 Standard touch-tone telephone.

For Remote Mode or Day/Night Mode:

 Dedicated P.O.T.S. type phone company line or Analog PBX line—you

must know if your phone is on a PBX before you begin programming.

If connected to a PBX, your extension must provide:

 at least 24 Volts at 20 mA off-hook (no current is drawn on-hook)
 either a disconnect pulse (voltage drop at end of call) or 30-seconds

of silence after hang-up (no re-order or howler feature)

 If connected to a P.O.T.S. line, there must be no special features, such as

hook-flash, call-waiting, auto-redial when busy or voice-mail. If the
telephone company has activated any such features, contact them to have
these features turned off.

Page 2 of 16 Talk-A-Phone Co.

II. Hardware Installation

A. Providing Power

Connect the power supply to the EC-8, then plug the Power Supply into an
electrical outlet or UPS that supplies 120VAC 60HZ. Note: without a UPS,
Emergency/Information phones connected to the EC-8 will not function in the
event of a power failure.

B. Connecting Emergency/Information Phones

Up to 8 Talk-A-Phone Co. Emergency/Information Phones may be connected
to your EC-8. To do so, simply plug the RJ11 connector from the phone into the
appropriate port on your EC-8.

Talk-A-Phone offers a punch-down block, Model ETP-DMRK, for conveniently
connecting your phones to an EC-8.

C. Local Mode

In Local Mode, pressing the button on any of the Emergency/Information
phones will cause a standard touch-tone telephone to ring.

For this configuration, connect a telephone to the LOCAL PHONE port on the
EC-8. If desired, two touch-tone phones can be connected in parallel to the
Local Phone port by using a telephone-type “Y” adapter.

D. Remote Mode

In Remote Mode, pressing the button on any of the Emergency/Information
phones will cause them to access a phone line to dial out.

For this configuration, connect an outside phone line to the TELCO IN port on
the consolidator. (Note: See Technical Requirements, page 3, for phone line
requirements. DO NOT plug a phone company phone line or PBX extension
line into the LOCAL PHONE port as damage will result.)

E. Day/Night Mode

Day/Night Mode is primarily used when a facility has a guard on-site during
the day but not at night. It may also be used in any situation where the guard
station is not always manned.

When an emergency/information phone calls and the EC-8 is in Day/Night
mode, it will ring the local phone first, ring it a second time if no one answers
the first time, then if no one answers the second time it will dial a remote
number. If no one should answer the remote number, it will re-ring the local
phone and continue this cycle until either the phone is answered or times out
(see Emergency Phone manual for information on setting the time-out.) When
a guard leaves for the night, she can enter the code *36* to configure the EC-8 to

Hardware Installation

Talk-A-Phone Co. Page 3 of 16

Hardware Installation

ring the remote phone first and then switch to the local phone (see Software
Programming, page 6).

For this configuration, a standard touch-tone telephone is connected to the
Local Phone port on the EC-8. If desired, two touch-tone telephones can be
connected in parallel to the Local Phone port by using a telephone-type “Y”
adapter. Then connect an outside phone line to the TELCO IN port on the
consolidator. (Note: See Technical Requirements, page 3, for phone line
requirements. DO NOT plug a phone company phone line or PBX extension
line into the LOCAL PHONE port as damage will result.)

F. Sharing a Phone Line

Another telephone instrument (e.g. fax , modem, standard telephone, etc.) can
share the outside phone line with the EC-8 by connecting the outside phone
line to the “TELCO IN” port on the EC-8 and connecting the telephone
instrument sharing the line to the “TELCO OUT” port. Be sure to set the EC-8
not to answer before your other device picks up (or, if sharing with a standard
telephone, be sure to allow enough rings for the person answering the phone to
pick up). Note: The other device sharing the line should not be emergency
equipment of any kind.

G. Mounting the EC-8

The consolidator can be mounted on the wall using the tabs with keyslots on
each side, or it can lie on a flat surface.

H. Connecting Auxiliary Devices

Extending from the top of the unit is a white connector with three wires:
purple, red and yellow. These wires provide two dry contact closures to enable
activation of a relay for turning on accessory devices indicating that a call is
coming in to the Consolidator, as well as the ability to separately activate a
relay when the call is answered, such as a flasher/siren or a recording device.
(Contact Talk-A-Phone Technical Support for additional assistance in
connecting relays.)

When an Emergency Phone call is received at the Consolidator, a connection
will occur between the red and violet wires (normally open). When the call is
answered at the Consolidator, the red and yellow wires (normally closed) are
also connected. In this way, one or more devices can be activated through
appropriate relays when the Consolidator is receiving calls, and one or more of
them can be turned off when the call is answered. All three lines go “open”
when the Consolidator has completed all activity (all calls answered).

Page 4 of 16 Talk-A-Phone Co.

III. Software Programming

A. Quick Programming and Set-Up Guide

In order to program your Emergency Phone System, you must program your
EC-8 Consolidator AND your Emergency Phones. While it is recommended
that you read the complete instructions below before you begin, the following
quick guide will serve most applications.

1. Connect a phone line or analog PBX extension to the port labled TELCO
LINE IN, or connect a standard telephone to the port labeled LOCAL
PHONE (or both). NOTE: Do not plug a phone line into the LOCAL
PHONE port or damage will result.

2. Connect Talk-A-Phone Emergency/Information phones to ports 1-8.

3. To program the EC-8, either lift the handset of the phone connected to the

LOCAL PHONE port or dial the phone number connected to the TELCO
LINE IN port. The EC-8 will answer with three beeps. Enter codes with the
keypad of your phone. The Consolidator will respond with 1 beep if the
command was completed successfully or 2 beeps if an error was detected.

4. If you plugged a standard telephone company line into the TELCO LINE IN

and you are not using the LOCAL PHONE port, you do not need to
program the EC-8. Skip to step 9 to program the Emergency Phones.

5. Enter the Consolidator Access Code: *31**

6. If an analog PBX line is connected to the TELCO LINE IN port, enter *39*2*

7. To route emergency phone calls to the LOCAL PHONE port only, enter *37*

8. To have emergency phone calls alternate between TELCO LINE IN and

LOCAL PHONE, enter *63*. Then enter *35* to call LOCAL PHONE first or
*36* to call TELCO LINE IN first.

9. Enter *4X* to route to port X on the EC-8 to program you emergency phone.

See the Emergency Phone Manual for further instructions.

B. Detailed Programming Information

To program the EC-8 Consolidator, call it by either dialing the phone number
of the line connected to the TELCO IN port or by lifting the handset of the
standard telephone plugged into the LOCAL PHONE port. In either case, the
EC-8 will respond with three beeps. The Consolidator will respond to all
programming requests in one of two ways:

1 Beep Command completed successfully
2 Beeps Error(s) detected

If you hear two beeps, enter the code again. If you hear two beeps a second
time, hang up and try again.

Software Programming

Talk-A-Phone Co. Page 5 of 16