[UCIMC-Tech] [Imc-bookkeeper] telephone in b2p workroom not working

Sat Mar 5 18:23:01 CST 2011

Here's a little more detail from what I've read in Comcast's voice
documentation and what it means for our setup.

All our outgoing calls are routed through the cable modem, but essentially
the infrastructure inside the building is still on POTS. So this is the
reason why there's a phone cable from the south hall patch panel to the
modem in the boiler room, and once I trace the line going to the Finance
office, I'll better know how it's patched through the patch panel. I was
reading up on this today at the library.

I think your suspicion about the BTP phone being off since we switched to
Comcast voice is likely correct. Getting it corrected may have just slipped
through the communication cracks. Anyway, if we're not using the other line
for anything, I think the quickest, easiest solution would be to run the
second line to BTP, then junction it off to Bike Project. They would share
the second #, leaving the main # for upstairs.

In the longer term, we could easily set up an open source PBX on a server
placed in the boiler room. I know Josh had this in his grand plans for tech,
and I've been reading up on it today. Also have a friend that runs one at
his house & could tap his expertise. Also have quite a few new tech folks in
the Makerspace who might be interested in working on this.

I agree that we should find or make covers for the patch panels in the south
hall. Tenants do use them, for instance, C4A. There's a clearly labeled line
for their service.

On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 5:29 PM, Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net> wrote:

>  Chris,
> Thanks for playing sleuth. Here are a few more things.
>
> The main patch panel in the hall near the south door used to have a cover.
> My guess is that someone took it off, it got misplaced and then who knows?
> Unless it's sitting on top of those various boxes and was just missed.
>
> I can't quite figure out if the line between the VOIP Comcast modem is just
> left over from when the VOIP was installed and is not in use? Or if it
> actually connects the VOIP modem to the old phone panel near the south door
> for some reason I don't understand? I presume that there wouldn't be a
> reason to connect to the POTS since we have the VOIP bringing in things via
> cable. But since I know nothing about the VOIP modem, maybe it has to be
> connected to both cable and POTS?
>
> This also is making me wonder if the B2P phone has actually been down ever
> since we installed VOIP two years or so ago? That's entirely possible, but
> I'm amazed that no one noticed until now if that's the case. This would
> account for why the B2P phone is not working, because it was NEVER hooked up
> to the VOIP and that it's connection to the old phone panel was taken out of
> service after we dropped AT&T.
>
> 344-2536 sounds familiar, like it was the number of someone I know, but
> don't recall it ever being used by the IMC? I remember talking about having
> a fax line, but never that we actually did. Between getting old and the
> diss, I just don't trust my memory anymore, though :-(
>
> The old patch panel is used for AT&T service to other users in the
> building, AFAIK all tenants. So it is active. I just figured it was
> superseded by the Comcast VOIP for the IMC.
>
> The fancy phone network box in the boiler room is the PO's phone service.
> There's probably alarm stuff connected to it, too, so we should be cautious
> around it. I don't think anything in the hall near the south door is still
> used by the PO, but am not certain.
>
> It wouldn't hurt to extend 344-8820 to B2P, Bike Project, etc, but there is
> the potential for  people to leave phones off the hook, etc where it would
> interfere with its use upstairs. If it is the case that the B2P phone was
> never hooked up to VOIP, then maybe the lines can be spliced together to
> connect it to the VOIP? In any case, before we do that, let me check with
> Jamie in B2p to see if I can get to the bottom of when they last noticed the
> phone working.
> Mike
>
> On 3/5/2011 4:11 PM, Chris Ritzo wrote:
>
> I spent some time beginning to document the phone infrastructure situation
> in the building. I'm writing up my documentation on the imc wiki in the Tech
> Admin docs which is password secured to the tech group. Once it's complete
> I'm going to look at creating a Building Infrastructure section of the wiki
> which would be protected to IMC members & place it there.. I'll work with
> Leon on that- he may have started something already. This could also be a
> space for others to document infrastructure & building issues like the HVAC
> system for instance.
>
> Here's the rundown of what I found today:
>
> - We are indeed on Comcast Voice. The cable modem service terminates on the
> west wall of the boiler room. The cable modem has four phone ports, two of
> which are active, one which is in use currently. Both lines below were
> tested at the modem this morning and confirmed to be working.
>
> *Line #1: 217-344-8820*
> Active, in use phone line. This is the main number for the UC-IMC. The line
> plugged into the modem runs along the ceiling in the boiler room, through
> the maintenance room and along the basement east hall and terminates at the
> telephone patch panels near the south basement door. Every few feet or so,
> this gray cable is now marked with a green sharpie.
>
> The phone line terminating in the Books to Prisoners space runs through the
> wall, across the hallway and south to the same telephone patch panels. This
> cable is also gray and now is marked "BTP" in green marker in several places
> along the cable run.
>  **Somehow line #1 is patched to another cable run that terminates in the
> first floor Finance office.
> - *TO **D**O: this line needs to be traced back from the Finance office
>
> **Line #2: 217-344-2536*
> This is also an active line, though currently not in use. It may have been
> used in the past as a separate fax line? I plugged a phone into it at the
> cable modem and called my cell to confirm that it's working.
>
> ***SUGGESTION** - If this line is not in use, it could be used for BTP, or
> another purpose. *I'm posting this here because I'm not certain whether
> it's set aside for something or not. Tech group / others - can we talk
> consensus on what to do with this second line?
>
> *NEXT STEPS:*
> - Trace phone line going to Finance/Production and document
> - Re-patch cable running to BTP and test
>     - NOTE:  I don't have a clear understanding of how the phone patch
> panel is used to patch & connect lines. I'm doing some research, but if
> anyone has expertise...
>     - There are five large phone wire patching panels near the south door
> and another one or two in the boiler room.These are part of the OLD phone
> infrastructure of the post office and we've simply reused it. We can
> certainly continue to do so, though I think we should put a box over the
> patch panels after this.
>     - We could also go with something much simpler and re-wire using some
> standard phone junction box connectors at key points, eliminating the old
> patch panels. Thoughts on this???
>
> - Pending approval or whatever, we could run a phone line from the boiler
> room to BTP. Given security concerns on that end of the building, lines
> could also extend to the Family Room and the Bike Project.
> - I'll leave it up to Building/Finance to determine that. Tech can
> implement whatever is decided..
>
> A final aside, tech has been talking about rewiring/re-securing phone and
> data wiring for a while now. This is a longer term project- we have a
> functioning network where we need it, but want to take it to the next level,
> make it better looking more secure, etc. Just so folks are aware. It really
> won't impact people except will clean up the wiring cable tied around pipes,
> etc., and the network will be better documented for future techies. Brian
> Duggan's been doing a rad job of recruiting some new folks into the IMC who
> are tech-savvy, and it's my hope we can begin getting them involved in this
> initiative maybe by summer.
>
> ttfn -Chris
>
> On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 6:13 AM, Chris Ritzo <chris.ritzo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Not sure. I think there are just a lot ofwirea running around and the
>> phone stuff near the south file could have been snagged or pulled
>> inadvertently. I plan to do some more tracing sat. and try to map out the
>> lines so stuff is better documented.
>> On Mar 2, 2011 8:50 PM, "Mike Lehman" <rebelmike at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>>   Chris,
>> Well, that's interesting. I didn't look closely the other day because I
>> didn't have a light, but I thought things looked a little rough, even for
>> something at the IMC.
>>
>> Since I didn't look in detail, I'm just speculating, but...
>> Maybe someone was trying to steal copper and got interrupted?
>>
>> If so, yet another reason for improving security.
>> Mike
>>
>>
>>
>> On 3/2/2011 8:22 PM, Chris Ritzo wrote:
>>
>>
>> >
>> > I've taken an initial look at the phone situation and done a little
>> tracing and testing. There'...
>>
>> >
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