Elk m1 phone installation

[hgupta1]

I finally got a phone line in the house (a vonage line), and decided to connect it to the ELk system. It looks more confusing than expected. What is that beige jack that came with the Elk? It looks like it fits an ethernet cable, not a phone cable. Am I supposed to use that?

Also, I don't have any regular phones (except a cheap one I got to test the vonage line). Are there any really great cordless phones out there worth buying?

Hemant

 

[WayneW]

That is an RJ31X jack and the Elk docs should provide information about it. Here is some more info. link

 

[Steve]

Yeah, the RJ31x essentially allows the M1 to seize (take over) the line (regardless of if someone in the house picks up a phone) so it can dial out to a monitoring company, etc.

The wiring diagram for it is on the panel cover or Page 7 of the Install manual. There is also more info on page 11. Martin at AO is using this with Vonage sucessfully, just keep in mind that if your power is out or broadband down, it will not get thru.

There are many good cordless phones out there, really depends on what you want - 900mhz, 2.4 or 5.8 Ghz - analog or digital, what features, etc. If using it with Voip voicemail you probably want one that can detect the dialtone stutter and has a message indicator light.

 

[Spanky]

I HAD Vonage for about a year and it worked well with the M1. The biggest grip I had was the Vonage Modem kept locking up and I had to recycle power on it almost every day. The Vonage was in line with my router and it shut down my internet connection. I have other friends that have not experienced the lockup problem. Maybe I had a bad Vonage Modem. Anyway, I went back to hardwire until I get whole house GSM.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

My vonage works fine both in the office and the house. I have the elk monitor the line and reset the router if it can't detect dial tone.

 

[hgupta1]

Thanks wayne, that link does clear up everything. I had looked in the install manual, but it wasn't really clear because the RJ31x jack had so many more wires than I needed.

I did set up a UPS just for my cable modem and vonage adapter in case of a power outage. Now I just have to worry about my internet going out (happens more often than I would like).

By the way, the dual wan router from hawkingtech that I bought a few months ago is junk (I was going to use my office nternet connection as a backup) Like the print server from Hawkingtech that I purchased, this one also failed within a few months.

 

[hgupta1]

I hooked up my vonage phone line to the elk, and signed up for service with nextalarm.com. This evening the keypad started emitting a beep about every 30 seconds. The keypad doesn't show any errors or anything, and it is still armed. I checked the log and it indicated that there was a telephone line fault trouble and line restore at about the time that the alarm started beeping.

For those of you with vonage lines, Should I be concerned or is this normal behavior?

 

[v1rtu0s1ty]

That is an RJ31X jack and the Elk docs should provide information about it. Here is some more info. link

This is an awesome link about the description of the receptacle! It's nice that it also shows the conroller(Elk) I want to buy. Is Hometech an ELK authorized store?

Nice link!

 

[Steve]

That is an RJ31X jack and the Elk docs should provide information about it. Here is some more info. link

This is an awesome link about the description of the receptacle! It's nice that it also shows the conroller(Elk) I want to buy. Is Hometech an ELK authorized store?

Nice link!

Yes, that is a nice link with a good description, but in Elk's defense the diagram on the Hometech site is essentially the same as printed on the upper right side of the M1 cover. Elk really does give you all the needed documentation conveniently there on the cover. Don't know about Hometech, but IMHO Automated Outlet is one of the best places to buy Elk products.

 

[gacevich]

this link seems the most appropriate for the issue i am experiencing. i read thru the link and hooked up my wiring. with the RJ-31x unplugged, my phone works fine. i can both dial out and receive calls. however, when i plug in the RJ-31x connector (and the other end going to the M1) and use the *** code outlined in appendix B of the M1 install manual, i cannot connect to the M1. I have swapped blue and blue/wht wires from telco and going to house phone, but no joy. all different combinations of the blue and blue/white result in same outcome...no connection to the M1. Is there another way that i can test the M1 phone connection than trying to connect via the *** command from a house phone?

 

[Steve]

When the M1 is plugged in does the regular phone still work? Are you just thinking the M1 does not see dialtone? You can always write a quick rule for the M1 to dial out.

 

[gacevich]

When the M1 is plugged in does the regular phone still work? Are you just thinking the M1 does not see dialtone? You can always write a quick rule for the M1 to dial out.

steve, the phone works with the M1 plugged in and unplugged. i'll see if i can figure out how to write a rule to dial out. oddly, i had to disconnect the phone in order to do some other wiring and now i am getting a "phone fault" displayed at the keypads.

 

[Spanky]

Under Global Programming, make sure the M1 is enabled for local and remote telephone remote control. Otherwise the *** will not work.

Using the keypad under user menu 8, look at the last on hook voltage. It should be between 40 to 65 volts. If at zero, there is probably a wiring problem.

 

[gacevich]

Under Global Programming, make sure the M1 is enabled for local and remote telephone remote control. Otherwise the *** will not work.

Using the keypad under user menu 8, look at the last on hook voltage. It should be between 40 to 65 volts. If at zero, there is probably a wiring problem.

thanks, spanky. local and remote telephone remote control was not enabled. doh, it is now. one step forward, hit another wall. when i dial *** i now get the voice prompt "Please enter security code". i tried the default 4-digit code (which i have not changed yet) and i get no response until another voice prompt says "Hanging up, goodbye". this is the code that i should be using right? i tried the installer code and the RP Access Code...no joy for these either.

i gotta believe that the M1 can hear the key presses because it picks up after ***, and i know i am entering the codes correctly. is there another setting i have to toggle to get my code recognized? help?

 

[Steve]

You just use a regular user code.