atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Telephone Repairs & Equipment Northcom 1A3, no dial tone

i have had this system left over form my Satellite Business from years ago, i stopped using it because the handsets wasn't getting a dial tone. still powers up an the handsets have power also. any ideal on the issue?? i know its old but I'm handy with electronic and can use a solder iron. any suggestion on where to check and what to check?? thought i might us it if i get it working. Thanks Guys.

I haven't seen a 1A3 for YEARS!

You profile isn't filled out so I know your knowledge or skill level regarding trouble shooting your system. I don't want to talk down to you, but I also don't want to talk over your head either!

Do you have access to the manual? Page 8-2 section 800-25 shows the procedures for trouble shooting CO lines on your system.

no manual except standard use manual, was doing some checking just now. no dial tone to handsets but have dial tone on the power failure connection. i tried another extension still no dial tone an any line.

PM Sent

Up near the top of the page the drop down menu My Stuff is blinking, that means you have a Private Message.

Generally the scope of the forum is assistance with programming and troubleshooting that would be found in User Guides and Manuals. Replacing circuit boards and daughter-boards, but soldering components is out of the general scope of the forum.

Understand, not sure on the testing. not sure where to look on the board, i guess I'll just sell it for parts. kinda sucks i have 2 new phones that were never hooked up still packaged that i bought before the system went down.

If you can't get them up and running you can try ebay, craigslist or even...

https://usedphones.com/sell-phone-system-equipment/

Look at how much electronics have changed since 1985-ish when the 1A3 was generally still new.

Windows 1.0 was release...how much money would you spend for that OS running on a 386 machine (that was also a new release in 1985)?

I wouldn't expect getting much money selling one, but if you find someone in desperate need of one then it's all timing.

Don't forget that this is a two-pair system and it is polarity-sensitive. In addition, the second pair's polarity must be reversed, as in tip-yellow, ring-black.

From Table 4-1 on page 4-3

Ed I think, you might be thinking of the Inter-tel Premier ESP. They did indeed have the second pair reversed and if you didn't you just popped the fuse on the station card and brought all six phones down until you replace the 1A fuse.

I remember something about that, now that you mention it. When we first started getting mod-key 16's, GTE would send some 1 foot line cords for patching into the mod jack's on the connecting block. One end had a piece of red heat shrink on it to indicate it was wired with the reversal. So you wouldn't use it somewhere else by accident.

Jim

Yeah, it's been a while. I do remember those Goldstar flat pack KSUs having some kind of issue with polarity reversal on the second pair. Maybe it knocked out the paired station if reversed? I can't say for sure.

Re-hashing OLD thread about OLD phone system... but wasn't Northcom taking over/ merged with Intertel ??
I saw an old manual of theirs and they had a "Premiere" system and it's font was EXACTLY like Intertel's old Premiere system....

B.

Mittel brought Inter-Tel

It's also interesting is looking at the cover page. June 1984 the Northcom Premier NC-1648 and the Feb 1985 Northcom 1A3. The Premier is digital while the other is electronic.

North, and Northcom were products produced for the distribution unit of the United Telephone System. This company was called North Supply, later becoming Sprint/North Supply, then Embarq Logistics and finally KPG Logistics. All of these systems came from the same manufacturers, with the majority being Lucky Goldstar, later LG Electronics. They made systems marketed under many, many different name brands. The documentation similarities are because they were printed by the same source and just altered with the different brands' logos.

They didn't make systems for Inter-Tel or Mitel though.

Ah, the NC-1648. The second radio station I worked for installed one in 1985. I think I still remember the password to get into the setup menu. No one wanted the system when it was replaced, so it got scrapped.

Got replaced with a MICS about 15 years later (the MICS is still in service).

Professor Shadow...THAT'S THE MANUAL I WAS REFERENCING ..the name and font is INDENTICAL as stated in my initial post ---here is a "INTERTEL Premier" power supply.... these Intertel Premiere systems were almost identical to the Intertel GMX48...and had same power supplies...
Notice Premier font is IDENTICAL to Prof Shadow's pictured Northcom manual "Premier" .
I know this isn't critical stuff but just NEED CLOSURE!
Hence, once again why I thought the two companies merged / were affiliated.

SEE HERE> POWER SUPPLY

That power supply is for an ESP Premier 1224 / 2460. It was made by Intertel with North Supply's name on it. Nice system, 3-pair wiring, and don't even look cross-eyed at the blue pair or you will pop a fuse and take out 4 stations.

Was it 4 stations? I was thinking it was the whole card. We took over an account where over the years some people would reverse the first pair on the backboard while others reversed at the jack locations.

>POP< "Hey, my phone isn't working!"

Carry extra fuses!

It's been so long, I just googled it. 6 stations per card!! (hazy memory had 8) And yes, only one fuse for the whole card.

I started carrying a pair of fiberglass long nose pliers for bridge clips on the blocks, and a fuse insertion tool to replace the fuses without pulling the board.

Yeah, had to pound into the guys to terminate the jacks normally and reverse the jumper at the backboard, so didn't have to think about if it was an amphenol to modular adapter at the end of an old 25 pair run or a 3 pair cable on a jack.