Work extension and tech upgrade

[james.wilson]

no buses to help out?

[Driller]

Hi guys,

 

I'm coming back to you with a bit of an update and to ask for a bit more of your expertise. Sorry if it's a bit of a ramble.

 

As far as the CCTV goes, AXIS is looking like a winner as long as it's going to be end user configurable which I need to look into as I don't want to skimp on quality.  If it's as easy to use as Techwin then there shouldn't be a problem.  Otherwise Techwin or whatever they call themselves now.

 

As for the internal pagingintercom/door entry system goes, the Aiphone stuff is crazy expensive and I mean mental!

 

For the 10-12 station system I need it would run into thousands.  For the IX/IS system its getting on for a grand for each station and the AX ain't much better but you can get audio only which brings it down a bit.  At any rate I estimate between £7000 and £14000 all in.  There is a more basic "dumb" intercom system they do (LEF) but the units are cheap plastic things that wouldn't look out of place in a  Starchy and Hutch episode.  They have no screen and are un-upgradable of course and even these cost £400-500 each, crazy!  There wouldn't be a staff member parked at each of these stations (except at reception) which will be used rather as communication access points for say 4 roaming staff members (assistants) whilst moving around the building which makes those prices even more unpalatable.

 

Why is this stuff so expensive?  

 

So as data diffusion suggested I've been looking at IP stuff and what a difference.  IP phones are modern and upgradable and have nice clear screens to interface with plus the GUIs are very clear and easy to use.  A suitable IP phone can be had for £50 and a PBX for less than £300.  SIP door door modules go for £300 to a £1000.  And all of this is highly flexible and user configurable and all in will come to no more than £1500!

 

So I have on a table in front of me an IP PBX, 3 IP phones, 2 door stations to test and a POE switch and a router.  I've set up the phones on the PBX and got some paging and intercom groups going-works like a charm! Also programmed some multicast paging groups. 

 

One of the door stations is a Grandstream GDS3710 but its got hard, unmoving  capacitance buttons.  The old dears and granddads who come to the door are going to get very confused when they try to push buttons that don't have any give.

 

The other one is a Doorbird D2102V which is quite snazzy.  Nice stainless front plate like an Aiphone with 720p camera and a sounder button that actually moves when you push it.  Additionally there's a great smartphone app so calls can be answered in iPhones etc

 

So the plan is to connect this to the intercom network with the IP phones and connect with the CCTV NVR to the camera to record the camera feed which will be displayed with a few other cams (carpark, waiting room) on a monitor next to the IP phone in each surgery or office and at reception.  For the moment I'll continue with our IP cloud telephony provider but if I can get my head sufficiently around VOIP (reading a lot of books right now) this may get transferred over and combines with the intercom system.

 

One little problem: the Doorbird IP door station absolutely needs to be able to have its video feed picked up by the CCTV NVR.  It connects to the network by plugging an RJ45 cable into a connector on the PCB.  Is there any reason why this wouldn't work?  To register it on the network I have to crack open a seal on a packet to get the MAC address but presumably if the seal is broken and it won't work as needed it can't be sent back.

 

It is SIP compatible so should be able to register with the SIP server in the PBX but in the manual it says that it calls to an IP address.  I'll have another look at the PBX but does any telecoms bod know if I should be able to forward an IP address call to an extension ring group?  Calling peer to peer to one IP phone is no good it needs to go to all if them.

 

Thanks for reading this far and sorry again for the long post. As ever any little gems you can pass on are most gratefully received.

 

Driller

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrHappy]

consumer products - eg an IP Phone are consumer electronics..... cheap & freely available

 

a 0.5mm drill from screwfix is quite cheap, a medical 0.5mm drill is quite pricey... 

[Driller]

Oh don't get me wrong, I absolutely get that. One implantology drill in an 8 drill set costs £70 and you can only use it 10 times before it has to be replaced.

 

My point was that even considering this commercial quality factor,  the Aiphone stuff seem very, very pricey for what it is.  Also, I'm not sure that office telephony stuff is exactly "consumer", more "in-between". 

 

Anyway, I may have over-emphasised this part of the subject...

Edited January 6, 2018 by Driller

[MrHappy]

you have an anlogue line(s) on this proposed IP PBX ?

[Driller]

If you mean "can you connect analogue devices to the PBX" then yes, it has 2 FXS ports.  Otherwise there will be 1 or 2 incoming analogue lines that I'll keep for lifeline's sake.

Edited January 6, 2018 by Driller

[MrHappy]

23 minutes ago, Driller said:

Otherwise there will be 1 or 2 incoming analogue lines that I'll keep for lifeline's sake.

 

being northern & poor... a £400 intercom for people to wear out or vandalise ?

 

I'd use a normal intercom with a PSTN interface, 

 

However I'd not expect a dental surgery to operate without a reception ?  

 

 

 

 

[Driller]

Where is Happyland BTW?  I've never been further North than Birmingham (I'm rather ashamed to say) but I have to get up there at one point, there are some who say it's beautiful part of the country ;-)

 

Actually it's more like like £600 for the door station but if it works as needed then it's a good investment.  No-one's vandalised the Aiphone DB I put in-yet.

 

When you say PSTN intercom do you mean a closed system that uses PSTN protocol or actually connected to an analogue internal phone system?  The phone system here is IP in the cloud so the second one won't work and it also needs to sound in and be controlled from each of about 12 rooms.

 

The surgery is in France and in France staff cost is huge.  As you may know in the UK employers NHS contribution is about 11% of an employees salary, in France it's 100% so 2 salaries paid for 1 employee.

 

Upshot is not enough staff and hence the reason they are "mobile".  This means that there is no 1 receptionist, rather an assistant comes to reception as and when needed (cameras very useful for this!).  

 

When the extension work is done and I take on more associates and  more staff (ouch) there may then be a permeant receptionist but even then dentists often work late here and with the 35 hour week no receptionist will stay this late so everyone in every room needs to be able to communicate with the front door an control access.

 

Compared to the cost of employing a dedicated receptionist a few grand is not a lot of dosh.

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by Driller

[Driller]

I think I found the answer. The Doorbird is ONVIF compatible so there should be no problem getting a feed to a ONVIF compatible NVR.

 

As far as the SIP thing goes, rather than set up the door station as an extension, it should be set up as a Peer Sip Trunk (in the same manner as connecting two PBXs) then it can be resolved to a ring group.

[Driller]

Howdy, time flies as they say! I thought I'd post here rather than starting a new thread.  This extension has taken rather more time and effort than I bargained for.  Just moved into the new part but loads of details to finish necessitating long hours and short nights.  Got the Doorbird up and running (really great kit, very configurable), extension to intruder and CCTV will be in shortly.  

 

Right now fitting a maglock (ML600) to a steel personnel door.  Never come up against this problem before: how do you fit this kind of thing to a hollow steel door considering the forces involved?  I don't fancy self tappers much as they have a tendancy to move over time.  Rivets would be fine but not long enough for the magnet part.  Would clinch nuts be the way to go?

 

 

Edited September 10, 2019 by Driller