I am responsible for maintenance of three 10 story residential condominium buildings in Florida. Each has two traction elevators with emergency phones, requiring a toltal of six dedicated phone lines. Would it be possible to combine any of these phones to our complex to reduce the number of dedicated phone lines required?

-- Hubert Johnson (venice9999@aol.com), July 08, 2004

Answers

The phone companies really ding you for each line and I can understand why you want to look into this $60 per month per phone out here. Need to know what year job was installed because the older codes permited sharing lines and some jobs have one phone line with extensions. The best thing to do is to call any elevator emerg phone co and ask that question, they know thats there bussiness and it wont cost you anything. My favorite phone is PSI or Wurtec emergency phones for new but find out what phones you have and call that mfg.most companies are very helpful, they even make emergency phones that use cell phones. Jim

-- Jim (elevator555@hotmail.com), July 08, 2004.

Hubert, try Electronic micro systems. The provide hands free phones and carry a device called a consolidater. It allows several phones to be used on the same phone line and is code compliant. drawback it may require you to change your phones depending on the type you have, they can explain.

good luck

-- (elvtech@hotmail.com), July 14, 2004.

There are companies in the uk that have products which can have more than one lift on one phone line, with programed software which isolates the unit, so you know which lift alarm has triggered and can have a voice link to it. I don't the code restrictions in Florida but maybe they have a operation in the states? Try www.liftbits.com for Windcrest autodailer units, their latest unit can have computer interface called Lift Alert 2000. Also a compamy called Memco do an autodailer, part of the Kone group www.memco.co.uk look under telephones and loops. Hope This helps mole.......

-- mole (moleelevators@yahoo.com), July 18, 2004.

Hubert,

Sorry for the late answer.

K-Tech manufactures a phone with a built in consolidator. We can usually put up to 6 phones on a line although there are practical reasons for keeping buildings on the same phone line.

If you have not already solved your problem, please give me a call at 1-800-993-9399, or ask you elvator maintenance company about K- Tech phones.

Chris

-- Chris Zarzycki (czarzycki@ktechonline.com), October 25, 2004.