Month: May 2016

Avaya Red (AT&T) 8434 Brochure

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The Museum is having a low in terms of new features. Here we go with, Stretch, Stretch and Stretch by finding something to fill up for the lost posts. I thought since the 8434 telephone from Avaya was one of the attractions to this site, that I’d post it’s brochure from the time I found deep on the Avaya hosts.

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The copyright is from 1994 from AT&T and it doesn’t indicate the DX suffix. The 7400s were well popular in the early 1990s. The most funny thing about the world of Avaya Red (then AT&T) was most phones used were within that decade from the mid 80s to mid 90s. Many Avaya Blue shops still had those wedge SL-1 telsets in production even past the 21st Century. The MET sets (that kinda had the resemblance the first gen SL1 sets) were made around the same time, mid 1970s. Not sure if AT&T had aggressive buyback offers or just simply those quasi digital sets couldn’t do things like multiple lines.

8434 bro 2

As much as I liked the 7400s because it shared the Merlin shell; the 7400s were kinda like the Ciscos of the 1980s. Overpriced and underperformed. Most first gen sets (made from 1984 to like 1988) had no ability for integrated speakerphone (known as listening only); displays were add ons, and it was known for its proprietary “R” handset and tactile buttons other than the dialpad. Volume was a dial wheel, as well as it’s display contrast. Isn’t that interesting, analog controllers to a digital telephone? By about 1988, the BIS (Built in Speakerphone) series appeared for both Merlin and System 75/85 users, as well as hard buttons for line and features, and models for call center and dedicated display (7406D and 7407.) For the people who didn’t like the futuristic looks, the 1990s came with something that resembled more like an “office telephone” – Enter the 8400 Series.

Similar to the whole AUDIX saga, AT&T’s documentation was very lousy from the 84 breakup to the Lucent spinoff. Because information is very scarce, I’m going to bet the 8400s were introduced to the market around 1993/94; and not 1990. If I am wrong on the year of introduction; then it would be safe to say; by that time; these sets were starting appear on desks as time went on.

To prevent the reader from being constantly bombarded with repetition of history, please click on this link for additional information

POTD: Whole Foods Market Bedford, New Hampshire

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In recent weeks, the world’s newest Whole Foods Market opened in Bedford, NH. Built on top of the legendary Wayfarer Inn (known more during the Primary Election years), it’s also within hundreds of feet of the now torn down Macy’s.

As proof from Joe the UCX Guy from Chicago, many Whole Foods stores are Cisco shops. Interestingly, the WFM in Nashua, just miles on the Everett Turnpike, is wired for TDM telephony using Toshiba’s Strata system (opened in 2014 to replace a former Market Basket.) Building was totally gutted and rebuilt mostly from the ground up.

The store in Bedford is mixed with 7942s and the 6902s at the cashier’s lane. Paging works, as teenage girls don’t know how to lower their octaves and learn how to page professionally.

The 7900s are still in the market, despite the more cheaper quality sets being deployed more and more. The 7900s are in a depreciation mode. Current generations are all multi lines, Java based and/or colored displays and I was surprised to see a 7942 because I believe its End of Sale.

I snapped two pictures, one showing how much characters you can use to describe your telephone extension. If the characters can’t fit on the top black colored indication bar, it will break the description up in two screens

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Personally, these devices are just “endpoints” – they are PCs acting as telephones. Sure Mitel, and Avaya and others sell the same thing (and acts the same way), but for sales people or the accountants, its just another device attached to the Internet and it shouldn’t be treated special like a office telephone. These phones are not easy to manage outside of expensive Cisco solutions or if you like to code and reverse engineer – be my guest! I feel like the 7900s were always a 2554 with Internet connectivity and a great audio quality of its SCCP signaling.

Other than that, Cisco just keeps on winning on selling “free” gear and report them as “profits” by smooching up to the CIOs and heads of IT departments at the Fortune 500 companies. You think I am kidding???