A question for Panasonic PBX owners

[Greg G.]

I know that this thread has been dormant for a while, but it seems like the place to ask a question about the Panasonic 616 (KX-T61610) that I just picked up used from ebay.
Thanks,
Nick

That's perfectly fine.  There's no law here against reviving dormant threads, it makes the board easier to search when there aren't multiple threads for the same question or subject.

[twocvbloke]

The "gunk" to me looks like some glue used to stabilise components, according to some electronics people, when it ages it can become conductive and cause weird problems if it's been slobbered over bare connections, if you get to keep the unit (ask for a partial refund, reason being is it's cheaper to keep it than it would be to return it due to shipping costs), scrape it off and clean the affected areas with isopropyl alcohol, that might do the trick if it's the sort of glue I'm thinking of...

[Nick in Manitou]

I have been offered a full refund by the seller and do not have to return the unit.

There is a Panasonic KX-TA824 offered locally for $100 (firm price) with 3 phones.  Would this unit do what I need it to do? Or should I go out looking for another 616?

[Nick in Manitou]

Maybe I should try another 616 unit from the same folks that sent me the last one?  Cheaper than most out there!

[unbeldi]

I have been offered a full refund by the seller and do not have to return the unit.

There is a Panasonic KX-TA824 offered locally for $100 (firm price) with 3 phones.  Would this unit do what I need it to do? Or should I go out looking for another 616?

That's the way it should be. These are really too old to ship around the country anymore when they don't work.
I think I commented on the KX-TA824 in the other thread already.  Seems like a good deal.  And being local you can probably test it out immediately.

[Nick in Manitou]

I have been so focused on the 616 that I had forgotten that I had asked about that KX-TA824 before.  Sorry about that.  (For others who might be wondering, that was reply #29 to the topic HELP!!!--We got U-Verse, now my rotaries won't dial out!)

Since all I really am looking for is getting the old phones to ring and being able to dial out, the KX-TA824 probably has features I will not need and is pricier than I would prefer to go...yet being local...

[unbeldi]

I have been so focused on the 616 that I had forgotten that I had asked about that KX-TA824 before.  Sorry about that.  (For others who might be wondering, that was reply #29 to the topic HELP!!!--We got U-Verse, now my rotaries won't dial out!

Since all I really am looking for is getting the old phones to ring and being able to dial out, the KX-TA824 probably has features I will not need and is pricier than I would prefer to go...yet being local...

That's probably the common notion among collectors and the reason for the KX-T308 and 616 being the recommended choice. They are cheap and provide a baseline of functionality.  You may want to call some telephone installers locally and ask if they have any sitting around.

[twocvbloke]

I think the KX-T308 and 616 are the go-to simply because they're plentiful, simple to use and don't need any special hardware to connect them up (unless you want to use british 3-wire telephones in which case you need to use master sockets or re-wire them to be 2-wire), other PBX units I've seen usually have punchdown terminals or need an amphenol cable breaking out (such as my Nortel system, but that has a breakout box included), which makes them less appealing in comparison to the plug & play Panasonics...

[TelePlay]

This could turn into a very good topic on certain repairs or attempts to repair Panasonic 616s and 308s.

xzzx- detailed repair-xzzx

[twocvbloke]

I received the 308 today that I bought last week, and it had issues with staying "online", opened it up and found some of that goop plastered round the ROM chip, scraped and peeled the stuff off and it's working fine, accepts programming, makes and receives calls, sits in standby perfectly happily, just shows that if there's brown goop, get it out of there!!

[unbeldi]

Very good!   that may very well be the problem with Nick's unit as well.  Goo such as that could very well become conductive over time. Perhaps his unit's problem is simply that a signal is shorted out so that the amplifier is malfunctioning.

[Nick in Manitou]

That the removal of "brown goop" can enhance the operation of these units is heartening news!

The seller of the unit I received was very prompt to give me a refund.  I did not have to return the unit to him, so I will try the "brown goop" removal treatment when I get a chance.  I will post the results here when I have them!

Nick

[twocvbloke]

I've watched a few Aussie50 videos on youtube and when he's had old electronics, he's always complained about the glue they used to secure components, as it does indeed become conductive over time as it breaks down, wouldn't surprise me if a lot of vintage electricals and electronics these days are dead simply because of the gunk they used, obviously they weren't to know back then when they were using the stuff, but then again, they probably never envisaged their products lasting so long...

[compubit]

I "inherited" a Kx-TA624 from my office (for a bag of candy). It was leftover from a satellite office (pre VOIP) that has long since closed.

Right now I'm using it to test old and "new to me" phones (getting back I to the collecting game). The default programming appears to be fairly usable on my end (Ports 1-24 default to extensions 101-124 - but can be changed to any 3 digit number starting with "1" with a Panasonic Key phone (the unit came with one). the nice thing is that I can program specific extensions to ring depending on which incoming line is being used, as well as select which trunk line I want to go out: 9 pulls the first available, but 81-86 go to specific lines - which will be helpful once I get my VoIP setup running (and try to connect to C*NET, but that's down the road...)

Jim

[unbeldi]

I "inherited" a Kx-TA624 from my office (for a bag of candy). It was leftover from a satellite office (pre VOIP) that has long since closed.

Right now I'm using it to test old and "new to me" phones (getting back I to the collecting game). The default programming appears to be fairly usable on my end (Ports 1-24 default to extensions 101-124 - but can be changed to any 3 digit number starting with "1" with a Panasonic Key phone (the unit came with one). the nice thing is that I can program specific extensions to ring depending on which incoming line is being used, as well as select which trunk line I want to go out: 9 pulls the first available, but 81-86 go to specific lines - which will be helpful once I get my VoIP setup running (and try to connect to C*NET, but that's down the road...)

Jim

Very nice.  These units of the KX-TA series have a few more features than those we usually discuss here. Sounds like you have a fully equipped version with its complete supplement of plug-in cards. Happy switching!