VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[vox1]

Any opinions on best choice of long distance carrier relative to reliable ISDN connectivity?

There are a host of anomalies that we can encounter from time to time with ISDN.. Over the years I've run into periods involving random loss of Lock and Out-Of-Frame errors. Depending on region/ location of the receiving codec, LD carriers can make a difference.

I speak from 10+ yrs experience, complicated by being saddled with a Switched-56 circuit out of a C.O. whose Telco defiantly states will 'never' provision an ISDN circuit (with adamant support by my PUCO that 'they can do whatever they want'). Makes it more frustating when a nearby service area under a different local Telco is ISDN-capable... so it goes for some suburban semi-rural locations in our wonderfully deregged phone marketplace today.

ISDN issues can be anything from DSP cards in the codec to local-loop/central office circuits with bit error rate - and well-meaning but untrained field techs with nominal knowledge of how to troubleshoot this technology.

I'm lately in the hands of Frontier -(( formerly Verizon -- which couldn't wait to dump much of its landline business - and good riddance to them)).

As I'm so often required to do the Telco's job for them, I'm currently having a problem that recurs periodically - the intermittent drop-outs due to digital error 'spikes' and subsequent inability to maintain a solid lock with certain studios - it can be Telco circuit, my equipment, LD carrier... any one or all of these variables.. always a detective job

Happy to hear anyone's opinion on whether any particular LD carrier may be better than another when it comes to ISDN connectivity. Haven't revisited this aspect of things in some time this but can't rule out that piece of the puzzle.

For a while I played with the various 10-10+ dial-arounds to try different carriers and there were in fact differences in connection capability depending on the particular region/areacode we were working with at a given time.

Thanks much!

Mikee
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Mikey ... Vox-Versatiliti

Saying something since 1970-
something

[Deirdre]

Sprint, Baby.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[bobsouer]

+1 on Sprint.
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Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[Bruce]

Sprint has been fine for me, and as we've noted here in the past there are only three LD providers can consistently give you the "bandwidth" you need: Sprint, MCI, and AT&T.


B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[imaginator]

incoming line is at&t, but long distance is sprint.
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rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog

[JTVG]

What codec do you use? Does it happen on every call or just certain times with certain people? I'm no expert but I've seen some things...
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Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com

[vox1]

Hey all, thanks for the replies. You happily confirm that I chose the best LD carrier - I've been on Sprint LD with these lines for as long as I can remember.

Joe, I have had the same Zephyr Classic since the 'dawn' of the ISDN/VO era -
and enough repair cost into it for DSP card/component repair on it over the years to the point that it might as well be a new unit. Got my loaner next-day today (thanks as always to Mark, Ted and the Telos gang - and the fact that Cleveland is a fast UPS shipment to here) and so far no issues in loopback testing and will see how it fares in sessions tomorrow. This is always a process-of-elimination game. First have to get my box in for diagnostics...
if it checks out ok, probably Telco. Otherwise...another $1k(?)into 'fixing' it again; )

My problems through the years have always been too elusive for tech guys to 'see' immediately - random, intermittent digital spikes, losing a Lock or Sync for no apparent reason...or Bit Error-rate issues that can be just enough to cause framing problems yet the 'Loop' between my box and the local C.O. will appear as 'normal' and stable in stress tests by the techs... a very pesky technology this can be when you are in a suburban-rural setting with Telco bureaucracy that can be so very frustrating to put it mildly. I can't blame the field repair guys who are given nominal training to deal with data circuits vs. residential POTS or DSL.

I will say I'm actually feeling more 'love' for Frontier than Verizon so far.
Management seems to actually give a damn. Time will tell.

Now if I can just decipher "who" the right "management" is supposed to be for my area. Yet another part of the challenge.

Thanks,

M
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Mikey ... Vox-Versatiliti

Saying something since 1970-
something

[JTVG]

I'm with you man. I've done many a shipment to Telos with fingers crossed.
My black Zephyr ate a hole in my pocket with the amount of times I kept sending it back to Telos. The problems fit the description of yours. What Telos never mentioned and I learned later from others is that the box is susceptible to overheating and that causes intermittent lock dropouts when used in a warm environment. Ultimately, I bought a Zephyr Xstream and never looked back. I've only had to send it in once for a firmware problem that was fixed with the latest update. Rock solid with no noisy fan and they're built to run a lot cooler.

Another interesting tidbit: I was recently testing my Xstream with a guy who has a Classic and was also getting lock dropouts from him. He mentioned his studio is always pretty warm.

My suggestion? Sell it on Ebay and get an Xstream.
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Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com

[vox1]