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JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

JackBauer to ITALIAN926

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Re: Verizon FIOS Battery Backup

Disagree on your mathematics comment.

I seriously was considering Freedom Essentials because its call quality would be superior to DV as it is not VOIP.

ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

1 edit

ITALIAN926

Member

Its not superior. No wiring changes, it comes out of your ONT in the same manner. The only real difference is you have to dial area code for outgoing calls. Oh, and you lose the ability to receive collect calls. Have no inmates in my family.

So if you want to keep a regular line, go ahead, but youre just donating money.
ITALIAN926

ITALIAN926 to JackBauer

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Disagree of the mathematics?

If its $6 a month in tax savings, thats $72 a year. Over a 4 year span thats $288. Whats the cost of a replacement BBU battery again?
PJL
join:2008-07-24
Long Beach, CA

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said by JackBauer:

Disagree on your mathematics comment.

I seriously was considering Freedom Essentials because its call quality would be superior to DV as it is not VOIP.

Yesterday we switched to Digital Voice. We've been with FiOS for over five years, so we had no commitments (either way) obviously and the price kept creeping up. So I checked the website and the same bundle (except with Digital Voice and an increase to 50/25 from 25/15 Internet) saved use $25 per month after the rebates for two years, plus the taxes and fees for POTS (most notably the Interstate Subscriber Charge). And honestly, the sound quality is better than our POTS services. The changeover was flawless, we have improved service -- and love the many new calling features that come with digital voice, not the least of which is on-line feature management via an Internet browser, a tablet/smart phone app, or the STB itself. All of our local calls are in speed dial (on the phone, not the system) so dialing ten digits is not an issue -- I just reprogrammed the numbers.
Oh and the battery thing (to get back to the original topic): we had a battery with POTS, and have it now with Digital Voice, and nothing changed -- including who replaces the battery after 1 year.
JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

JackBauer

Member

Talk to me in a year. You've had it one day.

I've had VOIP for probably ten years, and it's a love-hate relationship. Undoubtedly VZ would to a better job than 3rd party providers, and the features are an improvement (but still highly lacking with the 10 number block limit), but I'm very skeptical that DV actually will be better quality than FE.

Maybe I'm wrong - that does happen now and then.

And with respect to mathematics - I live in the lousy state of NY where they find the most insane ways to tax - just to waste it on some really insane programs... and I loathe it. My point is that paying a little bit more for assuring that I can use my fax machine, or that DTMF signals from my phone register properly with automated attendant systems, are worth a little bit of extra money. In NY it would probably be a lot more than $72/yr to be honest.

ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

ITALIAN926

Member

Jack, youre wrong on this one. Ive had DV over FiOS for about 3 years, not a single hiccup. You call Verizon for the switch, a few keystrokes and youre done. You might even be able to get into a new triple play promotion while youre at it.

PoloDude
Premium Member
join:2006-03-29
Aiken, SC

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Fios DV is NOT a voio product like majicjack or others. Any comparison to the is strictly wrong. There have been enough discussions here on what the differences are.
PJL
join:2008-07-24
Long Beach, CA

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said by JackBauer:

Talk to me in a year. You've had it one day.
...

I just put a reminder on my Outlooks. Back in a year.

Oh and did I mention that for three days in late December my POTS line could not make calls to certain numbers? Or when they were made either I could not hear the other party or they could not hear me? Some numbers worked, and some didn't. It was the entire POTS switch -- my neighbor had the same issue.
JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

JackBauer

Member

Um just so you know - I don't hate DV. Actually I hate a part of it, the 10 number block limit. Other than that - when I finally get FIOS shortly, I would move to DV. Yeah, that's right, I would dump my current VOIP provider and move to DV knowing that it would be better quality. I won't do that however because I have like 30+ phone numbers blocked. I loathe telemarketers.

But for everyone who says it's better than POTS, I'm sure there are people out there that say the opposite...

»forums.verizon.com/t5/Ho ··· p/300501

And that's just one thread, I could have posted quite a few more.

ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

ITALIAN926

Member

Is your house line on Verizon or another companies VoIP? Now things are getting confusing. I rarely get any telemarketers being on the do-not-call list.
»www.donotcall.gov/

I couldnt imagine having to block 10 numbers, let alone 30.

Rattler
join:2001-04-13
Havertown, PA

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said by JackBauer:

Disagree on your mathematics comment.

I seriously was considering Freedom Essentials because its call quality would be superior to DV as it is not VOIP.

When we were switched over from FiOS Freedom Essentials to DV, there was no change in quality but we certainly got more features w/ DV. Also, our monthly tax on phone service went down by ~$4.50 being offset by an increase of ~$1.00 for DV over FE. If you have FiOS, you can't get anything but DV when you change from an older package (at least that's what I've been told).

In response to NOYB's comment about V* being responsible for maintaining phone service through a power failure, IIRC, V* never guaranteed phone service, even with Copper/POTS. However, I feel that the BBU is V's equipment and it should be their responsibility to maintain all parts of it, including the battery. But that subject has been beaten to death here and it is in the TOS that the battery is the customer's resp after the 1-year warranty expires.

It used to be that if your FiOS TV remote went belly up, you'd call them and they'd send a new one free of charge (I've done it twice, in the distant past) - no more (unless you get a sympathetic CSR). Now, you have to purchase replacement remotes as well.

As an aside, I've often wondered if you could get a full-sized sealed vehicle battery (such as an OPTIMA AGM type), substitute it for the 7 AH battery in the BBU and get much longer than 8 hours of backup. I'm not talking about plugging it into the auxiliary battery port on the BBU (if one exists on your particular unit) but rather extending the normal connections for the internal battery. I'm just not sure if the charging circuitry in the BBU would handle the larger battery.

ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

ITALIAN926

Member

Ive wondered about the auxillary port on the BBU as well. Ive never seen a unit plugged into that thing, does something exist for it?

Back to the FioS DV Vs. FiOS POTS /regulated... in some states, Verizon may be mandated to supply a certain amount of battery backup. I dont think FiOS can circumvent that if its NOT FiOS Digital Voice.
JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

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WRT telemarketers...

Everything from my college annual fund solicitation, to TWC trying to sell me their phone product, to political solicitations and fundraisers... To people who ignore DNC.

Heck I probably have more than 30. Once someone calls, I screen, search google, and block if needed. They never get through again.

I've actually left the country for ten days and came back to not a single call while I was gone.
PJL
join:2008-07-24
Long Beach, CA

PJL

Member

said by JackBauer:

WRT telemarketers...

Everything from my college annual fund solicitation, to TWC trying to sell me their phone product, to political solicitations and fundraisers... To people who ignore DNC.

Heck I probably have more than 30. Once someone calls, I screen, search google, and block if needed. They never get through again.

I've actually left the country for ten days and came back to not a single call while I was gone.

I think having your phone number unlisted for 26 years also helps, in addition to being on the Do Not Call list. I rarely get marketing calls.

Rattler
join:2001-04-13
Havertown, PA

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said by ITALIAN926:

Ive wondered about the auxillary port on the BBU as well. Ive never seen a unit plugged into that thing, does something exist for it?

I'm not talking about the aux port as I think that it does NOT provide a charging voltage to a battery connected to it. I was talking about disconnecting the internal battery and reconnecting its leads to a larger, external one.

The Blue Top OPTIMA, D34M battery has a 55 AH rating (should give over 60 hours of backup), is sealed and I've been running a pair in my boat for over 6 years and one in my car for over 5. I keep the boat batteries on a smart charger over the Winter put-up season and they have been very reliable. I had them tested this past fall and they passed fine but are probably nearing the end of their service life.

There was a discussion about using the BBU aux port, a little while ago, and someone (birdfeeder? Polo Dude?) linked to a post about using it but I can't find it right now.
JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

JackBauer

Member

said by Rattler:

I keep the boat batteries on a smart charger over the Winter put-up season and they have been very reliable.

Which smart charger do you use?

birdfeedr
MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI

birdfeedr to Rattler

MVM

to Rattler
said by Rattler:

battery has a 55 AH rating (should give over 60 hours of backup),

I have done some performance tests using a larger battery connected as you said. A new 35AH battery replaced the good condition 7AH battery. My BBU is hacked to provide phone/data/video during a power outage. (I would have no fortitude to simulate a power outage otherwise. What? no internet until tomorrow? The natives would get very restless. )

7AH runs at least 6 hours. 35AH runs 18. There's a circuit which monitors battery drain which shuts off ONT before battery is depleted. I believe that circuit is designed for a 7AH battery which may be why the 35AH only goes to 18 hours instead of 30 like I'd expect.

Ordinarily, when the internal battery level is low enough to shut down the ONT, one could then press the blue Emergency Use button which runs the ONT until the battery hits 10V. For a rechargeable depleting that low causes damage and while it will charge again and maintain, that battery now has a shorter life. The ReplaceBattery sensor will kick in sooner.

My suggestion, based on numerous tests on my BBU, is to maintain the 7AH internal battery for its 6-8 hour life, and be prepared to manually connect your higher capacity battery off the Auxiliary Battery port. I have not yet completed that performance test. Day job interferes lately.

Jack, I never answered your question way back when. I use a NOCO Genius G750 smart charger to hold a battery charge in readiness. »www.amazon.com/NOCO-G750 ··· 04LX3AS6

The BBU charge circuit appears adequate to charge my 35AH battery under test, except it takes a long time and did trigger a ReplaceBattery condition. I pulled the power plug from the wall for a two-minute outage, then plugged back in to resume charging.

There is no capability of pulling power out of the Auxiliary port. It is strictly for power input. I haven't found the right size barrel connector. Actually, I did once but I can't find it again. It was the exact size for ID and OD but was part of a different voltage-rated wall wart. I found it while looking for something else, so I set it aside. Kicking myself for not pulling it out.

Original post »FiOS BBU operation [long post]

Someone recently said to disconnect the signal return between BBU and ONT, but that ended up shutting everything down after 15 minutes. Maybe that works on a different BBU, just not on mine.

This works for me. »Verizon FiOS FAQ »Can I keep data and TV service active during battery operation?

Rattler
join:2001-04-13
Havertown, PA

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said by JackBauer:

said by Rattler:

I keep the boat batteries on a smart charger over the Winter put-up season and they have been very reliable.

Which smart charger do you use?

It's a Guest (by Marinco) 2614A, marine dual battery charger designed to be installed in the engine space on an inboard boat (must be ignition protected). It is a 3-stage charger that looks at the battery state and applies full rated output (10A or 5A depending on which battery bank it's outputs are connected to) until the battery voltage reaches an "almost charged" set point, then it goes into "Absorption" mode which lowers the current to about 60% of the full load value until the battery reaches what is considered fully charged state and then it drops the charge current back to 0-3A to maintain a float level on the battery, depending on what the battery voltage is doing.

Its designed to not "cook" the batteries once they attain full charge.
JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

JackBauer

Member

said by Rattler:

It's a Guest (by Marinco) 2614A, marine dual battery charger designed to be installed in the engine space on an inboard boat

Thanks - was just curious because I bought an Xtreme Charge about a month ago and it saved two batteries a Ctek 7002 could not. I was amazed.

Darn thing needs to be fixed though, has a problem with the LEDs and it's kinda annoying I have to send it back to be repaired after only having it a month, but again... It saved me from replacing a car battery on a car that come off lease relatively soon. A great investment to save sulphated batteries. Love that thing.