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motoko
join:2014-12-15
Canada

motoko

Member

[DSL] Choice of headset on TekTalk

Hi All,

I have been on Tektalk Unlimited now for about a month and am generally satisfied. I made the move from Bell after testing TekSavvy's DSL for 3 months. I use a Bell-branded Nortel 350 phone (wire connected to the ATA), and a Plantronics Vista headset (wire connected to the handset jack on the phone.) This combination worked fine when I was with Bell on a landline. However, now I get some hum, distortion, and slight echo with TekTalk. This quality reduction is only when I use the headset. The reduction in quality is not present when I use the handset, directly. I work from home and use the headset on an almost continual basis (no, not customer service!) I'm sure that quite a few of you also use headsets. Could anybody make a recommendation as to a headset (wired, not wireless) that provides good voice quality? I have tried playing with the Vista's amp settings and mic volume without success. Also, I would strongly prefer not to use a softphone on my laptop because I usually get a laptop supplied by clients (for security purposes.)

Thanks, appreciate any guidance that can be given. I have posted this in DSL because of the overwhelming attendance here rather than on the TekTalk side.
notfred
join:2012-09-15

notfred

Member

Have TekSavvy switch you to G.711 if you are still on the default G.729. I found that helped the voice quality a lot.
bw5745
join:2014-03-14

bw5745 to motoko

Member

to motoko
I don't use TekTalk, but I do use a Grandstream ATA.

First, check if the problem is hardware, or the TekTalk service:

Do you hear the hum before connecting the call? Pick up and dial a single digit. If you hear the hum in the silence, you have a hardware problem. Compare the handset and the headset. The Grandstream has an IVR to check settings. If you dial "***" you should hear "Enter a menu option". Does that announcement have the noise?

If the problems are present, the problems are in your hardware. Try the Plantronics on a different phone. Are you using an AC adapter? Try using batteries in the Plantronics instead. Try moving the phone and headset to another jack in the house.

If you don't hear the noise, the problem might be with the codecs or the TekTalk service.

motoko
join:2014-12-15
Canada

motoko to notfred

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to notfred
Hi, Notfred. Thanks for this. I have been switched to G.711 with no difference in voice/line quality.
motoko

motoko to bw5745

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to bw5745
Hi, bw5745. Thanks. I tried your diagnosis steps: I definitely have hum in the silence. So, I guess it's my headset or the ATA. And yes, the announcement also has noise. I only ever use batteries. The hum is also there when I try all of this with a back-up phone (another Nortel 350.) Oh, the joys of getting things stable :-(
bw5745
join:2014-03-14

bw5745

Member

The last thing to try is to check if the noises on the headset are due to an interaction between the phone and the ATA. Listen and unplug the phone from the ATA. Does the noise go away on the headset? Is it still not present on the handset? The Nortel might cut off the audio with no line connected though. If the hum is still present, then the problem is fully confined to the Nortel or Plantronics. Switching to Teksavvy VoIP would have been a coincidence.

Is your disconnected Bell phone line still physically accessible? If you are lucky, the phone line might be still energized, even if you've switched to dry loop DSL. Plug the Nortel into the "Phone" jack of the DSL splitter. If it is still energized, the "Check Phone Line" message will disappear on the Nortel when you plug it in. You might not have a dialtone anymore, but you should be able to listen for noise in the silence. You might be able to call 611 or 310-BELL to check the audio.

If the noise is not present on the energized Bell line, the noise could be an interaction between the phone and the ATA. Does Teksavvy offer a swap under warranty? As for why the sound might only be on the headset, perhaps Nortel put audio filtering in the handset to block noises outside the allowed frequency range of a phone line. If the Plantronics lacks this filtering, noises from the ATA might make it through.

If you want to buy new hardware, it would make sense to buy a VoIP (SIP) desk phone. This would remove Teksavvy's ATA entirely. If you have more than one analog phone on the same line though, it won't be possible to switch to a VoIP phone. If the desk phone has a headset jack, you should be able to reuse just the Plantronics headset and remove the amplifier box completely. You may need an adapter cable for your brand of phone.

motoko
join:2014-12-15
Canada

motoko

Member

said by bw5745:

Listen and unplug the phone from the ATA. Does the noise go away on the headset? Is it still not present on the handset? The Nortel might cut off the audio with no line connected though. If the hum is still present, then the problem is fully confined to the Nortel or Plantronics. Switching to Teksavvy VoIP would have been a coincidence.

The noise goes away on the headset, and is still not present on the handset.
said by bw5745:

Is your disconnected Bell phone line still physically accessible? If you are lucky, the phone line might be still energized, even if you've switched to dry loop DSL. Plug the Nortel into the "Phone" jack of the DSL splitter. If it is still energized, the "Check Phone Line" message will disappear on the Nortel when you plug it in. You might not have a dialtone anymore, but you should be able to listen for noise in the silence. You might be able to call 611 or 310-BELL to check the audio.

It's still energised....... , still get dial-tone. No noise on headset. Handset still clear.

I take your point about a possible interrnal filter on the Nortel. However, I will bring up the potential replacement of the ATA with Teksavvy. Also, I guess it's time to stare at some new phones/headsets. I like the idea of a voip phone but I do use another phone on the same line.
bw5745
join:2014-03-14

bw5745

Member

A few more things I forgot about. The Nortel should have a volume control for the handset. Try raising the Nortel volume and lowering the Plantronics volume and then vice versa. Hopefully, you can reduce the noise volume. This might make the handset volume unusable.

Is the Nortel AC adapter plugged into the same outlet at the Grandstream? The same power bar? Have you tried plugging the Nortel directly into the Grandstream's phone port? If that makes a difference, try disconnecting the other phone on the line. There is a second phone port on the HT502. While it it might not be configured, it might not have noise on it. Try it to check for noise on the dial tone and IVR. If it works, you could have Teksavvy move the configuration to the second port.

Ask Teksavvy for an alternate model of ATA if they have one.

motoko
join:2014-12-15
Canada

motoko

Member

said by bw5745:

A few more things I forgot about. The Nortel should have a volume control for the handset. Try raising the Nortel volume and lowering the Plantronics volume and then vice versa. Hopefully, you can reduce the noise volume. This might make the handset volume unusable.

Varying both volume controls gives no improvement, if anything it makes it worse.
said by bw5745:

Is the Nortel AC adapter plugged into the same outlet at the Grandstream? The same power bar?

No, and no.
said by bw5745:

Have you tried plugging the Nortel directly into the Grandstream's phone port? If that makes a difference, try disconnecting the other phone on the line. There is a second phone port on the HT502. While it it might not be configured, it might not have noise on it. Try it to check for noise on the dial tone and IVR.

The problem is exactly the same on both ports. Headset = noise; handset = silence. I also tried all tests with the other phone disconnected, no improvement. I will contact Teksavvy re' the ATA, although I think this is the only one they supply. (I bought this one from them.) Also, maybe it's time to upgrade/update my handset/headset.
motoko

motoko to bw5745

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to bw5745
Hi bw5745,
Teksavvy are sending me another HT502, so we will see if that's were the issue lies. Thank you for your patience and diagnostic ideas.