Conference Bridge?

[MaxxManic]

We currently have 3 individual Visiplex FM based intercom systems. Our goal is to be able to do a campus wide call using these 3 base units. I have analog gateways connecting the intercoms to our 3cx system and can dial their extensions individually to broadcast. I am trying to sort how do dial all 3 at the same time allowing us to all call the entire campus in an emergency. I have heard of conference bridges but I'm not sure how to configure 3cx to accomplish what I need. We are currently on version 20 Standard Edition hosted by 3cx. Thanks in advance for any suggestions?

 

[Les Webb]

I don't know if I fully understand what you are trying to accomplish but if you just want to page 3 separate extensions, set up a paging group.

 

[MaxxManic]

Thanks for your response, Les. Let me try and clarify.

I have 3 separate intercoms. Each intercom is its own island essentially. One in each of our schools, ES, MS, and HS. These intercoms can all call only to their school as they are FM radio based, not IP based. We would like to be able to make emergency broadcasts across all 3 schools from any location. It was suggested to use digital/analogue gateways connected to the intercom base stations to allow for dialing in to them. Then, set up a conference bridge for what I imagine as a point to multipoint connection. I dial extension 900 and the bridge dials each of the Visiplex base stations. From there I can enter the all call function, 200 in this case, to make an all call. Each base then broadcasts this via their individual FM transmitter.

So...
From my IP phone I dial extension 900 for example
Extension 900 conference bridge dials the extension of each gateway and connects them to the call.
I can now execute Visiplex commands on all 3 base stations including command 200 which is the all call command.
I make the system wide announcement and hang up.

I hope this makes things a bit clearer. I am attempting to work around a limitation of the Visiplex system. The Visiplex FM receivers cannot receive on more than one frequency. We would need 2 frequencies to make this work. 1 for normal school use and a second for the emergency all call.

Will a paging group satisfy this scenario?

 

[Les Webb]

Hmmm....not a situation I have run into. What D/A gateways are you using? I would have personally tried a Fanvil PA3 and used it as a simple paging adapter in intercom function and connected it to the phone system as an extension. Then set up a paging group with all 3 extensions. The PA3 should be able to pass the call command through to all devices in the group.

 

[MaxxManic]

So, thanks to your suggestion I think we have the solution. I will test a bit further over the rest of the week but I am optimistic.

The gateway is a Grandstream HT813. I had issues initially that when hanging up I got a fast busy over the intercom. I got that sorted.
What I found...
The paging group works. Not sure how or why but it does.
Normally when calling the intercom extension the unit picks up and prompts for a command, event id, before proceeding. For an all call the eventide is 200. So one calls the extension, enters 200 at the prompt, speaks the announcement, and hangs up. Done.

With the paging group the behavior changes...
One calls the paging group extension, 922 in this case. The Visiplex doesn't/can't respond with a prompt, instead it immediately goes into 200 mode and lets one make the announcement, then hang up. Done.

Thanks so much!

 

[Les Webb]

Good deal. Glad you got it working. Yeah I don't think the Visiplex will be able to respond as it would be 3 responses from 3 separate devices