Charlottesville's Polycom unit has ISDN connections, and ISDN calls of 384 Kbps and below can be placed or received directly from it.

The other NRAO sites do not have direct ISDN service, but they can receive calls from, or place calls to, outside ISDN sites by connecting to the NRAO ISDN Gateway. At present, this Gateway supports only 128 Kbps (2x64 Kbps) calls. For such calls, you must dial one ISDN phone numbers for each 64 Kbps connection, unless the far end is equipped to negotiate the second connection automatically.

Start the process from the Polycom Top Menu, i.e.:

Polycom Top Menu

If you see any other menu when you pick up the Viewstation remote control, press the button on the remote until you reach the Top Menu (the unit will also chime when you reach the top menu level).

To place ISDN Calls to non-NRAO sites from Green Bank, Socorro or Tucson:

1. With "Video Call" highlighted on the Top Menu (as in the example above) press the CALL·HANG-UP button on the remote. This will bring up the Video Phone Menu (see below).
   
   
   
   Example Video Phone Menu
2. Use the ARROW keys to highlight and then SELECT "Speed".
3. This will bring up a menu of connection speeds. Use the ARROW keys to highlight, then SELECT "2x64" or "128", if supported at the other end.
4. The Video Phone Menu will return with the number entry highlighted, as in the example shown above.
5. Enter the first phone numbers, e.g.:
   Video A: 92918042960370
   where the '92' requests NRAO Gateway service (2x64)
   '9' requests an outside line, and
   18042963070 is an example of 1+(Area Code)+the ISDN phone number you wish to dial
   
6. Press the DOWN arrow and enter the second phone number, e.g.: Video B: 92918042960371
   
7. Then press the green CALL·HANG-UP button to place the call.

Note: the example given above would dial the Charlottesville Polycom video system via ISDN at 2x64 Kbps, which may be useful for test purposes if you wish to familiarize yourself with the steps before making a "real" ISDN call.

Note: When dialing from the Polycom ViewStation remote unit, press the * or # key if a dial pad is required. For example, when our ISDN Gateway is called, an Interactive Voice Response System answers and a second number must be entered; the dial pad lets you do this if you counter such a gateway while placing a call.

To place ISDN calls from Charlottesville:

1. With "Video Call" highlighted on the Polycom Top Menu, press the green CALL·HANG-UP button on the VideoStation remote control.
2. Select "ISDN"; located at bottom, center on phone display, SELECT toggles between "IP" and ISDN.
3. Highlight and then select "Speed". Typically 2x64.
4. Enter the phone number(s)
5. Press the green CALL·HANG-UP button on the remote to place the call.

Note: when dialing from the Polycom ViewStation remote unit, press the * or # key if a dial pad is required. For example, when our ISDN Gateway is called, an Interactive Voice Response System answers and a second number must be entered; the dial pad lets you do this if you counter such a gateway while placing a call.

To call into an NRAO video system via the ISDN Gateway

1. Available ISDN Phone Numbers:
   804-296-0386/7
   804-296-0388/9
   804-296-0392/3
   
2. An Interactive Voice Response system answers. At the voice prompt, enter a number from the following selection:
   For multi-point calls (several NRAO sites will be connected):
   Hub number: 601234#
   For point-to-Point Calls:
   CV via H.323 Gateway: 46652#
   GB via H.323 Gateway: 46699#
   SO via H.323 Gateway: 46678#
   TU via H.323 Gateway: 35750#
   

Note: the Gateway will default to connecting to the Hub if the caller does not enter anything. Some video phone systems may not be capable of entering numbers at the IVR prompt ... these systems will always connect to the hub, so any NRAO users who wish to conference with incoming ISDN calls from such systems should also connect to the hub, even for a point-to-point meeting.

ISDN numbers for calling directly into CV's Polycom video system:

• CV, direct to Polycom: 804-296-0370/1
• CV, direct to Polycom: 804-296-0376/7
• CV, direct to Polycom: 804-296-0378/9

Hanging up an ISDN call