NEC XN120 - INSTALLATION NOTES                 

This web page was created by T.M.I. Limited to provide installation and technical notes covering the NEC XN120 Control Unit.  The system is supplied with a CD that contains User Guides, Getting Started Guides, Programming Guide, Configuration Software, etc.  It is important that installers follow the information packed with the system.  We supply a wide range of installation material including cable, distribution boxes, patch panels etc.  Simply give us a call, we'll discuss your requirement and quote for all items required.

We will do our best to keep the information on this page up to date but mistakes can happen.  If you see any errors, or would like to make suggestions for improvement, please let us know.

1. System  Construction

The initial  NEC XN120  Control Unit has capacity for 8 extensions and 3 exchange lines. It is capable of supporting NEC XN120 proprietary phones and / or single line devices such as ordinary phones, fax and data modems.  With the addition of optional cards, the Control Unit can expand up to 9 exchange lines and 24 extensions. If additional capacity is required (up 72 extensions and 27 lines) expansion cabinets are required.

The Control Unit is lightweight, with a size of 360mm x 279mm (W x H).  To ensure proper air circulation, and working space, you will need a minimum of 560mm x 680mm wall space.

2. Wiring to the exchange line and extensions sockets

A single 2.5m preformed cable (click on picture to enlarge) is supplied with each Control Unit.  One end of the cable is terminated with RJ-11 plugs (see chart below) that plug into sockets on the Control Unit.  The other end of the cable is un-terminated and can be connected to a simple distribution box.  The distribution box then becomes the connection point for cable going to lines, extension sockets and an optional CD player for music-on-hold.

When connecting to lines...pins 3 & 4 (on the plug that plugs into the Control Unit) are connected (via distribution box) to pins 2 & 5 of your exchange line socket.

When connecting to standard telephones you connect pins 3 & 4 from the control unit to pins 2 & 5 of a standard PBX extension socket.  note...you need only use two of the four wires when connecting to standard telephone sets.

When connecting XN-120 system-phones, connect all four wires to an RJ-11 socket,  pins 2 to 2, 3 to 3, 4 to 4 and 5 to 5.  'Voice' and 'Talk' XN-120 system-phones are equipped with a line cord that terminates to an RJ-11 plug.  Tip...If your site is already wired with standard BT extension sockets...you don't have to replace the sockets, simply replace the RJ-11 line cord with a 4-way BT line cord.

* From the XN120 socket...Pins 3 & 4 are speech and 2 & 5 data

* Maximum cable length of system phones is 300M

* Maximum length of ordinary phones is 1125M  

Note:  Line / Extension expansion cards also equipped with RJ-11 sockets and are supplied with pre-formed cable.

3.  Structured cabling, ( i.e. CAT-5 )...click on diagram

One or more rows of the patch panel are normally dedicated  to telephone extension outlets.  This section of the patch panel will therefore need to be wired back to the NEC XN120.  We've found the colour coding behind the patch panel is not always identical but the chart below shows the most common situation.

If there is any doubt as to which connection to use, it would be best to connect only one extension between the control unit and the patch panel and test it before proceeding.

Patch leads will be used at the patch panel to connect (patch) the extension outlet to the appropriate outlet that leads to the correct RJ-45 socket.  The NEC XN-120 Vision and Talk System-phones can plug directly into the patch but standard BT telephones will require an adaptor.

4.  Programming

If you have a services application card installed the system can be programmed with a PC...please refer to paragraph 5 below.

Basic programming can be accomplished from an XN120 Vision system-phone.  We find the original NEC getting XN120 getting started guide very helpful.

  Download original XN120 getting started guide (4mb)

The procedure requires a passwords which is supplied with the system.  Instructions for basic programming, such as telling the system which phone/phones should ring when incoming calls arrive, are found in the Getting Started Guide.  You can programme the system from any extension provided it has an NEC Vision feature-phone.  You enter the programming mode by:-

•   Press the SPK key

•   Dial # * # *

•   Dial Password (the default is supplied with the system)

•   Press Hold....you will see PROGRAM MODE displayed.

Changing the system date...

•  10-01-01 enter year i.e. 05

•  10-01-02 enter month i.e. 11

•  10-02-03 enter date i.e. 24

•  10-02-04 enter day (i.e. 1 for Sunday)

•  10-01-05 enter hour i.e. 16

•  10-01-06 enter minute i.e. 48

•  10-01-07 enter second i.e. 00

You would then press hold to confirm the entry...then the DC key several times to return to program mode.  You then press the SPK key to save changes and exit.

Telephone Ringing Assignment

The default setting is for incoming calls on any exchange line to ring extension 200

The ringing assignment is achieved by pointing the exchange line to incoming Ring Groups (IRG).  The ring group then contains the telephones that will ring.

Default:  Every line is assigned to Incoming Ring Group (IRG) number 1 and only extension 200 is in IRG number 1.  This means all incoming calls will only ring extension 200.  We can easily change this by adding other extensions to IRG number 1

Let's assume we want extensions 200, 201, 202 and 203 to ring when any incoming call arrives.  We would use a Vision system-phone, enter the programming mode and press 22-04-01...the display will show us that 200 is already a member of IRG-1, we would use this program (22-04-01) to add extension 201, 202 and 203 to the IRG number one.

If we decided that we want line three to ring only extension 205, we would use a different programme (22-05-01) to create IRG number 2 and put line three into this group.  We would then use programme (22-04-01) to add extension 205 to that group.

By system programming (with a PC or system-phone) we can not only have different lines ring different extensions but we can programme different ringing assignments to be active when in day / night mode. So...when you leave the office you may wish to enter the night mode which could send all calls to the security gate or perhaps an answering machine.  In fact this system is so flexible you actually have up to eight night modes!

Internal Call Ringing Mode

Internal calls can either ring the phone or voice announce, where the caller can speak directly through the loudspeaker of your XN-120 system-phone.  The default setting is Voice-Announce, meaning that your system phone will not ring...instead you you will hear your colleague through the speaker.  If you want to change this,  use program 20-02-12 to and change the ringing mode from Voice Announce (0) to Ring mode (1).

Outgoing exchange line access

Each extension is assigned a Trunk Access Map (TAM) number.  This TAM number is then given the access properties (full access, no access, incoming only etc.) for each of the exchange lines.  The default setting is that all extensions have access to all exchange lines.

Program 15-06-01 can be used to give the telephone a TAM number, you can specify a different TAM number for each day/night modes.

Program 14-07-01 is used to give each exchange line the access properties for the TAM number.

Caller ID

The NEC XN 120 is one of the few systems that provides the caller line identity feature without the need to purchase any special cards.  Of course you need to subscribe with your service provider ( BT, NTL etc.).  You also have to 'tell' the system that you want to activate CLI.  The is accomplished by using programme 14-02-10.  The default setting is off but the installer can use programme 14-02-10 to activate CLI.  Incidentally...CLI not only works with system-phones but also standard CLI telephones.  If you're using a traditional phone with a CLI display...you can use programme 15-03-09 to tell the system which extensions are standard CLI telephones.

Long conversation alarm

The system has a 'long conversation alarm which provides a beep after the call has been established for a set period of time.  The default value is 3 minutes, if unchanged you will hear a beep after being on a call for 3 minutes.  You can cancel this by entering the programming mode and setting your class of service to disable this alarm.

The code is...20-13-01

The above will disable the 'long conversation alarm' for anyone assigned class of service 1.  The default configuration is that ever user has a class of service 1...so the above setting will disable the alarm for everyone.

Function Keyst

XN120 system-phones (Talk & Vision) have 22 function keys.  They are arranged in blocks of 12 + 10 keys.  The block of 12 keys are pre-set to line keys, it is recommend that you keep these dedicated to lines.

You can store functions under each of the remaining ten keys.

Some functions will require additional information.  For example the 01 is a 'direct station select; function code so when you enter the 01 as the 2-digit function code you will need to follow it with the extension number or external number that you want dialled before you press the SPK key.

Some common function codes are:-

Name exchange lines

The XN120 system let's you give names to lines.  For example...you might have two businesses sharing the phone system.  Calls coming in on lines1-3 might be named 'Business A', but lines 4-6 might belong to 'Business B'.  To name lines you use code 14.01.01.  This can be a very useful feature as the person answering the call will know if it's for business A or B before they answer the call. 

DDI names can also be programmed (22.11.03) But...be aware that the name will be displayed on the system-phones when the call arrives.  If it's a long name there may not be room for the calling party's number to be displayed.

5.  Programming - when the services application card is installed.