Talk:Multi-Line Extension telephone

This article is not completely accurate and is somewhat misleading

Avaya (spun off from Lucent, which was itself spun off from AT&T) is the manufacturer of the Merlin Legend/Magix and Partner/Partner II/ACS phone systems.

Merlin Legend vs Partner Phones
MLX is a registered trademark of Avaya for the proprietary digital multi-line telephones for the Merlin Legend phone systems and are not compatible with the Partner Phone system. MLX phones were based the older ATL (analog multi-line) telephones used on the original AT&T Merlin & Merlin II systems, usually referred to as HFAI (Hands Free Auto Intercom) and BIS (Built In Speakerphone) models. MLX phones use a dual channel proprietary ISDN format. Except for the 20L, the model numbers used the format MLXnn(D) where "nn" is the number of programmable line buttons and the "D" designated it as a display phone. The 20L (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a MLX20L) is usually a receptionist phone with a large text display used for menus, including system programming menus and has 20 programmable line buttons. While the MLX phones shipped with 4 pair base cords, usually only the 1st and 2nd pairs are needed and a 2 pair (RJ14) jack and cord could be used, except where extra power was needed such as on the 20L model.

MLS is a registered trademark of Avaya for the proprietary multi-line telephones for the Partner phone systems and are only compatible with the Merlin Legend or Merlin Magix systems when connected to a port on an ETR (Enhanced Tip and Ring) module installed in the system. Partner MLS phones use a standard analog loop start circuit on the first pair of a 2 pair (RJ14) jack/cable and use a proprietary digital signal for control only on the 2nd pair.
Ceo255 (talk) 08:35, 17 October 2008 (UTC)