Important Information for
Administrators
Familiarity with two basic concepts of system design will help you tailor the MERLIN system to get the best fit for your business. You will need to know the difference between pooled and square line configuration, as well as the importance of the unique administrator/attendant console.
ARRANGING YOUR OUTSIDE LINES: POOLED OR SQUARE
The MERLIN system gives you two options for arranging your outside lines: pooled or square configuration. In a pooled arrangement, several outside lines are grouped together and represented by just two buttons on every voice terminal. Pooled opera- tion does not confine you exclusively to the lines in the pool; telephones that need individual lines can have them in addition to the pool. In a square arrangement, every outside line is normally represented by a separate button on every voice terminal in the system, except for those voice terminals with too few buttons to accommodate all the lines. It is possible in a square system, however, to assign private lines to peo- ple who have a special need for them.
About Pooled Systems
For most businesses large enough to need the Model 1030 or Model 3070 MERLIN system, pooled operation is more efficient than square because:
The more pooling you do, the fewer outside lines you need. Since the lines in
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the pool can be shared by many people, each line gets more use.
●Only two buttons on each voice terminal are necessary to represent up to thirty interchangeable lines, so you can use more of the smaller, less expensive voice terminal models.
●Voice terminal buttons that would otherwise represent lines can be used for custom
●All your lines do not have to be in the pool — any voice terminal can have separate lines in addition to the pool. These may be
About Square Systems
In general, square systems are recommended only if you have fewer than eight out- side lines. This is because each button used for a line could otherwise be assigned a MERLIN system custom feature, and also because some voice terminals may not have enough buttons to accommodate all of your lines. If your business has fewer than eight outside lines, little need for many custom features, and you do not expect this to change in the next year or two, a square system may be best for you. Here are some of its advantages:
●Many people are accustomed to using a
●All lines appear on exactly the same line buttons at every voice terminal.
●People can join in on calls simply by pressing the appropriate line button.
●A person can pick up a held call at any voice terminal.
It is difficult to use many
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