Black Box IT1000 User manual

BASIC RATE EURO ISDN TESTER
IT1000
TECHNICAL:
SALES:
FAX:
ADDRESS:
WEB:
(0870) 90 10 750
(0870) 90 10 750
[phone]
464 Basingstoke Road, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0QN
www.blackbox.co.uk

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
SALES: 0870 90 10 750
How To Contact your Local Black Box
Italy: Australia:
Black Box Italia S.P.A Black Box Catalog Australia PTY LTD
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox.it
Deutschland: Brazil:
Black Box Deutschland Black Box Do Brasil.
Tel: [phone]Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox-deutschland.com Web Site: www.blackbox.com.br
Switzerland: Canada:
Black Box (Schweiz) AG Black Box Canada Corp.
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.black-box.ch Web Site: www.blackbox.com
Netherlands: Mexico:
Black Box Datacom BV Black Box De Mexico S.A. de C.V
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox.nl/ Web Site: www.blackbox.com.mx
Belgium: Japan:
Black Box Communications S.A. N.V. Black Box Catalog
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox.be Web Site: www.blackbox.co.jp/

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
TECHNICAL: 0870 90 10 750
France: U.S.A
Black Box Catalogue Black Box Corporation
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox.fr Web Site: www.blackbox.com
Spain: Chile
Black Box Comunicaciones S.A. Black Box Chile
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox.es Web Site: www.Blackbox.cl
Austria: Sweden:
Black Box Austria Black Box AB
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web Site: www.blackbox.es Web Site: www.Blackbox.se

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
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CONTENTS
PREFACE.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
1INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Description......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.2 Unpacking the tester........................................................................................................................... 8
1.3 Take a closer look............................................................................................................................... 9
1.3.1 The front panel...................................................................................................................... 9
1.3.2 The rear panel........................................................................................................................ 10
1.3.3 The battery............................................................................................................................ 10
1.3.4 Recharging the battery........................................................................................................... 11
1.3.5 ISDN connector..................................................................................................................... 12
1.3.6 Asynchronous serial port....................................................................................................... 12
2USING THE IT1000.................................................................................................................................... 14
2.1 Operation Modes................................................................................................................................ 14
2.2 Stand Alone Mode.............................................................................................................................. 14
2.2.1 Turning the unit on................................................................................................................ 14
2.2.2 Connecting the circuit under test............................................................................................ 14
2.2.3 Selecting the test.................................................................................................................... 14
2.2.4 Running the test..................................................................................................................... 15
2.2.5 Test Results........................................................................................................................... 15
2.2.6 Turning the Unit Off.............................................................................................................. 15
2.3 IT-Explorer Mode............................................................................................................................... 16
3RUNNING THE IT-EXPLORER SOFTWARE....................................................................................... 18
3.1 Concepts ............................................................................................................................................ 18
3.2 Installing the software......................................................................................................................... 18
3.3 Running IT-Explorer .......................................................................................................................... 18
3.4 Options .............................................................................................................................................. 22
3.4.1 Com Port Settings.................................................................................................................. 22
3.4.2 Initialisation String................................................................................................................ 22
3.4.3 Clear Analyser Trace before Each Test .................................................................................. 23
3.4.4 Enable Sounds....................................................................................................................... 23
3.4.5 Configure IT1000 Analyser ................................................................................................... 23
3.4.6 Set Time................................................................................................................................ 24
3.4.7 Configure Analyser ............................................................................................................... 24
3.4.8 Configure Automatic Emails.................................................................................................. 25
3.4.9 Save Changes to Tester.......................................................................................................... 28

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
TECHNICAL: 0870 90 10 750
4INDIVIDUAL TEST DETAILS.................................................................................................................. 30
4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 30
4.2 D Channel Activity Monitor ............................................................................................................... 30
4.3 D Channel Data Call........................................................................................................................... 30
4.4 B Channel Data Call........................................................................................................................... 30
4.5 Voice Call (outgoing)......................................................................................................................... 30
4.6 Voice Answering (incoming).............................................................................................................. 31
4.7 Line Voltage....................................................................................................................................... 31
4.8 Email Logs......................................................................................................................................... 31
4.9 Record New Voice Message............................................................................................................... 32
APPENDIX A –ASYNC (DTE) PORT CONNECTOR........................................................................................ 34
APPENDIX B -SPECIFICATIONS...................................................................................................................... 35
INDEX.................................................................................................................................................................... 37

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
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1PREFACE
This guide is intended for use by technically competent personnel when using the IT1000 ISDN unit to make tests on ISDN
lines.
Throughout this manual certain typographical conventions are used as follows:
Text Type Meaning
Text like this … is standard text
ZThis text and symbol … indicate points which are important for the correct operation of
the unit.
This text and symbol … indicate points which if ignored may cause harm either to the unit
or the safety of the user and MUST be followed.
üTip Gives useful information and hints on using the device.
Text like this … Indicates terminal input or output from the unit to a terminal
device.
File > Save An instruction to navigate using the menu system. In this
example to select the File Menu, then the Save submenu.

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2INTRODUCTION
2.1 Description
Thank you for purchasing the Black Box IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Line Tester.
The IT1000 is a pocket-sized unit, which despite its small size performs powerful tests to determine
the integrity of Euro ISDN lines.
It can be used as a self-contained device to perform fast integrity checks in the field using a single
button to trigger voice, data and Packet Mode Bearer Service (X.31) tests.
Connected to a PC or laptop to access the built in serial port, the IT1000 becomes a powerful test
instrument complete with ISDN layer 1, 2 & 3 protocol analysis, event logger and much more.
With the optional mains power supply (PSU1000), it can be deployed to remote sites and left in
position reporting the status of ISDN services to a central control point. In this mode, it is ideal for
finding and eliminating intermittent problems without committing service personnel to long and
expensive investigations.
The tester can also be used as a fully functional ISDN Terminal Adaptor (with an additional option)
capable of making V.120 and PPP calls when used with a laptop computer or PC enabling service
personnel to make outgoing calls to connect to the Internet or a remote service centre for job
allocation etc.
2.2 Unpacking the tester.
Open the box and carefully take out all of the items. These should include:
§IT1000 ISDN Tester
§9V PP3 Battery
§2 metre ISDN connection lead
§2 metre serial cable with 9 pin adaptor
§Disk containing this manual and other test software
If ordered as options, you may also have :
§Rechargeable NiMh battery & Charger
§Mains Power Supply
§Protective carry case
§Software to enable your tester to operate as an ISDN Terminal Adaptor
Check each item to make sure there are no visible defects. If any item is missing or damaged please
contact your supplier. You should also make a record of any damage that may have occurred during
shipping and report it to the carrier.

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
TECHNICAL: 0870 90 10 750
2.3 Take a closer look.
Now that you have the tester out of the box, take a closer look so that you are familiar with the
various connectors and indicators.
2.3.1 The front panel
The front panel of the tester features 8 LED indicators that will illuminate steady or flashing when
the unit is in use to indicate the status of various tests which the unit can perform.
Figure 1. IT1000 front panel
The indicator labelled Power will illuminate steady red when the unit is switched on by pressing
AND HOLDING the red button marked ON (auto-off).
Tests are selected by repeatedly pressing the green button marked MODE / RUN until the pattern of
lights on the indicators matches the required test marked on the unit’s label. Further details on this
function can be found in Section 2.2.
The indicator marked Line Active will illuminate when the tester has been correctly attached to an
ISDN line and a physical (Layer 1) connection has been established between the tester and the local
exchange.
The next group of three indicators labelled Call Control L2, D-X.25 L2 and X.25 Call L3 reflect
the status of the SAPI 0 and SAPI 16 traffic between the tester and the exchange and will illuminate
as the tests progress to indicate that the tester has established a connection at this level.
The B1 or B2 indicators will illuminate steady when the respective B-channel is active. If data is
being transmitted or received over any of these channels the appropriate indicator will flash. These
indicators together with the Pass / Fail indicator are also used to select the required test (see below).

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
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The B1 indicator will also flash briefly when the unit is first powered up to indicate that the unit is
performing a self-test. When it stops flashing the unit is ready to use.
The Pass / Fail indicator illuminates after a test is performed to give the result of the test. A green
light together with a rising tone from the internal speaker indicates a successful test. A red light
together with a falling tone from the internal speaker indicates a test failure.
You will notice that the LED indicators are also marked at the right hand side with a scale reading
from 10 Volts to >70 Volts. This scale is used in conjunction with the Line Voltage test to show the
actual voltage on the line from the exchange.
On the left side of the unit there are connectors for the ISDN line under test and for a laptop
computer or PC to enable more sophisticated tests to be carried out together with a power input
socket. The use of these connectors is explained fully below.
2.3.2 The rear panel
The rear panel of the unit has a hatch for the main battery which can be opened by slight downward
pressure where indicated and sliding the hatch upwards towards the top of the unit.
There are no other user controls inside the unit and it should be noted that removal of the case screws
will invalidate both the warranty and the safety approvals.
2.3.3 The battery
The IT1000 is battery powered to enable tests to be carried out in the field without the need for
additional power supplies.
A standard PP3 or MN1500 battery should be used. We recommend that only good quality Alkaline
or Lithium batteries should be used, such as Duracell™.
The unit can be supplied as an option with a high power rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride battery
which will power the unit for between 6 and 10 hours depending on the tests performed. The battery
can be removed and recharged in the supplied charger about 1,000 times before a replacement is
needed.
The supplied battery contains compounds that may be hazardous to the environment and therefore
MUST be disposed of properly at the end of its life.

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
TECHNICAL: 0870 90 10 750
To gain access to the battery, the battery compartment cover must be removed as shown above.
The unit can be powered by either the supplied Ni-Mh battery or by any other PP3 type battery. However,
we recommend that only good quality alkaline or lithium cells are used (Duracell MN1604B2 or equivalent
of size IEC 6 F 22)
Black Box do not recommend the use of rechargeable cells other than the ones supplied with the unit, doing
so may result in erroneous test results and will invalidate the warranty.
2.3.4 Recharging the battery
The rechargeable battery can be recharged at any time as it does not suffer from ‘memory effect’ as
is the case with some other batteries.
To recharge the battery, remove it from the unit as described above and push the contact end into the
slot in the charger ensuring that the polarity is correct.
A complete charge cycle takes approximately 14 hours and charging will be indicated by the red
LED on the charger, however, the battery may be partially charged and returned to the unit if a full
charge cycle is not possible.
Note that if the battery has been completely discharged or has been stored for several months, it may
be necessary to complete several charging cycles before it returns to its full capacity.
Caution. The supplied rechargeable battery and charger are designed for correct operation together.
Charging the supplied battery in a different charger may be hazardous and is not recommended. Under no
circumstances should dry batteries such as alkaline cells be placed into the charger as there is a danger of
explosion.

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
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2.3.5 ISDN connector
The connector labelled ISDN BRI is used to connect the tester to the ISDN network using the cable
supplied. One end of the cable should be fitted into this connector (with the retaining clip at the
bottom) before the other end is connected to the wall mounted ISDN outlet socket.
Be careful not to connect the ISDN line to the port marked DTE as high line voltages from the exchange
may damage this port and will invalidate the warranty. We recommend that you keep the supplied ISDN test
cable permanently attached to the unit to prevent mistakes.
2.3.6 Asynchronous serial port
The connector marked DTE is designed to be used to attach a Personal Computer to the unit to
enable access to the test programming menus and the extensive protocol analysis features of the unit.
It can also be used to enable a PC to access external ISDN based services such as the Internet.
A serial connection lead is supplied with the unit which terminates in a 9 way female ‘D’ type
connector (25 Way connectors are available as an option).
Communication with the unit is achieved either by using the supplied application software or when it
is used as a Terminal Adaptor (Option Pack 2), it can be used with any normal communication
package as if it were a standard Hayes® AT-type Modem
It is also possible to connect to the unit using a standard terminal program such as HyperTerm™
which is supplied with the Windows Operating System.
In this case you will need to set your program to communicate as follows :
Speed 115 Kb/s
Data Bits 8
Parity None
Stop Bits 1
If you wish to use a lead other than the one supplied, it must be wired according to diagram given in
the appendix.

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3USING THE IT1000
In order to make best use of your tester it is important that you take the time to read this section of
this guide carefully. It explains the basic operating modes of the IT1000 and will help in your
understanding of how to configure the unit for different applications.
3.1 Operation Modes
The IT1000 can be used in two distinct modes :
1) Stand Alone Mode. As a stand alone tester requiring nothing else to perform a range of pre-
configured tests.
2) Explorer Mode. Together with a personal computer to perform more detailed investigations
and / or to configure the test parameters to be used in stand alone mode.
3.2 Stand Alone Mode
3.2.1 Turning the unit on
Press the button marked ON (auto-off) and hold it in for 2 seconds. Initially, all the indicators will
flash as a lamp test, ensure that there are no indicators which fail to light.
The PASS/FAIL and B2 indicators will then flash to indicate that a self-test is in operation and then
all the indicators except ‘Power’ will extinguish.
The now ready to use.
3.2.2 Connecting the circuit under test
Using the supplied ISDN lead, plug one end into the connector marked ISDN BRI and the other end
into an ISDN Network Terminator or any other RJ45 connector which carries an ISDN line. If a
correctly presented ISDN circuit is present, the Line indicator will come on to show that the unit is
able to communicate at Layer 1 to the local exchange.
3.2.3 Selecting the test
In this mode, the B1, B2 and Pass / Fail indicators have a special function. They enable the required
test to be selected by repeatedly pressing the MODE / RUN button. Each press of the button selects
adifferent test.
The required test is selected by matching the pattern of the indicators with the legend on the unit’s
case. For example, to perform a voice calling test would require that the B1and B2 indicators are
ON and the Pass / Fail Indicator is OFF.

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
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The correct indicator combinations for all stand alone tests are shown below :
Test Function B1 B2 Pass/Fail
Data Call D Channel ON OFF OFF
Data Call B Channel OFF ON OFF
Outbound Voice Call ON ON OFF
Inbound Voice Answering OFF OFF ON
Email logs to remote user ON OFF ON
Line Voltage OFF ON ON
3.2.4 Running the test
When the required test is indicated, the MODE / RUN button is then pressed and held for 3 seconds
to start the test cycle.
What happens next depends on the test selected. For example, the voice test will call a specified
number and deliver a message saying that that test was successful. If a data test was selected, the
unit will attempt to set up a data circuit between the B1 and B2 channels.
A full specification of the default tests as pre-configured from the factory are given in Chapter 4.
3.2.5 Test Results
Regardless of the test selected, the result is displayed on the Pass / Fail indicator together with a
musical tone from the internal speaker as follows :
•A GREEN indicator together with a rising tone indicates that all the programmed tests were
performed satisfactorily.
•A RED indicator together a descending musical tone indicates that one or more of the
programmed tests failed. A note is written to the error log which can be examined via the
DTE port (see 2.3 below)
3.2.6 Turning the Unit Off
Your IT1000 is equipped with an ‘auto power off’ feature which will switch the unit off to conserve
battery power whenever there has been no activity for a certain time. The power off delay is user
configurable and can be changed in IT1000 Explorer Options >Configure IT1000 menu.

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IT1000 Basic Rate ISDN Tester
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üYou can defeat the auto power off feature by unchecking the Auto Power Off box in Options > Configure
IT1000.This is useful if you are using the IT1000 on a mains power supply, especially if the unit is being used
remotely as it will prevent the unit from switching itself off.
You can also manually switch the unit off. To do this ensure the test selection is in the idle mode i.e.
none of the test selection LEDS are on, then press and hold the green mode/run button. The unit
will then power off.
3.3 IT-Explorer Mode
The IT1000 can also be used as a sophisticated protocol analyser to determine the cause of problems
on an ISDN line. Details of how to do this are in chapter 3 of this document.

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4RUNNING THE IT-EXPLORER SOFTWARE
4.1 Concepts
If it is necessary to investigate problems on an ISDN line beyond the basic tests available in stand
alone mode or if it is required to re-program the test parameters, such as the number to be called in a
voice test, it is necessary to use the supplied IT-Explorer software.
The software is designed to run on any PC which runs the Windows 98®or later operating system, it
will also run satisfactorily on a Windows NT®platform.
By means of the IT-Explorer software it is also possible to access a remote IT1000 in the field to
determine the status of an ISDN circuit which may be hundreds of miles away, thereby saving
unnecessary maintenance visits. To enable IT-Explorer to make a physical link to the remote unit,
you must have a PC or Laptop with an ISDN connection capable of making an outbound V.120
connection. (note: this can be another IT1000 with option 2 fitted).
4.2 Installing the software
The IT-Explorer software is supplied on a CD-ROM with the tester.
To install it insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive and wait for the installation instructions to
appear on your screen.
The application software is very compact and takes less than 4Mb of space on your computer.
4.3 Running IT-Explorer
To use IT-Explorer to connect to a local IT1000 tester, firstly attach one end of the supplied cable to
the port on the tester labelled DTE and the other end to a free serial port of your PC or laptop
computer, then switch on the tested as described in Chapter 2.
ZBe careful not to confuse the two ports on your tester. Connecting an ISDN line to the DTE port can cause physical
damage to your unit and should be avoided.
You can also use the IT-Explorer software to connect to a remote tester. This is very useful if you
send a tester to a remote site and need to make it run tests from your PC and get instant confirmation
of the results.
The easiest way to connect to a remote tester is by using another IT1000 unit as they are
preconfigured to operate in this way, however, any ISDN Terminal Adaptor capable of Multiframe
V.120 can be used. If you use a third part TA, ensure you correctly set the initialisation string (see
4.4.2 Initialisation String)