[asterisk-users] Polycom 430 , 501 and 550

[Jeff Davis]

Stephen Bosch wrote:
> Justin Hamade wrote:
>> The 501 is more "weird" then that.  The cat5 cable with the built in
>> power injector is cool but to use it with a PoE (802.3af) switch you
>> need a "special" cable (the pairs are just different you can probably
>> look it up and make your own).
> 
> Is this true? I read earlier on the list that there's some sort of logic
> unit in the cable -- but if it's just a matter of pin assignments, I'll
> make my own effing cable ;)
> 
> Does anybody have a clear answer on this?

The IP 501 supports both Cisco and 802.11af with different cables. While 
there are pin assignments differences, there are also electrical 
differences in the discovery protocols. The special cable is an artifact 
of this.

I don't know of anyone who was able to make the phone work without the 
cable, and the 501 is not designed to work without it. If it were just a 
matter of pin assignments, then people would be selling cables on eBay.

I notice that now that 802.11af is THE standard, Polycom is supporting 
it on their new phones without any special cables.



--
Jeff Davis
Netsource Consulting
Polycom Certified Reseller