IP Talk-Back Speakers

[geopeterwc]

I purchased a Benbria Blazepoint IP Talk-Back Speaker from eBay, intending to use it as an overhead paging speaker. I assumed that the web-based interface to it would be adequately intuitive to configure it.

On reset (hold the reset for 30 seconds, then repower the speaker ... be patient. It takes a long time for the speaker to complete its' power-up sequence.), the device audibly plays the IP address that it received via DHCP as expected. But, using a browser I'm unable to access the configuration page(s) to get things set up. I'm obviously missing something significant. (I've tried both HTTP and HTTPS to access the configuration pages.)

Documentation for the IP Talk-Back speaker was not included, and I've been unable to locate other than very high-level overview descriptions. The product line I understand was acquired from Benbria by Mitel - as part of Mitel's "Mass Notification" product line. But, Mitel has been of no help!

I'm hoping that someone might have an installation/configuration/user guide for this speaker and willing to provide a copy or share a link to the document online. Any help would be appreciated.

/Pete./

 

[atsak]

I'd use nmap to scan for open ports, they are likely running http on an alt port I would guess.

 

[Bart]

Watching

 

[phonebuff]

Not sure what you have tried but you may need a specific URL like

Http://192.168.10.5/setup or /admin

My foogle finds nothing for these devices i the way of documentation.

 

[kenn10]

The company Benbria appears to exist still but they don't seem to deal with hardware anymore. You might consider contacting them directly to see if they can advise who took over their product line.

 

[geopeterwc]

Thank you, @atsak, @phonebuff and @kenn10. I ran nmap on the IP address of the speaker, and found only ports 80 and 5060 open. Multiple options using http and https, i.e., http://Speaker_IP/admin, .../setup, .../config and several others: no luck. I had previously contacted Benbria only to learn that the speaker product had teen transferred to Mitel. Mitel tech support referred me to CDW.com. After a long conversation with a rep at CDW, he agreed to probe Mitel for the necessary information. We'll see what happens on that front.

I've determined that a school district in California issued an RFP in late 2016 to upgrade their existing Benbria paging and announcement system. I intend to contact the IT folks there to see if any support/configuration information can be found.

Got my fingers crossed ...

/Pete./

 

[kenn10]

Looking at various google searches, I think that Algo maybe bought the VOIP paging stuff from Bembria and then Mitel took it over. I found a guide under Algo that may or may not be of any value. For what its worth, check this out: http://www.algosolutions.com/pdf/user_guides/8188 User Guide.pdf

There is also an Algo speaker locator program that can be downloaded using a link in that guide.

 

[geopeterwc]

THIS JUST IN: I got some information from another user (a California High School district) of the Benbria Blazepoint speakers ... and this is insightful: configuration of the speaker is accomplished using SSH (no nice GUI available) and the commands are cryptic at best. I'm hoping for a copy of the user guide in the coming days, so putting this IP Talk-Back speaker into service may still be in the cards!

But to get started, and after a manual reset of the speaker, launch a terminal or SSH session to: bpadmin@[assigned_IP]. At the prompt for the password, enter "admin". From there it's Linux commands, defined by Benbria and ultimately accepted by Mitel!

To see the available options, after logging in, type 'set ?'; the response will show what's available. Type the command, followed by a ?, and additional information will be presented.

It'll be a long slog to get the details configured, but for $37.50 on eBay (more than 10 available), and enough time ... we'll see where this goes!

/Pete./

 

[paco3346]

@geopeterwc Did you ever get this working? I stumbled across another ebay posting for these speakers and they seem like they'd meet my needs but I hesitate to order them if I'm not sure they'll work.

 

[geopeterwc]

YES @paco3346! Though I haven't installed them yet (probably next week), the configuration is done entirely through an SSH session/command line. I've compiled a list of the configuration options (attached) that is helpful as the SSH session is navigated. Also using the Paging and Intercom application built into Incredible PBX, allows easy access to multiple talk-back speakers simultaneously as well as individually by calling the extension number assigned to the speaker.

 

[paco3346]

Awesome, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear! I'll buy some and let you know how the install goes.

 

[paco3346]

@geopeterwc I'm guessing I have a different firmware on mine. I was unable to get the speaker to pick up a DHCP address so I plugged it directly into my machine and just watched packets with wireshark.

At first I saw the DHCP request and even though my server was responding the speaker wasn't picking it up. (Or so it would seem.)
Eventually I noticed there was an ARP request for 3 specific static IPs (192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.254, 10.40.142.1) coming from 3 other seemingly random IPs (192.168.0.196, 192.168.1.159, 10,40,124,208). I changed my interface to that subnet and was able to SSH into the speaker but was greeted with this disappointing message.


The firmware date is curious- 2017. This has also obviously been upgraded since the Mitel acquisition. Furthermore, I see DNS lookups for blazecast.blazepoint.local and mmnserver.mitel.local

Does any of this look similar to your experience?

Edit: 2 of the 6 units I purchased are dead. (The other 4 all run Mitel firmware but match the command structure posted in the previous PDF.) The one shown above gets stuck here and the other simply doesn't power on (tried both PoE and 19V DC).
To anyone else who comes across this thread: during boot the red LED stays on. Eventually when the green LED is on the speaker is ready. I had to push the 'IP' button just once after this for it to announce its address.

 

[geopeterwc]

@paco3346 First press-and-hold (30 seconds or more) the reset button (it is recessed, requiring the tip of a paper clip, etc.), disconnect the POE cable, then reconnect it. It may take a minute or more, (wait for the light to go steady red - the light will turn steady green when the speaker is on line and registered to your SIP server) but it should then get an IP address. Press the "IP" button to hear the speaker report the IP address that it received from your network DHCP server. Then, follow the attached configuration information.

 

[rbarranc]

@geopeterwc I'm guessing I have a different firmware on mine. I was unable to get the speaker to pick up a DHCP address so I plugged it directly into my machine and just watched packets with wireshark.

At first I saw the DHCP request and even though my server was responding the speaker wasn't picking it up. (Or so it would seem.)
Eventually I noticed there was an ARP request for 3 specific static IPs (192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.254, 10.40.142.1) coming from 3 other seemingly random IPs (192.168.0.196, 192.168.1.159, 10,40,124,208). I changed my interface to that subnet and was able to SSH into the speaker but was greeted with this disappointing message.

View attachment 2570
The firmware date is curious- 2017. This has also obviously been upgraded since the Mitel acquisition. Furthermore, I see DNS lookups for blazecast.blazepoint.local and mmnserver.mitel.local

Does any of this look similar to your experience?

Edit: 2 of the 6 units I purchased are dead. (The other 4 all run Mitel firmware but match the command structure posted in the previous PDF.) The one shown above gets stuck here and the other simply doesn't power on (tried both PoE and 19V DC).
To anyone else who comes across this thread: during boot the red LED stays on. Eventually when the green LED is on the speaker is ready. I had to push the 'IP' button just once after this for it to announce its address.

Check again, i bought a few as well from ebay and i thought a couple of them were busted because there was no indication on the NIC light and realized that they were not busted when plugged them in on a switch i had on my desk and realizing the light on the ports were actually coming on..

 

[geopeterwc]

Check again, i bought a few as well from ebay and i thought a couple of them were busted because there was no indication on the NIC light and realized that they were not busted when plugged them in on a switch i had on my desk and realizing the light on the ports were actually coming on..

Yeah ... it seems to take a while (minutes?) before the light on the speaker to give any indication at all! I thought the same thing (i.e., defective) but left the speaker connected and came back several minutes later to find that there was "life" in it, after all. Then, followed the reference to reset the speaker, then wait again for the speaker to come to life. Then, pressing the "IP" button, I was able to identify the DHCP address assigned. The rest was 'history.'
/Pete./

 

[rbarranc]

Yeah ... it seems to take a while (minutes?) before the light on the speaker to give any indication at all! I thought the same thing (i.e., defective) but left the speaker connected and came back several minutes later to find that there was "life" in it, after all. Then, followed the reference to reset the speaker, then wait again for the speaker to come to life. Then, pressing the "IP" button, I was able to identify the DHCP address assigned. The rest was 'history.'
/Pete./

Mine didnt took minutes, but the network port light on the speaker never came up.. but it worked for me.
im currently testing at max volume.
also the command were different than what is in the pdf for me, here are the commands i used:

asssuming my PBX server is 192.168.1.120
and my extension for the speaker is 1003

set sip configuration registrar=192.168.1.120
set sip configuration extension=1003
set sip configuration password=23DF44f%%##@342
set config commit

 

[paco3346]

I was able to get all but 1 speaker to work. That last one really does seem dead. (I even let it sit for 30+ minutes multiple times. Couldn't even get anything with DC power.)

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

 

[krzykat]

I was able to get it configured and working, but then unplugging the POE and plugging it back in - - gets a DHCP IP - but goes RED, and an attempt to SSH accepts the info but then closes putty immediately.
Thoughts?

 

[geopeterwc]

I was able to get it configured and working, but then unplugging the POE and plugging it back in - - gets a DHCP IP - but goes RED, and an attempt to SSH accepts the info but then closes putty immediately.
Thoughts?

When the speaker is configured using an SSH session, any changes made must be "committed" to save the changes made. (set config commit)

At this point, it would probably be a good idea to reset the speaker to factory default - with the speaker powered, press and hold the reset button 30 seconds, then disconnect it and reconnect it to your network. Then go through the configuration setting to assign the speaker to your PBX.

At a minimum, when configuring the speaker, using set sip configuration, and the speaker registers with your iPBX, you MUST follow the configuration settings with set config commit or, when the speaker is powered down/up it will return to it's prior (unregistered) settings. It will probably get the same IP address from your DHCP server as it had before, permitting your SSH access to the same IP address as before. Generally, most of the rest of the setting options (date, time, system password, etc.) can be skipped and the speaker will function.

To configure the speaker, use set sip configuration followed by extension=1234 password=secret registrar=your_iPBX_IP_address <enter> (all on the same line. Confirm that the speaker is registered, and then the command set config commit.

I also find that setting the "chirp" option to "enabled" is useful (set audio chirp enable) will give an audible beep when the speaker has an IP address and registered to your PBX.

Registration can be confirmed with the show command: show sip state
and other configuration information (IP address, registrar, extension, etc.) can be confirmed using the command: show sip configuration

/Pete./