Viking E-1600AST2IPEWP VoIP Tower Phone IP66 LED Strobe PoE

Viking Electronics E-1600AST2IPEWP VoIP Emergency Tower Phone with LED Strobe and Enhanced Weather Protection

Overview

The Viking Electronics E-1600AST2IPEWP is an ADA-compliant, two-button VoIP emergency tower phone engineered for outdoor and demanding indoor environments where reliable, hands-free SIP communication is non-negotiable. Designed for parking structures, campus pathways, transit platforms, and industrial perimeters, it combines a 95 dB SPL loudspeaker, a high-power LED strobe/beacon, a built-in voice announcer, and an auto-dialer into a compact 5.0" x 5.0" x 2.25" surface-mount enclosure. The Enhanced Weather Protection (EWP) designation means foam rubber gaskets and sealed connections bring this unit to IP66 ingress protection — keeping it operational at -40°F through 140°F and in humidity up to 100%, conditions that will defeat most commercial intercoms.

Because it draws under 4 watts via PoE Class 1 (IEEE 802.3af), a single Cat5e run handles both data and power. No conduit for 120VAC, no local transformer — just a network drop and a mounting surface.

Key Features

• Hands-Free SIP 2.0 Operation (RFC 3261): Registers as a standard SIP endpoint on any compliant IP PBX or cloud calling platform. No proprietary controller or gateway required — if your VoIP system handles RFC 3261, the E-1600AST2IPEWP connects. This matters during design: budget no additional licensing or adapter hardware.
• 95 dB SPL @ 1m Speaker: That output level cuts through construction noise, HVAC roar, or a busy loading dock. For context, 95 dB at one meter is roughly equivalent to a gas-powered lawn mower at arm's length. In a covered parking deck with significant ambient noise, callers will hear the response clearly.
• High-Power LED Strobe/Beacon: Visual alerting runs simultaneously with the audio call, critical for ADA compliance scenarios and for locations where hearing protection is worn. The beacon also serves as a visual locator — useful in low-light parking structures where callers need to spot the device before they can use it.
• Voice Announcer: Pre-recorded or customizable announcements can guide users through the call sequence without requiring live attendant pickup. Useful for after-hours deployments where the call rings to an answering service or auto-attendant.
• Two-Button Auto-Dialer: Dedicated call buttons eliminate keypad complexity. In emergency-tower applications, reducing steps to one button press is the correct design decision — panicked or injured users cannot navigate menus.
• IP66 Enhanced Weather Protection (EWP): IP66 means sustained, high-pressure water jets won't penetrate the enclosure — rain, car wash spray, or hose-down cleaning of a parking structure floor are all within spec. The EWP foam gasket system handles 100% relative humidity, versus the 5–95% non-condensing limit of non-EWP 1600-IP models. If your site has condensation cycles (cold nights, warm humid days), specify EWP.
• PoE Class 1, Under 4 Watts: The lowest PoE class tier draws the least power from your switch budget. On a 24-port 802.3af switch with a 185W PoE budget, you could theoretically power 46 of these units — far more than any real deployment would require. No auxiliary power supply, no power adapter, no UPS at the device.
• Operating Range -40°F to 140°F: This is a genuine cold-climate specification. Minnesota winters, northern Canadian sites, refrigerated warehouse dock doors — the E-1600AST2IPEWP handles them. The 140°F upper limit also covers summer exposure in unconditioned southern US environments.
• G.711u / G.711a / G.722 Audio Codecs: G.722 delivers wideband (HD) voice quality for clearer two-way communication when the network supports it. G.711u/a ensure compatibility with legacy SIP infrastructure. The codec set covers virtually every enterprise and cloud VoIP environment without transcoding overhead.
• Built-In Relay Contacts (2 Amp): The relay output can trigger an access control strike, a gate controller, or an external strobe/siren on call connect. This allows the tower phone to serve as both the communication device and the access control trigger at a single-point entry — reducing the number of field devices at a gate or door.
• Gel-Filled Butt Connector Wiring: Three gel-filled butt connectors are included for weatherproof field splices on relay and auxiliary wiring. This is the correct termination method for outdoor low-voltage runs exposed to moisture — standard wire nuts will wick water and corrode.

Integration and Compatibility

The E-1600AST2IPEWP connects to any SIP 2.0 (RFC 3261) compliant system: Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Avaya Aura, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing (with a SIP gateway), Asterisk/FreePBX, 3CX, and hosted providers like RingCentral or Vonage Business. Viking Electronics produces a range of Viking Electronics VoIP intercoms and emergency phones that share the same SIP registration model, so this tower phone can be grouped with Viking door phones, entry systems, and mass notification devices under a single dial plan.

Network requirements are minimal: one RJ45 10/100BASE-T port, IEEE 802.3af PoE, and reachability to your SIP registrar. For multi-device deployments in parking structures or campus environments, pair with a managed PoE switch that supports per-port power monitoring — helpful for verifying all tower phones are online without physically inspecting each one. The relay output integrates with most access control systems that accept a dry contact input, making combined call-and-unlock workflows straightforward to wire.

For sites requiring a full mass notification architecture, review our VoIP intercom and emergency phone category to compare additional Viking models and competing platforms. If you are evaluating coverage planning for an outdoor emergency phone network, the VoIP intercom selection guide covers placement density, codec selection, and SIP trunk sizing for multi-zone sites.

Regulatory compliance includes CE, FCC Part 15, and Canada ICES-003 Class A — supporting US, Canadian, and EU deployments from a single SKU inventory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does the E-1600AST2IPEWP require a separate power supply?

A: No. It runs entirely on PoE Class 1 (IEEE 802.3af), drawing under 4 watts. A single Cat5e or Cat6 cable from a standard PoE switch handles both data and power. No 120VAC outlet or power adapter is needed at the device location.

Q: What is the difference between the EWP model and the standard 1600A-IP models?

A: EWP (Enhanced Weather Protection) models add foam rubber gaskets and sealed connections to achieve IP66 ingress protection and support humidity up to 100% relative (including condensing environments). Standard 1600-IP models are rated for 5–95% non-condensing humidity. For outdoor tower phone applications with condensation exposure, the EWP variant is the correct choice.

Q: Will the E-1600AST2IPEWP work with our existing SIP PBX?

A: If your PBX supports SIP 2.0 (RFC 3261), yes. The unit registers as a standard SIP endpoint. It supports G.711u, G.711a, and G.722 codecs, which cover virtually all enterprise SIP infrastructure. No proprietary gateway or controller is required.

Q: What can the relay contacts be used for?

A: The 2-amp relay contacts are a dry contact output that can trigger an electric door strike, gate controller, external strobe, or alarm input on an access control panel when a call connects. This allows one device to handle both emergency communication and access control at a single entry point.

Q: Is this phone ADA compliant?

A: Yes. The E-1600AST2IPEWP is described by Viking Electronics as ADA compliant. The combined audio (95 dB SPL speaker) and visual (high-power LED strobe/beacon) alerting supports hearing-impaired users, and the two-button interface minimizes operational complexity for all users.

Q: What is the operating temperature range?

A: The unit operates from -40°F to 140°F (-40°C to 60°C), making it suitable for cold-climate outdoor deployments, refrigerated dock areas, and high-heat southern US environments.

Ted Perry

The spec I keep pointing integrators to on the E-1600AST2IPEWP is the humidity rating: 100% RH with the EWP gasket system versus the 5–95% non-condensing ceiling on standard 1600-IP variants. That difference is the whole reason to specify EWP on outdoor tower installations — daily condensation cycles in a parking structure or a cold-storage dock threshold will eventually work moisture into a non-sealed enclosure. The E-1600AST2IPEWP is built for that reality.

Technical Highlights:

• PoE Class 1, sub-4W draw: The lowest PoE class tier. On a 185W 24-port 802.3af switch, power budget is essentially a non-issue for this device. Run it off the same switch serving your IP cameras without a second thought about port wattage allocation.
• 95 dB SPL @ 1m speaker: Enough output to be clearly heard in a busy loading dock or an open parking deck with wind noise. Combined with the LED strobe, you get both audio and visual call indication — which is what ADA compliance actually requires in practice, not just a checkbox.
• G.722 wideband codec support: Wideband audio on a tower phone is undervalued. When the callee is trying to understand a distressed or panicked caller over a noisy background, HD voice quality reduces miscommunication. If your SIP infrastructure supports G.722, enable it on this extension.

Deployment Considerations:

• Surface mount only — plan your rough-in accordingly. The 5.0" x 5.0" x 2.25" footprint and single RJ45 connection mean a standard single-gang recessed back box will not work; the enclosure mounts directly to a flat surface with the network cable entering from behind or below.
• The gel-filled butt connectors provided are the correct termination for the relay wiring in outdoor environments — do not substitute standard wire nuts on any relay run that exits the conduit into an outdoor splice point. Moisture wicking through standard nuts will cause intermittent relay faults that are difficult to diagnose remotely.

This is the right device for a campus blue-light or parking structure emergency phone network where the SIP dial plan already exists and you need a PoE-powered, IP66-rated, ADA-compliant endpoint that drops in without a separate power infrastructure. It is not the device for a wall-mount indoor lobby intercom where a smaller form factor or handset option would serve better.