A B737-200 PIC FAILS TO MAKE THE ALT AND SPD RESTR AT MAJEK INTXN AND IS QUERIED ABOUT THIS BY APCH CTLR AT LAX; CA.

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DURING OUR DSCNT INTO ONT ON THE ZIGGY 3 ARR; WE WERE ISSUED A CLRNC BY ZLA TO CROSS MAJEK INTXN AT 14000 FT. AFTER XING MPD; I MENTALLY RECALCULATED MY DSCNT PROFILE AND REALIZED THAT AT OUR CURRENT RATE OF DSCNT; WE WOULD HAVE NO PROB MAKING THE XING RESTR AT MAJEK. AT THAT MOMENT; I BECAME DISTR BY A CALL FROM THE FLT ATTENDANTS ON THE INTERPHONE. EVEN THOUGH THE INTERPHONE CONVERSATION LASTED LESS THAN 2 MINS; IT WAS LONG ENOUGH FOR ME TO NEGLECT THE DSCNT RATE; AND THE ACFT SHALLOWED OUT AT APPROX 1000 FPM RATE OF DSCNT. AFTER FINISHING THE INTERPHONE CONVERSATION; MY (FULL) ATTN RETURNED TO FLYING THE AIRPLANE. AT THAT POINT; WE WERE 5 MI FROM MAJEK AND STILL HAD APPROX 3000 FT TO GO TO MAKE THE RESTR. I INCREASED THE RATE OF DSCNT AND ATC CALLED CLRNC TO CROSS HITOP INTXN AT 13000 FT AND 250 KIAS AND ASKED IF WE WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT. I REPLIED THAT WE WOULD. (WE ACTUALLY CROSSED MAJEK AT ROUGHLY 15000 FT AND APPROX 280 KIAS.) SHORTLY AFTER XING HITOP; WE WERE SWITCHED TO APCH CTL. THE APCH CTLR ASKED US HOW WE INTERPED THE APCH PLATE LANGUAGE AT MAJEK -- SPECIFICALLY IF WE THOUGHT THE SPD RESTR WAS WORDED AMBIGUOUSLY. I REPLIED WITH AN APOLOGY AND STATED THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THE STAR TO REQUIRE A SPD OF 250 KIAS AT MAJEK; AND THAT IT WAS SIMPLY MY FAULT FOR NOT MAKING IT. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CONFUSION RECENTLY OVER HOW THE XING RESTR AT MAJEK IS TO BE INTERPED. SINCE THE VERBIAGE ON THE STAR BEGINS WITH 'EXPECT CLRNC;' APPARENTLY SOME INTERP THAT TO INCLUDE THE AIRSPD OF 250 KIAS AS SOMETHING TO COMPLY WITH [ONLY] IF THE CLRNC IS ISSUED. I SUGGESTED THAT IF THE AIRSPD RESTR WAS LISTED FIRST; FOLLOWED BY 'EXPECT CLRNC;' THE CONFUSION MIGHT BE ELIMINATED. AS FOR MY DEV; I CAN ONLY REDOUBLE MY EFFORTS TO FLY THE AIRPLANE FIRST AND NOT ALLOW DISTRS TO TAKE PRIORITY OR TO XFER ACFT TO THE FO MOMENTARILY. IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE; THIS WAS NOT FEASIBLE AS THE FO WAS 'OFF FREQ' AT THE TIME ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT ONT OPS TO GIVE THEM OUR IN-RANGE CALL. ONE FURTHER DISTR THAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS SIT WAS THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR -200 SERIES ACFT THAT WE WERE OPERATING; THE VOLUME CTL ON THE AUDIO SELECT PANEL WAS HORRENDOUS. EACH RADIO OR SETTING THAT WAS SELECTED BY THE ROTARY SELECTOR KNOWN ON THE AUDIO SELECT PANEL HAD A DIFFERENT VOLUME LEVEL. WHEN USING VHF 1; FOR EXAMPLE; WE HAD TO TURN THE VOLUME ALMOST FULL DOWN; YET WHEN WE USED THE INTERPHONE SYS WE HAD TO TURN THE VOLUME FULL UP AND EVEN THEN THE FLT ATTENDANT WAS BARELY AUDIBLE. THIS; OF COURSE; MEANT THAT MORE ATTN HAD TO BE GIVEN TO THE AUDIO SELECT PANEL THAN USUAL; AND SO LESS THAN MY FULL ATTN WAS AVAILABLE FOR FLYING THE PLANE. MY IMPRESSION; BASED ON THE RADIO CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH ZLA AND ONT APCH CTL WAS THAT THEY WERE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE AIRSPD DEV; AS THEY PERCEIVE A TREND IN THAT AREA.