Telecom Technical [SoHo] Sharing one line for fax and voice?

Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
[SoHo] Sharing one line for fax and voice? John Doe 04-04-06
Posted by John Doe on April 4, 2006, 4:06 pm
Please log in for more thread options


Hi

        We currently have two landlines, one totally unbundled (ie.
voice is VoIP on an ADSL line), and the other is a regular analog
line, just to receive faxes.

Since we receive very few faxes these days, we'd like to close the
second line, and receive faxes on the ADSL line.

Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11
plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct
the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem?

Thank you.

Posted by Rich Piehl on April 4, 2006, 10:15 pm
Please log in for more thread options


John Doe wrote:
> Hi
>
>         We currently have two landlines, one totally unbundled (ie.
> voice is VoIP on an ADSL line), and the other is a regular analog
> line, just to receive faxes.
>
> Since we receive very few faxes these days, we'd like to close the
> second line, and receive faxes on the ADSL line.
>
> Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11
> plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct
> the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem?
>
> Thank you.

Yes, there are device sharing boxes that do what you describe.
Essentially what they do is "answer" the ringing line and listen for
incoming fax tones. They also generate a ringback tone so the caller
continues to hear a ring and doesn't know the line has been "answered."

My experience has been that these boxes work well for a year or two and
then their reliability drops off. I don't think they're that expensive
(guess - under $50), so you're not replacing a $5K piece of equipment.
Just don't plan on installing and having it work for decades.

Take care,
Rich

God bless the USA

--
You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look
that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'

- Dave Barry

Posted by John Doe on April 5, 2006, 2:49 am
Please log in for more thread options


On Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:15:47 -0500, Rich Piehl
>My experience has been that these boxes work well for a year or two and
>then their reliability drops off. I don't think they're that expensive
>(guess - under $50), so you're not replacing a $5K piece of equipment.
>Just don't plan on installing and having it work for decades.

Thanks for the info. I'll google around to find sites that sell those
thingies. Hopefully they also work in Europe.

Posted by Rich Piehl on April 5, 2006, 7:27 am
Please log in for more thread options


John Doe wrote:
> On Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:15:47 -0500, Rich Piehl
>
>>My experience has been that these boxes work well for a year or two and
>>then their reliability drops off. I don't think they're that expensive
>>(guess - under $50), so you're not replacing a $5K piece of equipment.
>>Just don't plan on installing and having it work for decades.
>
>
> Thanks for the info. I'll google around to find sites that sell those
> thingies. Hopefully they also work in Europe.

A couple of name brands for them in the US are "The Stick" and
"Comshare." I know I've seen other brands, but the names didn't stay
with me.

I can't speak for how they would work in Europe; I have no European
phone experience. But I would assume that European fax machines put out
the same tones as the ones in the USA.

Take care,
Rich

God bless the USA

--
You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look
that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'

- Dave Barry

Posted by John Doe on April 5, 2006, 7:14 pm
Please log in for more thread options


On Wed, 05 Apr 2006 06:27:41 -0500, Rich Piehl
>A couple of name brands for them in the US are "The Stick" and
>"Comshare." I know I've seen other brands, but the names didn't stay
>with me.

Thx, found them:

http://faxswitch.com/stick.html
http://www.command-comm.com/

>I can't speak for how they would work in Europe; I have no European
>phone experience. But I would assume that European fax machines put out
>the same tones as the ones in the USA.

OK. I was just concerned because I sort of remembered that fax
machines in NA and Europe didn't work the same as to which party sent
the fax tone first; I thought it was caller first in Europe, and
callee first in NA, but maybe it's just old age ;-)

I'll take a look at whatever's available in the range $50-100.

Thank you.

Similar ThreadsPosted
[SoHo] Sharing one line for fax and voice? April 4, 2006, 4:06 pm
Sharing Global Address Lists in Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 December 4, 2004, 7:45 pm
Voice Traffic August 24, 2004, 10:27 pm
2 voice lines in an cat5 env March 3, 2005, 5:16 am
AT&T Voice mail system August 7, 2005, 5:26 am
Voice Mail Recording December 7, 2005, 3:16 pm
Visual Voice Guru? April 3, 2006, 5:02 pm
Norstar NAM voice mail May 14, 2006, 8:03 pm
Ringless Voice Messaging March 21, 2008, 5:02 pm
Hang up voice call BEFORE it is answered. January 10, 2005, 5:05 pm
Toshiba Perfect Voice Tis16 February 19, 2005, 11:54 am
Repartee Active Voice Sytem February 22, 2005, 10:09 pm
Voice and Data Products for your customers November 26, 2005, 9:20 am
Interactive Voice Response - IVR Info May 4, 2006, 6:33 pm
Interactive Voice Response - IVR Info August 1, 2006, 3:19 pm