Hi;
I am unsure how to configure the fax software to work
with an answering machine connected to the saqme line so
they work in tandem. Is this possible?
Right now either the fax answers fiorst of the answering
service answers first. Can you not tell Windows to answer
only if it detects an actual fax comingt in?
Thanks
Alex
The only way any telephone answering device can tell whether an
incoming call is fax, data, or (by exclusion) voice, is to answer it
and "listen" for fax or data tones. Once one device on a line has
picked up the phone, the exchange registers that it has been answered
- there is then no way of "unanswering" it, so that a different device
attached to the same line can answer it.
There are hardware devices that can "pick up the phone", distinguish
between fax and voice calls, and direct them to different "output
lines", first generating ringing signals on the appropriate output
line so that the fax machine or answering machine attached to it
recognises and picks up the call. These are, however, fairly expensive
and not terribly easy to find. Some answering machines and fax
machines incorporate similar technology - these also tend to be
expensive.
One way of automatically handling voice and fax on the same line is to
use a voice-capable modem and communications software which can handle
voice and fax calls (FaxTalk Communicator,
www.faxtalk.com, is one of
many examples of this genre). The computer answers the phone and
(optionally) plays a voice answering machine message. It then (or
simultaneously) listens for fax tones so that it can handle faxes
appropriately but continues in "answering machine" mode if it doesn't
hear them. The biggest problem with this setup is handling fax calls
which come in when you are home, since if you pick up the phone the
computer won't, and you may not be able to activate a manual receive
quickly enough to satisfy the sending machine.
For most (even small) business purposes, two separate lines ae the
answer to this problem. For home use, "call me first" works well.
Please respond to the Newsgroup, so that others may benefit from the exchange.
Peter R. Fletcher
