Harri Valkama <hv@uwasa.fi> (06/06/91)
Who can recommend for me an automatic fax/phone switch that has a reasonable price. Let's say under $100. It should sniff the incoming call and whether it is a phone call or a fax call direct it to my telephone or fax modem. Here in Finland they are overlypriced; the local telephone company tried to sell me one that cost 1500FIM (about $350) !!! Also a fax number for the company that sells these is very welcome. I guess this device should work the same whether it is used in US or Europe or what. Power supply is perhaps different but not a real problem. I mean that it should work with phone and fax signals or are there any differences concerning this kind of scheme. Harri Valkama, University of Vaasa, Finland P.O. Box 700, 65101 VAASA, Finland (tel:+358 61 248426 fax:+358 61 248465) Anon ftp garbo.uwasa.fi (128.214.12.37) & nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) hv@uwasa.fi hv@finfiles.bitnet /s=hv/o=uwasa/prdm=inet/amdm=fumail/c=fi
Francesco Caserta <caserta@athena.mit.edu> (06/09/91)
In article <telecom11.430.3@eecs.nwu.edu>, hv@uwasa.fi (Harri Valkama) writes: > Who can recommend for me an automatic fax/phone switch that has a > reasonable price. Let's say under $100. It should sniff the incoming > call and whether it is a phone call or a fax call direct it to my > telephone or fax modem. Here in Finland they are overlypriced; the > local telephone company tried to sell me one that cost 1500FIM (about > $350) !!! > Also a fax number for the company that sells these is very welcome. I > guess this device should work the same whether it is used in US or > Europe or what. Power supply is perhaps different but not a real > problem. I mean that it should work with phone and fax signals or are > there any differences concerning this kind of scheme. I'm also in the market for one of these devices, although, more specifically, for a fax/modem/a.m./phone switch. Lately I've done some `homework' and come up with the following products. Before I start the list, I should premise a few considerations. I've been told that even among G3 fax machines there is no guaranty that they will issue a CNG tone when calling. I've heard that it's mandatory in Europe, but not in North America. I don't know if this is true and if, anyway, the exceptions are actually very few. The behaviuor of modems seems even more unpredictable regarding the issueing of a distintive tone. I hope that someone more knowledgeable will clarify this for us on this matter, because otherwise it's better to forget that these boxes do any good. 1) Hello-Direct sells two of these devices: the Crosspoint Autoswitcher I and the Crosspoint Autoswitcher II. The former is a fax/modem/a.m./phone switch, the latter is a fax/a.m./phone switch. Some of the options include: customized access codes, ring delay, phone and auxiliary ring count, ring deduction, open line notification, automatic fax detection. Crosspoint Autoswitcher I $229 Crosspoint Autoswitcher II $129 Hello-Direct, 140 Great Oaks Blvd., San Jose, CA 95119-1347 1-800-444-3556, 1-408-972-1990, (fax) 1-408-972-8155 2) VSI sells SmartMaxII. Model 6000 is a fax/phone switching, while model 6500 adds an auxiliary port for a computer modem or another accessory. VSI sells also many other of these switches. You may want to contact them at 1-800-999-8232, 1-714-687-2492, (fax) 1-714-687-2513. 3) FAX MANIA is another source. They can be contacted at 1-800-33-FAX-55, (fax) 1-804-498-3263. COMMENTS: I have the impression that Hello-Direct's C.A._I is actually the same as the ASAP TF 555 made by Command Communications and sold for much less (~$170) by Lechmere. Francesco Caserta
Howard Siegel <siegel@stsci.edu> (06/10/91)
In <telecom11.437.1@eecs.nwu.edu>, caserta@athena.mit.edu writes: > 1) Hello-Direct sells two of these devices: the Crosspoint > Autoswitcher I and the Crosspoint Autoswitcher II... > Crosspoint Autoswitcher I $229 > COMMENTS: I have the impression that Hello-Direct's C.A._I is actually > the same as the ASAP TF 555 made by Command Communications and sold > for much less (~$170) by Lechmere. In the most recent Hello Direct catalog, the Autoswitcher I was listed at $199. I have not verified that the price has come down or this is a misprint. The Autoswitcher's do look just like the ASAP models. I just saw them on display at my local Staples office supply wharehouse. There are two ASAP models with the same specs as those from Hello Direct. I didn't notice the prices though. Also, Black Box Corp has the ASD-4 Automatic Sharing Device for four devices listed at $199. All of these devices must be made by the same company and OEM'ed to these companies since all of them look identical, except for the colors; the Hello Direct and ASAP models are white (or off white) and the Black Box model is of course black. I have been thinking of picking one of these up too, but for my office where I only have one phone line and just put up my own Telebit T1600 modem (finally 9600 baud!). How well to these devices work with a campus voice mail system on the telephone instead of an answering machine? Howard Siegel siegel@stsci.edu 301-338-5415 TRW c/o Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore MD 21218
David Newman <dnewman@mcc.com> (06/11/91)
Ranier Technologies TB-150 Voice-Data Switch: 17950 NE 65th St. Redmond, WA., 98052 (206) 881-5182 It ran about $100 as I recall, and it seems to work pretty well. I've had it about a year. I'm just a satisfied customer, nothing more.
Lou Kates <louk@tslwat.uucp> (06/17/91)
In article <telecom11.437.1@eecs.nwu.edu> caserta@athena.mit.edu (Francesco Caserta) writes: X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 437, Message 1 of 8 > In article <telecom11.430.3@eecs.nwu.edu>, hv@uwasa.fi (Harri Valkama) > writes: >> Who can recommend for me an automatic fax/phone switch that has a > Before I start the list, I should premise a few considerations. I've > been told that even among G3 fax machines there is no guaranty that > they will issue a CNG tone when calling. This has been mentioned in this newgroup before but in case you missed it, you can get around this by getting a feature variously known as Ident-A-Call, Distinctive Ringing, RingMaster, etc. It may be called something else by your telco but it basically allows you to get multiple phone numbers associated with the same line with each number having a distinctive ringing pattern. Hello Direct and Lynx Automation (2100 196th St SW #144, Lynnwood, WA 98036, 206-744-1582) will sell you a device which listens to the ringing pattern and sends the call to different devices according to the ringing pattern. Since everything takes place BEFORE the call is connected you avoid having to depend on being able to recognize the CNG tone. Lou Kates, Teleride Sage Ltd., louk%tslwat@watmath.waterloo.edu