Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!cogsci!costin
From: costin@cogsci.ucsd.EDU (Dan Costin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: faxmodems and phone lines
Message-ID: <153@cogsci.ucsd.EDU>
Date: 7 Jun 90 17:06:14 GMT
References: <QaPa9CO00UhBI131QZ@andrew.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: costin@cogsci (Dan Costin)
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Lines: 23

There are several of these devices that I have seen in the past, but I
got a faxmodem recently and I've looked at two of these device selectors:
- the one in the New Yorker (Haverhills, or something like that), about
$70 or $80, I think lets your fax answer; if your fax doesn't connect in
a couple of seconds or so a synth-woman comes on, tells you to wait a second,
and starts ringing the phone.  It works just fine, except that each caller
gets the annoying fax connection signal for a few seconds.
- another one is the Eliminator, from Sharper Image, for about $160.  It has
separate output lines for a phone line, and answering machine line, and a fax
line.  It works by looking for the little bleep most faxes put out even before
connecting.  These bleeps go out every 3 seconds or so, so I assume the
ELiminator picks up the phone, and if it hears the bleep it transfers the call
to the fax line.  For faxes that don't send the bleep, they have to send out a
pushbutton code, I believe, or you can do the whole thing manually.  The one
drawback of the eliminator is that you can't have extensions -- the Eliminator
must be plugged in before the line splits for all the phones in your house.

I'd be very interested to hear about other devices, especially ones that are
smart enough to deal with extensions (I live in an apartment and the lines are
split before they enter the apartment) and don't greet callers with a loud fax
noise.

-dan