Jon_Are

Home Fax Machines

With a home fax machine - do I need a separate phone line/phone number to send and receive faxes?

Or, do I just plug the machine into an existing wall jack, after which it will receive faxes sent to my current (normal) home phone number?

Thanks,

Jon

WayneO

You can use your main line. You would probably set the fax to pick up after six rings so it doesn't get to the phone be you do. And it obviously tie up your line when using the fax and you probably would need to shut off an anwering machine as well if you had one.

If the best advice is "listen for yourself", then why offer your opinion?

Jon_Are

So, I just connect it to an existing phone jack and tell folks that my fax number is the same as my home phone number?

Can I leave both my answering machine and fax machine on and ready to receive a call at all times?

Jon

WayneO

Yes.

Hooking up both devices on one line, I don't see how you could do it without conflict. Questions that I can't answer, but you'll have to test. If you set your fax and answering machine to pick up at 6 rings, which one will actually get the call first? If it's the fax, will the answering machine record the fax noise or will it interrupt the fax signal? If it's the answering machine, the fax machine won't get the fax. If you set one to answer quicker, that device will always get the call. Looks like one or the other to me.

If the best advice is "listen for yourself", then why offer your opinion?

Scott Barnhart

The best way to hook up a fax machine to a phone line and have it all work correctly is to get "Distinctive Ring" from your phone provider (and a fax machine that supports it, which probably all modern ones do).

The phone co. gives you another phone number which rings on your main line, but with a different ringing pattern which your Fax machine can then recognize, and pick up the phone before your answering machine does.

This is how I do mine, and it works like a charm. I think I am paying $5/month for distinctive ring service.

Scott Barnhart

Tom Grooms

A lot of modern fax machines (hardware and software) have answering machines built in. When the machine picks up it will play your recorded greeting and if it hears a fax tone automatically switch to receive your document.

E-fax is another option...

Jon_Are

What I need, though, is a combo printer/fax/scanner/copier. I don't imagine that there are there any of these that have a built-in answering machine?

Jon

Jim_F

It's not a space saving approach, but my computer setup does all of those things. Fax/data/voice modem, USB scanner, photo printer, and HotFax software.

Maybe not what you had in mind, though.

"Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember."

BrianSimmons

It is fine to have it on the same line. I have an HP 4 in 1 and a seperate answering maching on my line. The answering machine is set to pick up after 4 rings, the fax after 6 rings. Obviously the fax machine should never pick up a call. However, it does monitor the line and if the answering machine (or a person for that mater) picks up a fax call (which is determined by the incoming fax tones), it automatically picks up the line and receives the fax. All fax machines have this monitoring feature as far as I know. The only thing you need to make sure is that your answering maching will hang up if another line is picked up in the house. Most machines do this, and it is easy to test. Wait for a call and let the machine pick it up - pick up another phone somewhere in the house and make sure the answering machine hangs up automatically.

The short answer is that both will work fine as long as the answering machine is set to pick up the line before the fax machine.

Jon_Are

So...I don't need to pay the phone company extra every month for distinctive ring service?

Jon

Brian W. Ralston

You can also buy a FAX Switch. They are around $100 but well wo