Here the setup. A home office with 2 lines (one fax = line A, one voice = line B) the voice line has unlimited reagonal calling. The person (my father) when faxing out switches the fax to line B so the call cost nothing but forgets to switch back. Resulting in missed faxes and an ear full of fax tone for the unsuspecting caller.
Is there a switch I can get him that would automatically send on line B but receive on line A?
I have considered getting him another fax machine for sending but his office doesn’t have the space. Also internet fax sites are out of the question as he refuses to learn how to use the computer.
Any suggestions?
Sorry, I’ve never heard of such a switch.
One solution to your problem is to use a PC to receive all your fax. Any PC with a fax modem can do it, and with the right software (not free, but cheaper than a new fax machine) it can be set up to print all incoming fax on the printer. This way you can use your existing fax machine for sending only. The only problem is, you can’t use such a setup if your PC uses the modem to connect to the Internet.
Thanks for the suggestion, it is almost good enough, but not quite there. As I said, he doesn’t want to learn to use the computer, he doesn’t want to leave it running all the time, and he would have no idea what to do if it locks up or has even a minor problem. Basically using a computer is not going to be part of the solution.
Back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, I was developing fax software for UNIX servers. I had a panasonic KSU (key switch unit) that supported 3 external lines and 8 extensions. While I only used it to call between extensions (so I wouldn’t need 8 phone lines for testing faxing between computers), and as a result didn’t use all of its features, I believe it could be programmed to route an incoming call on a given line to a given extension. The only nit was for outgoing calls you needed to dial 9 to get an outside line.
The downside is cost. These things are priced for the small business market. I’m thinking about buying a panasonic KX-TA624 for my home. The base unit supports 3 lines and 8 extensions like my old KSU, but it can be upgraded to support 6 lines and 24 extensions, voice mail, door openers,
etc.
The base KX-TA624 costs ~$550. You’ll have to decide whether that’s worth it.
For a lot less money, you could just build a physical switch that would switch the fax machine between the two circuits. Stick the switch on the wall. It would be a lot easier to remember to flip the switch than change the wires back and forth.
I remember radio shack had a switch to select between lines. this might be the way to go, at least for now.