Best Broadband Option using Fax machine

imsi

Current Set up is 2 phone lines, 1 for speech one for Internet dial up and Fax machine.
Lots of incoming faxes make answering phone and getting whirring noises a pain.

When changing to broadband I believe faxes still come in on the phone side.
What is the best way to have voice calls in and out not affected by internet and fax use?

I am fairly tech savvy but I am asking on behalf of friends who are a bit less so. Simple solutions appreciated

albertross_2

If you are still going to have two phone lines, use one for speech, one for fax, and the internet is always on (through a adsl filter splitter).

Am I understanding your query correctly, or do you mean you have one phone number, with 2 extensions?

imsi

albertross wrote:

If you are still going to have two phone lines, use one for speech, one for fax, and the internet is always on (through a adsl filter splitter).

Am I understanding your query correctly, or do you mean you have one phone number, with 2 extensions?

Sorry not to make it clear. Looking for a solution using just one phone line.
I think some ISP's may include a seperate phone number for fax but have no idea of the pros cons or cost.

albertross_2

How about a fax switch..

e.g.

http://www.deltacom.co.uk/hwfs002.htm

http://www.deltacom.co.uk/hwfs001.htm


or electronic fax (if you get a lot, and can change the number).

http://www.efax.co.uk/?google2&VID=38707

http://www.faxtastic.co.uk/view/s/page/pricing/

etc..

normal

Isn't there any cheaper way to send and recieve faxes on my computer (via broadband) than efax? £7.50 a month is a bit steep for something I might use every couple of months.

albertross_2

There is always a cheaper way.., and I'm sure someone else will post some options.

The links were provided as examples of the technology options, rather than the cheapest available.. google!

If you look at the faxtastic link, the last option is free for the receiver (the caller pays 10p/minute to send you the fax instead).

If you have a fax modem, you could use that, but the PC will need to be switched on all the time.

If you have a fax machine, some have a fax switches built in, but other phones in the house will still ring..

If you have a fax machine without a fax switch, then you can buy a fax switch..

John_Gray

Your main problem is that faxing is a dial-up mechanism, and you will be on broadband, which of course is always on! So you need to have some hardware or software mechanism which can bypass this new 'problem', as was previously suggested by Albert Ross.

To be quite honest, why not consider if you can simply bypass your current requirement for faxing by using attachments to emails instead?

It can't be too long before fax machines become as obsolete as 8-track cartridges, music cassettes and videotape recorders, and thus a dying technology, no longer sold by Dixons (surely the ultimate arbiter of whether something has passed its sell-by date!). How many all-in-one machines still have a fax option, as well as the scan/copy/print features, for example?

Not an answer to your problem, but a potential bypass!

John

redux

I don't think it is so complicated. I hardly use fax, but this is possible ... no need at all for a fax machine ...

For receive, get a fax to email service. Efax and others will give you a free 0870, 0845 or 0560 number. If you think you will encounter complaints about the cost of people ringing this [edit - 0560 costs just the connect fee via 1899], you could rent an ordinary area code number for from £1.99 per month - a lot cheaper than a separate BT line.

For transmit, Windows has a fax service built in, as I only recently realised from another thread, but it isn't normally installed - go to Add/remove Programs, choose Windows components, and follow prompts - insert XP disk etc. Once installed, in Accessories > Communication > Fax there are Fax Console, Fax Cover Page Editor and Send a Fax links. It is very easy to set up.

Dialling up fax doesn't clash with broadband use. Most dial-up modems will do fax as well as internet. If you've converted to broadband, you'll still have a modem installed, or buy one for a few quid. Plug the cable into the spare ordinary socket on the filter.

To send a fax, you can either open the Send a Fax link, or in Office documents Fax is included as a printer option and imports the document into the Send program. I managed to figure it out very easily the other day and have sent myself 4 trial ones to my 0870 eFax and other 0845 numbers - the calls were ok with and without 1899 and 18185 prefix - the 0845 hasn't received and I'm waiting for a follow up reply from the provider. I'm sure that if I send one now to friends' ordinary fax numbers there would be no problem at all, and will try this soon.

So yes, I think the actual machine is redundant, and can be replaced with a free or £2 a month rented fax-to-email number, a modem for £10, and cheap outgoing calls (1899 or free off-peak cps etc) made on the existing voice line. Disconnect the internet dial-up and fax line - overall this should save £100 a year in line rental, plus the print costs of faxes that do not need to have paper copies.

martindow

We have just one line with broadband. The filters supplied sort out the separation of adsl and the phones. The fax and phone are on the same line. When someone sends a fax we answer the call, hear the fax tone and press start on the fax. Unless you send and receive a huge number of faxes I would not have thought you could justify the cost of a second line.