ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607100003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AT HOME WITH TECHNOLOGY
SOURCE: DAVID BUTLER
Q: I've operated a home-based business for nearly 20 years. In recent years, technology has enabled me to expand without having to hire. However, I've yet to come up with a good way to coordinate all the products that compete for the phone line. Any advice?
A: Your situation is not at all unusual. Off-the-shelf products such as answering machines, modems, telephones and fax machines often don't work well together. Sometimes it seems as if technology is its own worst enemy.
What you need is a telecommunications strategy... no home office should be without one! In fact, anyone with an answering machine, a personal computer and more than one telephone line can probably benefit from a bit of planning in this area.
Of course, if you have the bucks to spend, there are plenty of experienced telcom consultants who would be happy to do a turn-key job for you. For some people, that's the only way to go. However, you don't have be an engineer to come up with your own plan. You just need to know the right products.
Millions of telecommuters and home-based businesses have spawned a dynamic new market for low-cost telcom products. Demand is also coming from ordinary households with increasingly sophisticated communications needs.
For example, the latest electronic telephones offer features previously found only on expensive key systems. Some models can accommodate up to four incoming voice lines and two simultaneous intercom paths. Most nonkey systems will work on conventional "loop" wiring, as long as there's a pair for each incoming voice line. This makes them attractive for a home office.
Most electronic phone systems can coexist with ordinary phones and other nonsystem products. However, not all can detect an "off-hook" condition directly. In other words, the "busy-line" LED may only work on calls that involve another system phone. The result: unintentional "barge-ins." This can be a real headache if you have a fax machine, modem or answering machine.
Fortunately, two types of plug-in devices are available that can compensate for this deficiency. An add-on busy-line indicator lets others know at a glance when a particular line is in use. Alternatively, an electronic blocking device prevents a connected telephone from accessing a line that's currently in use. Both are inexpensive and simple to install.
Another classic problem for the home-office worker is having to manage more than one phone line. Many small businesses have too many lines and don't know it, or think they need more lines - yet aren't fully using what they have. Ideally, there should be just enough lines to handle all call traffic while maintaining an appropriate level of simultaneity (i.e., possible number of simultaneous calls).
OK. So things are never quite ideal. But an intelligent call routing device can get you close. The most common type is the fax switch. It answers all incoming calls on the first ring and then listens for the special fax tone. Voice callers will continue to hear a simulated ringing signal (some more realistic than others) until the switch either rings the connected extension or routes the call to the fax machine.
At prices starting under $100, a stand-alone fax switch allows even the smallest business to view its phone lines as a pool of resources rather than a collection of dedicated lines. Some models also have a modem port or an answering machine port. Two-line switches are even available, though somewhat more complicated to set up.
To receive a list of manufacturers of fax switches, electronic telephones and barge-in accessories, please send $2 and a self-addressed envelope to David Butler F-617, Department TWN, P.O. Box 36352, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236-0352. The list includes toll-free phone numbers and a summary of each company's products. You'll also receive prewiring tips for a home office.
TechTip: If you want to eliminate the busy signal from your telephone's vocabulary, consider supplementing or replacing your answering machine with a telco voice mailbox service. It can do something no answering machine can do - take a message while you're on the phone!
David Butler is a consultant and free-lance writer who specializes in home automation and advanced consumer products.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: A fax switch allows several telecom devices to shareby CNBone telephone line by intelligently routing incoming calls.