Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 6, 1994                   TAG: 9409080041
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

A FAX SWITCH CAN SAVE YOU A BUNDLE OF MONEY, TROUBLE

A fax switch can save you a bundle of money, trouble

Q: It's no longer practical for me to use my family telephone for my home-based business. Since I plan to use a fax machine, I decided to add two lines - that is, until I learned the price! What's involved in sharing a business line with a fax machine?

A: If you expect to receive few fax calls and you only need one phone, simply use the phone that's built into the fax machine. It allows you a preset number of rings to answer an incoming call. If you hear the characteristic fax transmission tones, you simply push the start button and hang up. Some models can be started from an extension phone by pressing a couple of keys.

If you expect a moderate number of fax calls or you simply don't want to listen to that irritating fax squawk, choose a machine that includes a built-in phone/fax switch. It will answer incoming calls on the first ring, but will continue to provide the caller with a fake ringing signal (some are more realistic than others) as it listens for fax tones. If it hears none, it will ``ring-through'' to its built-in phone or, if it has a phone port, it will ring all connected extensions.

An answering machine complicates things a bit. You can either buy a fax machine with a built-in answering machine or look for one with an answering machine port. In either case, the fax machine listens for fax tones during the outgoing message. It must be short enough (less than 15 seconds) so that the sending fax won't give up.

The best solution to the home-office telephone line dilemma is a stand-alone fax switch. You can choose from dozens of models - some costing under $100. In general, stand-alone switches are far more flexible than the built-in type. Some models include advanced features such as surge protection, modem ports and fax screening (to prevent ``junk'' faxes). Considering the installation and monthly co st of a dedicated business line, payback is almost immediate.

Fax switches are easy to install - you simply plug them in. With some models, the fax switch itself will ring for incoming voice calls. Other models can ring extension phones, although this usually means wiring the extensions to the switch. You should make sure the switch's output REN (ringer equivalence number) is adequate to handle the number of phones you plan to connect.

Most switches are designed to prevent ``barge-in'' during an incoming or outgoing fax transmission. This means that if someone picks up an extension during a fax transmission, they will hear either silence or a fast busy signal. Since silence could be confused with a dead telephone line, switches that generate a busy signal are preferable. Again, if you have extension phones, you may have to wire them directly to the fax switch for this feature to work.

Although most early switches answered with something like ``press 1 for voice calls, press 2 for fax calls,'' the latest switches are transparent to the caller - a feature your customers will appreciate! In most cases, operation is also transparent to you. However, some older fax machines don't generate the tone your switch needs to route the call. In this case, the switch will ring through to you. As soon as you realize it's an incoming fax, simply hang up or press a key to transfer the call to your fax machine.

To receive a list of companies that manufacture fax switches, please send $1.50 and a self-addressed envelope to David Butler F-401, Department TWN, 14713 Pleasant Hill Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28278-7927. The list includes phone numbers and a summary of each company's products. You'll also receive information on a unique ``store and forward'' answering machine for faxes.

Q: My telephone company's ``distinctive ring'' service allows me to have two or three phone numbers on a single line. Are fax switches available that can route the call according to the ring cadence?

A: Several companies produce fax switches for distinctive ringing services. This makes it possible to dedicate a phone number to a fax machine or computer modem without having to add another telephone line.