Software to distinguish fax from voice?

[Mr M]

I use one phone line for voice calls and it's connected to my pc for faxing. Is there software out there that will distinguish an incoming fax from an incoming voice call? Right now I have to KNOW an incoming call is a fax call and then answer it AS a fax call. I'd like software to make the distinction for me. Anything out there?

 

[kiwiguy]

No.

The problem is that until something actually answers the phone, and checks for the CCITT fax tones, it does not know if it's a fax or voice call. But by then its been answered and its too late.

The PC would need psychic powers to know what was on the line without actually answering the call.

I use a common line as well, and subscribe to "faxability" (distinctive ring service) where the fax number is published as a separate number but uses the same line. It then allows the phone to ring with a distinctive cadence that the fax machine recognises and picks up immediately after the first ring burst. It ignores standard ring tones.

But many modern PCI modems are not good at providing ring cadence discrimination, and you have to pay your phone service provider for the "distinctive ring" service, and have a different number (but not a different line) for it to work.

 

[Mr M]

Thanks. My 20 year old fax machine distinguishes between when a fax is calling vs. when it's a voice call and will answer when it's a fax on the other end. It just seemed to me that a computer should be able to do that, too. I guess not. Thanks again.

 

[kiwiguy]

The fax machine will always answer the call though, and re-route the answered call to the connected phone at the fax machine? Otherwise you do have "distinctive ringing" enabled now.

The point I am making is that it is "chicken and egg" in that the PC will not know its a fax or a voice call until it answers the call. Then it has no way of re-routing the call. PC modems are usually lousy at distinctive ring ability, most simply can't do it.

The fax machines usually have an output socket that goes to the phone, the fax then generates the ringing for the phone voice calls out that socket, but only after it has actually answered the call and checked that there are no CCITT tones.

The bit that is missing in the PC is the hardware to re-route the call, and generate a local ring signal.

In effect the fax becomes a mini telephone exchange, the PC lacks the hardware to do that.
I suspect that if such an add-on PC card was available it may cost more than a fax due to limited demand.

 

[Mr M]

The way my old fax worked is like this: we tell people who want to send me a fax to call my phone number and, when they hear my outgoing VOICE answering machine message, press START on their fax machine. When my fax machine hears the fax tone, it answers. Otherwise the telephone, i guess you can say, is the default. And, if neither the fax nor the phone answered, the ANSWERING MACHINE picked it up. It's too bad the pc cant do that. I guess I'll stay with my fax machine. Thanks again.

 

[kiwiguy]

OK, makes much more sense when we know the details.

That was certainly a built-in feature of the fax machine. Unless you intervened the fax picked up every call, the "intelligence" was provided by the person on the other end.

 

[jackie113]

While using Safari for the Application interface, any one can use an App designed for the iPhone. But this is not without a few draw backs as well, all of the extra features of the phone cannot be utilized. An example would be a game not being able to use the included vibrate function for force feedback.

www.mp4-converter.net/iphone-converter/dvd-to-iphone/

 

[kiwiguy]

While using Safari for the Application interface, any one can use an App designed for the iPhone. But this is not without a few draw backs as well, all of the extra features of the phone cannot be utilized. An example would be a game not being able to use the included vibrate function for force feedback.

www.mp4-converter.net/iphone-converter/dvd-to-iphone/

I fail to see the relevance of this to the topic. Looks like it's a spam post to me?

 

[Mr M]

However it worked, it worked (and better than what I have now)! I'd be happy if my computer worked the same way. I wouldn't have to be home, at the computer when a fax came in, nor would I have to know a call was a fax call so that I wouldn't pick up the phone and mess it up. Now that I've explained it better, do they make software that will do THAT??

P.S. What exactly IS a SPAM POST?

 

[DoubleHelix]

Use an Internet faxing service.

http://www.efax.com