Be Excellent To Each Other

Asking this makes me feel a bit daft, actually, but:

If I get a print/scan/fax machine, can I leave it plugged in to my main phone line (which I actually use for telephone calls) all the time? And as well as my telephone?

We only have one line and I was wondering how they differentiate between incoming voice and fax calls, and if it will be handled appropriately. I shouldn't imagine we'll be receiving all that many faxes, and most we will probably be expecting - but it'd still be handy to have one.

I've never had a fax machine before.

Edit: That phone line also does ADSL. It's one line, but we have two sockets (one in the lounge, one in a bedroom).

The fax machine can be set to "answer" after a certain number of rings (or manually). So yes. Just pick up before the fax can.

Oh cool, ta.

I guess it will rule out the answer-phone function of our telephone handset then (I can live with this).

It's up to you - if you're not going to be getting faxes often, then set the fax to manual and press the button yourself.
Some faxes come with an answerphone built in too, for when it isn't a fax.

Also: Why the fuck do you need a fax machine?

We're getting our post redirected to Lady T's parents and they are HOPELESS with computers so scanning and emailing is out of the question, but they do have a fax machine and can use that.

At the moment, we are having our mail read to us over telephone/skype* (:S) and faxing over anything we need to actually see over to my work.



*They can use Skype, just about.

Some fax machines were able to do "silent answer" - it would listen for the fax calling tone and automatically receive it, and you plugged your phone or answering machine in "through" the machine so that it would cut you off when it was getting a fax.

Fine in theory but it never actually worked terribly well.

A lot of fax machines also had an answering machine built in, so it would answer and listen for the fax tones while playing the outgoing message.

These days if I want to receive a fax I use faxtastic, gives you a number which forwards to your email.

I've not heard of that before, looks like a neat idea and quite interesting - although I'm not sure I'd actually want to use it.

I hadn't heard of that, either. Might be useful to us.

We don't receive many faxes and send even less (fewer?) but having the option there could be useful. We do need to buy a printer-scanner combi anyway, so were thinking of getting one that also handles faxes.

Faxtastic works fine and it sends too, you have to give it a tenner worth of credit but it probably works out cheaper than leaving a fax machine switched on all year...

I can't imagine a person that it applies to better than you

I use faxtastic too. The best thing about it for Sir Taxalot is that he'll avoid international charges.

The faxes will come out upside down though.

You could always scan them in and rotate them in photoshop.

I dunno, there's just something about having our mail opened by someone we don't know. I can't really express it properly but it makes part of me feel a bit uneasy, probably a bit irrational I know. Lady T will be even less keen I imagine, she's very particular about people touching her stuff (ooh err, etc).

Thanks for the suggestions though, and answering the questions. I have to say I hadn't really looked for any alternatives. I have a feeling that even if we do get one it'll end up being set to manual - so far I think we've received 3 things that had to come through fax.

I get what you mean, but to be honest I'd rather have someone I didn't know opening my mail than someone I did...

I did think of that as I was posting, but I guess at least with a family member I've got an idea who to go and talk to / shout at / punch in the face. I'd hope The Lady's parents would be trustworthy, particularly with things like bank cards arriving (probably my biggest worry).