Tiny prog to respond to fax tones and take the call?

there's no way to hear the tones without answering the call. perhaps you can find answering-machine software.

So how do companies with the same number for phone and fax get round this?

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Actual logged maintenance complaints by QUANTAS pilots and the corrective action recorded by mechanics. P stands for the problem the pilots entered in the log. S stands for the corrective action taken by the mechanics.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except autoland very rough. S: Autoland not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit. S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on back order!!

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-fpm descent. S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud. S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That's what they're there for!

P: IFF inoperative. S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windscreen. S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing. (note: this was for a piston-engineered airplane; the pilot meant the engine was not running smoothly). S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Radar hums. S: Reprogrammed radar with words.

P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed.

they answer the call and listen for the tone.

Interesting comments.

In the late 80's and to mid 90's I had a small fax program on my Windows 3.1, believe it or not, and it did take the calls but did NOT lift the phone. It did not pick up unless the fax tones were present. I wish I could find that prog now but my best guess is that it would not run on Win2K.

If you have caller ID, you could use a modem that reads the caller ID (the data comes between rings, so no need to pick up) and compare the calling number to a list of expected fax numbers to decide when to receive a fax.

John

Ahhhhhh I see! Clever.

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Rules of piloting:

1. Every take-off is optional, every landing is mandatory.
2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.
3. Flying is not dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous!
4. High speeds are not dangerous. Coming to a sudden stop is dangerous!
5. It is always better to be down here, wishing you were up there, than up there wishing to be down here!
6. The only time you have too much fuel on board, is when you are on fire.
7. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the airplane, used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.
8. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.
9. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the airplane again.
10. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
11. You know you have landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.
12. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice versa.
13. Never let an aircraft get you somewhere your brain didn't get five minutes earlier.
14. Stay out of the clouds. The silver lining everybody keeps talking about, might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
15. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take-offs you have made.
16. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.
17. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience, before you empty your bag of luck.
18. Helicopters can't fly. They are just so ugly the earth repels them.
19. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round, and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not as they should be.
20. In the ongoing battle between airplanes going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.
21. Good judgement comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgement.
22. It is always a good idea to keep the pointed end going forward as much as possible.
23. Keep looking around. There is always something you've missed.
24. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It is the law. And it's not subject to repeal.
25. The four most useless things to a pilot are altitude above you, runway behind you, air in the fuel tank and a tenth of a second ago.
26. Lastly, always check the runway number; then double check!

I didn't think the phone exchange allowed any signal through until you picked up....

There were gadgets like the Emerson 'Switchboard' that plugged into the phone jack and had jacks for fax, modem and telephone.

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aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in your account:

There are two kinds of people on this earth: The crazy, and the insane. The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

perhaps you had two phone numbers in the 80s one for fax and one for voice, both on the same line but with a different ring cadence for calls to the fax number.

No, I seem to recall something from that era, as well, that would use a "fax/modem" to receive a fax onto the PC by listening between the incoming ring tones.

It is done with distinctive ringing, an option you can get from your telco if you wish.

Two phone numbers, one line. When the "fax" number is called, the ring will (for example) be ring-ring,,,, ring-ring, which the fax machine detects as being for it, and it answers. Assuming the resident humans haven't been stupid enough to do so.

I can see, out of the corner of my eye, a "Ring-o-Matic" which someone may have for 5 bucks plus postage from V8K2E9 Canada, formerly sold thru Radio Shack, and made by a friend's company.

Line powered, one line in, two out, one for each device. Now that I think about it, it won't pass the fax ring to the phone, so that even stupid humans are less likely to answer... /mark in Canada