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Dodgy fax or dodgy wiring |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 4
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Dodgy fax or dodgy wiring
My house/shop has three telephone points, and I have a cheap fax machine that is sometimes plugged into one of them. If I accidentally leave the fax machine plugged in and someone phones, then the two phones will ring once then stop, while the fax machine will keep on ringing until its handset is picked up. If one of the phones is answered first, the fax will keep on ringing until its handset is picked up or I unplug it.
It doesn't matter which socket the fax is plugged into, the behaviour is the same. I have had many phones over the years, but only the fax machine shows this behaviour, and it always has, even when new. I would like to buy a better fax machine, but don't want to end up with the same problem. Does any know whether I have a dodgy fax machine? Or is it more likely the wiring is suspect? Thanks Ewan. |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 499
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It may be the REN of the phones. On the bottom of each piece of equipment you will find a sticker with a REN number on it. If the REN's of all the equipment connected to the same line add up to more than 4 you will run into those type of problems.
Hope that helps. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 4
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Thanks for the suggestion, but it's not that. Even with just two phones connected (total REN=2) the same thing happens. Anyone got any other suggestions? Thanks.
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Reading
Posts: 27,889
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But the FAX machine also has a REN so you have to add that on as well. But I would be inclined to look at the FAX machine itself as being the culprit. Quite possible it's playing silly games.
I have however seen odd things happen if the line pair is reversed. Though that is more likely on a single socket unless they are daisy chained and it's the connection on the master socket that is reversed. So have a look at the connections on the back of the sockets and make sure the same colour wire is used on all terminals 2 and similarly on all terminals 5. And while you are at it take off any wires on terminals 3 and 4, they are not needed on modern phones. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 4
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I meant to say with just the fax and another phone connected, so total REN = 2. Thanks for the other suggestions, I'll take a look at the wiring.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Posts: 7,513
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Are you sure that the fax machine has a REN of just 1 - soemtimes they have a higher REN ( quite why I do not know)
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 4
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Well, I must admit I didn't actually check the REN, I just assumed it wouldn't be more than 3. But I've checked now and, yes, the REN is 1. Thanks for the suggestion though.
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 2,408
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Faxes are rubbish. I hate people giving me faxes to plug in\configure. They do stupid things like this. Best bet is leave it unplugged and just plug it in when you receive a fax. They were designed and built in the olden days, they are a bit unreliable nowadays on modern lines IME.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Grampian
Posts: 1,017
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I think you will find that the fax is set to auto answer the phone.
Once it has answered, it looks for the fax signal and when it finds none, it then knows that it is a voice call and thus rings as if it was a normal phone - and will do so until you answer it or the caller hangs up. Its the same principle as an answer phone automatically answering the call. Check the manual (if you have it) or check for a switch on the fax machine for an option to set the fax to manual answer - that way when you answer the phone and you hear the fax signal, you tell the fax machine to take over. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Staffordshire
Posts: 634
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Second what Tuvok said,
The Fax is actually answering the call, listening for a fax tone, when it realises there isn't one it switches the call to its inbuilt handset, however as far as the other phones are concerned the call has been picked up by the fax so they will stop ringing |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 2,408
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Quote:
Second what Tuvok said,
The Fax is actually answering the call, listening for a fax tone, when it realises there isn't one it switches the call to its inbuilt handset, however as far as the other phones are concerned the call has been picked up by the fax so they will stop ringing |
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