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Sharing three to four devices on one line

There are two types of equipment available to share three to four devices.

  • Three different phone numbers sharing one phone line
  • Three or four different devices sharing one phone number and one phone line

Three different phone numbers sharing one phone line

Most telephone companies throughout the US and Canada offer an inexpensive service that lets businesses and homes to have two or three different phone numbers on one phone line. What distinguishes the different telephone numbers coming in on the same line is their signature ring, a pattern of long and/or short rings. Each number has its own special ring.

These "Distinctive Ring" services go by different names depending on your phone company -custom Ringing by US West, SmartRing by GTE, RingMaster by Bell South, RingMate by NYNEX, Personalized Ringing by Southwestern Bell, Multi-Ring by Ameritech, and IdentaRing by Bell Atlantic.

Once installed on your home or business line, the call processor "listens" in order to determine the pattern of each ring. Then they immediately route the call to the phone or device you have designated for answering that number - without ringing other phones/devices on the same line!

Three or four different devices sharing one phone number and one phone line

The other type of three-device call processor is the universal tone detection processor. It does not require any extra service from the phone company and it works on any phone line world wide.

It routes the call to the proper device by "listening" for either a CNG tone (the tone that fax machines transmit), DTMF tones (touch tones made by phone or computer), or the absence of a tone (voice calls). You can manually transfer any call to another device by pressing a few numbers on your phones touchpad if you wish.

Click on one of the links above for your application or review the products below. Chances are you will find a smart switch that will meet your needs. Any of these products could save you thousands!

How much is it worth to you?

What's it worth to your BOTTOM LINE to eliminate 1 phone line?
Monthly Line Cost 1st Year Cost/Savings 3rd Year Cost/Savings 5th Year Cost/Savings 10th Year Cost/Savings
$ 20.00 $ 240.00 $ 720.00 $ 1200.00 $ 2400.00
$ 30.00 $ 360.00 $ 1080.00 $ 1800.00 $ 3600.00
$ 40.00 $ 480.00 $ 1440.00 $ 2400.00 $ 4800.00
$ 50.00 $ 600.00 $ 1800.00 $ 3000.00 $ 6000.00
$ 60.00 $ 720.00 $ 2160.00 $ 3600.00 $ 7200.00

How much is it worth to you?
What's eliminating 2 phone lines worth to your BOTTOM LINE?
Monthly Line Cost 1st Year Cost/Savings 3rd Year Cost/Savings 5th Year Cost/Savings 10th Year Cost/Savings
$ 20.00 $ 480.00 $ 1440.00 $ 2400.00 $ 4800.00
$ 30.00 $ 720.00 $ 2160.00 $ 3600.00 $ 7200.00
$ 40.00 $ 960.00 $ 2880.00 $ 4800.00 $ 9600.00
$ 50.00 $ 1200.00 $ 3600.00 $ 6000.00 $ 12000.00
$ 60.00 $ 1440.00 $ 4320.00 $ 7200.00 $ 14400.00

Commonly Asked questions:

I use phone company voice mail. How do these products work with voice mail?

I use call forwarding to forward my business calls to my cell phone.
Which type of device will be best for me?

ANSWER: The SR Series is the best for use with phone company call forwarding. If you forward your main number, your fax number (which shares the same single line) won't be transferred. All calls to your fax number will be automatically routed to your fax. Click for a more detailed description of how to forward your calls to your cell phone..

If I have one line, can I receive more than one call?

ANSWER: Unless you have DSL, Cable modem, two lines, VOIP, or call forwarding, you won't be able have two or more devices connected at the same time. These devices are automatic line sharing devices. They share one line transparently to several devices. They are like an automatic secretary. If the incoming call is a fax call, it is transparently routed to the fax. If the call is voice, it transparently rings the phones, phone system, or answering machine. If the call is a modem call, the call is automatically routed to the correct modem. If more than one device tries to access the line, the first one to get there would go through. Additional calls would receive a busy signal until the call is completed.

Usually people use their fax machine, four or five times a day for about a minute each. It's a lot smarter to get a call processor than pay for installation (this morning a guy told me that the phone company quoted a $250 installation charge to install an additional line in his home), the monthly charges of the line, and the phone taxes for just using the fax five minutes a day. These products pay for themselves in no time.

Basically we have two types of products. Both types do the same things but each has a different way of doing it.

1.) Tone Detection
Tone detection products like the Stick, ATX and ACP all answer the phone and then route calls by "tones." The way it works it this...the call comes into your home or business. The caller (if it's a human) hears the phone ring. What has really happened though is the box has answered the phone and is generating the ring back tone that the phone company normally generates when the phone is ringing to fool the caller party into thinking the phone has just begun to ring.

During this time (1.8 seconds) the box is listening for one of three things. It listens for "cng tones" which are the tones that fax machines use to identify themselves with. When it hears the "fax tones", it automatically routes the call to the fax machine (and does not ring your other phones).

It also listens for "dtmf tones" which are the same as touch tones. You can manually route calls if you wish from any touchtone phone but commonly dtmf is used for transferring incoming modem calls. The way you do it is you put your phone number in the sending modem like you always do except at the end of the phone number you add three commas (commas represent a half second pause in computer language) and a security access code.

You can change the security access code to any number you wish up to four digits with the Stick but the factory default codes are *1 for port one, *2 for port two and *3 for port 3. So without any programming changes you would access the third port by using your phone number plus three commas plus *3 (1-217-337-0965,,,*3 for example). If you require additional security, the ATX and ACP series allow up to six digit security access codes.

The third thing it listens for is actually nothing. When it hears no sounds, it routes the call to the default port which would normally be a voice, phone system or answering machine. On the outgoing call, any connected device will be able to dial out. If the line is in use, you would not be able to barge in on the call with barge-in protection enabled (factory default) on an outgoing call and incoming calls would get a busy signal like normal when the line is busy.

2. Distinctive Ring Service
This type of product uses the distinctive ring service from your local phone company to route the calls. This service is offered by local phone companies under different names but basically it allows you to have more than one phone number (up to three) on a single line.

They sell it for mom and dad and the teenagers. Mom and Dad get the old phone number and that number rings like always. The kids get a new phone number and their calls ring with a double ring. Grandma gets a third number and heir's has a triple ring. Mom answers the normal ring. The kids answer the double ring. And grandma answers the triple ring. Our box takes this one stage further and routes the calls to the proper device so in our example...mom and dad's calls ring on their phones. The kid's number rings on their phones in their rooms. And grandma's number rings in her room. In a business application, you have one phone number for business calls, another for personal calls and another for your fax number.

The service cost about $5.00 a month for two extra numbers and less for one from your local phone company. They just add it to your bill like call waiting or any other features you may have. Outgoing calls will go out on any device. If the line is busy, again you would not be able to barge-in on the call (unless barge-in protection is turned off) and you would hear a busy signal so you know the phone is in use. Incoming calls would hear a busy signal like normal if the line is busy.

This product is called the SR Series. We also have a four line - twelve device product called the Line Hunter. Our products take the distinctive ring to the next level. With an SR, each device gets its own phone number. You have a fax number, a voice number and possibly a third number that all share one line and one low phone bill. Whichever device is plugged into that port gets the signal and no other devices ring.

This product can also be used with call forwarding (tell the phone company to set it up to only forward the main number) to forward your voice calls to your cell phone when you are out and still get your faxes on your fax machine. If the calls are forwarded, you can receive voice calls and use the line at the same time (two calls over one number).

The main question is whether you want one phone number for all of your devices (automatic tone detection) or whether you want one phone number for each device (distinctive ring) on the same line.

Click on one of the links above for your application or review the products below and click on the link that suits you best. Chances are you will find a switch that will meet your needs. Any of these products could save you thousands over the next few years by reducing your local phone bill.

Order securely by clicking on one of the "order" buttons on any of the following pages:

 
The Stick™ - Up to 3 phone connected devices plus an answering machine on 1 line.
Note: All extensions connected to one line count as 1 phone connected device.
 

1 Year Warranty
The highest quality Voice/Fax/Modem call processor on the market today for small business. Automatically routes calls to the right device every time!

Saves you the monthly bill for up to 2 phone lines.

Your Price only Delivered*


The Stick II - Up to 5 phone connected devices on your 2 phone lines.
Note: All extensions connected to one line count as 1 phone connected device.
 

1 Year Warranty
A true two-line Voice/Fax/Modem/Data call processor.
Unique Features include:
• Call In/Dial Out Long Distance Saver
• Port-to-Port Communication and Data Transfer


  Your Price only Delivered*


SR Series - 2 or 3 different phone numbers on 1 phone line.
 

2 Year Warranty (SR2, SR3)
The Selective Ring call processor for distinctive ring customers. Only ring the device intended for that call. Choose from 2 or 3 selective ring lines.

SR-2 (Two Devices)  - Two phone numbers sharing a single phone line.
- Have a fax number and a voice number. Pay only for one line.
Your Price only Delivered*

SR-3 (Three Devices) - Three phone numbers sharing a single phone line.
- Have a fax number, business number and personal number. Pay only for one line.
Your Price only Delivered*


Versa-Link - 2 to 6 devices sharing a single phone line.
 

2 Year Warranty
Offering two models that, in addition to functionality similar to The Stick (voice/fax/modem call processor), can process selective ring detection, DIP switch programmability, phone line surge protection, and an internal busy signal.

ATX-250 (Two Devices)  
Your Price only $196.00 Delivered*


ATX-300 (Three Devices)  
Your Price only $299.00 Delivered*

ATX-300/6 (Six Devices)  
Your Price only $479.00 Delivered*



Polnet® ACP - 3 to 5 devices (modems) sharing a single line.
 

2 Year Warranty
An Industrial Grade Automatic Call Processor eliminates dedicated phone lines by expanding the number of devices you can connect to a single line. Use the Polnet for modems, data and credit card terminals, storage and monitor systems, and more!

ACP-3 (Three Devices)  
Your Price only $249.00 Delivered*

ACP-5 (Five Devices)  
Your Price only $309.00 Delivered*



EL CID™ - Caller ID for your computer plus tone detection for fax and modem.
 

1 Year Warranty
Advanced call management system that routes or blocks calls based on:
• Caller ID
• Fax Tones
• DTMF Touch Tones

  Your Price only $399.00 Delivered*


The Power Stone® - Remote Power Switch for Your Computer
 

1 Year Warranty
A call-activated AC power controller. Reboot and power up/down off-site computers and other devices by phone.

  Your Price only $129.00 Delivered*

*Note: All prices include shipping and handling in the US and most of Canada. We reserve the right to charge up to the actual price of shipping on all orders outside the continental United States. All orders shipped UPS Ground unless specified. For air and express shipments, appropriate charges will be applied to your order.

All products are made in the USA.

See our Betty the Dancing Bear Presentation

Additional assistance email or call (217) 337-0965 with your questions. We are happy to help you.

 

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