Equipment
CALL PROCESSOR - A device that manages telephone traffic and routes incoming calls to the proper equipment. The ATX-300 call processor analyzes and routes incoming calls to your telephones or data equipment.
FAX (FACSIMILE) MACHINE - A device that attaches to your telephone line and is capable of scanning a document, electronically transmitting and receiving the image, and printing the image(sometimes called "TELEFAX" or "TELECOPIER")
PC FAX BOARD - A circuit board tat is installed in a personal computer. Like a FAX, it attaches to your telephone line and is capable of transmitting and receiving images with other FAX Boards and FAX machines. A FAX board, when used with a printer and document scanner, operates like a modern FAX machine.
MODEM - A device that allows computers and other electronic equipment to communicate through ordinary telephone lines.
KEY TELEPHONE SYSTEM - A multi-line telephone system with extension telephone sets. A Key system always has a Key System Unit (KSU) controller that all telephone sets attach to. Also, the Key system telephone sets have a series of buttons that are used to select the outside line you wish to use.
KSU (KEY SYSTEM UNIT) – The controller that manages a multi-line Key telephone system. All incoming telephone lines and all telephone sets connect to the KSU. The KSU is usually mounted in a back room or telephone closet of the office it serves.
PBX (PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE) - An electronic multi-line telephone system, used primarily in very large applications with many extensions. The identifying feature of most PBXs is that you must dial 9 to get an outside line. PBXs generally use standard single-line telephones at extension locations.
Tones
AUTO FAX TONE (CNG ) - This tone is produced by virtually all FAX machines when it dials the receiving FAX machine’s number from memory. Older FAX machines and some current models that do not have speed-dial memory will not produce CNG. CNG is a medium-pitch tone (1100 Hz) that last 1/2 second and repeats every 3-1/2 seconds. A FAX machine will produce CNG for about 45 seconds after it dials the receiving FAX number.
CARRIER AND DATA - very loud screech that is produced when the FAX machines or MODEMs are actually transferring data. Unlike CNG or DTMF, carrier and data will be constantly changing.
DTMF (DUAL TONE , MULTIFREQUENCY) - This tone is commonly called "touch-tone". Not all push-button phones are capable of producing the DTMF tones.
RINGBACK - A tone produced by telephone processing equipment that signals to the caller that the called party is being rung. Your ATX-300 produces a ringback tone to the caller when ringing a device.
Other Terms
CALL WAITING - A feature provided by many telephone companies that allows two calls to be managed at the same time on one line. Your ATX-300 will work fine with "Call Waiting", but your FAX or MODEM probably won’t. Call Waiting is not recommended for lines used for data transfer.
CO (CENTRAL OFFICE) – Your telephone company. Your CO is the building where your telephone line is electronically managed.
EXTENSION - A catch-all term that describes additional phones attached to a single line (as in a residence or small office) or a station of a Key system or PBX.
GROUND START - A line or equipment that establishes a dial tone by completing a circuit between one of the wires of the line and earth ground. Ground start circuits are used mainly for PBX applications. Loop start equipment will not operate if connected directly to a ground start line.
LOOP START - A line or equipment that will establish a dial tone by completing a circuit between the two wires of the line. Your ATX-300, all FAX machines and single-line phones, and most MODEMS are loop start equipment
MODULAR CONNECTOR - A catch all term that describes a number of plugs and jacks used with telephone and other equipment Handset connectors have four contact positions. Line connectors are wider and have six positions (often, only two or four positions are loaded with contacts).
OFF-HOOK - If equipment is "off-hook", it is not idle but actively connected to the telephone line.
ON-HOOK - Another old term that gets its meaning from your telephone handset resting on the hook switch. If equipment is "On-hook", it is idle and not using the telephone line.
OPX (OFF PREMISE EXTENSION) - Like a party line, an OPX is a line that serves more than one subscriber location. Examples of OPXs are offpremise answering services, and lines that serve more than one building. Your ATX-300 will not operate fully if attached
on a line with an OPX.
PARTY LINE - A line that serves more than one subscriber or user. Your ATX-300 cannot be properly operated on a party line system.
POLARITY - A term used to describe the order of two electrical points – one positive and the other negative. On an
RJ-11 female jack, the green lead should be positive with respect to the red lead to ensure proper operation with all equipment.
RJ-11 WIRING STANDARD - A specific wiring arrangement for using a g-position modular connector to attach exactly one telephone line. The two wires of the telephone line are attached to the two center contacts of an RJ-11 modular jack (the wires are often color-coded red and green). All connections to your ATX-300 must be wired according to this RJ-11 standard.
RJ-14 WIRING STANDARD - Utilizes a six position modular connector wired to two separate telephone lines. This application is used almost exclusively on dual line telephones. Line 1 is attached to the center two contacts (like RJ-ll), and Line 2 is attached to the next outer two contacts (often color-coded yellow and black).
ROLL-OVER - A service provided by most phone companies that allows several lines to be tied together. A single number is generally dialed by all callers. If that line is busy, the phone company will "roll-over" the call to another line in that group. Also called "hunt-group" or
"rotary".
ROTARY - An ambiguous term. "Rotary Group" means a roll-over group, and "Rotary Dialing" means pulse dialing.
STATION - A telephone set attached to a multi-line Key system or PBX. Your ATX-300 will work on a PBX station extension, but WILL NOT work on a Key system
station extension.
TIP AND RING - An archaic term that gets its meaning from the old switchboard plugs. Each plug had a tip connector and a ring connector. Now, tip and ring refer
to the two conductors that make up a single telephone line.
TRUNK - A line that connects to the telephone company CO (central office).