MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

[hardware_failure]

I searched for this as best as I could here, but I could not find an answer.

Is there anyway to setup a prefix for all outgoing faxes, ie 9 to leave a phone system?

Thanks.

[Iowatech]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

First of all, I don't work on those, so please take this with a grain of salt.
Still, to get the prefix to work there needs to be some "pause" characters between the prefix and the phone number. That's so the second dial tone has time to start. If the value of the current "pause" character is similar to the ones I used a while back, two of them should be sufficient.
I haven't done this in some time, so I've lost track of what the actual "pause" character is anymore (it used to be a comma), sorry.

[hardware_failure]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

I too have typically seen a comma as a pause, especially if its anything directly modem related.

In the accompanying LAN fax software (driver to fax from Windows) there is an insert pause button, which inserts a minus or dash symbol.

Having said that, to dial out now, we always do 9+the number but it never seems to actually need a pause, whether with standard operation or going to "on hook" mode first.

[KenB]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

It's actually a service switch.

Fax SP 3103-102

That is where you would enter the "9"

Since this is a service switch, you'll need a qualified tech to set it. REALLY bad things can happen if you accidentally get it wrong.

Most modern telephone switching equipment (PBX is an ancient term) won't need a pause between the 9 and the number.

Be careful what you wish for. If the user should enter "11" at the beginning of a number, the remaining digits won't matter. Once the machine dials "9-1-1" you can guess what comes next. I had that happen on a Canon machine many moons ago.

[hardware_failure]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

Be careful what you wish for. If the user should enter "11" at the beginning of a number, the remaining digits won't matter. Once the machine dials "9-1-1" you can guess what comes next. I had that happen on a Canon machine many moons ago.

Yikes, I never thought about that but I see what you mean. Its more of a convenience thing so I suppose we can live without it.

Thanks for the reply and info.

[ruben]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

Accidentally calling the emergency services is pretty much the only reason I don't use prefixes when a customer asks for them. Thankfully most of my customers are happy to use the web image monitor to add fax numbers they want to save, or enter then manually.

[KenB]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

Yep, after the 5th time police and fire were dispatched (and the customer charged for false alarms) they had me disable it.

Best to do as Ruben suggested and make speed dials for the commonly called numbers.

[ptrflrs]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

We usually just program buttons for frequently used fax numbers with the 9 included for convenience. Most don't need a pause after the 9 anymore. If they are dialing a new fax number we ask the end users to dial the 9 for those. It's not too much to do, lol

[KenB]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

This is one of those circumstances where fax servers have an advantage.

You can set up dialing rules that will handle any requirements.

Of course, adding a fax server only to dial a 9 with each call would be a huge waste. You would need to take advantage of the other cool things it can do to make it worth the investment.

[hardware_failure]

Re: MP 301 - prefix dial, ie "9," for outside line?

This all makes sense. I have a number of contacts setup with the 9 prefix. I can confirm that our 10 year old nortel system does not need a pause.

Thanks for all of the feedback.