Is this possible? (Storing faxes as audio files and converting)

[Techie333]

Hello folks, I was wondering if this was possible. Suppose I can setup my voicemail for one of my lines to have a fax receive tone (anyone know where I can get one) and then store the fax as a voicemail. If I can get this voicemail fax message to my computer emailed to me, then can I convert it into a fax??!? What software will do this? Where can I get the receive fax tone? Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[amish]

don't the two machines need to actively communicate? not just have a tone? i'm not really sure.

 

[George P Burdell]

In theory, yes. But you'd have to be really good in DSP and be able to think analog->digital without throwing a brain fart.

Or, you could use efax.com

 

[jagec]

You can indeed store a fax as audio and convert with some work, the question is whether the fax machine on the other end will send with just a prerecorded tone. Obviously fax machines send out a tone indicating that they are ready to recieve, but I'd imagine (I don't know) that they also have to send a confirmation tone, and possibly do a little bit more talking in between.

It would be easier just to grab a fax machine off of craigslist, ebay, or your local Goodwill.

 

[kranky]

Fax machines talk to each other so just sending out a tone isn't going to cut it.

Fax handshaking

 

[FoBoT]

store them as data files, like pdfs or something

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: Techie333
Hello folks, I was wondering if this was possible. Suppose I can setup my voicemail for one of my lines to have a fax receive tone (anyone know where I can get one) and then store the fax as a voicemail. If I can get this voicemail fax message to my computer emailed to me, then can I convert it into a fax??!? What software will do this? Where can I get the receive fax tone? Thanks for your help in advance!

Or just buy a $5 56k fax modem and put it to work doing the same thing. They are called FAX modems for a reason. Don't re-invent the wheel.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: Techie333
Hello folks, I was wondering if this was possible. Suppose I can setup my voicemail for one of my lines to have a fax receive tone (anyone know where I can get one) and then store the fax as a voicemail. If I can get this voicemail fax message to my computer emailed to me, then can I convert it into a fax??!? What software will do this? Where can I get the receive fax tone? Thanks for your help in advance!

Or just buy a $5 56k fax modem and put it to work doing the same thing. They are called FAX modems for a reason. Don't re-invent the wheel.

Originally posted by: FoBoT
store them as data files, like pdfs or something

There are many many software packages that have this functionality, using modems to do the actual send/recieve of faxes.

 

[Kwaipie]

e-mail.

 

[Techie333]

Cool, thanks. I knew about the other options, I was just being picky.

 

[sygyzy]

In theory this would work. You can do lots of fancy things like storing video inside digital images. I don't know right off the top of my head any real world commercial applications that do this, though.

 

[imported_Baloo]

Convert a fax into a voice message? Good one. I think they got that right next to the doohicky that converts sound to wall art at walmart.