Saturday, August 22, 2009
Electro-chemical copying of Caselli
In 1865 Italian physics professor Giovanni Caselli established the first commercial fax system, which linked Paris and several other French cities, using a device called a Pantèlègraphe which was a modification of Alexander Bain's original idea. He transmited nearly 5,000 faxes in the first year.Made of cast iron and standing more than 2m high, this primitive but effective machine worked as follows. The sender wrote a message on a sheet of tin in non-conducting ink.The sheet was then fixed to a curved metal plate and scanned by a needle, three lines to the millimetre. The signals were carried by telegraph to the marked out the message in Prussian blue ink, the colour produced by a chemical reaction, as the paper was soaked in potassium ferro-cyanide. To ensure that both needles scanned at exactly the same rate, two extremely accurate clocks were used to trigger a pendulum which, in turn, was linked to gears and pulleys that controlled the needles.
Early fax machine
Facsimile: Sytemes (de facsimile) phototelegraphiques = Phototelegraphie or Systemes (de facsimile) documentaires = Document-telegraphyFacsimile (Fac*sim”i*le) n.; pl. Facsimiles [L. fac simile make like; or an abrivation of factum simile made like; facere to make + similes like. See fact, and Simile. ]A copy of anything made, either so as to be deceptive or so to give every part and detail of the original; an exact copy likeness.Facsimile telegraph, a telegraphic apparatus reproducing messages in autograph.Facsimile (Fac*sim”i*le), v. t. make a facsimile
fax transmission from PC to plain fax machine problem
some times the transmission doesn't even start and other times it stops by the end of the first page!i also tried to send a 2-pages fax from my pc(line b) to the other line(a) where the fax machine is on and happens the same(no problem to other receivers until now). i tried to put a different fax machine(panasonic) in the same place(a) and it worked.the wierd thing is that when i tried to change the telephone line of the pc(b) with a third one(x) and send again... no problem!so i liked this "x" line but...when i tried to send from pc(b) to the fax machine(telcom) which i placed on the (x) line i got the same problem!the 2 lines (a) and (x) are by the new "hol" provider and the third line (b) is thankfully still on the old provider "ote".i suppose it could propably has to do something with my new provider and router(onaccess) because i have this problem since i installed it.i would really appreciate any kind of help since the technical department of the provider comes with nothing every time i bring the matter up.ps: !!! i was trying today again and it worked... so i called them to see what happened differently and before i say anything they told me that they face a general problem today with their servers... unfortunatelly their problem was solved but brought up mine again
Fax machines versus sliced bread
Before I complain any more, let me say that I'd rather have a fax machine than not have one. Without a fax machine, I'm just a dot on the map. With a fax, I'm connected to corporate America. And, however bad it gets, I'm never tempted to throw my fax machine out the window, something I thought of daily when dealing with dot-matrix printers. But the fax machine is not as efficient as everyone seems to think. And a lot of people misuse the beast.
Here are some of the things that get my dander up. I send a three-page fax and then get a call saying that the last page didn't arrive. It left my place intact, slipped right through the scanner and across the phone lines--did it stop for coffee along the way? Or, I send a 10-page fax but get a call saying that pages 2, 5, and 7 are missing. Obviously, those pages went through the fax two at a time. So I have to resend the vagrant pages.
On the receiving end, the same thing happens, often with an additional annoying twist. Ostensibly, I get all the pages that were sent, but here and there I see 5 or 10 blank lines, where part of a page was erased because of a less-than-smooth ride through the fax-feed rollers.
And don't you love newspaper clippings? "Isn't that a great photo?" someone will ask me, referring to a four-by-four-inch blur that looks like a bottom sample from the Mississippi River. Fax machines have controls, such as high and low contrast and fine and superfine mode, which are designed for items such as newsprint and photos. But people don't use them.
Americans love fax machines because we are fascinated by appliances. We just push buttons and the machine does the rest. But even appliances need to be told what to do. Don't people choose warm- or cold-water settings on the washer? Set controls on a toaster? How many people use broadcasting, delayed multiple polling, voice request, turnaround polling, or delayed transmission? Probably as many as program their VCRs. But setting contrast and resolution controls on a fax is no different from adjusting a television picture.
For instance, the documentation for my Hitachi says to use high contrast and superfine resolution for newspapers; for photographs and color, turn on the gray scale. I must admit I'm no more attentive than the next guy when it comes to fine tuning. When sending a news clipping, all my effort goes into guiding it through the rollers so that it doesn't rip into shreds and set off alarms.
I also learned from my documentation that low-contrast pictures or characters in a received copy might be the fault of a dirty scanning unit. "Cleaning should be done once a month," it says. Ha! Have I ever considered cleaning the scanning unit? Have you? Or the feed rollers, which might account for paper sticking together?
Here's another beauty. I fax a note to someone, and a week later, in the course of conversation, I discover that the information I sent was never received. It arrived, but was never routed to the addressee. This problem doesn't occur in home offices, where people can check their fax machines while brushing their teeth, but it is rampant in corporate offices. Not everyone has a secretary to check the fax machine every 10 minutes; and when people do walk by the machine, they pick up and route material of interest only to them or their department.
Try this on for size. I receive a faxed document with handwritten comments on it. The document itself is crystal clear, but the comments look like the last request of a madman. The commentator hasn't read his or her manual, wherein it says to use superfine resolution when sending handwriting. It should also encourage the use of a pen, not a pencil.
One of my least favorite tasks is resending a fax I've received. I get 10 pages of thermal paper, mark them up with my comments (applying ink and observing all rules of good penmanship), and prepare to resend. But if the chances of sending a stack of fresh, clean paper without suffering a jam are slim, the chances of successfully sending a stack of thermal paper are nil. In fact, you're lucky if you can get through the process without ruining one of the pages in a devastating jam that will crinkle it beyond recognition.
Here are some of the things that get my dander up. I send a three-page fax and then get a call saying that the last page didn't arrive. It left my place intact, slipped right through the scanner and across the phone lines--did it stop for coffee along the way? Or, I send a 10-page fax but get a call saying that pages 2, 5, and 7 are missing. Obviously, those pages went through the fax two at a time. So I have to resend the vagrant pages.
On the receiving end, the same thing happens, often with an additional annoying twist. Ostensibly, I get all the pages that were sent, but here and there I see 5 or 10 blank lines, where part of a page was erased because of a less-than-smooth ride through the fax-feed rollers.
And don't you love newspaper clippings? "Isn't that a great photo?" someone will ask me, referring to a four-by-four-inch blur that looks like a bottom sample from the Mississippi River. Fax machines have controls, such as high and low contrast and fine and superfine mode, which are designed for items such as newsprint and photos. But people don't use them.
Americans love fax machines because we are fascinated by appliances. We just push buttons and the machine does the rest. But even appliances need to be told what to do. Don't people choose warm- or cold-water settings on the washer? Set controls on a toaster? How many people use broadcasting, delayed multiple polling, voice request, turnaround polling, or delayed transmission? Probably as many as program their VCRs. But setting contrast and resolution controls on a fax is no different from adjusting a television picture.
For instance, the documentation for my Hitachi says to use high contrast and superfine resolution for newspapers; for photographs and color, turn on the gray scale. I must admit I'm no more attentive than the next guy when it comes to fine tuning. When sending a news clipping, all my effort goes into guiding it through the rollers so that it doesn't rip into shreds and set off alarms.
I also learned from my documentation that low-contrast pictures or characters in a received copy might be the fault of a dirty scanning unit. "Cleaning should be done once a month," it says. Ha! Have I ever considered cleaning the scanning unit? Have you? Or the feed rollers, which might account for paper sticking together?
Here's another beauty. I fax a note to someone, and a week later, in the course of conversation, I discover that the information I sent was never received. It arrived, but was never routed to the addressee. This problem doesn't occur in home offices, where people can check their fax machines while brushing their teeth, but it is rampant in corporate offices. Not everyone has a secretary to check the fax machine every 10 minutes; and when people do walk by the machine, they pick up and route material of interest only to them or their department.
Try this on for size. I receive a faxed document with handwritten comments on it. The document itself is crystal clear, but the comments look like the last request of a madman. The commentator hasn't read his or her manual, wherein it says to use superfine resolution when sending handwriting. It should also encourage the use of a pen, not a pencil.
One of my least favorite tasks is resending a fax I've received. I get 10 pages of thermal paper, mark them up with my comments (applying ink and observing all rules of good penmanship), and prepare to resend. But if the chances of sending a stack of fresh, clean paper without suffering a jam are slim, the chances of successfully sending a stack of thermal paper are nil. In fact, you're lucky if you can get through the process without ruining one of the pages in a devastating jam that will crinkle it beyond recognition.
Portable Fax Machines
As long as fax remains an essential part of doing business, every office will have a fax machine. But what if an essential part of your business is not being in the office? How are you supposed to send and receive faxes from the road? E-mail and Internet fax technology have been a boon for road warriors, but some people still like to have that piece of paper in their hand. That's where portable fax machines come in.
Fax Machine Troubleshooting
Fax machines are complicated pieces of equipment with delicate sensors, motors and finely calibrated moving parts. As much as you might want to kick your office fax machine when there's a paper jam, there are other solutions. Here are some troubleshooting tips for the most common fax problems: image quality, paper jams and connectivity issues.
The most common image quality problems with faxes are pages that come out too dark, too light or are unreadable due to streaks, splotches and spots. For dark and light pages, it could be as simple as changing the darkness or density setting on the receiving machine [source: FineStar Imaging]. If the receiver does a test print and the page comes out clean, then the problem is most likely with the sender's machine.
The sender should open up the document feed area of the fax machine and clean all the surfaces and moving parts with a slightly damp cloth [source: Sands Office Equipment, Inc.] If the fax machine is one of those all-in-one gadgets that doubles as a scanner and copier, clean off the scanner glass as well with a little glass cleaner
The most common image quality problems with faxes are pages that come out too dark, too light or are unreadable due to streaks, splotches and spots. For dark and light pages, it could be as simple as changing the darkness or density setting on the receiving machine [source: FineStar Imaging]. If the receiver does a test print and the page comes out clean, then the problem is most likely with the sender's machine.
The sender should open up the document feed area of the fax machine and clean all the surfaces and moving parts with a slightly damp cloth [source: Sands Office Equipment, Inc.] If the fax machine is one of those all-in-one gadgets that doubles as a scanner and copier, clean off the scanner glass as well with a little glass cleaner
How to Use a Fax Machine
Even though traditional fax machines are fast being replaced by e-mail and Internet fax services, it's still important to know how to use this workplace workhorse. Here are some basic instructions for sending and receiving a fax.
Sending a fax:
Make sure the fax machine is plugged into a power source and also plugged into a working phone jack.
Turn the fax machine on.
Obtain the fax number of the destination fax machine.
Gather the documents you want to send and put them in the order you want them to be received.
Fill out a separate piece of paper called a coversheet with the following information:
recipient's name
recipient's fax number/phone number
your name
your phone number
a short message intended for the recipient similar to the subject line of an e-mail
number of pages (including coversheet)
Lay the documents face-up in the fax machine feeder tray with the coversheet on top
Dial the recipient's fax number (dialing instructions for international calls)
Press the "fax" or "send" button, depending on the particular fax machine model
Sending a fax:
Make sure the fax machine is plugged into a power source and also plugged into a working phone jack.
Turn the fax machine on.
Obtain the fax number of the destination fax machine.
Gather the documents you want to send and put them in the order you want them to be received.
Fill out a separate piece of paper called a coversheet with the following information:
recipient's name
recipient's fax number/phone number
your name
your phone number
a short message intended for the recipient similar to the subject line of an e-mail
number of pages (including coversheet)
Lay the documents face-up in the fax machine feeder tray with the coversheet on top
Dial the recipient's fax number (dialing instructions for international calls)
Press the "fax" or "send" button, depending on the particular fax machine model
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