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Auxiliary Equipment
You can connect many types of telecommunications devices to your system
without expensive adapters or additional phone lines. Many industy-standard,
single-line devices will work with the system regardless of the manufacturer:
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Touch-tone, rotary, and cordless telephones (such as those you might
have in your home)
Fax machines
Answering machines
Modems
Credit card scanners
There are several other devices that may be compatible with the system. For
more information, refer to the list in Chapter 4 or contact your local AT&T
Authorized Dealer. Also, see Chapter 4 for advice on setting up auxiliary
equipment to work effectively with the system.
Requirements
An industry-standard device must meet the following conditions:
It must be non-proprietary. That is, it cannot be made specifically for use
on a particular telephone system. (For example, you cannot connect an
AT&T MERLIN® system phone because it is specifically designed for use
on a MERLIN system.)
Its Ringer Equivalence Number (REN*) cannot be greater than 2.0. (The
REN is shown on a label on the device, usually on the bottom.)
You can connect a standard two-line device to the system, but for best
results it should be installed and used as if it were a single-line device.
Connecting Standard Devices
You can connect a standard device so that it is on an extension by itself, or so
that it shares an extension with another piece of equipment (either another
standard device or a system phone) as long as the REN of the two devices
together does not exceed 2.0. (System phones have 0.0 REN.) For example,
you can connect a standard phone and an answering machine to the same
extension. An extension with two devices connected to it is called a
combination extension. You cannot connect two system phones on one
extension. The PARTNER II Communications System Installation guide
provides installation instructions.
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REN is a measure of the power it takes to ring a phone. The typical home phone line handles 4.0–5.0 RENs;
each extension jack in your system handles up to 2.0 RENs.
Overview
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