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RE: Accu-vote & digital phones



New phone systems (like the one we have installed in the McKinney office) are digital.  You can plug a compatible telephone station into the system's telephone jack on your wall and it will work, but you couldn't plug an analog device (e.g., modem, standard fax machine, standard home phone) into that same wall jack and expect it to work.
 
What Steve is referring to is that schools, libraries and other sites used for polling locations are getting rid of their analog phone systems and installing digital based phone systems.  They apparently are also replacing their stand analog fax machines with a fax machine that is compatible to their digital phone system.  (I've never heard of a digital fax but it highly likely they exist.)
 
Now the counties are inquiring as to the AccuVote's compatibility with their digital phone systems.
 
As the AccuVote only has an analog modem, the only suggestion I can make at this point is that they purchase an external modem that is compatible with their digital phone system and redirect communications out the main serial port connector on the back of the AccuVote.  From a hardware stand point it's possible, but I don't know if the AccuVote firmware would properly communicate with the external digital modem.  That's a question for Guy or Ken.
 
Does the manufacturer of the digital phone system offer an external modem that is compatible with their system?
 
Perhaps they can spec one off-the-shelf.
 
Steve?
 
Need more input.  Non-sequitor.
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-support@gesn.com [mailto:owner-support@gesn.com]On Behalf Of Ken Clark
Sent: February 10, 2001 11:59 AM
To: support@gesn.com
Subject: RE: Accu-vote & digital phones

From: owner-support@gesn.com [mailto:owner-support@gesn.com]On Behalf Of Steve Knecht
Sent: Friday, February 09, 2001 8:10 PM

They are asking what AccuVote capability exists for their schools (they have alot of school polling locations) and many of the distrits have converted all phone lines (including fax - does that make sense - is their "digital faxes"?).   
 
It doesn't make sense to me, but I don't claim to be an expert on the topic.  I suspect if you could point us to a "digital fax" we could point you at a "digital modem" that worked with the accuvote.
 
That said, I think people should be pretty careful with this topic unless they really do think they know what they are talking about.  There is no such thing as a "digital modem" -- that is an oxymoron.  Telephones (the things with the keypad and handset) are analogue equipment, period, even if the guy who installed the phones in the schools told them otherwise.
 
Ken