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Command Communications Comswitch 5500 3-Port Phone/Fax Modem Line Sharing Device | 
 enlarge | Brand: Command Communications
Category: CE
List Price: $129.95
Buy New: $89.99
as of 9/9/2010 01:56:12 CDT details
You Save: $39.96 (31%)
New (2) from $89.99
Rating:  68 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 12.2 x 9.3 x 2.5
MPN: CS5500
Model: CS5500
UPC: 096318055009
EAN: 0096318055009
ASIN: B00004Z7H5
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Allows up to 3 devices--usually a telephone, answering machine, fax or modem--to share a single phone line. | | • | Choose "Automatic" or "Semi-Automatic" mode | | • | Remote message notification |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The ComSwitch 5500 fax switch to automatically route calls to your phone, answering machine, fax or modem - all on a single line! Choose Automatic or Semi-Automatic operation. (Telephone line sharing device - fax switch). Main Features Manufacturer: Command Communications, IncManufacturer Part Number: CS5500Manufacturer Website Address: www.commandcommunications.netPhone Lines: 1 x PhonelineNumber of Devices: 3Compatible Devices: Telephone, Answering Machine, Fax Machine, ModemInterfaces/Ports: 1 x Phoneline, 1 x Answering Machine, 1 x Telephone, 1 x Fax/ModemStandard Warranty: 1 Year(s) Limited
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 68
 An ingenious device! October 9, 2003
Paul Spencer (Santa Monica, CA)
46 out of 46 found this review helpful
This device works perfectly! It has many features and modes of operation but here is how I set mine up for basic use: I connect my incoming phone line to the input port, my answering maching w/phone to the TAD port, and my fax machine to the fax port. When a call comes in the Comswitch "picks up" the call on the first ring and listens momentarily for a fax tone. If there is a tone it immediately switches the call to the fax machine and then transmission begins, if it is a voice call it immediately switches to my anwering maching which then begins ringing, working as it usually does with any incoming call. For my answering machine connection, the only difference from before the Comswitch is that there is one addtional ring before the call actually starts to ring on the anwering machine. However, all of this is invisible to the caller. It also is supposed to work with voice mail systems too.
Well worth the call to the customer support #. It works! March 14, 2006
MMC (California)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
I bought this item after reading good reviews here and elsewhere. I didn't want it for faxes (I'm using maxemail.com for that so that junk faxes don't eat up my fax paper and ink). I just wanted to route my DISTINCTIVE RING/SMART RING calls to a differnt phone/answering machine for business calls.
If I hadn't read the comments here (about contacting Commands customer support number), I would have returned it the next day. I'M SO GLAD I DIDN'T RETURN IT, because now it's exactly what I wanted. Their tech support told me codes to make it:
1. Ignore all calls to my regular number and just let those ring thru to my family phones/answ machine, as usual.
2. Recognize calls with the Distinctive Ring and route the call to second phone/answering machine combo. (That has a business greeting on the answering machine).
3. Let the those "distinctive-ring" calls ring long enough for me to answer before the machine picks them up.
4. Preserve caller ID on all of the calls; to all of the phones.
My suggestion is to buy this product and save yourself the price of a second line. If it doesn't work right out of the box for you ... DON'T drive yourself nuts trying to troubleshoot the darn thing. (The codes in the printed manual and online are not correct/sufficient.) Just give the company a call and they will have it custom programmed to your needs in less than 15 minutes. If you find a glitch, call them again and they'll tell you a code to fix it!
Thank you to those who wrote a review before me. Without reading those, I would have returned a product which ended up being exactly what I needed.
Works Great! October 1, 2005
J. Campbell (Orlando, FL)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm using this to avoid having a dedicated phone line for my home fax machine. It has two modes.
In fully automatic mode, it answers every call and listens for a fax tone. If it hears the tone, it sends a ring signal to the fax machine. If it doesn't, it sends a ring signal to the phone that is attached to the unit. This is the mode I am using. The only downside to this mode is that only the phone attached to the box will ring. I happen to have one of those cordless phones with multiple handsets, and they all ring, so this is not an issue for me. It works flawlessly right out of the box. I just plugged it in, attached the phone lines, and that was it.
The second mode listens to every call you (or your answering machine) answers, and when it hears the fax tones, automatically sends an extra ring to your fax machine so it can pick up the call. This works around the drawback above, but you have to leave a delay in your outgoing message to let it listen for the tones. Not that big a deal, but the automatic mode works great for me.
Even works on VOIP Phone September 19, 2006
J. R. Miller (North Carolina)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Thanks for the thoughtful reviews which got me to try this unit.
Unfortunately, there are also reviewers here who can not even read the first page of their manual. Please ignore their whining.
I faced a difficult challenge. After purchasing an expensive multifunction laser [$800], Technical support at HP informed me that their best multifunction would not work with VOIP telephone service. They warned that the answering machine would "steal" calls from the fax machine. and it did. BTW, my VOIP is provided by Time Warner Cable- which guarantees that a fax will work on their service.
So I tried a Brother machine - much cheaper . Soon their technical support warned of answering machine and fax incompatibliity with VOIP service.
So I dropped the multifunction angle. I purchased a separate Canon MF6530 Printer Copier, a Canon Fax Laser L80, and a Panasonic Digital answering machine.
I bought the Comswitch 5500, and had all of these devices installed within less than an hour.
Everything worked, answering machine, fax, copier printer right out of the box!
However, I did find that the remote phones in other rooms rang only once. So - per the manual - I needed to set the ComSwitch 5500 to "semiautomatic".
But I got a VOIP message when I entered the codes to do so.
So I called ComSwitch technical support. Technical suport answered in one ring!
He solved my code difficulty immediately.
With this device, you can set up your office and your machines to work the way you do. And, get the quality you need in your office.
Again, thanks for tipping me off to the value of this device.
I love it! March 3, 2007
Jan (Missouri)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This Comswitch worked right out of the box for me. I didn't change anything. My setup is an ADSL incoming line that I've got 3 filters on. I might be ok with 2 but I had an extra and some reviews had indicated a need for more. Beyond that, it's connected as the installation instructions indicate for automatic with phones and an answering machine. If a fax is received, my phones never ring, just the fax machine. If it's a voice call my phones ring until I answer or my answering machine answers. It was that simple.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 68
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