atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Telecom Service & Providers Could it be that easy?

I've spent the last 9 straight hours searching for a straight answer. I think I may have found just the place to get one.
Trying to get back on my feet after a brutal ride on the economical downturn and would like to launch a home based business on a bare bones budget, so I could use some advice from some tech savvy experts.
I'm told I can add a second (business) line by using my analog land line and adding a "distinctive ring to" feature as the additional phone number. Here's the rub - they dont add features (such as voicemail) to "ring to" (distinctive ring) numbers, you must use an answering machine. They dont make answering machines with distinctive ring capabilities. I do not want the same answering machine answering both numbers. I want two separate phone numbers with two separate messages.
Yes, I know I can do this if I have another physical line installed, but that's an installation fee and a recurring monthly expense I cant readily commit to just yet.
So here's what I'm thinking:
Can one of those hybrid fax/answering machine combos, that are distinctive ring programmable, accomplish the task?
Could I literally split the jack and plug in two of these fax/answering machines in to my single analog land line with one loaded for company A to the regular phone/fax operation, and the other loaded for company B to the distinctive ring phone/fax operation?
I'm getting both yes and no answers from different contacts at both the phone company and from the fax/answering machine manufacturer.
My head is spinning. I know there are devices out there such as the SR2 and The Stick that supposedly convert and reroute these calls, but they're a little pricey and if my jerry rigged set up will in fact work, why not go with equipment I already have for only 5$ more a month?
Lets say company A is my Avon business and company B is my birthday cake business. I dont want my Avon customers getting my birthday cake business a/m greeting, and vice versa.
Any advice from helpers out there would be greatly appreciated. And...if you live close enough, free birthday cake!
Thanks much

a distinctive ring switch and two plain single line answering machines would do

The SR2 distinctive ringing switch by Multi-Link will work perfect. Device 1 (main line) with a phone and answering machine and device 2 (secondary line) with a phone and answering machine. Almost foolproof except if you lose power, then all calls will route to the device 1 port.

hmm. The only info I can find on SR2 is the bigger SR3 for 160-200$. I spoke with a source today that says they are transitioning to "the stick" and those are around 120$. Would I need one for each phone number?
Once again, I'm trying not to have to spend even more money. I already have the all-in-one fax/answering machines with programmable distinctive ring.
Shouldnt those work without having to buy a switch? That's what I'm wanting to know.

Also ~ keep in mind you will be sending out you home caller ID on calls

Ya know, you might want to check into Google Voice.

You get a new number, it forwards to your existing home or cell number (or both simultaneously), and has its own voice mail.

Or add a phone to your cell plan I. Wouldn't worry about a fax just have them email you

I also recommend Google Voice..

For fax, there are a bunch of fax<->email services out there..

There's always Vonage. They offer a separate fax line for cheap. I use them and never have a problem, either on the voice line or the fax line.

I use RingCentral myself... depending on your usage patterns, it can be as cheap as $10/mo, and the CCR functionality is pretty decent, and faxes come straight to e-mail.

I've been happy with the service so far. I don't use the voip client, I just have it forward to my cell.

What is CCR?

I think that if your fax/answer machine has distinctive ring, it will actually answer one ring pattern and just pass the other ring pattern on out to a phone or answering machine plugged into it. So what you can do is plug one fax/answer machine into the wall and then plug the othe fax/answer machine into the first one. Make sure you use the right ports. One port is for the wall outlet and another is for the telephone set. It won't work right otherwise.

I have a distinctive ring box (or two) laying around. It cost around $50 new. I still have it and can sell it to you cheap. If you are interested, send me a PM. It always worked fine.

Based on reading this forum, The Stick has a good reputation. Never heard of the SR2 or SR3, so can't rate it.

So you can send and receive faxes on Vonage reilably? Has anyone else tried this?

So you can redirect incoming faxes to RingCentral to your email and it is reliable? Can you send faxes using Ring Central? Is Ring Central still free?

The SR2/SR3 are made by Multi-Link.....and work very well. They are designed to work w/ distinctive ring. The Stick is used to simply detect fax tones on a line and route the call accordingly.....it does not route calls based on distinctive ring.

CCR = Custom Call Routing, or auto-attendant.

I've had no problems with the fax to e-mail, although I don't use it particularly heavily. Yes, you can fax out via e-mail as well.

It's not free, but not expensive either. Again, I'm not a heavy user, but my plan is about $10/month. It's a quick way to have a "business" presence without maintaining a dedicated landline.

I'm using Ringcentral for my business, the services were pretty cheap but the services that I need were great, they definitely met my expectations...

Ring Central may work very well (and it does), but don't ever try to cancel their services. After getting the high-pressure sales tactic to stay with them, they reluctantly e-mailed me a written cancellation confirmation. Still, they kept billing my credit card. I called again, went through the same high-pressure sales speech and was then told that the cancellation confirmation wasn't really a formal confirmation. They credited my card for the month's billing, but once again, I got charged the next month. I finally had to go to my bank and dispute the charge. Only then did I receive anything from RC about the disconnection. Basically, they stated that if the matter wasn't resolved, they would terminate my service. Well duh! I've only been trying to do this through the proper channels for almost four months.