help with phone lines.
Posted By: AL MT on 2005-08-25
In Reply to:
We have been having A LOT of rainy weather for a while. When it is raining and lightening I lose my internet connection. Also, I use a C-phone so I get off when I can hear the "clicking" coming through my phone line. Is there anything I can get for my phone to prevent me from being struck with lightening and to help my connection better? I have dial-up. I am tired of losing money because of the constant bad weather.
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C-phone info regarding phone lines etc.
I am completely clueless on the subject of a C-phone. Can someone help me understand exactly how this works? Do you have to specifically have a separate "dial up internet" service to use the C-phone? I currently have cable internet and am wondering if there is anything else I need to get. I guess I should contact my phone company. At any rate, any help anyone could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
RE: Phone lines
I have Bellsouth with C-phone and it is fine.
Phone lines
I have a call in digital dictation system with multiple phone lines, which are expensive through my local phone company and everything costs extra including call forwarding, caller ID, etc. I am trying to cut down these costs and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about Vonage or another phone company or otherwise that may have cheaper pricing on phone lines or package deals. Also, does anyone know of any good call in systems that do not utilize call-in digital technology and do not need to worry about computer equipment. Thanks for any help.
Who pays for your phone lines?
I am thinking about letting a couple of my transcriptionists go home....I have opened a new business and am doing so well I am running out of space here in the office. I can do more business if they go home, but call into my main account, who uses Lanier voicewriter and is still (unbelievably) on Medword......to those of you who type from home, who pays the monthly expense for your phone lines....and do you have one or two lines?
I use a C phone and 2 separate lines.. sm
I have DSL and I was not able to have my DSL on the same line as my C phone though now I cannot remember why it did not work. I do know that if it had worked I would not have had a phone to use to call out or receive calls while I was working (which was fine by me.. my family knows to call my cell). At any rate, because of the fact the C phone and DSL did not co-exist I had to use a separate line for my C phone and then my DSL is on another line and that frees up my main phone line for calls in and out.
It will not work through phone lines....sm
I started on a Lanier at a hospital and then went home with it. At the hospital it was connected directly to the computer. I was told that you lose certain features through the phone lines and that is one of them.
I was told to have 2 phone lines, one can be cell. But (sm)
The one time I needed to use modem for backup, it was virtually impossible to type, so having the second line is useless. Having a second HSI connection would do the trick in the event some castrophe took place and the HSI co. went out for a day or so.
VDI from ECS in Ventura I think. Get one that uses phone lines (analog)
You cannot beat the sound quality on this for the price. Dictaphone is considered the best, but this is reasonably priced and upgradable. I have a 4-port system. You can use 1-4 of the lines. Even though voice files are the "new technology," they are not the best. You can hear a pin drop on this system, and the clearer you hear the doctors, the more money you make. I love mine. If you are looking for a call-in system that uses digital voice files, I have one that does this, either one line or two.
would like to help, but don't understand the question. It takes 2 phone lines, is all.
x
The phone line has to support DSL signals. Most rural lines don't due to distance from central of
x
I was told I needed 2 phone lines, but was told I was dialing into the doctors' system. What woul
C-phone used to call in to dictating systems to receive work. A special phone. nm
nm
I had a lot of trouble with static in my C-phone. I replaced the phone cord and that made a big
difference. Also, have you tried a different headset? Also someone told me one time that there is a microphone under your volume control on the right corner of the C-phone. It's a tiny hole. If you break off a Q-tip and stick that into the hole that will squelch a lot of background noise and that worked as well. As far as getting your C-phone service, I heard that Dictaphone is "sunsetting" C-phones at the end of this year. Meaning, they aren't going to service them anymore as they are considered an obsolete technology. So, I would contact Dictaphone and see what your options are.
I know very little about Lanier equipment. I've not used it as extensively as Dictaphone. Is there a local appliance repair place in your area? You might ask one of those places to take a look at your equipment and see what they think. Kinda scary, cause they could do more harm than good, but maybe worth a shot.
Not much help, I know. But I thought I would share what tiny bit of obscure knowledge I do have. 
I've changed them between an old phone and new phone, but the same company, i.e. Nextel.
x
I use my c-phone whenever we travel. You can hook it directly into your room phone. Be sure and as
xx
Aaahhhh, now I get it. Gross lines vs. Character lines. I guess I've just been conditioned to
think in terms of character lines. One of the perils of working as an IC for somebody who defines what a line is versus owning your own company and defining it yourself. After working for someone else for 15 years, maybe it's time to bust out on my own.
I think you can dial into most systems that require C-phone without having a C-phone nm
.
I am wondering if there is a way to use your C-phone with Vonage phone service?
??
May have to change phone companies, have switched to job using a C-phone. sm
Currently have Embarq (formerly Sprint), and my usage will be going up about 12,000 minutes a month. What phone companies offer really unlimited for a flat rate? TIA.
C-phone and ATT. There is no problem with the C-phone, but ATT wouldn't let me use unlimited.
nm
I have cable phone access and my C-phone works - sm
I am not sure about you problem, because it sounds just like I have mine hooked up. The only thing I can think of is that mine has 2 line hookups in the back of the phone. If you have this too, I would just try the other one, which you probably have already done. Sorry that was not much help. I wish you luck
That is a lot of work/lines for 2 people. I do 3000 lines per day sm
if you times that by 30 days that only comes to 90K lines a month, that is working 7 days a week including weekends. I don't think 2 people can handle that.
900 lines is below 1100 lines, where the bonus starts.
x
I have a very loud hum when using my C-phone, but no hum when I'm using the regular phone. SM
Anyone else experience this problem with their C-phone? Is there a problem with my C-phone? At first I thought it was my telelphone line and called the phone company. They sent a technician out to replace the lines and check the house, but the hum is still there on the C-phone.
It's driving me batty!
If you use a C-phone for work and have a digital phone
through cable, have you tried to take an incoming call?
We only have one phone line. I rarely get/make calls and when I do we have cell phones. I just started working with a C-phone and got digital phone. I can go a month and my phone not ring, so far have gotten 3 calls today, but I'm afraid that if I try to answer the phone that I will lose my report.
I guess I could pull up a report and have my husband call on his C-phone and test it that way and then if I lose it no biggie.
Anyone use/try C-phone with Medicom's phone service?
Wondering if it works?
Gross lines include all lines containing
printable characters, so a full line and a line with one word on it are charged equally. Straight lines are basically the same as gross lines, but with this method of counting the blank lines are counted as well (again, equally). I have only had one company pay this way, and they are a middle man. I would think the charge would be about the same as for gross lines, and that not too many offices will want their lines counted this way (the one I worked on was probably inherited from someone who had counted the lines that way, so just continued).
The norm is 1 minute = 10 lines; 10 min = 100 lines - sm
granted this varies per dictator. More lines if a fast talker, less if a slow talker.
I went from 2400 lines to 1800 lines
a day when I switched from clinic (through an MTSO) to hospital work. Not only was the clinic work easier with more macros (and less providers to learn, 12 vs 300+), but I was typing in straight Word (as opposed to Softmed/Chart Script). So you see, it really varies depending upon the type of work as well as the platform used. That said, I am so much happier typing the 1800 lines per day (I make over $15 per hour plus an incentive for any lines in excess of 1200 per day) plus a great health package/benefits, AND approximately 5 weeks of paid time off per year. In my opinion, hospitals really are the best employers WHEN they appreciate the work we do.
My advice for you is not to judge a job by any one criterion but rather the entire picture. The 'extra's can really add up.
Good luck in your job!
Which is the one where they are sc*&ing us the standard lines or the qualified lines? SM
Mine show up as STD when I pull up my transcription log. But I see now there is STD/QT.... So which is the one where they are ripping us off, standard or qualified? Need to know. I am about to switch companies and I will not do if they are actually taking lines from me. Thanks guys.
Question versus gross lines versus 65-character lines....
I have always charged or been paid by 65 or 60 character lines or per letter or space typed, but have never been paid or charged per gross line.
What is the advantage of this? If I were to charge 11 cents per 65-character line including spaces, what does this figure out to for an average line rate and how do you do this calculation?
I'm wondering if it is financially beneficial for me to bill by gross line or to keep it the way I have it. I do know some accounts will only pay per 65-character line, as this was the deal my first own account I recently acquired. They were adamant on a 65-character line, but didn't specify with or without spaces and I personally would never not charge for spaces.
Thanks for explaining this. I appreciate it and hope everyone has a speedy day.
C-phone and phone line
I have cable for my Internet so I have my C-phone on my regular home phone line and forward my home phone number to my cell phone.
A c-phone is just a phone, with headphones sm
and a foot pedal. You call into a number (hopefully 800 number), put in your codes, and a voice file comes on. You use the headphones and the foot pedal, and transcribe on your computer into a word processing program, then send the finished file back per their directions.
The c-phone is not connected to the internet in any way. There is no downloading involved. It is just a phone by means of which you get your voice files. It needs a phone line and you stay on the line the entire time.
c-phone from cell phone
I believe if you check with your cell phone carrier they have an adapter that you can use to plug into your cell phone from the c-phone. Not sure about this but I think I had a friend tell me she had to do this but it was a year or so ago. Hope this helps.
It connects via phone like, just like a C-phone.
I have an old actual C-phone phone if that is what you mean, (sm)
not the newer kind that connects to a computer. I don't know if yours is programmed the same, but mine shows 8 to decrease and 9 to increase. Hope this helps.
C-phone and phone plans....
I have a company that I have recently hired on with that uses c-phones. At home I have an unlimited long distance plan, but I'm wondering if while traveling there is a plan that you can get in order to use a c-phone in a motel, relative's homes, etc. I like to be able to still work while traveling and I feel this is going to limit me. Any suggestions or ideas?
Digital phone/C-phone
Does anyone use a C-phone with digital phone service? Does this work out okay?
Word count: 824 lines. DocuCount count: 897 lines.
I just counted the same file in Word and then in DocuCount, and DocuCount was higher than Word.
Just as an aside.
You can get a used C-phone for probably
$150.00 on E-bay, new about $800.00. The re-record equipment is about $15.00 at Radio Shack, but re-recording takes a lot of time and the sound quality is diminished, so figure that into your line count.
C-Phone
Hi Jo,
I have a Dictaphone C-phone that is just sitting here and has barely been used. Will sell for $100.
C-phone
Thank you very much. I am currently looking into a position which requires a C-phone but have not actually tested and accepted a position yet. Please let me know your email address and if I decide to work for this particular company, I would like to purchase the C-phone from you.
Jo Keller
C-phone
Thank you very much
for your help.
C-phone
Hi Jo,
email is lanajack@suscomme.net
I have another lady interested in this C-phone too and have told her I was waiting to hear from you by the end of the week.
c phone
What is a c-phone, how does it work?
I just got off the phone with them
and they said they have been cracking down because they have had too much pirating. I could purchase a license again at a nominal discount...I think it works out to be about 30% but it sounded like they would make no exceptions.
Would it work burning it to another disk? I don't think it will as you still need your serial number to register...
c-phone
As you can maybe tell, I have no idea how a c-phone works, but I do have a job op where I would need one. I already have a phone line and a dedicated dialup line, so I should be good to go, then. Thanks for your reply
They said I would need to get a C-phone.
I'll have to really give this one some thought. Thanks for your help. 
I am on the phone with them right now...thanks..will let you know how it goes...
c phone
Happened to me also, i took it apart and 2 screws had fell out, once i replaced them it was as good as new!
Usually using a C-phone you do have better
sound quality because you are getting first-hand dictation. When using wav files they are usually bled off another system and you do tend to lose some sound quality, though it most cases is not significant if the original dictation is of good quality.
Sound quality can also be affected by sound card or computer settings. I used a C-phone for years and now have been using wav files for about 8 years. There was a period of adjustment while I had to retrain my ears, the same way I did when I started doing 95% ESL. Since most decent-sized MT companies hire from all over the U.S. I'm surprised there are still so many using C-phones, though many companies do not pay the cost of long-distance or a second phone line so it is cheaper for them not to have to upgrade their equipment to convert.
I have gotten used to wav files now and don't think I could go back to using a C-phone. I have a laptop and I like to sit outside when it is nice, so I can download my files and just carry my laptop and foot pedal outside and work away or I can get up in the middle of a report to take a shower, fix dinner, or whatever.
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