The JT Fax 9600 Fax Board (software ver. 1.16) from QUADRAM Copyright 1989 David W. Batterson While sales of stand-alone fax machines continue to go through the roof, many PC owners have opted to buy fax boards instead. If you already have a printer, then buying a fax board can save you money. One major disadvantage is that unless you have a laser-quality page printer, you're going to be disappointed with fax printouts while using fax boards. The 24-pin dot matrix printers are OK, but unless the sender transmitted using high-resolution mode, words and images can get a bit fuzzy. The JT Fax 9600 fax board, as fax boards go, isn't bad. However, I found it to be less friendly than Intel's Connection CoProcessor, which I reviewed earlier. The INSTALL program is rather painless. But the manual warns that you may have problems if you are using other TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs along with the FAX.EXE program (which is RAM-resident too). The configuration program is easy to get along with. Using it, you enter your FAX ID (usually your fax phone number, but it can be a word or phrase instead), choose your printer, define scanner brand and port, and select other PC setup options. I found a couple of problems here. There are three settings for the board's speaker: Speaker Always On, On Until Connect, and Speaker Always Off. Although I chose the middle one, the speaker continued to stay ON after connecting. I reconfigured it several times, but it didn't help. Also, you can select the number of rings before the board picks up the line, and accepts the fax call. Although I chose "1" ring, testing it with a friend showed that my phone always rang twice before the JT Fax answered. I did like one choice, which worked perfectly. Some fax boards will transmit a full page, even though you may be sending only a half-page of ASCII text data. With the JT Fax, you can select Variable Page Length. In this way, if you send a file of, say 15 lines, your transmission will be much faster. The Connection CoProcessor uses a modified version of PC Paintbrush to view received faxes. I don't know WHAT the JT Fax uses, but it's a bit awkward. For instance, faxes are displayed on screen in reverse video, i.e., white text (or graphics) on black background. You press "R" to reverse the display. After using the R command, the image reversed and was totally UNREADABLE. [Note: I have a VGA monitor.] I could only read it by using the "+" key, which enlarges the fax display. But you then have to scroll up/down, left/right to see the whole fax message or image. When you use the cursor keys, it takes too long for the screen refresh. Using and helped a little. There are the usual features of delayed transmissions, sending faxes to a group (broadcasting), and using normal or high-res fonts (80-column or 132- column compressed). Polling of other fax machines or board is NOT supported. One difference between the JT Fax 9600 and the Connection CoProcessor is the way files are sent. The JT Fax doesn't convert the files into fax format before transmitting them. The conversion takes place AFTER the fax board has connected with the receiving machine or fax board. This results in better efficiency. I noticed that my test faxes generally transmitted faster with the JT Fax than with the Connection CoProcessor. Some utility programs are included. FAXV.EXE converts ASCII text or .PCX (PC Paintbrush format) graphics files to fax format. FAX2PCX.EXE converts fax format files to .PCX files; then you can edit or view them with PC Paintbrush or compatible graphics software. PC Paintbrush is NOT included. You can send either ASCII text files, or you can use your word processor to prepare a message. From the "Transmit FAX" menu, you select Application, instead of Filename. When you finish writing, you use your word processor's print command. Instead of going to the printer, the data is captured, converted to ASCII text, and then faxed. To use that feature, you must configure your word processor to the Epson MX printer. The Application Printer Capture won't work otherwise. Another unusual feature is the Print Screen option. You select "Print Screen" from the Transmit FAX menu; the next time you press the key--or + --the screen data is sent as a fax. The software needs some upgrading. For instance, there is no way to delete fax files you've read, without going to the DOS prompt and doing it manually. It's quite a memory-hog too, requiring about 200K; that's too much! Overall, I give the JT Fax 9600 a grade B- after my evaluation. For more information, contact QUADRAM, One Quad Way, Norcross, GA 30093-2919; 800-548-3420, 404-564-5566, FAX: 404-564-5528. # David W. Batterson has written for various computer publications, including PC WEEK, MicroTimes, LINK-UP, Information Today, and others.