Catch-A-Call CAC-BLC / CAC-SSC Telephone Line Sharing Device for Phone, Fax, and Internet

by Catch-A-Call

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4 x 5 x 4 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00006HCI3
• Item model number: CAC-BLC
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,616 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONICS CAC-BLC, THE REPORTER INTERNET/PHONE

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars works but I had to add a long cable, January 31, 2003

By 

edouard (los angeles,ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catch-A-Call CAC-BLC / CAC-SSC Telephone Line Sharing Device for Phone, Fax, and Internet (Office Product)

The device looks sturdy and compact, in a blue/transparent molded box.
After plugging it (many disgraceous cables but easy), my unit did not work or rather worked too much (many extra rings
every day, like false alarms). Rarely I was able to catch a caller, which required me to push flash on my phone until
the poor caller and I stopped hearing loud computer noises (a positive thing to reject telemarketers)
I decided to call help (note no address or phone on box, must go on the IEI website, but tech help there and responsive)
I was told that probably the modem of my vaio laptop was too strong so the catch a call's sensitivity had to be
reduced (jumper inside to remove) and/or I had to add a spool of cable length (50ft) between the computer and the catchacall.
After I did both changes the system works. I can now intercept calls while on the email or surfing the web!
Sometimes I still get a false alarm, particulalry opening a new web window, but I can tell it is not a real caller because
the device will ring only once without persistan

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Does what it's supposed to, April 22, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Catch-A-Call CAC-BLC / CAC-SSC Telephone Line Sharing Device for Phone, Fax, and Internet (Office Product)

I've seen reviews that bash this product, but it's been great for me. Now we don't have to worry about missing a call from one of our kids when we're on line.

The necessary steps are (1)get call-waiting from your phone company, (2) hook up the product so the phone line goes from your wall to the device, to your computer and phone, (3) make sure your PC's "internet connections" are not set to disable call waiting. That's it. Then when you're on line, the device rings when a call comes in. Simple as that.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad if you can get a good price for it..., March 29, 2004

By 

Frank Forrest "Quasar" (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catch-A-Call CAC-BLC / CAC-SSC Telephone Line Sharing Device for Phone, Fax, and Internet (Office Product)

If your friends are always complaining about your phone being busy because of your kids tying up the line with the internet (of course, you never do this ;) this just might be the solution for you. This device only works if you have the call waiting option from your phone company. What Catch-a-Call does while you are online, er, I mean while your kids are online, is that it monitors for the call waiting signal. When it senses the beep, it automatically alerts you that a call is coming in by beeping. You now have the option to pick up the phone and answer, or ignor it and continue surfing. The setup is pretty easy. You plug a phone into the back of the unit and to a phone line that is coming from the phone jack in your house/room. Then a line is connected to the back of your computer. Lastly, you will have to find a power outlet in which to power the unit. The rub is that you need to have an extra phone line that is near your computer. If not, you will have to get a long extention cord and a phone jack device that allows another line to come out from the jack. This is what I had to do. I ran a long phone extention cord from the hallway into my home office.

How well does it work? Catch-a-Call claims that you can take a call and then go back to your internet surfing after you hang up. This is sort of true. It definitely does a good job of catching those calls. When ever the Catch a Call beeped, I just pick up the phone and talk to whoever was on there. On some rare occasions, when I picked up the call, I would only here the modem static of my computer instead of the caller. I'm not sure why this happens, but it occured about 1 out of every 20 times. As far as returning to the internet after the call, in theory, when you hang up, you can go back to surfing. This can be done, if you are not on the phone for more than 10 to 15 seconds. After that, when you go back to your surfing, your modem will have disconnected. All you have to do is to hit refresh, and your connection will be reestablished. Be aware that you can only take calls from the phone that is directly connected to the Catch-a-Call and not from any other phones in the house. Catch-a-Call can prevent you from losing all those phone calls while you are online. However, some of the trouble, if at all, in using it will depend on how your house/apartment is setup for phone lines and the price that you pay for the unit. If you buy it for retail, you have probably not gotten yourself a very good deal. Try shopping around as this unit is also sold at some of the electronic mega stores at much better prices than Radio Shack.