Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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

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.

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.

Very easy to set up and use and it works well. I made one change however. I have a large home with a guest house work shop etc so lots of extension phones. As set up when you answer the phone no one can get on an extension, but there is a simple fix. I bought a telephone pushbutton two line switch. This is a device with a telephone cord that plugs into the wall and it has two push buttons to select line one or line two if you have two telephone lines. I only have one line so line two is dead. I plug my telephone into the wall outlet along with the two line switch then the Catch-A-Call plugs into the two line switch. I use line one for getting on line, then when I get an incoming call I just push line two disconnecting the Catch-A-Call and computer, I can then pick up my phone or just let it ring all the extensions and let some one else get the call.

I bought this six months ago and finally gave up on it. It would work fine with an old corded phone, but would never disconnect from the modem line (although it would ring to let me know someone was calling) when using three different cordless phones. All I would hear was the modem screeching then then call was disconnected (along with me from my internet connection!). Total frustration! I'm going to try a controller based US Robotics v.92 modem (which claims to do much the same thing, only with caller-id).

This unit was hooked up as should be. It never worked. two e-mails, and two phone calls to the manufacturers "tech support" went unanswered. As per their written instructions, I complied with all, even accessing my ISP for their input, and Qwest to make sure I still had callwaiting. These units are showing up in bargain outlet stores, and a conversation with a manager of one, confirmed that they too were getting returns for non working units. This company needs to be more responsive to customers needs, or pull this "junk" off of the market.

I bought one since I don't have DSL yet and am always online.
I plugged it in and tested it myself by calling myself repeatedly from the cell.
It works, period. Highly recommend one.
Should be given the "Invention Of The Year" award.

This is the worst piece of crap ever!

1.It's goes off all the time, even when no-one is calling!

2.It holds you up..Everytime it rings it pause's the internet for 30 seconds, so you'll waste alot of time because like i said, it goes off all the time even when no-one is calling..

3.It goes off just by going to a website.

If you do important stuff on-line or if you just want to enjoy the internet, do not get this..Simple as that..Save your money, it's not worth $5 bucks and it's over priced..I can't believe i paid $50 for it, it was a waste of money..

This product is easy to install and does exactly what it is supposed to do. I did buy one several years ago which finally did go bad, but I was more than willing to replace it with another one. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

This is Perfect for people who go online sometimes, not all the time or if you don't have alot of phone calls, just a few important call and if your a buissness-type person. I got this for Christmas and it is perfect. I don't get alot of phone calls while I'm online. Sure I get kicked off after 30 seconds while I'm talking on the phone, but hey, I didn't miss any important phone calls and it's almost like I have DSL, except for the speed and the connecting. The another good thing is it doesn't affect the speed.