how do fax machines work?

Question

Like the title says, how was data transferred via phone lines.

In: Technology

Answer 1

Fax machines were actually invented in the 1800s.

So one fax machine calls another fax machine.  The 2 machines sync together and the transmitting machine begins to scan the page line by line.  When the machine sees white it sends nothing, but when it sees black it sends a beep.  The receiving machine prints a dot every time it hears a beep.

There’s an awesome TV show from the late 90s called The Secret Life of Machines.  The host, Tim Hunkin, has upscaled all the episodes and uploaded them to his YouTube channel.  There’s an episode on fax machines called The Secret Life of the Fax Machine.   The show is fun and I’d recommend watching all of them.