NOT THE KX-FPC141, No place for the 95 so I put it here!!!

After 5 years of faithful service, my old fax gave out on me. In my quest for a new one, I considered buying one of the large fax/flatbed scanner/copier/printer units. But those ranged from $ 499-599. And since my current fax doubled as my answering machine I had to pay more. So I started looking. Also, wanting a cordless 900 or better phone, I remember looking at the Panasonix KX-FPC95 several times over the years and remembering "I like all the features". So, I looked at it again. The price was down from the $ 299.00 I remember it being a few years ago, but I also considered the fact that it WAS still around for a few years, so I was comfortable that it was a sound unit. So......I bought it.

The setup was pretty simple, however, there was a little trial and error in a a point that is just briefly mentioned in the manual.

Since my fax doubled as my answering machine, it is hooked up to my primary phone line. Since I did not want the fax screech when I answered a call, I subscribed to Distinctive Ringing with my phone company. This gave me a number I could give out for the FAX only. So, when I hear the double ring, I know it is most likely a fax and I do not answer it. My fax recognizes the distinctive ring, and the manual said the KX-FPC95 did as well. So OK, now I had the unit that would know it was a fax and answer the call as one on the 2nd ring. Otherwise it would act as a phone call and invoke the digital answering machine.

But, the instructions are not very clear on doing this and it took several trial and error settings to get it right.

The unit is attractive and seems well built. The other feature that drew me to the KX-FPC95 is the fact that it is in reality 2 phones in one. The handset has caller ID and is self functional. The base in itself has the dialing keypad and speakerphone as well as it's own caller ID display, so you can make a speakerphone call from the base without the handset, or receive a call knowing who it is without the handset.

Panasonic recommends charging the battery 4 hours, and it took about that long for the charge indicator to show full.

The cordless handset has a range of about 800-900 feet. I took the unit with me when I walked my dog, and at that distance, it broke up a little bit. Typical distance for other 900Mhz phones I have owned.

Other features of the unit are:
- Pager notification of incoming calls with caller ID information on the page.
- Remote access to the answering machine.
- Ability to use TOLL SAVER setting. If you get 3 rings, no messages, so you can hang up before it connects.
- Copy with reduce/large and sorting.
- Two-way intercom with paging between the handset and the base.
- Belt Clip (I got the optional handsfree headset on rebate)

I have received 3 faxes averaging 45-50 seconds per page. I assume slow modems on the other end, as Panasonic boasts 6 seconds per page on transmit, but it too 13 minutes and 36 seconds for me to fax 9 pages.

There are a few design flaws that I have to over come. And a few shortcomings on other aspects in which I have to deal with. These are different from my old faithful retired fax, which I had absolutely no problems with. By the way, the fax I replaced with the KX-FPC95 was a Brother MFC-1950MC.

First of all....the originals that are copied or transmitted are spit out the front of the unit. There is NO CATCH apparatus for this, so if the front is butted up to the end of a desk or shelf, such as mine, they fall on the floor. Or in my case, the trash can which has always been there. Panasonic could have very easily placed a wire catch tray there.

The other design flaw id the handset's display, It is on the back of the handset. I like those in the front.

Now for the two features that I am not too happy about.
1. The film for the printer is only good for 150 pages. At $ 16.99/roll, that comes to a little over 11 cents per page. My Brother was good for 800 pages, and the roll was $ 31.99 or 4 cents per page. So I may still do SOME copying with the KX-FPC95, but not much.
2. The most the ring count can be set for the answering machine is 4 rings. I would prefer 7 or 8.

All in all, the features are good and the quality appears OK so far. If you plan on a lot of faxes received or a lot of copies, you may want to consider an inkjet or laser unit.




Recommended: Yes