Ectaco Oxford 500AL User manual

including Oxford®Speaking American College Dictionary
AnyLanguage™ Translator
model Oxford 500AL
USER MANUAL
ECTACO, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any damage or loss resulting from the use
of this manual.
ECTACO, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any loss or claims by third parties, which
may arise through the use of this product.
ECTACO, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any damage or loss caused by deletion of
data as a result of malfunction, repairs, or battery replacement. Be sure to back up all
important data on other media to avoid data loss.
The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.
No part of this manual shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
permission from ECTACO, Inc.
Oxford American College Dictionary
© 2007 Oxford University Press, Inc.
AnyLanguage™, LingvoSoft®and Audio PhraseBook™ are trademarks of ECTACO,
Inc., NY, USA.
© 1990–2009 ECTACO, Inc., New York, USA.
All rights reserved.

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FCC Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2)
This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Warning: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on purchasing ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL! This
product is the result of the combined efforts of Ectaco's linguists, engineers, and
programmers, and represents the last generation of the highest-performance
integrated linguistic systems available.
ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL features:
Oxford®American College Dictionary
Bidirectional dictionary of over 500,000 words (depends on language pair),
including idioms, medical, technical, legal, and business terms, as well as slang
and general expressions

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14,000 phrases per language pair in Phrasebook
Voice function based on the TTS (Text-to-Speech) technology
Instant reverse translation
Look-up function
Vector Ultima™ spell-checker
Phonetic transcription
Irregular verbs
Over 200 popular idioms
SAT 5000 vocabulary
Hangman word game
Metric and currency converters
World time
Grammar guide
USA Interview
Calculator
Slang lock
Three font sizes
Mini-USB port for external power supply
Headphone jack
As continuous efforts are being made by the manufacturer to ensure the best
quality and performance of the products, some characteristics of the device you
have purchased may slightly differ from their description in this manual.
The functionality of a particular model depends on the set of languages included, and it
may partially differ from the device description in this manual. For more information
about a particular model, please visit our Web site at www.ectaco.com.

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GENERAL VIEW
The general view and external features of ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™
500AL are shown below.
POWER SUPPLY
The device is powered by two AAA (LR03) batteries.
How to Replace the Batteries
•Ensure the power is off. Press ON/OFF to turn the device off.
•Remove the battery compartment cover by sliding it away from the device.
•Remove the used batteries and replace them with new ones. Do not mix old and
new batteries.
When replacing the batteries, you have one minute to place new ones in the
device without risk of losing any data stored in RAM. Do not exceed the one-
minute limit! Neither the manufacturer nor the dealer may be held responsible for
loss of user data.

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•Make sure to place the batteries according to the polarity marks (+ -) inside the
compartment.
ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL is equipped with a mini-USB port for
external power supply via the shielded cable.
Use of an inappropriate external power supply may cause failure of the device and
may void the warranty. Always use the original accessories manufactured by
ECTACO, Inc.
REPROGRAMMING TO OTHER LANGUAGE PAIRS
ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL can be reprogrammed to other
language pairs. To reprogram the device, perform the following steps:
1. If you already have the firmware package, copy it to an SD card of up to 2GB
capacity. Make sure the file system on the card is FAT. You can use the SD card
included in the standard package. More languages available for free download at
www.ectaco.com/ML500
2. Slide the card into the SD slot located on the right-hand edge of the device – the
label of the card face up, contacts face down. Push the card gently until it clicks into
place. To eject the card, just push it in slightly.
3. Turn the device on.
4. While holding down the ON/OFF button, press and release the Reset button. The
device screen will turn off. Keep the ON/OFF button pressed until the device screen
turns on.
You can also use the Replace Language Pack option in the Setup section.
5. Press ENTER and then follow the instructions on the screen.
6. Press the Reset button. Alternatively, press ESC.

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INITIALIZATION
The Reset button is located on the left-hand side of the keyboard (under the Akey). It
can be accessed with any thin object like a paper clip. Never use a needle or pin for
this purpose since it can damage the device.
Electrostatic discharge may cause failure of the device. Please use the Reset button to
restore full functionality of the device.
KEYBOARD
Unlike PC keyboards, there is no need to keep a key (such as SHIFT) down while
pressing another one. It is enough to press it only once and release.
Control and edit keys
ON/OFF Turn the device on or off
Reset Re-initialize system
SHIFT+ ESC Switch to the Main Menu
Shortcut keys Open sections corresponding to the marks on the keys; from
within an application, press SHIFT+ shortcut key
ALT+ DICT Open bilingual dictionary
SPELLER
(SHIFT+ P-UP or
P-DN)
Launch spell-checker
Pronounce a headword or a highlighted portion of translation
SHIFT+Access additional symbols1
SHIFT+Switch between the Insert and Overtype modes
, Move cursor / highlight / switch Main Menu
Shift + , Page Up / Page Down
, Highlight / scroll lines / switch Main Menu / change values
P-UP / P-DN Switch between adjacent entries
1 Use , , , to select the desired symbol and then press ENTER. Press ESC to return to
the input line.

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ENTER Execute
ESC Cancel / return to the previous page / switch to Main Menu
ALT Enter diacritic letters (for example: ä, ö, ü, ß) – press the
corresponding key + ALT. To enter such letters in caps, press
SHIFT + the corresponding key + ALT.
SHIFT Type in uppercase
BS Delete character to the left of the cursor
Switch translation direction
SHIFT+Switch language pair (where available)
DISPLAY
ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL features a high-resolution screen
(255x160 pixels).
The indicator line is at the bottom of the display and shows the following indicators:
ALT ALT key pressed
SHIFT SHIFT key pressed
INS Insert mode selected
OVR Overtype mode selected
Battery life indicator
Slang lock is on
The number of reverse translations performed
EN, DE Language input mode
EN-DE, DE-EN Translation direction
, Horizontal scrolling enabled
, Vertical scrolling enabled
MAIN MENU
To display the Main Menu, turn the device on and/or close the current section.
The icons shown in the Main Menu represent the following sections: Oxford®
American College Dictionary, Bilingual Dictionary, PhraseBook, Popular Idioms,

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Irregular Verbs, Grammar, Hangman, SAT 5000, USA Interview, Calculator,
Currency Conversion, Metric Conversion, World Time, Setup, About.
VIEWING ENTRIES
•To translate a word, enter it from the keyboard.
•When the desired word is highlighted, press ENTER to see its translation(s).
You can listen to the pronunciation of words and phrases in the Dictionary – just
highlight the desired item by using , , , and then press .
•Press ESC or any letter key to return to the input line and translate another word
in the same dictionary.
VECTOR ULTIMA™ SPELLCHECKER
When you are unsure of the spelling of a word, the multilingual spell-checker Vector
Ultima™ will help you.
•Type the word as you hear it. For example, "foll" for "fall".
•Press SHIFT+SPELLER (SHIFT and either of the P-UP / P-DN keys).
REVERSE TRANSLATION
•Press , to select a word or expression for the reverse translation.
•Press ENTER to obtain its reverse translation.
PRONUNCIATION OF WORDS AND PHRASES
•Make the selection by using , , , .
•Press .
PHRASEBOOK
The phrasebook contains over 14,000 phrases per language pair. The phrases are
divided into 15 conversational topics.

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•When in the topics list, press SHIFT+or SHIFT+,to set the desired
viewing mode: Words or Phrases.
In the Words mode, the application shows useful words and speech patterns
pertaining to the topic, if available.
In the Phrases mode, the application shows full sentences, some of which have
changeable parts. These are underlined.
•Highlight the desired changeable part by using , and then press ENTER.
For example, when viewing the phrase How frequent are the flights?you can highlight
the flights and change it to the trains.
•Press ENTER to confirm your choice.
HANGMAN WORD GAME
ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL features the learning game Hangman,
which can improve your spelling skills and enhance your personal vocabulary.
•Enter letters from the keyboard, trying to guess the word before the picture is
complete.
To enter additional letters, press SHIFT+ the corresponding key (if applicable).
SAT 5000
This section includes five thousand English words with transcriptions and definitions
from the SAT vocabulary.
USA INTERVIEW
This is the ultimate talking preparation guide to the U.S. citizenship exam.
•Use the P-UP / P-DN keys to switch between questions in the current chapter.
SETUP
Personalize your ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL by selecting options in
the Setup section.
•Press SHIFT+SETUP to enter the Setup section.

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Most of the Setup section options are very easy to adjust. Unless stated otherwise,
enter a subsection and select the desired option with , and , (if applicable).
Then press ENTER to confirm your choice.
•Press ESC to return to the list of subsections.
Set language2
Use this subsection to switch the interface language, if available. The default interface
language of ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL is English.
Replace Language Pack
Allows you to reprogram your ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL to other
language pairs.
Set font size
ECTACO®/OXFORD®AnyLanguage™ 500AL offers you three font sizes: Small,
Medium or Large.
Speech settings
Use the Speech settings to adjust the Volume, Speech frequency and Speech speed,
shaping your own pronunciation style.
•Use ENTER to move between the Volume, Speech frequency,and Speech speed
controls.
•Use , to adjust the levels of each option.
•Press ENTER to save changes.
Slang lock
In this subsection you can hide slang words or phrases contained in the Dictionary. For
example, you may forbid your children to access slang. Slang lock is on by default. To
disable the Slang lock function, please use this password: showslan.
In Hangman, the indicator is always displayed because slang words are not
used in the game.
2Available in selected models.

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Date format
The Month-Day-Year date format can be changed to Day-Month-Year or Year-Month-
Day.
Time format
The American 12-hour time format can be changed to the 24-hour format.
Clock
In this subsection you can choose the desired city and adjust the current time.
•Specify the current date and time.
•Use the "A" and "P" keys to specify AM and PM, respectively.
•Select the desired city.
Key tone
This feature is designed to produce a short beep every time you press a key on the
device's keyboard. The Key tone is turned on by default.
Set contrast
The default contrast setting can be changed in the Set contrast subsection.
•Change the Contrast level by using , .
Set sleep time
This feature saves battery life by shutting down the device after a specified period of
inactivity: 1, 3or 5 minutes.3
Revision 1.