Optimus SCP-96 User manual

Cat. No. 14-1242
OWNER’S MANUAL
Please read before usin
g
this equipment.
SCP-96
AM/FM Stereo Cassette Player
with Auto Reverse
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FEATURES
Your Optimus SCP-96 AM/FM Stereo Cassette Play-
er delivers high-fidelity stereo sound through your
headphones or amplified speaker system. Because
the SCP-96 is portable, you can listen to cassette
tapes or the AM/FM radio indoors or out.
Important: To listen to your SCP-96, you need a pair
of headphones or amplified speakers (not supplied)
with a 1/8-inch mini-plug. Your local RadioShack
store sells a wide variety of headphones and speak-
ers.
Your SCP-96’s features include:
Automatic Reverse — automatically changes the
tape direction at the end of a tape side so you can
continuously play both sides of a cassette tape.
Dolby B Noise Reduction — can play tapes record-
ed with Dolby B noise reduction so background and
tape noise is reduced.
Tone Controls — let you adjust the treble, bass, and
extended bass.
©1998 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Optimus and RadioShack are registered trademarks used
by Tandy Corporation.
Dolby B noise reduction manufactured under license from Dolby
Laboratories Licensing Corporation.
Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby
Laboratories Licensing Corporation.
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Tape Selector — lets you select the proper equal-
ization for normal or high-bias/metal cassette tapes,
so you can get the best performance from your
tapes.
Tape Direction Control — lets you change the
tape’s direction at any time without having to eject
the tape and turn it over.
Three Power Sources — let you power your SCP-
96 from internal batteries (not supplied), standard AC
power (with an optional AC adapter), or your
vehicle’s battery (with an optional DC adapter) so
you can listen to music almost anywhere.
Battery Check LEDs — show you the amount of
power remaining in the batteries.
Belt Clip — lets you attach the SCP-96 to your belt
for hands-free carrying when you are on the go.
Note: To power your SCP-96, you need two AA bat-
teries or an optional AC or DC adapter.
Take a few minutes to read this manual so you can
enjoy all the features of your SCP-96.
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CONTENTS
Preparation ........................................................... 5
Connecting to Power ....................................... 5
Using Battery Power ................................ 5
Using AC Power ....................................... 8
Using Vehicle Battery Power .................... 9
Connecting Headphones or Speakers .......... 11
Listening Safely ..................................... 12
Traffic Safety .......................................... 12
Using the Belt Clip ......................................... 13
Operation ............................................................ 14
Playing the Radio .......................................... 14
Playing a Cassette Tape ............................... 15
Using the Tone Controls ................................ 19
Using Fast-Forward and Rewind ................... 20
Changing the Tape Direction ......................... 21
Care and Maintenance ....................................... 22
Restoring Tape Tension and Sound Quality .. 23
Cleaning the Tape-Handling Parts ................ 23
Specifications ..................................................... 25
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PREPARATION
CONNECTING TO POWER
You can power your SCP-96 from:
• internal batteries
• AC power
• your vehicle’s cigarette-lighter socket
Using Battery Power
To power the SCP-96 from internal batteries, you
need two AA batteries. For the best performance and
longest life, we recommend alkaline batteries, such
as RadioShack Cat. No. 23-557.
You can also use rechargeable nickel-cadmium
batteries (Cat. No. 23-125) and recharge them with a
battery charger (Cat. No. 23-133).
Cautions:
• Use only fresh batteries of the required size and
recommended type.
• Do not mix old and new batteries, different types
of batteries (standard, alkaline, or recharge-
able), or rechargeable batteries of different
capacities.
Follow these steps to install batteries.
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1. Open the battery compartment cover by sliding it
in the direction of the arrow marked on the cov-
er, then lifting up its outside edge.
Caution: The battery compartment cover is
hinged. Do not try to remove it.
2. Put the batteries into the compartment as indi-
cated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked
outside the compartment.
3. Close the cover.
When you turn on the radio or play a tape, one of the
three BATTERY indicators lights to show the amount
of power remaining in the batteries.
Remainin
g
Power High Low
BATTERY
Indicators Green
F (full) Orange M (medium) Red L (low)
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If the red (L) BATTERY indicator lights during opera-
tion, replace both batteries.
Caution: Always dispose of old batteries promptly
and properly.
Important: This product is capable of using re-
chargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. At the end of
the batteries’ useful life, they must be recycled or dis-
posed of properly. Contact your local, county, or
state hazardous waste management authorities for
information on recycling or disposal programs in your
area. Some options that might be available are:
municipal curbside collection, drop-off boxes at re-
tailers such as your local RadioShack store,
recycling collection centers, and mail-back programs.
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Using AC Power
To power the SCP-96 from a standard AC outlet, you
need an AC adapter such as Cat. No. 273-1654.
Cautions:
• You must use an AC adapter that supplies at
least 3 volts DC power and delivers at least 200
milliamps. Its center tip must be set to negative,
and its barrel plug must properly fit the SCP-96’s
DC 3V jack. The recommended adapter meets
these specifications. Using an adapter that does
not meet these specifications could damage the
SCP-96 or the adapter.
• Be sure you connect the adapter to the SCP-96
before you plug it into the AC outlet and that you
unplug the adapter from the AC outlet before
you unplug it from the SCP-96, to prevent dam-
age to the SCP-96 or the adapter.
Follow these steps to connect the SCP-96 to AC
power.
DC 3V Jack
Adapter
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1. Set the adapter’s voltage switch to 3V.
2. Put the adapter’s 3.4 mm outer diameter/1.3 mm
inner diameter barrel plug into the adapter’s
cord, with the tip set to negative (–TIP).
3. Insert the plug into the SCP-96’s DC 3V jack.
4. Plug the adapter into a standard AC outlet.
Note: Connecting the AC adapter automatically dis-
connects internal batteries.
Using Vehicle Battery Power
To power the SCP-96 from your vehicle’s battery,
you need a DC adapter, such as Cat. No. 270-1560
or 273-1810.
Cautions:
• You must use a DC adapter that supplies at
least 3 volts DC power and delivers at least 200
milliamps. Its center tip must be set to negative,
and its barrel plug must properly fit the SCP-96’s
DC 3V jack. The recommended adapter meets
these specifications. Using an adapter that does
not meet these specifications could damage the
SCP-96 or the adapter.
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• Be sure you plug the adapter into the SCP-96
before you plug it into the cigarette-lighter
socket, and that you unplug the adapter from the
cigarette-lighter socket before you unplug it from
the SCP-96, to prevent damage to the SCP-96
or the adapter.
Follow these steps to power the SCP-96 from your
vehicle’s battery.
1. Set the adapter’s voltage switch to 3V.
2. Put the adapter’s 3.4 mm outer diameter/1.3 mm
inner diameter barrel plug into the adapter’s
cord, with the tip set to negative (–TIP).
3. Insert the plug into the SCP-96’s DC 3V jack.
4. Plug the other end of the adapter into the vehi-
cle’s cigarette-lighter socket.
Note: Connecting the DC adapter automatically dis-
connects internal batteries.
DC 3V Jack
Adapter
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CONNECTING HEADPHONES OR
SPEAKERS
To listen to your SCP-96, you must connect a pair of
headphones or amplified speakers (not supplied)
with a 1/8-inch (3.5-mm) mini-plug. To connect head-
phones or an amplified speaker system, insert the
mini-plug into the SCP-96’s jack.
Jack
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Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines
when you use headphones.
• Set the volume to the lowest setting before you
begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust
the volume to a comfortable level.
• Do not listen at extremely high volume levels.
Extended high-volume listening can lead to per-
manent hearing loss.
• Once you set the volume, do not increase it.
Over time, your ears adapt to the volume level,
so a volume level that does not cause discom-
fort might still damage your hearing.
Traffic Safety
Do not wear headphones while operating a motor ve-
hicle or riding a bicycle. This can create a traffic haz-
ard and could be illegal in some areas.
Even though some headphones let you hear some
outside sounds when listening at normal volume lev-
els, they still can present a traffic hazard.
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USING THE BELT CLIP
The belt clip lets you keep your hands free while you
listen to the SCP-96. To attach the belt clip, slide its
latches into the slots on the cassette player and slide
it up until it locks into place.
To remove the belt clip, push in on PUSH RELEASE,
slide the belt clip down, then lift it off.
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OPERATION
PLAYING THE RADIO
1. Set TAPE/RADIO to RADIO. One of the BATTERY
indicators lights.
2. Set FM ST/FM/AM to the desired band. Set it to
FM ST for stereo sound on FM stations.
Notes:
• The AM antenna is built-in. Move the SCP-96
to improve AM reception.
• For the best FM reception, fully uncoil the
headphones’ or speaker’s cord.
• To improve reception for weak FM stereo sta-
tions, set FM ST/FM/AM to FM. The sound will
be monaural, but reception should improve.
3. Rotate TUNING to select a radio station.
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4. Adjust VOLUME to the desired listening level.
5. Adjust E-BASS, BASS, and TREBLE to the de-
sired levels. (See “Using the Tone Controls” on
Page 19.)
Note: If you set E-BASS to MAX, the bass and
treble controls have no effect.
6. To turn off the radio, set TAPE/RADIO to TAPE.
PLAYING A CASSETTE TAPE
For the best performance, use only regular length
(60- or 90-minute) cassette tapes. Long-playing
cassette tapes, such as C-120s, are not recommend-
ed because they are extremely thin and can tangle
easily.
Follow these steps to play a cassette tape.
1. Set the reverse mode switch to the desired posi-
tion.
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One-Time Playback ( ): plays each side of
the tape once, then stops.
Note: If you set FWD/REV to REV, the cassette
player plays only the reverse side and stops at
the end of that side.
Continuous Playback ( ): alternately plays
each side of the tape until you press STOP.
2. Gently pull open the cassette compartment door
and insert a prerecorded cassette into the
guides with the exposed tape edge facing out.
Then close the door.
3. Set TAPE/RADIO to TAPE.
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4. Set the tape select switch to NORM for normal
bias cassette tapes or to HI/MTL for high bias or
metal cassette tapes.
5. Slide DOLBY NR to ON if you are playing a cas-
sette tape that was recorded with Dolby B noise
reduction.
6. Press PLAY. One of the BATTERY indicator
lights and the tape plays.
PLAY
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7. Adjust VOLUME to the desired listening level.
8. Adjust E-BASS, BASS, and TREBLE to the de-
sired levels. (See “Using the Tone Controls” on
Page 19.)
Note: If you set E-BASS to MAX, the bass and
treble controls have no effect.
9. To stop the tape, press STOP.
STOP
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USING THE TONE CONTROLS
You can use the tone controls to customize the SCP-
96’s sound.
E-BASS — slide the control toward MAX to increase
(or toward NORM to decrease) the volume of tones
below normal bass tones.
BASS — slide the control toward MAX to increase (or
toward NORM to decrease) the volume of low tones.
TREBLE — slide the control toward MAX to increase
(or toward NORM to decrease) the volume of high
tones.
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USING FAST-FORWARD AND
REWIND
When the tape is stopped, press or to fast-
forward or rewind it.
Press STOP to release the or button af-
ter the tape has fully wound to either end, or to stop
the tape before it reaches the end.
When FWD/REV
is set to: Press: To:
FWD Fast forward
Rewind
REV Fast forward
Rewind
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