Radio Shack TAD-1018 User manual

Cat. No. 43-778
OWNER’S MANUAL
Please read before using this equipment.
TAD-1018
Single Microcassette
Answering System with Trim-Style Phone

2
FEATURES
Your RadioShack TAD-1018 Single
Microcassette Answering System with
Trim-Style Phone is ideal for your
home or office. This combination tele-
phone and answering system is easy
to use and has many special features.
ANSWERING SYSTEM
Di
g
ital Out
g
oin
g
Messa
g
e— en-
sures the clearest possible recording
of the message you leave for callers.
Call Screenin
g
— lets you listen
while a caller leaves a message so
you can decide if you want to answer
the call.
Auto-Reset — stops recording when
you pick up any phone on the same
line.
Remote Operation — lets you use a
touch-tone phone (or rotary phone
and pocket tone dialer) to operate the
answering system while you are away
from your home or office.
Remote Answer-On — lets you call
from a remote location to set the an-
swering system to answer calls.
Selectable Toll Saver — lets you
avoid unnecessary toll charges when
you call by long-distance to check
your messages.
VOX (Voice-Activated Recordin
g
)
— stops recording after 7 seconds of
silence to conserve tape space for
other messages.
Supplied Incomin
g
Messa
g
e Tape
— lets you record up to about 29 min-
utes of incoming messages on each
side of the tape.
Volume Control — lets you set the
volume of the system’s speaker.
TELEPHONE
Ad
j
ustable Rin
g
er — lets you turn
the ringer on or off.
Redial — dials the last number dialed,
with the press of a button. Useful
when trying to reach a busy number.
Flash — generates a timed switch-
hook signal for use with special servic-
es, such as Call Waiting.
Volume Control — lets you set the
volume of the sound you hear through
the handset.
Touch-Tone or Pulse (Rotar
y
) Dial-
in
g
— you can use this telephone with
either type of service.
© 1997 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.

3
We recommend you record your sys-
tem’s serial number here. The number
is on the bottom of the answering sys-
tem.
Serial Number:
This system has been tested and
found to comply with all applicable UL
and FCC standards.
This symbol is intended to alert you
to the presence of uninsulated dan-
gerous voltage within the product’s
enclosure that might be of sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock. Do not open the
product’s case.
This symbol is intended to inform
you that important operating and
maintenance instructions are in-
cluded in the literature accompany-
ing this product.
READ THIS FIRST
We have designed your system to
conform to federal regulations, and
you can connect it to most telephone
lines. However, each device you con-
nect to the phone line draws power
from the phone line. We refer to this
power draw as the device’s
ringer
equivalence number
, or REN. The
REN is on the bottom of your answer-
ing system.
If you are using more than one device
on the line, add up all the RENs. If the
total is more than five, your phones
might not ring and your answering
system might not answer. In rural ar-
eas, a total REN of three might impair
ringer operation. If ringer operation is
impaired, remove a device from the
telephone line.
FCC STATEMENT
Your answering system complies with
Part 68 of
FCC Rules
. You must, upon
request, provide the FCC registration
number and the REN to your phone
company. Both numbers are on the
bottom of your answering system.
Note: You must not connect your an-
swering system to:
• Coin-operated systems
• Party-line systems
• Most electronic key phone sys-
tems
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK.
DO NOT OPEN.
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF
ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE
COVER OR BACK. NO USER-SERVICE-
ABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVIC-
ING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of
fire or shock hazard, do not ex-
pose this product to rain or mois-
ture.
CAUTION !
!

4
CONTENTS
Installation ............................................................................................................ 5
Selecting a Location ........................................................................................ 5
Loading the Cassette ....................................................................................... 5
Connecting Power ........................................................................................... 6
Recording the Outgoing Message ................................................................... 6
Checking the Outgoing Message .............................................................. 7
Placing the Phone on a Desk Top ................................................................... 8
Mounting the Phone on the Wall ..................................................................... 8
Turning Off/On the Ringer ............................................................................. 10
Setting the Number of Rings ......................................................................... 10
Setting the Dialing Mode ............................................................................... 10
Telephone Operation ......................................................................................... 12
Using Pause .................................................................................................. 12
Using REDIAL ............................................................................................... 12
Using FLASH ................................................................................................. 12
Setting the Phone’s Volume .......................................................................... 13
Using Tone Services with a Pulse Line .......................................................... 13
Answerin
g
S
y
stem Operation ........................................................................... 14
Setting the Answering System to Answer Calls ............................................. 14
Setting the Recording Time ........................................................................... 14
Setting the Answering System’s Volume ....................................................... 14
Screening Calls ............................................................................................. 15
Playing Messages ......................................................................................... 15
Remote Control Operation ................................................................................ 17
Remote Playback .......................................................................................... 17
Erasing the Messages ................................................................................... 17
Remote Answer-On ....................................................................................... 18
Troubleshootin
g
................................................................................................. 19
Care and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 21
Cleaning the Tape-Handling Parts ................................................................. 22
The FCC Wants You to Know ........................................................................ 22
Lightning ........................................................................................................ 22

5
INSTALLATION
SELECTING A
LOCATION
You can set the TAD-1018 on a flat
surface (such as a desk top or counter
top), or mount it on a wall plate or di-
rectly on the wall.
Select a location that is:
• Near an AC outlet
• Near a modular phone line jack
If the phone line jack is not a modular
jack, you must update the wiring. You
can convert the wiring yourself, using
jacks and adapters available at your
local RadioShack store. Or, you can
let the phone company update the wir-
ing for you.
Note: The USOC number of the jack
to be installed is RJ11C.
LOADING THE
CASSETTE
Your answering system comes with an
MC-60 cassette tape (30 minutes of
recording time per side). You can buy
additional and different length cas-
settes at your local RadioShack store.
1. Turn the supplied cassette’s hub
with the tip of a pencil to take up
any tape slack.
2. Lift open the cassette compart-
ment door.
3. Put the cassette in the compart-
ment with its full reel toward the
back of the answering system and
its open edge to the right.
4. Close the compartment door.

6
Notes:
• You can turn the tape over and
record on the other side. This lets
you save any messages recorded
on the first side while using the
tape to record more messages.
• Replace the tape at least once a
year, or more often if it is used fre-
quently.
CONNECTING POWER
Use the supplied AC adapter to power
your answering system.
Cautions:
• Use only the supplied adapter.
• Always plug the adapter into the
answering system before you plug
it into an AC outlet. Always unplug
the adapter from the AC outlet be-
fore you unplug it from the an-
swering system.
Follow these steps to connect the
TAD-1018 to power.
1. Plug the AC adapter’s barrel plug
into the answering system’s
POWER SOURCE jack.
2. Plug the other end of the adapter
into a standard AC outlet.
The MESSAGE indicator lights while
the answering system checks for an
outgoing message.
If an outgoing message is already re-
corded, the answering system auto-
matically plays it back. If there is no
outgoing message, the answering
system sounds a continuous tone until
you record a message (see “Record-
ing the Outgoing Message”).
Note: If the cassette tape is broken or
is not inserted properly and the an-
swering system has power, the sys-
tem sounds a continuous tone. To
stop the tone, unplug the adapter from
the AC outlet. Reinsert or replace the
cassette tape, then plug the adapter
back into the AC outlet.
RECORDING THE
OUTGOING MESSAGE
Before you can set the answering sys-
tem to answer calls and record mes-
sages, you must record the message
the caller hears when the answering
system answers a call.
In the message, ask for the caller’s
name, phone number, and message.
The maximum length for your outgo-
ing message is 30 seconds.
Important Hint: Do not tell callers that
you are not home. Instead, say that
you cannot come to the phone right
now.

7
Follow these steps to record your out-
going message.
1. Rotate VOLUME on the base to
the right until it clicks. The MES-
SAGE indicator lights.
2. Lift open the cassette compart-
ment door.
3. Hold down OGM REC/PLAY until
the MESSAGE indicator turns off,
then release the button. The
answering system beeps once.
4. When the MESSAGE indicator
lights again, speak clearly in a
normal voice about 12 inches
away from the microphone.
Microphone
5. When you finish recording your
message, press OGM REC/PLAY
again. The MESSAGE indicator
turns off, then the answering sys-
tem beeps twice and plays back
the message as it is recording
from the digital chip to the tape.
(The message is backed up on
tape so after a power failure it can
be automatically restored to the
chip.)
Wait until the answering system plays
back the message before you contin-
ue installing your answering system.
Checking the Outgoing
Message
Press OGM REC/PLAY at any time to
hear the outgoing message. The an-
swering system beeps once, plays
back the message, beeps twice, then
resets to answer calls.
To adjust the volume, rotate VOLUME.

8
PLACING THE PHONE
ON A DESK TOP
To use your answering system on a
desk, table, or shelf, plug the tele-
phone cord into a modular phone jack.
Plug one end of the coiled handset
cord into the handset jack on the an-
swering system and the other end into
the jack on the handset. Place the
handset on the cradle.
MOUNTING THE PHONE
ON THE WALL
Using the supplied mounting bracket,
you can mount the TAD-1018 on a
phone jack wall plate or directly on the
wall.
If you are mounting the phone directly
on the wall, you need two screws with
heads that fit into the bracket’s key-
hole slots.
1. Pull the handset holder toward
you as far as it will go. Hold it out
as you rotate the holder 180°,
then let it snap back in place.
The holder’s tab holds the hand-
set in the cradle while the answer-
ing system is mounted on the wall.
2. To mount the TAD-1018 directly
onto the wall, drill two holes 31/4
inches apart, one above the other,
at the desired location.

9
3. Thread a screw
into each hole
until it’s head
extends about 1/8
inch from the
wall.
4. If you are mounting the system on
a wall plate, thread the telephone
cord into the left slot on the top of
the mounting bracket and pull it
through the large hole in the cen-
ter of the bracket. If you mounting
the system directly on the wall,
thread the telephone cord into the
left slot on the top and bottom of
the mounting bracket.
Thread the adapter’s power cord
into the right slot on the top and
bottom of the mounting bracket.
5. Insert the mounting bracket’s tabs
into the slots on the bottom of the
answering system. Then push the
bracket up until it snaps into
place.
1/8”
6. When mounting on a wall plate,
coil all the excess telephone cord
into the mounting bracket’s recess
by pushing it back through the
large hole. Leave only about 1–2
inches of the cord outside the
bracket.
7. Plug the telephone cord into the
wall plate or a modular phone
jack.
8. Line up the keyhole slots on the
bracket with the studs on the wall
plate (or with the screws in the
wall), then slide the bracket down
until it is secure.

10
9. Plug one end of
the coiled hand-
set cord into the
handset jack on
the answering
system and the
other end into the
jack on the hand-
set. Place the
handset in the
cradle.
TURNING OFF/ON THE
RINGER
To turn off the telephone’s ringer, set
RINGER to OFF. You can still make
outgoing calls. If you hear an exten-
sion phone ring, you can still answer
calls.
When you want the telephone to ring
again, set RINGER to ON.
SETTING THE NUMBER
OF RINGS
You can select the number of rings the
answering system waits before it an-
swers calls. Set RING SELECT to the
desired position.
The system answers calls in 2, 4, or 7
rings, or if you set the switch to TS
(Toll Saver — the last position), the
answering system answers in 4 rings
if no messages are saved or in 2 rings
if you have messages. Toll Saver can
save you long-distance charges be-
cause, if there are no new messages,
you can hang up before the answering
system answers.
SETTING THE DIALING
MODE
Pick up the handset, then set TONE/
PULSE for the type of service you
have.
If you are not sure which type you
have, do this test.
1. Pick up the handset and listen for
a dial tone.
2. Set TONE/PULSE to TONE.
3. Press any number other than 0.