Radio Shack TAD-277 User manual

Cat. No. 43-777
OWNER’S MANUAL
Please read before using this equipment.
TAD-277
Single-Microcassette Answering System
with Digital Announcement
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2
FEATURES
Your RadioShack TAD-277 Single-
Microcassette Answering System with
Digital Announcement is ideal for your
home or office. It is easy to use and
has the following features.
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
phone line and resets to answer the
next call.
Remote Operation — lets you use a
touch-tone phone (or rotary phone
and pocket tone dialer) to enter a 3-
digit remote operation security code
so you can play back or record mes-
sages while you are away from your
home or office.
Remote Answer-On — lets you call
from a remote location to set the TAD-
277 to answer calls.
Rin
g
Select Switch — lets you select
the number of rings the TAD-277
waits before it answers calls.
Toll Saver — lets you avoid unneces-
sary toll charges when you call 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.
This answering system has been test-
ed and found to comply with all appli-
cable UL and FCC standards.
We recommend you record your TAD-
277’s serial number here. The number
is on the bottom of the TAD-277.
Serial Number:
© 1997 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
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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 TAD-277 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 TAD-
277.
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 !
!
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 TAD-277
might not answer. In rural areas, a to-
tal REN of three might impair ringer
operation. If ringer operation is im-
paired, remove a device from the tele-
phone line.
FCC STATEMENT
Your TAD-277 complies with Part 68
of
FCC Rules
. You must, upon re-
quest, provide the FCC registration
number and the REN to your phone
company. Both numbers are on the
bottom of your TAD-277.
Note: You must not connect your
TAD-277 to:
• Coin-operated systems
• Party-line systems
• Most electronic key phone sys-
tems
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CONTENTS
Preparation ........................................................................................................... 5
Selecting A Location ........................................................................................ 5
Loading the Cassette ....................................................................................... 5
Connecting Power ........................................................................................... 6
Recording the Outgoing Message ................................................................... 6
Checking the Outgoing Message ............................................................. 7
Connecting to the Telephone Line ................................................................... 8
Setting the Maximum Message Length ........................................................... 8
Setting the Number of Rings ........................................................................... 8
Answerin
g
S
y
stem Operation ............................................................................. 9
Setting the TAD-277 to Answer Calls .............................................................. 9
Setting the System’s Volume ........................................................................... 9
Screening Calls ............................................................................................... 9
Playing Messages ......................................................................................... 10
Remote Control Operation ................................................................................ 11
Remote Answer-On ....................................................................................... 11
Remote Playback .......................................................................................... 11
Troubleshootin
g
................................................................................................. 13
Care and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 16
Cleaning the Tape-Handling Parts ................................................................. 17
The FCC Wants You to Know ........................................................................ 17
Lightning ........................................................................................................ 17
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PREPARATION
SELECTING A
LOCATION
The TAD-277 is designed to rest on
a flat surface such as a desktop or
countertop. Select a location that is:
• Near an AC outlet
• Near a modular telephone 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. The USOC number of the
jack to be installed is RJ11C.
LOADING THE
CASSETTE
Your TAD-277 comes with an MC-60
cassette tape (30 minutes of recording
time per side). You can buy additional
and different length cassettes 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 system and its open
edge to the right.
4. Close the compartment door.
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.
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CONNECTING POWER
Use the supplied AC adapter to power
your TAD-277.
Cautions:
• The supplied Class 2 AC adapter
supplies 9 volts of power, delivers
at least 500 milliamps, and has a
plug that properly fits the TAD-
277’s
9V AC 500mA jack. Using an
adapter that does not meet these
specifications could damage the
TAD-277.
• Always plug the adapter into the
TAD-277 before you plug it into an
AC outlet, and unplug the adapter
from the outlet before you unplug
it from the TAD-277.
1. Plug the supplied AC adapter’s
barrel plug into the TAD-277’s 9V
AC 500mA jack.
2. Plug the adapter’s other end into a
standard AC outlet.
3. Rotate VOLUME to the right until it
clicks to turn on the TAD-277.
The message indicator turns on while
the TAD-277 checks for an outgoing
message.
If an outgoing message is already re-
corded, the TAD-277 automatically
plays it back. If there is no outgoing
message, the TAD-277 sounds a con-
tinuous high tone until you record a
message (see “Recording the Outgo-
ing Message”).
Note: If the cassette tape is broken or
is not inserted properly, the TAD-277
sounds a continuous low tone when it
is connected to power. To stop the
tone, unplug the adapter from the AC
outlet. Reinsert or replace the tape,
then plug the adapter back into the AC
outlet.
RECORDING THE
OUTGOING MESSAGE
Before you can use the TAD-277, you
must record the outgoing message.
The maximum length for your outgo-
ing message is 30 seconds.
Hint: To help protect your home or of-
fice, do not tell callers you are away.
Instead, say you cannot come to the
phone at this time.
Follow these steps to record an outgo-
ing message.
1. If the TAD-277 is off, rotate VOL-
UME to the right until it clicks to
turn it on. The message indicator
turns on.
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7
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 TAD-
277 beeps once.
4. When the message indicator turns
on again after a few moments,
speak clearly in a normal volume
from about 12 inches away from
the microphone.
Note: The TAD-277 records only
the first 30 seconds of your outgo-
ing message.
5. When you finish recording your
message, press OGM REC/PLAY
again. The TAD-277 beeps, re-
winds the tape, and plays back
the message as it is recording it
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).
After the message plays back, the
TAD-277 sets itself to answer
calls, beeping twice to indicate it is
set.
6. Adjust VOLUME to a comfortable
listening level.
Checking the Outgoing
Message
Press OGM REC/PLAY at any time to
hear the outgoing message. Set VOL-
UME to the desired level.
Microphone
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8
CONNECTING TO THE
TELEPHONE LINE
To complete the connections, insert
the modular plug into a modular
phone jack.
To connect a telephone to your TAD-
277, insert the telephone’s modular
plug into PHONE JACK on the back of
the TAD-277.
SETTING THE MAXIMUM
MESSAGE LENGTH
Your TAD-277 can record messages
of up to 1 or 5 minutes. Set REC TIME
to 1MIN or 5MIN for the desired maxi-
mum recording time.
SETTING THE NUMBER
OF RINGS
You can select the number of rings the
TAD-277 waits before it answers calls.
Set RING SELECT to 2, 4, 7,or TS.
The system can answer calls in 2, 4,
or 7 rings. If you set the switch to TS
(Toll Saver), the TAD-277 answers in
four rings if there are no new or saved
messages, or in two rings if you have
messages. This can save you long-
distance charges because, if there are
no new messages, you can hang up
before the TAD-277 answers.
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9
ANSWERING SYSTEM OPERATION
SETTING THE TAD-277
TO ANSWER CALLS
Rotate VOLUME to the right until it
clicks to turn on the TAD-277. When
the message indicator stays on and
the TAD-277 does not sound any
tones, it is ready to answer calls.
The TAD-277 hangs up and resets to
answer the next call when:
• The caller hangs up.
• The maximum message length of
about 1 minute or 5 minutes is
reached (see “Setting the Maxi-
mum Message Length” on
Page 8).
• There are more than 7 seconds of
silence.
The TAD-277’s supplied tape can
record up to about 29 minutes of in-
coming messages per side. You can
buy additional and different length cas-
settes at your local RadioShack store.
If the tape reaches the end while a
caller is leaving a message, the TAD-
277 beeps twice and hangs up.
If the incoming message tape is full,
the TAD-277 answers a call after ten
rings, plays back the outgoing mes-
sage, then waits 7 seconds for you to
enter the remote operation security
code. If you do not enter the correct
code, the TAD-277 beeps twice and
hangs up. See “Remote Control Oper-
ation” on Page 11.
To have the TAD-277 not answer
calls, turn it off by rotating VOLUME to
the left until it clicks. The message in-
dicator turns off.
SETTING THE SYSTEM’S
VOLUME
To adjust the volume, set VOLUME to
a comfortable listening level. (This
does not affect the volume of the mes-
sage the caller hears.)
SCREENING CALLS
To screen calls, let the TAD-277 an-
swer them. Listen to the caller’s mes-
sage through the TAD-277’s speaker.
If you decide to answer the call, pick
up any phone on the same phone line
as the TAD-277. The TAD-277 stops
recording and resets to answer the
next call.
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10
Note: If you pick up the phone just as
the TAD-277 answers, the TAD-277
might not stop recording the message.
If this happens, briefly hang up the
phone then pick it up again.
PLAYING MESSAGES
When you have messages, the mes-
sage indicator blinks. If you have four
messages or less, the light blinks once
for each message stored. (For exam-
ple, if you have two messages, the light
blinks twice followed by a 2-second
pause, then blinks twice more, and so
on.) If you have more than four mes-
sages, the light blinks continuously.
Note: The light also blinks continuous-
ly if the TAD-277 receives one or more
incoming messages after power is in-
terrupted (see “Troubleshooting” on
Page 13).
To play the messages, press PLAY.
The TAD-277 beeps once, rewinds
the tape, then plays the messages.
Notes:
• To pause playback, press PLAY.
To restart playback, press PLAY
again.
If you do not restart playback
within 60 seconds, the tape fast-
forwards to the end of the last
incoming message, as though
playback was never started. This
helps prevent accidental erasure
of incoming messages.
• If a call comes in while playback is
paused, the tape immediately
fast-forwards to the end of the last
message and answers the call.
After you play back all the messages,
the TAD-277 beeps twice, rewinds to
the beginning, and resets to answer
calls. New messages will be recorded
over the messages you have heard.
To save the messages, press SAVE
before a new call is recorded. The
tape fast-forwards to the end of all the
messages and resets to answer calls.
To replay the messages, simply press
PLAY again.
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