Radio Shack TAD-798 User manual

Cat. No. 43-798
OWNER’S MANUAL
Please read before using this equipment.
TAD-798
Digital Telephone Answering System
with Call Breakthrough
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2
FEATURES
Your RadioShack TAD-798 Digital Tele-
phone Answering System is a high-
quality telephone answering device
(TAD) that you can also control remote-
ly from any touch-tone phone. With an
optional pocket tone dialer, you can
even use it from a rotary phone.
The TAD-798 stores messages on a
computer chip. This gives you better
performance than tape-based answer-
ing machines. For example, you can de-
lete an individual message while saving
the rest. Because your TAD is fully digi-
tal, there are no tapes to bother with
and no tape mechanisms to wear out.
The TAD-798’s 16-minute capacity lets
you store a lot of messages. And its
unique, space-saving design makes it
ideal for any office or nightstand.
The TAD-798 has these features:
Hi
g
h Capacit
y
— lets you record up to
16 minutes of messages and memos.
Each incoming message can be up to
60 seconds long.
Voice Time/Da
y
Stamp — announces
the time and day that each message
was recorded.
Call Breakthrou
g
h (CBT) — alerts you
to an important call when the caller en-
ters a code you set.
Two-Wa
y
Recordin
g
— lets you record
both sides of a phone conversation.
Memo Recordin
g
— lets you leave
messages for yourself or others in your
home or office.
Dual Announcements — let you
choose between playing an outgoing
message then recording the caller’s
message, or just playing an announce-
ment without recording a message.
And, when the TAD’s memory is full, it
switches automatically to just playing an
announcement. Each announcement
can be up to 32 seconds long.
Ad
j
ustable Rin
g
Number — lets you
set the TAD to answer the phone after
two, four, or seven rings.
Toll-Saver — lets you avoid unneces-
sary charges when you call by long-dis-
tance to check your messages.
©1998 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
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Remote Operation — lets you use a
touch-tone phone (or rotary phone and
pocket tone dialer) to operate the TAD
while you are away from your home or
office.
Phone Pick-Up Detection — stops re-
cording when you pick up any phone on
the same line as the TAD.
Call Screening — lets you listen as a
caller leaves a message so you can de-
cide whether or not to answer the call.
Remote On/Off — lets you turn the
TAD on or off even when you are away
from your home or office.
LED Message Counter — clearly
shows the number of messages the
TAD has recorded.
Programmable Remote Operation
Security Code — lets you set your own
security code for remote operation.
Remote Answer-On — lets you call the
TAD from a remote location and set it to
answer calls.
Room Monitor — lets you listen from a
remote phone to the room where the
TAD is installed.
Memory Backup — protects stored
messages in case of a power failure.
Your TAD is ETL listed to UL standards
and meets all applicable FCC stan-
dards.
This symbol is intended to alert you to
the presence of uninsulated danger-
ous voltage within the product’s enclo-
sure that might be of sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of elec-
tric shock. Do not open the product’s
case.
This symbol is intended to inform you
that important operating and mainte-
nance instructions are included in the
literature accompanying this product.
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
!
!
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4
READ THIS BEFORE IN-
STALLATION
Your TAD conforms to federal regula-
tions, and you can connect it to most
telephone lines. However, each device
you connect to the phone line draws
power from the phone line. We refer to
this power draw is the device’s
ringer
equivalence number
, or REN. The REN
is on the label on the bottom of the TAD.
If you are using more than one phone or
other device on the line, add up all the
RENs. If the total is more than five (or
three in rural areas), your phone(s)
might not ring and your TAD might not
answer. If ringer operation is impaired,
remove a device from the line.
FCC STATEMENT
Your TAD 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 label on the bottom
of the TAD.
You must not connect the TAD to any of
the following:
• coin-operated systems
• party-line systems
• most electronic key phone systems
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CONTENTS
Preparation ...................................................................................................... 6
Connecting the TAD ................................................................................... 6
Installing a Backup Battery ........................................................................ 7
Setting the Day and Time ........................................................................... 8
Setting the Number of Rings ...................................................................... 9
Basic Operation ............................................................................................ 10
Recording the Outgoing Messages .......................................................... 10
Listening to the Outgoing Messages ................................................. 10
Setting the TAD to Answer Calls ............................................................... 11
Using the Announce-Only Feature ............................................................ 11
Recording Incoming Messages ................................................................ 12
Playing Messages .................................................................................... 12
Recording a Memo ................................................................................... 13
Recording a Conversation ....................................................................... 14
Deleting Messages .................................................................................. 14
Screening Calls ........................................................................................ 15
Using Call Breakthrough .......................................................................... 15
Changing the CBT Code ................................................................... 15
Changing the Remote Operation Security Code ...................................... 16
Remote Operation ........................................................................................ 17
Toll-Saver ................................................................................................. 17
Using Remote Commands ....................................................................... 17
Remote Command List ...................................................................... 18
Troubleshootin
g
........................................................................................... 20
Resetting the TAD .................................................................................... 21
Care and Maintenance ................................................................................. 22
The FCC Wants You to Know .................................................................. 23
Lightning .................................................................................................. 23
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6
Select a location for the TAD that is
near both a telephone jack and an AC
outlet, and is not in the way of normal
activities.
CONNECTING THE TAD
Notes:
• Your TAD connects directly to a
modular phone line jack. If your
phone line jack is not modular, you
can update it yourself, using jacks
and adapters available at your local
RadioShack store. Or, you can let
the phone company update it for
you.
• The USOC number of the jack to be
installed is RJ11C.
1. Unplug the telephone’s modular
cord from the modular phone line
jack and plug it into the PHONE jack
on the back of the TAD.
2. Plug one end of the supplied modu-
lar cord into the LINE jack on the
back of the TAD.
LINE
Jack AC 9V
Jack
PHONE
Jack
PREPARATION
3. Plug the cord’s other end into a
modular phone line jack.
4. Insert the supplied AC adapter’s
barrel plug into the AC 9V jack on
the back of the TAD.
Caution: The supplied AC adapter
was designed specifically for your
TAD-798. Use only the supplied
adapter.
5. Plug the other end of the adapter
into a standard AC outlet.
When you first connect power, the TAD
announces “Please wait.” The mes-
sage counter counts from 0to 18. The
TAD beeps, and 0appears in the mes-
sage counter window.
Note: The TAD’s message counter usu-
ally shows the number of recorded mes-
sages. That number alternates with
other displays to tell you the status of
the TAD.
•A1 appears if you have not record-
ed an outgoing message 1.
•A2 appears if you have not record-
ed an outgoing message 2.
•Lo appears if the backup battery is
weak or missing.
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INSTALLING A BACKUP
BATTERY
If the AC power fails or you unplug the
TAD, a 9V backup battery (not supplied)
saves the messages, time and day set-
tings, and the CBT and remote opera-
tion security codes. We recommend you
use an alkaline battery, such as Ra-
dioShack Cat. No. 23-553.
Caution: Always use a fresh battery of
the required size and recommended
type.
1. Use a Phillips screwdriver to re-
move the screw on the battery com-
partment cover, then remove the
cover.
2. Snap the battery’s contacts firmly to
the battery connector and place the
battery in the compartment.
3. Replace the cover and secure it
with the screw.
Replace the battery when Lo appears.
Cautions:
• Always remove an old or weak bat-
tery. Batteries can leak chemicals
that can destroy electronic parts.
• Dispose of the old battery promptly
and properly. Do not bury or burn it.
• To avoid losing stored information,
be sure the AC adapter is plugged
in and connected to the TAD before
you replace the battery.
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8
SETTING THE DAY AND
TIME
When you set the TAD-798’s clock, the
TAD records the day and time each
memo and message is recorded.
Notes:
• To avoid losing the day and time
settings if AC power is lost, we rec-
ommend you install a backup bat-
tery before you set the day and time
(see “Installing a Backup Battery”
on Page 7).
• If you do not complete each step
within 8 seconds, the TAD sounds
four beeps and exits setup. Start
again at Step 1.
• To adjust the TAD’s volume, slide
VOLUME toward +or –.
Follow these steps to set the day and
time.
1. Hold down TIME SET. CL (clock) ap-
pears briefly, then a number from 1
to 7 (the day of week) appears, and
the TAD announces the currently
set day.
2. To change the day, hold down RE-
PEAT to move backward or SKIP to
move forward until the TAD an-
nounces the desired day.
3. Press TIME SET. The TAD announc-
es the currently set hour.
4. To change the hour, hold down RE-
PEAT or SKIP until the TAD an-
nounces the desired hour.
5. Press TIME SET. The TAD announc-
es the currently set minute.
6. To change the minutes, hold down
REPEAT or SKIP until the TAD an-
nounces the desired minute.
7. Press TIME SET. CL appears, and
the TAD announces the day and
time, then beeps. CL disappears.
To check the current day and time set-
ting at any time, press TIME SET. CL
(clock) appears, and the TAD announc-
es the day and time, then beeps.
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SETTING THE NUMBER
OF RINGS
Set the ring select switch on the right
side of the TAD to 2, 4, 7, or TS to set
how long the TAD waits before it an-
swers a call (2 rings, 4 rings, 7 rings, or
toll-saver).
If you plan to check your messages by
long distance, set the ring select switch
to TS (see “Toll-Saver” on Page 17).
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BASIC OPERATION
RECORDING THE
OUTGOING MESSAGES
Before the TAD can answer calls and
record messages, you must record an
outgoing message (OGM). The TAD-
798 lets you record two separate mes-
sages, and it operates differently based
on the message you select (see “Using
the Announce-Only Feature” on
Page 11).
• OGM 1. After playing your outgoing
message, the TAD lets callers
record a message.
• OGM 2 (announcement-only). The
TAD plays your outgoing message,
but does not let the caller record a
message.
Hint: Do not tell callers that you are out
of town or not home. Instead, say that
you cannot come to the phone right
now.
Notes:
• The maximum length for each out-
going message is 32 seconds. As
you record, the message counter
shows the recording time.
• If you plan to use the TAD’s an-
nouncement-only feature, OGM 2
should clearly state that the caller
cannot leave a message.
Follow these steps to record an outgo-
ing message.
1. To record an outgoing message,
hold down OGM 1or OGM 2until the
TAD beeps and the timer starts
counting.
Note: As soon as the TAD beeps,
release OGM 1 (or OGM 2) quickly.
Otherwise, the TAD records a “pop”
sound at the beginning of the outgo-
ing message.
2. Release OGM 1(or OGM 2) and
speak your message from about 8
inches in front of the TAD.
3. When you finish recording, press
STOP. The TAD beeps and plays
back the outgoing message.
Listening to the Outgoing
Messages
To hear an outgoing message, press
OGM 1 or OGM 2. The TAD beeps, A1 or
A2 appears, and the outgoing message
plays.
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