The New York Times
Electronic Crossword
Operating Manual
Model No. NY10
www.ExcaliburElectronics.com
ongratulations on your purchase of Excalibur Electronics’ New
York Times Electronic Crossword. Now you can take your
C
favorite New York Times puzzles anywhere without the need for
pen or paper. Put your knowledge to the test with hundreds of New York
Times puzzles to choose from!
The New York Times Electronic Crossword is easy to use, but be sure
to use it safely. Before starting, please read this manual thoroughly,
especially noting safety, care and battery information. Keep this manual for reference.
The legendary King Arthur brandished
a magic sword, Excalibur, from which
we take our company name. With this
unique weapon in his hands, he could
not be vanquished.
Although Excalibur Electronics can’t
claim the magical secrets of Merlin,
King Arthur’s court wizard, sometimes
our patented technology may make it
seem as if we could. The New York
Times Electronic Crossword is another
unmatched innovation of Excalibur
Electronics.
We make you think.
Installing Batteries
Your New York Times Electronic Crossword requires 2 AAA
batteries. To install the batteries,
carefully turn the New York
Times Electronic Crossword over
so that the unit is face-down on a
soft surface. Locate the battery
compartment on the back of the
unit. Lift off the battery compartment lid and install the batteries,
making sure to match polarity (+
and -). Then place the tab of the
battery compartment lid in its slot
and close the compartment door.
The New York Times Electronic
Crossword may lock up due to static dis-
charge or other electrical disturbances. If
this should happen, use a slim, pointed
object to press the reset button on the
back of the unit.
The New York Times logo is a registered trademark of The New York Times Company,
All rights reserved. © 2004 The New York Times Company.
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Layout of The New York Times
Electronic Crossword
LETTER SOLVE
PUZZLE SOLVE
WORD
ON/OFF
SOLVE
DELETE
NEW
CHECK
SCROLL
CURSOR/DIAGONAL KEYS
LCD
A-Z
UNDO
CLUE
SCORE
+
OPTION
ENTER
Functions of Buttons
ON/OFF: Press this button to
turn the unit on or off.
CURSOR/DIAGONAL: Press
these buttons to move the cursor
around the puzzle grid in the
desired direction.
ENTER: Press this button to
switch between ACROSS and
DOWN clues. Press to confirm a
choice.
SCROLL: Press this button to
scroll down any time a clue consists of multiple lines of text. The
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SCROLL prompt is displayed
when there are multiple lines of
text.
A-Z: Press any of the alphabet
buttons to enter the solution letters on the puzzle grid.
UNDO: Press this button if you
wish to backspace over the solution letter you just typed into the
puzzle grid. Press to undo the previous command (in some cases).
NEW: Press this button any time
you wish to start a new puzzle.
SOLVE: Press this button to
show the solution to the entire
puzzle, the solution to the word
that the cursor is on, or the letter
that the cursor is on. Once you
press this button, the New York
Times Electronic Crossword will
prompt you to choose one of the
following commands:
Q = Press this letter but-
ton to view the solution to
the entire puzzle.
W = Press this letter but-
ton to see the solution to the
word that the cursor is on.
E = Press this letter button
to view the solution to the
letter that the cursor is on.
DELETE: Press this button to
delete the entire puzzle solution,
the word that the cursor is on, or
the letter that the cursor is on.
Once you press this button, the
New York Times Electronic
Crossword will prompt you to
choose one of the following commands:
Q = Press this letter but-
ton to delete all letters on the
puzzle grid.
W = Press this letter but-
ton to delete the word that
the cursor is on.
E = Press this letter button
to delete the letter that the
cursor is on.
+: Press this button any time
you see the plus sign “+” in front
of a clue. This means that the clue
is used to solve additional words
besides the one where the cursor
is currently flashing. Press and
hold down this button to view the
other word locations that are part
of this clue’s solution.
CLUE: Press this button to look
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at both across and down clues at
the same time. Press again to
return to the puzzle grid.
SCORE: Press this button to
display the Score screen. If you
are already in the Score screen,
pressing this button will get you
back to the puzzle grid.
CHECK: When you press and
hold down this button, all of the
wrong letters on the puzzle grid
will flash.
NOTE: Each time that you
press this button there will be a 10
point penalty on your score. A
maximum of 40 penalty points can
be deducted from your score.
OPTION: Press this button to
access the Option screen which
allows you to set up your game
preferences. When you are in the
Option screen, press this button
again to return to the puzzle grid.
RESET: If your New York
Times Crossword locks up or
malfunctions, use a ballpoint pen
to press the RESET button located
on the back of the unit.
Functions of
Prompts
The following is a list of
prompts that will appear on your
puzzle grid screen. You should
become familiar with these.
ACROSS: This prompt will
appear on your LCD any time that
the clue corresponds with a word
that runs horizontally.
DOWN: This prompt will appear
on your LCD any time that the clue
corresponds with a word that runs
vertically.
SCROLL: This prompt will
appear on your LCD whenever the
clue provided has more than two
lines of text.
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Getting Started with
The New York Times Electronic
Crossword!
Normally you simply press
ON/OFF to turn on the unit. But if
you’ve just installed batteries, or
pushed the RESET button, you’ll
hear New York Times Electronic
Crossword greet you with a
“WELCOME” and the display
will show:
NEW YORK TIMES
ELECTRONIC
CROSSWORD
C2004 VER. 02
BY EXCALIBUR
Press any button to continue.
Your LCD will then show the
Puzzle Type menu. The puzzle
types are “EASIER,” “AVER-
AGE,” “HARDER” and
“MIXED.” “SAVE PUZZLE”
will also appear if the puzzle has
been saved or swapped earlier.
You’ll see an arrow (>) next to the
active option on the menu. Use
the UP and DOWN buttons to
scroll to the desired option. Then
press ENTER to confirm your
selection.
The PUZZLE NUMBER screen
will then be displayed. At the bottom of the screen, the number of
the puzzle and its status are displayed. EASIER puzzle numbers
are preceded by an “E,” AVER-
AGE puzzle numbers are preceded by an “A,” HARDER puzzle
numbers are preceded by an “H,”
and MIXED puzzle numbers are
preceded by an “M.”
Instructions on the screen direct
you to use the LEFT and RIGHT
ARROW
decrease the puzzle number by
buttons to increase or
10. The UP and DOWN ARROW
buttons can be used to increase or
decrease the puzzle number by
one. The status of the puzzle
(NEW, TRIED or SOLVED) is displayed below the puzzle number.
Once the desired puzzle number
is displayed, press ENTER to display the puzzle.
Solving the
Puzzle!
Once you have chosen your
puzzle as described above, the
New York Times Electronic
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Crossword’s LCD will display the
puzzle grid. By default, the cursor
will be flashing over the first letter of the first word that runs
across. You can move around the
grid in any direction that you
choose using the UP/DOWN/
RIGHT/LEFT arrow buttons or the
diagonal buttons. Position the
cursor over the first letter of the
word you wish to solve. The clue
for that word is displayed at the
bottom of the LCD. Press ENTER
to change the direction that the
word runs (down or across). The
clue automatically changes to
match the word direction. Once
you are ready to fill in the blanks,
use the A-Z alphabet buttons to
type in your answer.
If you need help solving the
puzzle, please keep in mind that
the New York Times Electronic
Crossword can help you according to what you need. Let’s say
that you have drawn a blank and
cannot think of the word. Maybe
all you need is a clue. Press the
SOLVE button. At this time, the
LCD will prompt you to press Q,
W, or E. Press the E button and the
display will reveal the letter that
the cursor is flashing on. Press the
W button and the display will
reveal the word that the cursor is
flashing on. Press the
Q button
and the display will reveal the
entire puzzle.
Keeping
Score!
You can check your score any
time you wish by pressing the
SCORE button. The LCD will then
show the Score screen which displays the following items:
• The total number of correct
letters you have entered.
• The total number of letters
that have been revealed by the
New York Times Electronic
Crossword.
• The total number of incorrect
letters you have entered.
• The total number of penalty
points assessed.
• Your score, which equals the
number of correct letters minus
the number of letters that were
revealed (using the
ton), minus the number of incorrect letters, minus any penalty
points for using the
ture.
• The time taken thus far to
8
SOLVE but-
CHECK fea-
solve the puzzle.
• The puzzle number
• The best score. Please keep in
mind that the best score information is updated when a new puzzle
is selected. Dashes will be shown
in place of numbers until a nonzero score has been achieved.
• The best time.
Options and
more Options!
We recommend that you
become familiar with the Options
screen. This screen offers various
alternatives for setting up your
game, as well as saving your puzzles. Use the UP/DOWN buttons to
select one of the options listed
below.
AUTO CHECK: After you select
“AUTO CHECK,” press ENTER
to confirm. Then select “ON” and
press ENTER to confirm if you
would like the New York Times
Electronic Crossword to make a
sound any time you type an incorrect solution letter. Otherwise
select “OFF” and then press
ENTER.
Note: When you choose to turn
on this option, each wrong letter
pressed will result in one penalty
point, up to a maximum of 40
penalty points.
SAVE PUZZLE: After you select
“SAVE PUZZLE,” press ENTER
to confirm. Selecting YES and
pressing ENTER to confirm will
save the current puzzle and user
information.
SWAP PUZZLE: New York
Times Electronic Crossword is
ideal for couples who both love to
work crosswords, because the
device keeps track of new, tried
and completed puzzles for two
different users!
Once a puzzle and the user
information have been saved and
the second user has started a puzzle, the Option screen will show
“SWAP PUZZLE” instead of
“SAVE PUZZLE.” Simply select
“SWAP PUZZLE” to go back to
the first player’s information and
game, (including the games tried
by that person and the resulting
scores). Select “SWAP PUZ-
ZLE” again to return to the second player’s information.
Caution: Selecting the saved
puzzle from the Main menu will
erase the swap puzzle informa-
9
tion, so keep this in mind before
you make this selection.
SOUND: After you select
“SOUND,” press ENTER to confirm. Then select “YES” and
press ENTER to confirm if you
want the sound on. Select “NO”
and press ENTER to confirm if
you want the sound off.
CONTRAST: After you select
“CONTRAST,” press ENTER to
confirm. A menu is displayed
with the contrast options. Select
the contrast option you want and
press ENTER to confirm.
To Turn off
the Device
If you would like to take a
break from the New York Times
Electronic Crossword, press the
ON/OFF button and the device
will shut off. Please keep in mind
that if no buttons are pushed for
four minutes, the New York
Times Electronic Crossword will
automatically shut itself off to
save your batteries. When you
are ready to continue, simply
press ON/OFF once again and
your Electronic Crossword will
return to where you left off in
your game.
Special Care & Handling
• Avoid rough handling such as bumping or dropping.
• Avoid moisture and extreme temperatures. For best
results, use between the temperatures of 39ºF and
100ºF (4º C and 38º C).
• Clean using only a slightly damp cloth.
Do not use cleaners with chemical agents.
If no button is pushed for four minutes,
the New York Times Electronic Crossword will switch
off to save your batteries. Just push the
to continue where you left off.
ON/OFF button
Due to continuing improvements,
actual product may differ slightly
from the product described herein.
10
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Battery Information
• The New York Times Electronic Crossword uses
2 AAA batteries, not included.
• Batteries should be installed and replaced only by an adult.
• Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc) or rechargeable
(nickel-cadmium) batteries.
• Do not mix old and new batteries.
• Do not use rechargeable batteries.
• Remove exhausted batteries from the unit.
• Do not short circuit battery terminals.
• Remove batteries and store them in a cool, dry place when not
in use.
• To avoid explosion or leakage, do not dispose of batteries in a
fire or attempt to recharge alkaline or other non-rechargeable
batteries.
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.
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.
90-Day Limited Warranty
EXCALIBUR ELECTRONICS,
INC., warrants to the original consumer that its products are free from
any electrical or mechanical defects
for a period of 90 DAYS from the
date of purchase. If any such defect is
discovered within the warranty period, EXCALIBUR ELECTRONICS,
INC., will repair or replace the unit
free of charge upon receipt of the
unit, shipped postage prepaid and
insured to the factory address shown
at right.
The warranty covers normal consumer use and does not cover damage
that occurs in shipment or failure that
results from alterations, accident,
misuse, abuse, neglect, wear and tear,
inadequate maintenance, commercial
use, or unreasonable use of the unit.
Removal of the top panel voids all
warranties. This warranty does not
cover cost of repairs made or attempted outside of the factory.
Any applicable implied warranties,
including warranties of merchantability and fitness, are hereby limited to 90 DAYS from the
date of purchase. Consequential
or incidental damages
resulting from a breach
of any applicable
express or implied
warranties are hereby excluded. Some
states do not allow
limitations on the
duration of
implied warranties and do not allow
exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations
and exclusions in these instances may
not apply.
The only authorized service center in
the United States is:
Excalibur Electronics, Inc.
13755 SW 119th Ave
Miami, Florida 33186 U.S.A.
Phone: 305.477.8080
Fax: 305.477.9516
www.ExcaliburElectronics.com
Ship the unit carefully packed, preferably in the original carton, and send it
prepaid, and adequately insured.
Include a letter, detailing the complaint and including your daytime
telephone number, inside the shipping
carton.
If your warranty has expired and you
want an estimated fee for service,
write to the above address, specifying
the model and the problem.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND
YOUR UNIT WITHOUT
RECEIVING AN ESTIMATE
FOR SERVICING. WE
CANNOT STORE YOUR
UNIT!
We Make
You Think!
12
13
E
XCALIBURELECTRONICS
, INC.
13755 SW 119
M
IAMI
, F
LORIDA
P
HONE
F
: 305.477.8080
AX
: 305.477.9516
THAVENUE
33186 U.S.A.
Play games
live at:
www.ExcaliburElectronics.com
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