Radio Shack CTR-117, 14-1123 Owner's Manual

CTR-117

Voice-Activated Full Auto-Stop
Cassette Recorder

Owner’s Manual

Please read before using this equipment.

!

Features

Your RadioShack Voice-Activated Full
Auto-Stop Cassette Re corder is a porta­ble cassette recording system that deliv­ers quality sound from its speaker, or
through an earphone or exte rnal speak­er. You can use the recorder to play and
record cassette tapes while you are
working or playing . Because the record ­er is portable, you can use it in any room
or outdoors. Its features include:

Voice-Activated (VOX) Recording —

records only when there is sound so you
can save power an d prevent blank sec­tions of tape.

Full Auto Stop

— stops the cassette

tape when it reaches its end.

One-Touch Recording

— lets you be-

gin recording at the touch of a button.

Pause Control

— lets you temporarily
stop a cassette tape during pl ay and re­cording.

Microphone Jack

— lets you connect

an external microphone

Remote Jack

— lets you connect an ex-

ternal microphone with a remote switch.

WARNING

hazard, do not expose this product to rain or
moisture.

CAUTION

ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE
COVER OR BACK. NO USER-SERVICE­ABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING
TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

:

To reduce the risk of fire or shock

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK.

DO NOT OPEN.

: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF

This symbol is intended to alert
you to the presence of uninsu­lated dangerous 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.

!

Cue/Review Function

— advances or
rewinds the tape dur ing play to help y ou
find a section on the tape.

Built-in Microphone

— lets you record
without connecting an external micro­phone.

Tone Control

— lets you customize the
sound of your recorder by controlling low
and high tones.

©

2000 RadioShack Corporation.

RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks used by RadioShack Corporation.

2

All Rights Reserved.

Features

This symbol is intended to inform
you that important operating and

!

maintenance instructions are
included in the literature accom­panying this product.

!

Preparation

CONNECTING POWER

You can power your rec order from any
of these power sources:

• standard AC power (u sing the sup­plied AC power cord)

• four C batteries (not supplied)

• vehicle battery power (with an
optional DC adapter)

Note:

Connecting the suppl ied AC pow ­er cord or an adapter automatically dis­connects internal batteries.

Using AC Power

To power the recorder f rom an AC out­let, connect the supplied AC po wer cord
to the recorder’s
plug the other end into a standard AC
outlet.

AC POWER

jack. Then

Using Battery Power

You can power the recorder with four C
batteries (not supplied). For the l ongest
life, we recommend RadioShack alka­line batteries.

Cautions

• Use only fresh batteries of the

• Do not mix old and new batteries,

Follow these steps to install batteries.

:

required size and recommended
type.

different types of batteries (stan­dard, alkaline, or rechargeable), or
rechargeable batteries of different
capacities.

Caution

into the recorder before you plug it into
the AC outlet, and unplug the power
cord from the AC outl et before you un­plug it from the recorder.

: Plug the suppl ied power cord

1. Open the battery compartment by
pushing on the compartment cover’s
tabs and lifting the cover.

2. Install the batt eries accor ding to th e
polarity symbols
the battery compartment door.

3. Replace the cover.

(+ and –)

marked on

3Preparation

When the
lights during play or the soun d becomes
weak or distorted, or when the playing
speed slows, replace the batteries.

Warning:

ies promptly and properly. Do not burn
or bury them.

Note

corder for a week or mo re , or i f y ou pl an
to power it using onl y the supplied pow­er cord or an adap ter, remove the bat­teries. Batterie s can leak chem icals that
corrode or damage electronic circuits.

RECORD/BATTERY

Always dispose of old batt er-

: If you do not plan to use the re-

indicator

Using DC Power

You can power the recorder from your
vehicle’s cigare tte-lighter so cket using a
fused DC adapter, available at your local
RadioShack store.

Cautions:

Follow these s teps to power the r ecord­er from your vehicle’s bat tery.

1. Set the adapter’s 6V/9V switch to
6V and plug the adapter into the
recorder’s

2. Insert the adapter’s other end into
your vehicle’s cigarette-lighter
socket.

DC 6V

jack.

You must use a power
source that supplie s 6 vo lts

!

DC and delivers at least
400 mA. Its center tip must be set to
negative and its plug must fit the

.

DC 6V

jack. The recom-

recorder

or the

recorder's
mended adapter meet s these s peci ­fications. Using an adapter that
does not meet these specifications
could damage the
adapter

• Plug the adapter into the recorder
before you plug it i nto the cigarette­lighter and unplug th e adapter from
the cigarette-lighter socket before
you unplug it from the recorder.

4

CONNECTING AN
EARPHONE

You can use the supplied earphone to
listen privately to a prerecorded tape or
to monitor a recording. You can also
connect an external or pillow-type
speaker (not supplied) to this jack.

Note

ries a wide variety of speakers.

Preparation

: Your local RadioS hack store car-

Insert the earphone o r spe ak er ’s 1/8-inch
(3.5-mm) plug into the recorder’s
jack. This automati cally disconnects the
internal speaker.

EAR

Listening Safely

To protect your hearing, follow these
guidelines when you use an earphone.

• Do not listen at extreme ly high vol-

ume levels. Extended high-volume
listening can lead to permanent
hearing loss

• Set the volume to the lowest setting

before you begin listeni ng. Afte r you
begin listening, adj ust the volu me to
a comfortable level.

• 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 dis­comfort might still damage your
hearing.

T raffic Safety

Do not wear an earphone while o perat­ing a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle.
This can create a traffic hazard and
could be illegal in some areas.

MIC

mm) plug to the recorder’s
Connecting an ex ternal microphone au­tomatically disconnects the built-in mi­crophone.

Note:

Your local RadioShack store car-

ries a variety of microphones.
If you are using a m icrophone w ith a re-

mote switch, insert the microphone’s
sub-mini plug into the cassette deck’s

REMOTE

phone’s remote s witch to start an d stop
the cassette deck during play and re­cording.

jack. You can use the micro-

jack.

CONNECTING AN
EXTERNAL AUDIO
SOURCE

You can use your recorder to record
from an external audio sou rce, such as
a radio, cassette deck, or CD player.

Even though some earphones let you
hear some outside sounds when listen­ing at normal volume levels, they still
can present a traffic hazard.

CONNECTING AN
EXTERNAL MICROPHONE

You can connect an external micro­phone (not supplied) with a

1

/8-inch (3.5-

Disconnect any external microphone
from the recorder (an external micro­phone disables input to the

AUX

jack).

5Preparation

Use an 1/8-inch (3.5 mm) patch cord to
connect the recorder’s
audio source’s audio output jack.

!

Operation

AUX

jack to the

You can use your rec order to make re­cordings or to play your favorite cassette
tapes.

LOADING A CASSETTE
TAPE

1. Take up any slack in the tape by
turning the hub with a pencil. If you
do not remove excess slack, the
tape might become tangled in the
record/playback mechanism. Avoid
touching the tape.

3. Insert a cassette into the door’s tape
guides with the side you want to
play facing up and the exposed tape
edge facing you.

4. Close the cassette compartment
door.

PLAYING A CASSETTE
TAPE

1. Load a cassette tape.

2. Press

PLAY.

The tape begins to play,
moving from the left reel to the right
reel.

2. Press

6

STOP/EJECT

sette compartment door.

to open the cas-

Operation

3. Rotate

VOLUME

and

TONE

to the

desired settings.

4. When the cassette ta pe reaches its
end, the cassette deck automatically

.

PLAY

and stops the tape.

STOP/

releases
To stop it sooner, press

EJECT

Using Fast Forward and
Rewind

To advance or rewind the tape, press

CUE/FAST-F

the cassette deck is stopped. The cas­sette tape winds forward or backward
until it reaches the end or until you press

STOP/EJECT

REVIEW

REWIND

REVIEW/REWIND

or

.

when

on the tape. When you release

FAST-F

REVIEW/REWIND

or

, the recorder

CUE/

resumes normal play.

Using the Ta pe Counter

You can use t he t ape coun ter to no te dif ­ferent locations on your tape during re­cording or playback. Before playing or
recording a cassette tape, rewind the
cassette tape and press
to set the counter to

T APE COUNTER

000

. As the cas­sette tape moves, the counter advanc­es.

Using Pause

You can temporarily stop the tape by
pressing
or playing a cassette tape. Pr e ss
again to resume playing or recording.

PAUSE

while you are recording

PAUSE

Note:

When the tape is fully wound to
either reel, the cas sette deck automati­cally releases

REWIND

.

CUE/FAST-F

or

REVIEW/

Using Cue and Review

To rapidly advance or rewind the tape
during play, hold down

REVIEW/REWIND

. This feature allows

you to quickly loca t e any des ir ed se ct ion

CUE/FAST-F

or

RECORDING

You can record to a cassette tape on the
recorder from the built-in microphone,
an external microphone, or an external
audio source.

For the best performance, use regular
length (60-minute or 90-minute) cas­sette tapes. We do not recommend 120­minute cassette tape s because th ey are
thin and can tangle easily. For low­noise, wide-range recordings, use only
normal-bias tape s.

7Operation

Note

: Be sure the erase-protection tabs
are in place on the cassette tape. See
“Preventing Accidental Erasure” on
Page 9.

Follow these steps to record.

1. Load a cassette tape into the cas­sette deck.

If you set

UME

so the

ALC

LEVEL METER

to

OUT

, adjust

lights to 0

VOL-

dB during the loudest portions of the
sound signal.

2. Set

VOX

to

OUT

if you want to manu-

ally start and stop recordi ng. Or, set

VOX

to

HIGH

or

LOW

, depending on
the sound source you want to
record.

HIGH

is the most sensitive setting
and requires only a soft sound to
begin recording.

LOW

is the least sensitive setting
and requires a louder sound to
begin recording.

3. Set the recorder’s automatic level
control

(ALC)

to IN to have the
recorder automatically adjust its
recording level or to

OUT

so you can
manually adjust the recording level
for unusually loud or soft sounds.

4. If you are recording from an external
audio source’s line lev el output jack,

ALC

set

to IN. The recorder will
automatically adjust the recording
level.

If you are recording from an external
audio source’s phone s jack, turn on
the external audio source and set its
volume to a comfortable listening
level before you connect it to the
recorder (see “Conn ecting an Ex ter­nal Audio Source” on Pag e 5). Then
use the recorder ’s

VOLUME

control

to set the recordi ng level according

LEVEL METER

to the

5. Press

RECORD

The

RECORD

and

RECORD/BATTERY

.

to begin recording.

PLAY

both lock down.

indicator

lights.

8

Operation

Notes:

• To monitor what the recorder is
recording from an external audio
source, insert the supplied ear-

again

and

EAR

.

PLAY

jack on

and

phone’s plug into the
the recorder.

• To temporarily stop recording,

PAUSE

press
ing, press

6. If the cassette tape reaches its end,
the cassette deck automatically
releases
stops. To stop recording sooner,

STOP/EJECT.

press

. To resume re cord-

PAUSE

RECORD

Caution:

cassette when tapping it. Do not touch
the exposed tape or all ow a ny s ha rp ob­jects near the cassette.

Be careful not to damage the

Erasing Tapes

To record over a cassette tape, insert
the supplied dummy plug into the re­corder’s
The cassette de ck reco rds ov er t he pr e­vious recording. To record over the en­tire cassette tape, le t the tape record to
the end on both sides . When you fini sh,
remove the plug.

You can quickly erase both sides of a
cassette tape using a bulk tape eraser
(available at your local RadioShack
store).

Note

tape, the recorded sound might not be
erased properly.

MIC

jack and record as usual.

: If you use metal or high-bia s type

Preventing Accidental Erasure

TAPE TIPS

Restoring Tape Tension and
Sound Quality

After you play a cassette tape several
times, the tape might become tightly
wound on the reels. This can cause
playback sound quality to deter io ra te.

To restore the sound quality, fast-for­ward the tape from the beginning to the
end of one side, then complete ly rewind
it. Then loosen the ta pe reels by gently
tapping each side of the cassette’s outer
shell on a flat surface.

Cassette tapes have two erase-protec­tion tabs — one for each sid e. When a
tab is in place, you can record on that
side.

9Operation

To prevent accidental erasure of a tape
recording, use a screw driver to remove
one or both of the cassette tape’s erase­protection tabs. This prevents
from being pressed.

If you later decide to record on a tape
side after you hav e removed the era se­protection tab, place a piece of strong
plastic tape over that side’s erase-pro­tection hole. Be sure you cover only the
hole originally covered by the erase-pro­tection tab.

!

Care

RECORD

Caution:

tion tabs does no t prevent a bulk eraser
from erasing a cassette tape.

Removing the erase-protec-

Keep the recorder dry; if it gets wet,
wipe it dry immediately. Use and store
the recorder only in normal temperature
environments. Handle the recorder care­fully; do not drop it. Keep the recorder
away from dust and dirt, and wip e it with
a damp cloth occasionally to keep it
looking new.

Modifying or tampering w ith the record­er’s internal components can cause a
malfunction and mi ght in va li date its war­ranty. If your recorder is not p erforming
as it should, take it to your local Ra­dioShack store for assistance.

CLEANING THE TAPE­HANDLING PARTS

Dirt, dust or particles of the tape's coat­ing can accumulate on the tape heads
and other parts that the tape touches.
This can greatly reduce the performance
of the cassette player. After every 20
hours of tape player operation, follow
these steps to clean the tape-handling

parts or use a cassette deck cleaning kit
(available at your local RadioShack
store).

1. Remove the batteries and discon­nect any other power sour ce.

2. Open the cassette compartment
door and press
tape-handling parts.

PLAY

to expose the

10

Care

3. Use a cotton swab dip ped in de natu re d a lc oho l o r tap e he ad cl ean in g s ol uti on t o
clean the tape guides, record/play head, erase head, pinch roller, and capstan.

Tape Guides

Capstan

Erase Head Record/Playback Head

Pinch Roller

4. When you finish cleaning, pre ss
ment door. Then reconnect power.

STOP/EJECT

and close the cassette com part-

11Care

!

Specifications

Cassette Deck

7

Tape Speed ................................................................................................ 1

/8 ips (4.8 cm/sec)

Tape System ............................................................................................. Two Track, Monaural

Recording System ......................................................................................................... AC Bias

Erasing System .......................................................................................................... DC Erase

General

Output Power at 10% THD ........................................................... 500 mW (AC), 600 mW (DC)

Speakers ........................................................................................ Dynamic, 3 Inches (76 mm)

Power Supply ..................................................................................................... AC 120V/60Hz

DC 6V, C Batteries × 4

External DC 6V Adapter

Dimensions (WHD) ........................................ 9

7

Weight (without batteries) .................................................................................... 2

/8 × 62/

3

×

23/8 Inches (251.6 × 169 × 59.8 mm)

3

/16 lbs (1 kg)

Specifications are typical; individual units might vary. Specifications are subject to change and
improvement without notice.

Limited Ninety-Day Warranty

This product is warranted by RadioShack against manufacturing defects in material and workmanship under normal use for ninety (90)
days from the date of purchase from RadioShack company-owned stores and authorized RadioShack franchisees and dealers. EX­CEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack MAKES NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING
THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION
OF THE WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES CONTAINED HEREIN. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack SHALL HAVE NO
LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY TO CUSTOMER OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY WITH RESPECT TO ANY LIABILITY,
LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT OR ARISING OUT OF
ANY BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM INCONVENIENCE,
LOSS OF TIME, DATA, PROPERTY, REVENUE, OR PROFIT OR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES, EVEN IF RadioShack HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSS IBILITY OF S UCH DAMAGES.
Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential
damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.
In the event of a product defect during the warranty period, take the product and the RadioShack sales receipt as proof of purchase
date to any RadioShack store. RadioShack will, at its option, unless otherwise provided by law: (a) correct the defect by product repair
without charge for parts and labor; (b) replace the product with one of the same or similar design; or (c) refund the purchase price. All
replaced parts and products, and products on which a refun d i s made, be come the prope rty of RadioS hack. New or recond it ioned pa rts
and products may be used in the performance of warranty service. Repaired or replaced parts and products are warranted for the re­mainder of the original warranty period. You will be charged for repair or replacement of the product made after the expiration of the
warranty period.
This warranty does not cover: (a) damage or failure caused by or attributable to acts of God, abuse, accident, misuse, improper or ab­normal usage, failure to follow instructions, improper installation or maintenance, alteration, lightning or other incidence of excess volt­age or current; (b) any repairs other than those provided by a RadioShack Authorized Service Facility; (c) consumables such as fuses
or batteries; (d) cosmetic damage; (e) transportation, shipping or insurance costs; or (f) costs of product removal, installation, set-up
service adjustment or reinstallation.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

RadioShack Customer Relations, 200 Taylor Street, 6th Floor, Fort Worth, TX 76102

We Service What We Sell

12/99

RadioShack Corporation
Fort Worth, Texas 76102

B

14-1123

811081560C

11A00

Printed in China