Radio Shack TAD-285 User Manual

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Cat. No. 43-785

OWNER’S MANUAL

Please read before using this equipment.

TAD-285

Microcassette Telephone Answering System

with Big Button Phone, Memory, and

Remote Operation

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FEATURES

Your RadioShack TAD-28 5 Microcas­sette Telephone Answering System
with Big Button Phone, Memory, and
Remote Operation is ideal for your
home or office. With its extra loud ring­er and big buttons, the system is per­fect for anyone who has a hard time
hearing or seeing. This telephone an­swering system is also easy to use
and has many special features.

ANSWERING SYSTEM

Digital Outgoing Message

sures the clearest possible recording
of the message you leave for callers.

Call Screenin

while a caller leaves a message so
you can decide if you want to answer
the call.

Auto-Reset

you pick up any phone in the house.

Remote Operation

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

from a remote locati on to set the an­swering system to answer calls.

— lets you listen

— stops recording when

— lets you use a

— lets you call

— en-

Selectable Toll Saver

avoid unnecessary toll charges when
you call long-distance to check your
messages.

VOX (Voice-Activated Recordin

— stops recording after 7 seconds of
silence to conserve tape space for
other messages.

— lets you

TELEPHONE

Adjustable Ringer

set the volume level of the ringer or
turn it off.

Li

hted Ringer Bar

cate that there is an incoming call.

3 Priorit

emergency telephone numbers in
memory and quickly dial them by
pressing a single button.

10 Standard Memories —

store 10 phone numbers in memory
so you can quickly dial them.

Redial

with the press of a button. Useful
when trying to reach a busy number.

Flash

hook signal for use with special servic­es, such as Call Waiting.

Memori e s

— dials the last number dialed,

— generates a timed switch-

— allows you to

— flashes to indi-

— let you store 3

let you

)

© 1996 Tandy Corporation.

RadioShack is a trademark used by Tandy Corporation.

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All Rights Reserv ed .

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Touch-Tone or Pulse (Rotary) Di al­ing — you can use this telephone with

either type of service.
This answering system has been test-

ed and found to comply with all appli­cable UL and FCC standards.

We recommend you record your an­swering system’s serial number here.
The number is on the bottom of the
answering system.

Serial Number:

Warning: To prevent fire or s hock
hazard, do not expose this product
to rain or moisture.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK.

DO NOT OPEN.

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF
ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE
COVER OR BACK. NO US ER-SERVICE­ABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVIC­ING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

This sym bol is in te nd ed to a le rt yo u
to the pr e s en ce of unins u la ted dan­gerous voltage within the product’s
enclos u re t h at m ig ht b e of s ufficie nt
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 in­cluded in th e l itera ture a ccomp an y­ing this product.

!

READ THIS FIRST

We have designed your answering
system to conform to federal regula­tions, 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 as the de-

Ringer Equivalence Number

vice’s

, or
REN. The REN is on the bottom of
your answering system.

If you are using more than one device
on the line, add up all the RENs. If t he
total is more than five, your phones
might not ring and your answering
system might not answer. In rural ar­eas, 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

tems

FCC Rules

. You must, upon

Part 68 of
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 an­swering system to:

• Coin-operated systems

• Party-line systems

• Most electronic key phone sys-

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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 Desktop ..................................................................... 8

Mounting the Phone ........................................................................................ 8

On a Wall Plate ......................................................................................... 8

Directly on the Wall ....................................................................................9

Connecting the Handset ................................................................................ 10

Setting the Ringer Switch .............................................................................. 11

Setting the Dialing Mode ............................................................................... 11

Answerin

Setting the Answering System to Answer Calls ............................................. 12

Setting the Number of Rings ......................................................................... 12

Setting the System’s Volume ......................................................................... 13

Screening Calls ............................................................................................. 13

Playing Messages ......................................................................................... 13

Telephone Operation ......................................................................................... 15

Using REDIAL ............................................................................................... 15

Using FLASH ................................................................................................. 15

Using Tone Services with a Pulse Line .......................................................... 15

Memory Dialing .............................................................................................. 16

Storing a Number .................................................................................... 16

Dialing a Stored Number ......................................................................... 16

Remote Control Operation ................................................................................ 17

Remote Answer-On ....................................................................................... 17

Remote Playback .......................................................................................... 17

Erasing the Messages ................................................................................... 18

Troubleshootin

Care and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 22

Cleaning the Tape-Handling Parts ................................................. ....... ....... .. 23

The FCC Wants You to Know ........................................................................ 23

Lightning ........................................................................................................ 23

stem Operation ........................................................................... 12

................................................................................................. 19

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Illust.

Illus t.

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INSTALLATION

SELECTING A
LOCATION

You can set the TAD-285 on a flat sur­face (such as a desktop or counter­top), or mount it on a wall plate or
directly on the wall.

Select a location that is:

• Near an AC outlet

• Near a modular telephone line
jack

If the phone l ine jack i s not a modul ar
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 wir­ing for you. The USOC number of the
jack to be ins ta lle d is R J1 1 C.

LOADING THE
CASSETTE

1. Turn the supplied cassette’s hub
with the tip of a pencil to take up
any tape slack.

2. Lift open the cassette compart­ment door.

3. Put the cassette in the compart­ment with its full reel toward the
front of the answering system and
its open edge to the left.

Your answering system 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.

4. Close the compartment door.

Replace the tape at least once

Note:

a year, or more often if it is used fre­quently.

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CONNECTING POWER

Use the supplied AC adapter to power
your answering system.

Cautions:

• You must use an AC adapter that
supplies 9 volts of power, delivers
at least 500 milliamps, and has a
plug that properly fits the TAD-

POWER SOURCE

285’s
supplied adapter meets these
requirements. Using an adapter
that does not meet t hese specifi­cations could damage the answer­ing system.

• Always plug the adapter into the
answering system before you plug
it into an AC outlet. Always unplug
the adapter from the AC outlet
before you unplug it from the
answering system.

jack. The

matically plays it back. If there is no
outgoing message, the answering
system sounds a continuous tone until
you record a message (see “Record­ing the Outgoing Message” on
Page 6).

Note:

When the answering system
has power, if the cassette tape is bro­ken or is not inserted properly, the
system 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 sys­tem to answer calls and record mes­sages, you must reco rd the message
the caller hears when the answering
system answers a call.

Illust.

1. Plug the small end of the supplied
AC adapter into the answering
system’s

2. Plug the other end of the ad apter
into a standard AC outlet.

The red light on the
on while the answering system checks
for an outgoing message.

If an outgoing message is alrea dy re­corded, the answering system auto-

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POWER SOURCE

PLAY

button turns

jack.

In the message, ask for the caller’s
name, phone number, and message.
The maximum length for your outgo­ing message is 30 seconds.

Warning:

or office, do not tell callers you are
away. Instead, say you cannot come
to the phone at this time.

To help protect your home

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Follow these steps to record the out­going message.

1. Rotate

VOLUME

toward HI until it

clicks. The red light turns on.

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2. Lift open the cassette compart­ment door.

3. Press and hold

OGM REC/PLAY

until the red light turns off, then
release the button. The answering
system beeps once.

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4. When the red li ght t urns on again,
speak clearly in a normal volume
from about 12 inches away from
the microphone.

The message is first saved on a digital
chip, and is then recorded onto the
cassette tape. Wait until the answer­ing system plays back the message
before y ou co ntinue ins talling yo u r a n­swering system.

The answering system saves all infor­mation, including the outgoing mes­sage, on tape so it will be saved
during a power f ailure. Wh en power is
restored after a power failure, the an­swering system plays the tape auto­matically to restore the outgoing
message to the digital chip.

Checking the Outgoing
Message

OGM REC/PLAY

Press
hear the outgoing message. The an­swering system beeps once and plays
back the message, then beeps twice.

To adjust the vo lume, see “S etting the
System’s Volume” on Page 13.

at any time to

Illust.

5. When you finish recording your
message, press

OGM REC/PLAY

again. The red light turns off, then
the answering system beeps twice
and plays back the message.

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PLACING THE PHONE
ON A DESKTOP

To use your answering system on a
desk, table, or shelf, plug one end of
the supplied telephone cord into

PHONE JACK

into a modular phone jack, then pro­ceed to “Connecting the Handset” on
Page 10.

and plug the other end

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MOUNTING THE PHONE

Using the supplied mounting bracket,
you can mount the TAD-285 on a
phone jack wall plate or directly on the
wall.

On a Wall Plate

1. Plug one end of the supplied mod­ular cord into

PHONE JACK

.

2. Align the adapter’s power cord
with the left slot on the top and
bottom of the mounting bracket.
Align the modular cord with the
right slot on the top of the mount­ing bracket. Pull the other end of
the modular cord through the
large hole in the center of the
bracket.

3. Insert the mounting bracket’s tabs
into the slots on the bottom of the
answering system. Then pull the
bracket up until it snaps into
place.

4. Coil all the excess modular cord
into the recess of the mounting
bracket by pushing it back through
the large hole. Leave only about
1–2 inches of t he co rd out side t he
bracket.

Illust.

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