RCA 29993 User Manual

Caller ID with Call Waiting
Digital Messaging System

29993

We bring good things to life.

1

FCC REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Your telephone equipment is registered with the Federal Communications Commission and is in compliance with parts 15
and 68, FCC Rules and Regulations.
1 Notification to the Local Telephone Company

On the bottom of this equipment is a label indicating, among other information, the FCC Registration number and Ringer
Equivalence Number (REN) for the equipment. You must, upon request, provide this information to your telephone
company.
The REN is useful in determining the number of devices you may connect to your telephone line and still have all of these
devices ring when your telephone number is called. In most (but not all) areas, the sum of the RENs of all devices
connected to one line should not exceed 5. To be certain of the number of devices you may connect to your line as
determined by the REN, you should contact your local telephone company.

Notes

• This equipment may not be used on coin service provided by the telephone company.

• Party lines are subject to state tariffs, and therefore, you may not be able to use your own telephone equipment if you
are on a party line. Check with your local telephone company.

• Notice must be given to the telephone company upon permanent disconnection of your telephone from your line.

2 Rights of the Telephone Company

Should your equipment cause trouble on your line which may harm the telephone network, the telephone company shall,
where practicable, notify you that temporary discontinuance of service may be required. Where prior notice is not
practicable and the circumstances warrant such action, the telephone company may temporarily discontinue service
immediately. In case of such temporary discontinuance, the telephone company must: (1) promptly notify you of such
temporary discontinuance; (2) afford you the opportunity to correct the situation; and (3) inform you of your right to bring
a complaint to the Commission pursuant to procedures set forth in Subpart E of Part 68, FCC Rules and Regulations.
The telephone company may make changes in its communications facilities, equipment, operations of procedures where
such action is required in the operation of its business and not inconsistent with FCC Rules and Regulations. If these
changes are expected to affect the use or performance of your telephone equipment, the telephone company must give
you adequate notice, in writing, to allow you to maintain uninterrupted service.

FCC Number is located on the cabinet bottom
REN number is located on the cabinet bottom

2

INTERFERENCE INFORMATION

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.
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 (that is, the antenna for radio or television that is “receiving” the interference).

• Reorient or relocate and increase the separation between the telecommunications equipment and receiving antenna.

• Connect the telecommunications equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiving antenna is
connected.

If these measures do not eliminate the interference, please consult your dealer or an experienced radio/television technician
for additional suggestions. Also, the Federal Communications Commission has prepared a helpful booklet, “How To Identify
and Resolve Radio/TV Interference Problems.” This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washing­ton, D.C. 20402. Please specify stock number 004-000-00345-4 when ordering copies.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,
DO NOT REMOVE COVER
(OR BACK). NO USER­SERVICEABLE PARTS IN­SIDE. REFER SERVICING
TO QUALIFIED SERVICE
PERSONNEL.

SEE MARKING ON BOTTOM / BACK OF PRODUCT

THE EXCLAMATION
POINT WITHIN THE
TRIANGLE IS A
WARNING SIGN
ALERTING YOU OF
IMPORTANT
INSTRUCTIONS
ACCOMPANYING
THE PRODUCT.

3

WARNING:

OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD,
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS PRODUCT
TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

TO PREVENT FIRE

THE LIGHTNING
FLASH AND ARROW­ HEAD WITHIN THE
TRIANGLE IS A
WARNING SIGN
ALERTING YOU OF
"DANGEROUS
VOLTAGE" INSIDE
THE PRODUCT.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FCC REGISTRATION INFORMATION ........................ 2

INTERFERENCE INFORMATION................................ 3

BEFORE YOU BEGIN ............................................... 5

PARTS CHECKLIST .............................................. 5

MODULAR JACK REQUIREMENTS..................... 5

INSTALLATION ........................................................ 6

SETUP ................................................................. 7

RECORDING THE GREETING .................................. 7

SETTINGS ......................................................... 9

SETTING THE ANSWER STATUS ..........................10

SETTING THE DAY/TIME ....................................11

DAY .........................................................11

HOUR ......................................................12

MINUTE.................................................... 13

SETTING THE AREA CODE .................................14

SETTING THE DISPLAY CONTRAST....................... 16

SETTING THE RINGS TO ANSWER ....................... 17

USING TOLL SAVER.................................... 18

SETTING THE INCOMING MESSAGE LENGTH .........18

SETTING THE SECURITY CODE............................ 20

ADJUSTING THE VOLUME ..................................22

ANSWERER OPERATION......................................... 23

4

PLAYING MESSAGES ........................................23

DELETING MESSAGES ......................................25

SINGLE MESSAGES .................................... 25

ALL MESSAGES ......................................... 26

LEAVING A MEMO ........................................... 27

MEMORY FULL................................................ 28

REMOTE ACCESS .............................................28

CALLER ID FEATURES........................................... 30

CALLER ID WITH CALL WAITING ........................ 31

RECEIVING AND STORING CALLS ........................ 31

REVIEWING CALL RECORDS ............................... 32

DELETING CALLER ID INFO................................ 33

DIAL BACK .....................................................34

CHANGING THE DIAL BACK FORMAT .............. 35

TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS .......................................37

REMOTE ACCESS CARD ............................... 39

GENERAL PRODUCT CARE ..................................... 41

SERVICE ............................................................. 41

INDEX ................................................................42

LIMITED WARRANTY ............................................. 44

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

PARTS CHECKLIST

Make sure your package includes the following items:

(ENTER)

25 15

10 : 25

12/08

1 - 315 - 555 - 1234

HERB GREEN

GREETING

SET

MEMO

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

P

R

E

V

IO

PLAY/STOP

DIAL

DELETE

NEXT

U

S

NEW

Answerer

AC power supply

Telephone line cord

MODULAR JACK REQUIREMENTS

You need an RJ11 type modular jack, which is the most common type of phone
jack and might look like the one pictured here. If you don’t have a modular jack,
call your local phone company to find out how to get one installed.

5

INSTALLATION

1. Connect the telephone line cord to the LINE
jack on the back of the unit and then into a
modular wall jack.

2. Connect the telephone line cord from your
telephone into the jack on the back of the

2

answerer marked PHONE. (You don’t have to
connect your telephone in order for the
answerer to record incoming messages.)

3. Connect the power supply into the POWER
9V AC jack on the back of the answerer. Plug

3

the other end into an AC power outlet. The
unit announces, “Answer on, greeting one” and
indicates the status on the display. The time
is also shown on the display as

NOTE: After power is supplied to the unit, it performs a self-test. If the self-test fails, the unit displays FLASH
ERROR. If this occurs, the unit needs to be serviced.

CAUTION: Only use the Thomson 5-4077 power supply that was packed with this unit. Using other power
supplies may damage the unit

12:00

.

6

1

SETUP

RECORDING THE GREETING

The unit allows you to record 2 custom greetings or
use the default greeting. To select which custom
greeting the answerer will use, see “ Setting the
Answer Status”.

Before using your new answerer, you should
record a greeting . If you don't record a greeting,
callers hear a default greeting which says, “Please

leave your message after the tone.”

When recording the greeting you should be about
6 inches from the unit. Eliminate as much
background noise as possible.

1. Prepare your greeting.
Sample Greeting: Hi, this is (use your name here).

I can’t answer the phone right now, so please leave your
name, number, and a brief message after the tone, and
I’ll get back to you. Thanks.

7

2. Hold down the GREETING button. Record
after the tone.

3. Release GREETING when you finish. The unit
plays back your greeting.

To review the greeting, press and release
GREETING.

To return to the answerer's default greeting after
you've recorded one, press GREETING and
release it when you hear the tone, or press
DELETE when the greeting is playing.

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

GREETING button

DELETE button

8

SETTINGS

You can customize the following settings to suit
your needs.

Answer Status Selects greeting 1, greeting

2, or answer off.

Day/Time Sets the day and time.
Area Code Sets your local area code for

Dial Back.

LCD Contrast Selects the display contrast.
Rings to Answer Selects the number of rings

before the unit answers.

Message Time Sets the length of time

allowed for incoming
messages.

Security Code Sets your 3-digit code used

for remote access to the unit.

Default Settings

Answer Status Answer on, greeting one
Time 12 a.m. Sunday
Area Code 111
LCD Contrast 2
Rings to Answer 4
Message Time 2 minutes
Security Code 123

9

SETTING THE ANSWER STATUS

This setting allows you to turn the answerer on
and select which greeting you want or to turn the
answerer off. The choices available are: Answer
On, Greeting One; Answer On, Greeting Two, and
Answer Off.

1. Press and release the MENU button. The unit
announces and displays the current answer
status.

2. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
setting.

3. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with three beeps and enters the Day/Time
menu.

NOTE: To exit setup, press PLAY/STOP.

10

MENU
button

PREVIOUS button

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEXT button

ENTER
button

SETTING THE DAY/TIME

This setting allows you to set the current day and
time for the Time/Day stamp attached to each
message.

NOTE: The telephone company sends the time and
date with the Caller ID information. The unit will
reset the hour and minute each time a call is
received.

DAY

1. If you just adjusted the Answer Status menu,
skip to step 3. If you haven’t adjusted any
other setting, press and release the MENU
button.

2. Press and release ENTER until the unit
announces and displays the current day
setting.

MENU
button

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

ENTER
button

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

11

3. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
setting.

4. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with a beep and enters the Hour menu.

HOUR

1. The unit announces and displays the current
hour setting.

2. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
setting.

3. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with a beep and enters the Minute menu.

12

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

MEMO

PREVIOUS button

PREVIOUS

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEXT button

ENTER
button

MINUTE

1. The unit announces and displays the current
minute setting.

2. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
setting.

3. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with three beeps and enters the Area Code
menu.

NOTE: To exit setup, press PLAY/STOP.

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

ENTER
button

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

PREVIOUS button

PLAY/STOP button

NEXT button

13

SETTING THE AREA CODE

This setting allows you to set your local area code
for the Dial Back feature.

1. If you just adjusted the Day/Time menu, skip
to step 3. If you haven’t adjusted any other
setting, press and release the MENU button.

2. Press and release ENTER until the unit
announces and displays the current area code
setting.

3. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
1st digit of the area code.

MENU
button

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

ENTER
button

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

14

PREVIOUS button

NEXT button

4. Once the 1st digit is set, press ENTER. The
unit confirms the setting with a beep and is
ready to set the next digit.

5. Follow steps 3-4 until all the digits of the area
code have been selected.

6. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with three beeps and enters the Display
Contrast menu.

NOTE: To exit setup, press PLAY/STOP.

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

ENTER
button

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

15

SETTING THE DISPLAY CONTRAST

This setting allows you to select the display
contrast for easier readability.

1. If you just adjusted the Area Code menu, skip
to step 3. If you haven’t adjusted any other
setting, press and release the MENU button.

2. Press and release ENTER until the unit
announces and displays the current display
contrast setting.

3. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit displays the desired setting.

4. Once the contrast is set, press ENTER. The
unit confirms the setting with three beeps
and enters the Rings to Answer menu.

NOTE: To exit setup, press PLAY/STOP.

16

MENU
button

PREVIOUS button

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEXT button

ENTER
button

SETTING THE RINGS TO ANSWER

This setting allows you to select the number of
rings before the unit answers a call.

1. If you just adjusted the LCD Contrast menu,
skip to step 3. If you haven’t adjusted any
other setting, press and release the MENU
button.

2. Press and release the ENTER button until the
unit announces and displays the current
rings to answer.

3. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
setting.

4. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with three beeps and enters the Message
Length menu.

NOTE: To exit setup, press PLAY/STOP.

MENU
button

PREVIOUS button

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEXT button

ENTER
button

17

TOLL SAVER

Toll Saver can save you the cost of a call when
you access your messages from another phone:

• If you have new messages, the unit answers
after the 2nd ring.

• If you have no new messages, the unit
answers after the 5th ring.

You can hang up after the 4th ring and save the
pay telephone or long distance charge.

SETTING THE INCOMING MESSAGE LENGTH

This setting allows you set the maximum length
of time allowed for incoming messages. You can
choose from 1, 2 , 3, or 4 minutes.

18

1. If you just adjusted the Rings to Answer
menu, skip to step 3. If you haven’t adjusted
any other setting, press and release the
MENU button.

2. Press and release ENTER until the unit
announces and displays the current incoming
message length.

3. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
setting.

4. Press ENTER. The unit confirms the setting
with three beeps and enters the Security
Code menu.

NOTE: To exit setup, press PLAY/STOP.

MENU
button

PREVIOUS button

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEXT button

ENTER
button

19

SETTING THE SECURITY CODE

This feature allows you to change the factory
default security code used for remote access to
you answerer. The default code is 123.

1. If you just adjusted the Message Length
menu, skip to step 3. If you haven’t adjusted
any other setting, press and release the
MENU button.

2. Press and release ENTER until the unit
announces and displays the current security
code setting.

3. Press and release NEXT or PREVIOUS until
the unit announces and displays the desired
1st digit of the security code.

20

MENU
button

PREVIOUS button

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEXT button

ENTER
button

4. Once the 1st digit is selected, press ENTER.
The unit confirms the setting with a beep and
is ready to set the next digit.

5. Follow steps 3-4 until all the digits of the
security code have been selected. The unit
announces, “Press and hold GREETING key to

record announcement. Press PLAY key to play messages.
While playing a message, press and release DELETE
key to erase message. Press and hold DELETE key to
erase message and Caller ID. Press arrow key to review
Caller ID.”

NOTE: To exit any menu, press and release the
PLAY/STOP button. Also, setup will cancel if no
buttons have been pushed within 30 seconds.

IMPORTANT: The setup settings will not be erased
even after a power outage.

SET

GREETING

GREETING button

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

T

X

E

N

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

PLAY/STOP button

ENTER
button

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

NEW

DELETE button

21

Total number of calls

New call

NEW CALLS MSG

00

9

GREETING 1

Answer status

Ready - To - Answer Display

Total number of messages

10-12

7

Current
time

ADJUSTING THE VOLUME

Use the VOLUME control to adjust the speaker
volume to a comfortable level.

22

VOLUME control

ANSWERER OPERATION

PLAYING MESSAGES

Use the PLAY/STOP button to play new and old
messages as well as display call info received
from callers who did not leave messages. The
unit first plays new messages, in the order
received, then the Caller ID information for calls
received without messages is displayed for 2-3
seconds. If there are no new messages, the info
for calls received without messages is displayed.
If there are neither new messages nor new calls,
the old messages are played back.

• To play messages, press and release PLAY/
STOP.

• To stop playback, press and release PLAY/
STOP again.

SET

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

GREETING

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP button

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

23

• To restart the message that is playing, press
and hold PREVIOUS until the message
restarts.

• To replay the previous message, press and
release PREVIOUS.

• To play the next message, press and release
NEXT.

Current call

Time

Current message

Date

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

X

E

N

NEW

NEW CALLS MSG

12 : 15

p.m.

3

8/24

1 - 317 - 555 - 1234

JOHN SMITH

Caller ID name

Message Playback Display

24

1

Caller ID
phone

PREVIOUS button

PLAY/STOP button

NEXT button

number

DELETING MESSAGES

SINGLE MESSAGES

You can delete a message itself, leaving the Caller
ID information; or you can delete the message
along with the call info.

• While the message is playing, press and
release DELETE. The unit erases the current
message and announces, “Message erased.”

• To delete the message and Caller ID
information, press and hold DELETE while
the message is playing. The unit erases both
the current message and call info and
announces, “Message and Caller ID erased.”

NOTE: When deleting single messages, the message
counter renumbers the number of total messages.
For example, if you erase message 2, the unit
announces the next message as “message two.”

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

T

X

E

N

NEW

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

DELETE button

25

ALL MESSAGES

You can also delete all the messages only, leaving
the Caller ID information; or you can delete the
messages along with the call info.

While the unit is in ready-to-answer mode, press
and release DELETE. The unit announces, “Press

and release delete key to erase all messages. Press and hold
delete key to erase all messages and Caller ID.”

• To delete all messages only, press and
release DELETE. The unit announces, “All

messages erased.”

• To delete all messages and Caller ID
information, press and hold DELETE. The unit
erases all messages and call info and
announces, “All messages and Caller ID erased.”

26

SET

GREETING

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

MEMO

PLAY/STOP

T

X

E

N

NEW

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

DELETE button

LEAVING A MEMO

Use the MEMO button to record a specific
message for others who have access to the unit.

1. Press and hold the MEMO button.

2. Record your message after the beep.

3. Release MEMO when you’re finished talking.
The unit treats the memo as a message, as
the display shows.

SET

GREETING

MEMO

MEMO button

VOICE • TIME • DAY • STAMP

PREVIOUS

X

E

N

PLAY/STOP

(ENTER)

DIAL

DELETE

T

NEW

27