Radio Shack AM/FM Stereo Auto Reverse Cassette Recorder user manual

Survival, Water, Medical Field Manuals

Military Manuals

Document text

14-729.fm Page 1 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 



Cat. No. 14-729 
OWNER’S MANUAL 


Please read before using this equipment. 



AM/FM Stereo Auto Reverse Cassette Recorder 

with Bass Boost 



Radio /hack 



































14-729.fm Page 2 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


FEATURES 


Your Radio Shack SCR-99 AM/FM 
Stereo Auto Reverse Cassette Re¬ 
corder with Bass Boost is a versatile, 
easy-to-use music system with many 
useful features. You can record live 
sounds or from the radio, or just en¬ 
joy the radio or cassette player's high 
quality sound. 

The SCR-99's compact design and 
handy carrying handle let you take it 
almost anywhere. Its features in¬ 
clude: 


Extended Bass Switch — enhances 
low frequency sounds. 

Two Power Sources — let you power 
the SCR-99 from internal batteries or 
AC power. 

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

The set complies with the FCC 
Rules, Part 15. 


Auto Reverse — automatically plays 
the other side of the tape when the 
first side ends. 

Dual-Source Recording — lets you 
record from the radio or use the built- 
in microphone to make a live record¬ 
ing. 

One-Touch Recording — lets you 
start recording quickly and easily. 

Soft Cassette Tape Eject — gently 
opens the cassette compartment 
cover so the cassette does not pop 
out. 

PHONES Jack — lets you connect 
optional earphones so you can listen 
in privacy. 

Automatic Level Control — automat¬ 
ically adjusts the recording level. 



RISK OF ELEC¬ 
TRIC 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 
SERVICING TO QUALIFIED 
PERSONNEL. 



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. 


© 1996 Tandy Corporation. 

All Rights Reserved. 

Radio Shack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation. 






14-729.fm Page 3 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 



This symbol is intended to inform you that important operating and 
maintenance instructions are included in the literature accompanying 
this product. 



14-729.fm Page 4 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


CONTENTS 


Power Sources. 4 

Using AC Power 4 
Using Batteries 4 

Using Earphones 6 
Listening Safely 6 
Traffic Safety 6 

Radio Operation 7 

Cassette Player Operation 8 
Loading a Cassette Tape 8 
Playing a Cassette Tape 8 
Recording 9 

Recording from the Radio 

10 

Making Live Recordings 10 
Tape Tips 10 

Recommended Tapes 10 
Recording Over or Erasing a 
Cassette Tape 10 

Preventing Accidental Era¬ 
sure 11 

Restoring Tape Tension and 
Sound Quality 11 

Cleaning the Tape-Han¬ 
dling Parts 11 

Care and Maintenance 13 
Caring for Your SCR-99 13 
The FCC Wants You to Know 


Specifications 15 






14-729.fm Page 5 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


POWER SOURCES 


You can operate the SCR-99 using 
the supplied AC power cord or inter¬ 
nal battery power. 

USING AC POWER 

You can power the SCR-99 from 
standard AC power using the sup¬ 
plied AC power cord. Connect the 
cord to ~AC IN on the back of the 
SCR-99 and a standard AC outlet. 


Notes: 

• The AC power cord’s plug is 
polarized (one blade is larger 
than the other) and only fits one 
way. Do not force it. If the plug 
does not fit, turn it over and try 
again. 

• Internal batteries automatically 
disconnect when you connect 
the AC power cord to the SCR- 
99. 


USING BATTERIES 

You can power the SCR-99 from six 
D batteries (not supplied). For the 
longest life, we recommend alkaline 
batteries, such as Radio Shack Cat. 
No. 23-550. 

1. Press down on the tabs above 
the battery compartment cover 
and pull it down to remove it. 


2. Place six D batteries in the com¬ 
partment, as indicated by the 
polarity symbols (+ and -) 
marked above the compartment. 


Cautions: 

• Use only fresh batteries of the 
required size and type. 

• Never mix old and new batter¬ 
ies. 

3. Replace the cover. 

If the SCR-99 does not operate prop¬ 
erly or if the sound weakens or dis¬ 
torts, replace the batteries. 





14-729.fm Page 6 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


Cautions: 

• Always dispose of the old batter¬ 
ies promptly and properly. 

• Never leave dead, old, or weak 
batteries in the SCR-99. They 
can leak chemicals and corrode 
or damage electronic circuits. 

• If you do not plan to use batter¬ 
ies in the SCR-99 for a month or 
more, remove the batteries to 
protect the SCR-99 from possi¬ 
ble battery leakage. 





14-729.fm Page 7 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


USING EARPHONES 


For private listening, you can con¬ 
nect a pair of earphones (not sup¬ 
plied) with a 78-inch plug. Your local 
Radio Shack store carries a wide se¬ 
lection of earphones. 

Insert the earphones’ 1 /8-inch plug 
into the PHONES jack on the side of 
the SCR-99. 


Note: Connecting earphones auto¬ 
matically disconnects the built-in 
speaker. 


LISTENING SAFELY 

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

• Set the volume to the lowest set¬ 
ting before you begin listening. 
After you begin listening, adjust 
the volume to a comfortable 
level. 

• Do not listen at extremely high 
volume levels. Extended high- 
volume listening can lead to per¬ 
manent hearing loss. 

• 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. 

TRAFFIC SAFETY 

Do not wear earphones while operat¬ 
ing a motor vehicle or riding a bicy¬ 
cle. This can create a traffic hazard 
and is illegal in some areas. 

Even though some earphones are 
designed to let you hear some out¬ 
side sounds when listening at normal 
volume levels, they still present a 
traffic hazard. 





14-729.fm Page 8 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


RADIO OPERATION 


Warning: To protect your hearing, set 
VOLUME MIN/MAX to its lowest set¬ 
ting before you turn on the radio. 

1. Set FUNCTION to RADIO to 
turn on the radio. 


2. Set BAND to AM, FM, or FM 
STEREO. 


3. Rotate the tuning control until 
you hear the desired station. 


Notes: 

• The AM antenna is built-in. 

For the best AM reception, 

rotate the SCR-99. 

• For the best FM reception, 

fully extend the telescoping 
antenna and swivel it to the 
position that produces the 

best reception. 


• If reception of an FM station is 
weak with BAND set to FM 
STEREO, try setting BAND to 
FM. The sound is mono, but 
the reception should improve. 


4. Adjust VOLUME MIN/MAX to a 
comfortable listening level. 


5. Adjust TONE LOW/HIGH for the 
desired sound. 


6. Set E-BASS OFF/ON to ON to 
emphasize low frequency 
sounds. Set it to OFF for normal 
bass sound. 


7. Set TAPE/RADIO to TAPE to 
turn off the radio. 





14-729.fm Page 9 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


CASSETTE PLAYER OPERATION 


LOADING A CASSETTE TAPE 

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


2. Press STOP/EJECT to open the 
cassette compartment door. 


3. Load the cassette with its open 
edge facing up, its full reel to the 
right, and the desired side 
toward you. 


PLAYING A CASSETTE TAPE 

Warning: To protect your hearing, set 
VOLUME MIN/MAX to its lowest set¬ 
ting before you begin playing a cas¬ 
sette tape. 

1. Set FUNCTION to TAPE. 

2. Load a cassette tape. 

3. Set MODE as follows: 


• For one-time play, press 
MODE so the button locks 
down. When the tape reaches 
the end of the first side, it 
automatically reverses direc¬ 
tion, plays the second side, 
and then stops. 

• For continuous play, press 
MODE so the button releases. 
Each time the tape reaches 
the end of a side, the tape 
direction reverses and play 
continues on the other side 
until you press STOP/EJECT. 


4. Press PLAY. 


4. Gently close the compartment 
door. 





14-729.fm Page 10 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


Notes: 

• Press PAUSE to temporarily 
stop playback. Press PAUSE 
again to resume playback. 


• Press ◄◄ to fast-forward, or 
►► to rewind the tape to the 
desired location. 

• Press DIRECTION to reverse 
the tape’s direction and play 
the other side. 


5. Adjust VOLUME MIN/MAX for 
the desired listening level. 

6. Adjust TONE LOW/HIGH for the 
desired sound. 

7. Set E-BASS OFF/ON to ON to 
emphasize low frequency 
sounds. Set it to OFF for normal 
bass sound. 

8. Press STOP/EJECT to com¬ 
pletely stop playback before it 
automatically stops. Press 
STOP/EJECT again to open the 
cassette compartment and 
remove the cassette tape. 


RECORDING 

You can record from the radio, or use 
the built-in microphone to make a live 
recording. 

Caution: 

• Before you load a cassette tape 
for recording, be sure its erase- 
protection tabs are in place. If 
you force down RECORD when 
that side’s erase-protection tab 
is missing, you can damage the 
record mechanism (see “Pre¬ 
venting Accidental Erasure”). 

• The SCR-99 records only when 
the tape is turning forward. After 
loading a cassette tape, press 
RECORD to see if the tape is 
turning forward. You cannot 
press RECORD if the tape is 
turning in reverse. If necessary, 
press DIRECTION to change 
the tape’s direction. Do not force 
down RECORD. 

Notes: 

• The SCR-99’s Automatic Level 
Control (ALC) automatically 
adjusts the recording level. VOL¬ 
UME MIN/MAX has no effect on 
recording. 

• To record on the other side of 
the tape, remove the tape, turn it 
over, and load it again. 





14-729.fm Page 11 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


Recording from the Radio 

1. Load a blank cassette tape or 
one you want to record over into 
the cassette compartment. 

2. Set TAPE/RADIO to RADIO. 

3. Set BAND to the desired band. 

4. Adjust TUNING to the station 
you want to record. 

5. Press RECORD to begin record¬ 
ing. PLAY, RECORD, and 
MODE lock down. 


Note: To temporarily stop 
recording, press PAUSE. To 
resume recording, press PAUSE 
again. 

6. Press STOP/EJECT to stop 
recording. 

Making Live Recordings 

Follow these steps to make live re¬ 
cordings using the built-in micro¬ 
phone. 

1. Load a blank cassette tape or 
one you want to record over into 
the cassette compartment. 

2. Set TAPE/RADIO to TAPE. 


3. Place the SCR-99 1-2 feet from 
the recording source. 

4. Press RECORD to begin record¬ 
ing. PLAY, RECORD, and 
MODE lock down. 

Note: To temporarily stop 
recording, press PAUSE. To 
resume recording, press PAUSE 
again. 

5. Press STOP/EJECT to stop 
recording. 

TAPE TIPS 

Recommended Tapes 

Tape quality greatly affects the qual¬ 
ity of the recording. We recommend 
extended-range or low noise type 1 
regular length (60-minute or 90- 
minute) normal-bias cassette tapes. 
We do not recommend long-play 
cassette tapes such as C-120s be¬ 
cause they are thin and easily tangle. 

Recording Over or Erasing a 
Cassette Tape 

To record over a cassette tape, sim¬ 
ply record as usual. The cassette 
deck records over the previous re¬ 
cording. 

You can quickly erase both sides of a 
cassette tape using a bulk tape eras¬ 
er such as Cat. No. 44-232, available 
at your local Radio Shack store. 





14-729.fm Page 12 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


Preventing Accidental Erasure 

Cassette tapes have two erase-pro¬ 
tection tabs, one for each side. When 
a tab is in place, you can record on 
that side. 

To protect a recording from being ac¬ 
cidentally recorded over or erased, 
use a screwdriver to remove one or 
both of the cassette tape’s erase- 
protection tabs. This prevents 
RECORD from being pressed. 


If you later decide to record on a tape 
side after you have removed the 
erase-protection 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. 


Caution: Removing the erase-protec¬ 
tion tabs does not prevent a bulk 
eraser from erasing a cassette tape. 


Restoring Tape Tension and Sound 
Quality 

After you play a cassette tape sever¬ 
al times, the tape might become 
tightly wound on the reels. This can 
cause playback sound quality to de¬ 
teriorate. 

To restore the sound quality, fast-for¬ 
ward the tape from the beginning to 
the end of one side, then completely 
rewind it. Then loosen the tape reels 
by gently tapping each side of the 
cassette’s outer shell on a flat sur¬ 
face. 

Caution: Be careful not to damage 
the cassette when tapping it. Do not 
touch the exposed tape or allow any 
sharp objects near the cassette. 

Cleaning the Tape-Handling 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 
cassette player’s performance. 

To prevent noise and poor high-fre¬ 
quency response, clean the cassette 
player’s tape handling parts after ev¬ 
ery 20 hours of use. Your local Radio 
Shack store sells a complete line of 
cassette cleaning supplies. 

1. Set TAPE/RADIO to TAPE. 





14-729.fm Page 13 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


2. Remove the batteries or disconnect the AC power source. 

3. Open the cassette compartment cover. 

4. Press and hold down the erase-protection tab sensor, then press RECORD 
to expose the record/playback and erase heads. 


5. Use a cotton swab dipped in tape head cleaning solution or denatured alco¬ 
hol to gently clean the capstans, pinch rollers, tape guides, and tape heads. 


6. Press STOP/EJECT and close the cassette compartment cover. 





14-729.fm Page 14 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


CARE AND MAINTENANCE 


CARING FOR YOUR SCR-99 

DR-99 AM/FM Stereo Auto Reverse 
)r design and craftsmanship. The folic 
r SCR-99 so you can enjoy it for year 

he SCR-99 dry. If it gets wet, wipe it 
light contain minerals that can corro 


! the SCR-99 gently and carefully. Dn 
boards and cases and can cause the 


iy- 


id store the SCR-99 only in normal 
Temperature extremes can shorten 
s and distort or melt plastic parts. 


he SCR-99 away from dust and dirt, 
s wear of parts. 


ie SCR-99 with a damp cloth occasioi 
o not use harsh chemicals, cleaning s 
ts to clean the SCR-99. 


g with the SCR-99’s internal compom 
>ur SCR-99’s warranty, and void your 
R-99 is not performing as it should, t; 
• assistance. 





14-729.fm Page 15 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 



THE FCC WANTS YOU TO KNOW 

This equipment complies with the limits for a Class B digital device as specified 
in Part 15 of FCC Rules. These limits provide reasonable protection against radio 
and TV interference in a residential area. However, your equipment might cause 
radio or TV interference even when it is operating properly. To eliminate interfer¬ 
ence, you can try one or more of the following corrective measures: 

• Reorient or relocate the radio or TV’s receiving antenna. 

• Increase the distance between the SCR-99 and the radio or TV. 

• Connect your SCR-99 to an AC outlet that is on a different electrical circuit 
from either the radio or TV. 

Consult your local Radio Shack store or an experienced radio/TV technician if 
the problem still exists. If you cannot eliminate the interference, the FCC requires 
that you stop using your SCR-99. 





14-729.fm Page 16 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


SPECIFICATIONS 

RADIO 

Frequency Range: 

FM88-108 MHz 
AM 530-1710 kHz 
Antenna: 

FMTelescoping Antenna 

AM Ferrite Rod 

CASSETTE PLAYER 

Track System4 Track Stereo 

Tape Speedl 7 /8 inch/second 

Recording SystemDC Bias, Magnet 
Erase 

Frequency Response (Record/Play) 
at ±3 dB80-12,000 Hz 

Frequency Response (Record/Play) 
at ±6 dBI 25-6300 Hz 

Wow and Flutter 0.3% (WRMS) 

GENERAL 

Power Requirements 120 Volts AC, 
60 Hz DC 9V (6 D Batteries) 

Power Consumptionl 8W 

Dimensions 5^/8 x 16^/16 x 4^/ 
16 Inches (HWD) 

(130 x 430 x 122 mm) 

Weight 5 lbs 1 oz 
(2.3 Kg) 

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





14-729.fm Page 17 Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:27 PM 


RADIO SHACK LIMITED WARRANTY 

This product is warranted against defects for 90 days from date of 
purchase from Radio Shack company-owned stores and autho¬ 
rized Radio Shack franchisees and dealers. Within this period, 
we will repair it without charge for parts and labor. Simply bring 
your Radio Shack sales slip as proof of purchase date to any 
Radio Shack store. Warranty does not cover transportation costs. 
Nor does it cover a product subjected to misuse or accidental 
damage. 

EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RADIO SHACK MAKES NO 
EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES 
ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THE 
WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES CONTAINED HEREIN. 
Some states do not permit limitation or exclusion of implied war¬ 
ranties; therefore, the aforesaid limitation(s) or exclusion(s) may 
not apply to the purchaser. 

This warranty givns ynu sppnifin legal rights and ynu may also 


RADIO SHACK 

A Division of Tandy Corporation 
Fort Worth, Texas 76102 


7A5 


Printed in Hong Kong