SCT-56 Dubbing Cassette Deck (140-0676) Operation Faxback Doc. # 32606 LOADING AND PLAYING A CASSETTE TAPE LOADING A CASSETTE TAPE 1. Use your finger or a pencil to turn the cassette's hub and take up any tape slack. NOTE: Avoid touching the tape. Fingerprints attract dirt. 2. Press the appropriate EJECT (symbol) button (Deck 1 or Deck 2) to open the cassette compartment door. 3. Load the cassette with its open edge down. Since the decks play in either direction. It does not matter which side faces out. 4. Gently close the compartment door. PLAYING A CASSETTE TAPE 1. Turn on the cassette deck by pressing POWER. 2. Load a tape. 3. Set DOLBY NR to the setting used when the tape was recorded. See "Dolby Noise Reduction." 4. Set REV MODE for one-side, two-side, or continuous two-side play. The cassette deck plays or records one side of the tape and stops. The cassette deck plays or records both sides of the tape and stops. NOTE: To play or record both sides, you must press > (not <. The cassette deck plays the tape up to eight times (16 sides) and stops. NOTE: During recording, this setting is the same as one-side play. See "Using Relay Play" for more details about REV MODE. 5. Set the receiver/amplifier's volume to its lowest position. 6. Press > on the appropriate deck to play the side facing you. Press < to play the side facing down from you. 7. Adjust the receiver/amplifier's volume, tone, and balance. 8. Press STOP (symbol) to stop playback. 9. Press EJECT (symbol) to open the cassette door and remove the cassette. 10. To turn off the cassette deck, press POWER. Only the STAND BY indicator lights. DOLBY NOISE REDUCTION (NR) Dolby NR systems reduce tape hiss and background noise. When recording, the systems listen for places where you might later hear hiss. The system record these sections at a higher level. When you play the tape, the systems decrease these section's volume, restoring the music to its original level and reducing the noise level. Dolby B NR reduces background noise by about 10 dB. Dolby C NR reduces background noise by about 20 dB. SETTING DOLBY NR FOR PLAYBACK When you play a cassette tape, set DOLBY NR for the system used when the tape was recorded. For prerecorded tapes, use these guidelines to set DOLBY NR: If Dolby NR or symbol is not on the cassette label, set the switch to OFF. If Dolby NR or symbol does appear, but the label does not specify Dolby C NR, set the switch to B. If Dolby C NR is on the label, set the switch to C. SETTING DOLBY NR FOR RECORDING Set DOLBY NR for the system you want to use. You can play cassette tapes recorded with Dolby B or C NR on players that do not have the same system. However, high-frequency sounds might be too loud-especially in Dolby NR recordings. Recording with the Dolby HX Pro System If the source you are recording has many high-frequency signals, the signals can reduce the overall recording quality. During recording, the Dolby HX Pro system adjusts for these signals to improve high-frequency response. This feature is always turned on during recording. You can play a cassette tape recorded with the Dolby HX Pro system on any cassette player. SPECIAL FEATURES Fast-Forward/Rewind To rapidly advance or rewind the tape, press >> or <<. To stop the tape, press STOP (symbol). When the tape reaches the end, the cassette deck automatically stops. Pause To temporarily stop Deck 2 during playback or recording, press PAUSE. To restart, press ||, >, or <. NOTE: You cannot pause while fast-forward or rewinding. Blank Skip To have the cassette deck automatically fast-forward through blank spaces on the tapes, set REV MODE to RELAY/SKIP. If the cassette deck encounters 15 seconds of silence, it fast-forwards to the end of the blank section and resumes normal play from the point. If the tape reaches the end, it reverses and plays the other side. Tape Counter As you play or record a tape, the tape counter advances for the tape side facing you or decreases for the tape side facing away from you. At the beginning of a tape or selection, press RESET to reset the counter to 0000. You can then use the tape counter to quickly locate a specific section on the tape. The deck can also show the elapsed playing time (in minutes and seconds) since you reset the time. To switch between displays, press TIME/COUNTER on the deck you are using. (The time does not advance when you fast- forward or rewind the tape.) Automatic Search Music System The automatic search music system (ASMS) lets you quickly locate a desired selection on a cassette tape. It searches for the blank space before a selection and automatically stops before playback begins. ASMS operates only during play. If the cassette deck is stopped, first press > or <. To skip to the beginning of the current (or an earlier) selection: Press >> or <<-whichever points in the opposite direction of the < or > indicator. To skip to the beginning of an earlier selection, repeatedly press the button. To skip to the beginning of the next (or a later) selection: Press >> or <<-whichever points in the same direction as the > or < indicator. NOTE: If you press >> (or <<) more times than the number of selections on the side you want to search, and want to search, and have not set REV MODE to symbol, the search continues to the other side. ASMS might not operate as expected if: The pause between selections is less than 4 seconds long. The overall recorded volume level of a selection is very low. The noise level between selections is very high. Using Relay Play You can load two cassette tapes to play one after the other. NOTES: The cassette you load should have the same Dolby NR type. You can start relay play from either Deck 1 or Deck 2. You can replace the tape in the idle deck during relay play. When a tape automatically begins playing during relay play, it always starts from the forward (>) playback side. Be sure to set the tapes properly before starting relay play. If the deck encounters an unrecorded portion of tape more than 15 seconds long. It fast forwards the tape until it finds another recorded portion, and resumes playback from that point (i.e., blank skip is automatically set). 1. Load a cassette tape in each tape compartment, then close the compartment, then close the compartment doors. 2. Set DOLBY NR for the noise-reduction system you want to use. See "Dolby Noise Reduction" on Page 7. 3. Set REV MODE to RELAY/SKIP. 4. Press > or < on Deck 1 or 2. Playback starts. See "Playback Sequence." 5. Adjust the volume, tone, and balance control on your receiver/amplifier for the desired sound. 6. To stop relay play before it automatically stops, press STOP (symbol) on the deck that is playing any time during playback. PLAYBACK SEQUENCE The cassette deck repeats the following sequence 8 times (up to 32 sides). Where playback starts in the sequence depends on which play button you press first: I. Side facing out, Deck 1 II. Side facing in, Deck 1 III. Side facing out, Deck 2 IV. Side facing in, Deck 2 When you press > on Deck 1, playback starts at I. When you press < on Deck 1, playback starts at II. When you press > on Deck 2, playback starts at III. When you press < on Deck 2, playback starts at IV. REWIND AUTO PLAY To have Deck 1 rewind the cassette to the beginning of the current side and start play, press REWIND AUTO PLAY. DEMO MODE The cassette deck has a demonstration mode that alternately turns on various indicators and meters so you can see where they show on the deck. To turn on the demonstration mode, press TIME/COUNTER and RESET on Deck 2 at the same time while the cassette deck is stopped. To cancel the mode, press any button except EJECT (symbol) and POWER. RECORDING AND DUBBING You can record from any component connected to the receiver/amplifier or dub (copy) cassette tapes. NOTES: Tape quality greatly affects the quality of the recording. Your cassette deck can play Type I, Type II, and Type IV tape. We recommend Radio Shack brand tapes. Before recording or dubbing, be sure the cassettes onto which you want to record or dub have their erase-protection tabs in place. To prevent accidental erasure of a tape, remove the erase- protection tabs. For more information, see "Erase-Protection Tabs." To record at the beginning of a cassette , turn the cassette's hub with your finger or a pencil until the dark part of the type enters the opening in the edge of the cassette. Before dubbing, position both tapes this way to prevent missing recording material at the very beginning of a tape. RECORDING FROM LINE-IN SOURCES To record from the device connected to the cassette deck's LINE INPUT jacks, follow these steps. 1. Press POWER to turn on the cassette deck. 2. Load a blank tape (or one you want to record over) into Deck 2. Be sure the side you want to record on is facing you and the full reel is to the left. 3. Press > on Deck 2 to set the tape direction and then press symbol. 4. Set DOLBY NR for the noise-reduction system you want to use. See "Dolby Noise Reduction" on Page 7. 5. Set REV MODE. See "Loading and Playing a Cassette Tape." 6. Press RECORD (symbol). The cassette deck enters the record pause mode. 7. Play the loudest part of the selection you want to record. Set REC LEVEL so the LEVEL meter goes to -3 dB most of the time and to 0 dB at peaks. This gives the recording a high signal-to-noise ratio with minimum distortion. 8. Start the source you want to record, then press > on Deck 2 to begin recording. 9. To stop recording, press symbol on Deck 2. RECORDING BLANK SPACES BETWEEN SELECTIONS Some cassette decks search for the blank spaces between selections so you can quickly locate specific selections. If the original program does not have blank spaces, you can add them when you make a new recording. While the cassette deck is set to record or record pause, press REC MUTE (O). The deck records 4 1/2 second and silence and pauses. To begin recording again, press PAUSE (||) or the appropriate play button (> or <). To record a blank space of more than 4 1/2 seconds, press 0 again after the cassette deck pauses, or press and hold 0 for the desired length of time. To begin recording again, press ||, >, or <. To record a blank space of less than 4 1/2 seconds, press || before 4 1/2 seconds pass. To begin recording again, press ||, >, or <. COPYING A CASSETTE TAPE (DUBBING) NOTES: If the original recording has Dolby B NR or Dolby C NR, the copy will also have it, regardless of the position of DOLBY NR. If the original does not have Dolby NR, you cannot ass it to the tape you are dubbing. REC LEVEL does not affect the recording level during dubbing. Both decks automatically stop when either tape reaches the end. We recommend you dub onto a tape that is the same length as the original, so the decks stop at the same time. To copy a cassette tape. 1. Press POWER to turn on the cassette deck. 2. Load the cassette tape you want to copy into Deck 1. Be sure the side you want to copy faces you with the full reel to the left. 3. Load a blank tape (or one you want to record over) into Deck 2. Be sure the side you want to record in is facing you and the full reel is to the left. 4. Set REC MODE. See "Loading and Playing a Cassette Tape." 5. Press > on Deck 1 to set the tape direction, then press symbol. 6. Press > on Deck 2 to set the tape direction, then press symbol. 7. To begin dubbing, press the appropriate COPY button: NORMAL to dub at normal playback speed. HI-SPEED to dub at twice the normal speed. The cassette in Deck 1 automatically plays. Both decks automatically stops when either tape reaches the end. To manually stop dubbing, press symbol on either deck; this stops both cassette decks. CD-DECK SYNCHRO RECORDING If your CD player has a compatible CD Synchro function, you can automatically record your CDs. Connect the CD player's and cassette deck's CD SYNCHRO jacks as described in "Connecting the CD-Deck Synchro Control Cable." NOTE: A 4 1/2-second blank space is automatically created between selections. 1. Load a compact disc in the CD player. 2. Load a blank tape (or one you want to record over) into Deck 2. Be sure the side you want to record on is facing you and the full reel is to the left. 3. Press > on Deck 2 to set the tape direction and then press symbol. 4. Set REV MODE and DOLBY NR. 5. Press RECORD. 6. Select the CD player on the receiver/amplifier, then begin play on the CD player. 7. Adjust the recording level. 8. Press the stop buttons on the cassette deck and the CD player. 9. Press CD SYNCHRO RECORD. Recording automatically begins. When the compact disc finishes playing, the CD player stops and the cassette deck pauses. Within 1 minute, change the disc and start play on the CD player to resume recording. If the CD player does not start play within 1 minute, the cassette deck stops. When the CD player changes disc (multi-disc CD players), the cassette deck pauses, then resumes recording when the CD player begins playing the next disc. If the cassette deck reaches the end of the tape and stops while the CD plays, the CD player returns to the start of the current track, then pauses. To resume recording, load another tape and ensure the tape is moving in the desired direction. If it is not, press a play button (> or <) on the cassette deck to change the tape direction, then immediately press symbol. You can resume recording by pressing CD SYNCHRO RECORD again. (Press the button within 1 minute after the CD player pauses. If more than 1 minute elapses, the CD player stops.) If REV MODE is set to automatically switch to the other side of the tape and the tape reaches the end of the first side while the CD player is playing, the CD player returns to the beginning of the current track and pauses. A 4 1/2-second blank space is automatically created on the reverse side of the tape, then the CD player resumes playback and the deck resumes recording. RESTORING TAPE TENSION AND SOUND QUALITY After you play a cassette tape several times, the tape might become tight wound on the reels. This can cause playback sound quality to deteriorate. To restore the sound quality, fast-forward 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 surface. NOTE: Be careful not to damage the cassette when tapping it. Do not touch the exposed tape or allow any sharp objects near the cassette. ERASING A CASSETTE TAPE If you no longer want a recording, you can record over it or erase it. To record over a cassette tape, simply record as usual. The cassette deck records over the previous recording. To erase a cassette tape, turn off the input source and set REC LEVEL to MIN and press RECORD (symbol). Then press > or < to begin recording. To erase the entire cassette tape, let the tape record to the end of both sides. You can quickly erase both sides of a cassette tape using a bulk tape eraser, available at your Radio Shack store. ERASE-PROTECTION TABS Most cassette tapes have two erase-protection tabs-one for each side of the tape. When a tab is in place, you can erase or record on that tape side. To protect your recordings from being accidentally erased or recorded over, carefully break off the erase-protection tabs, using a screw-driver or similar tool. NOTE: Breaking off the tabs does not prevent a bulk tape eraser from erasing the tape. If you later decide to erase or record over the tape, you can place a piece of tape over the holes. NOTE: When covering the holes, cover only the place that was originally protected by the plastic tab. (LB/all-05/08/96)