Nevada State Library and Archives

Every patron is allowed to have one Cassette Book Machine (cassette player) and one Digital Machine (digital player).

Please keep the boxes in which your machines arrived. You may need to return your machines at some point.

Recorded books from this service will only play on the equipment provided.

Requesting a Replacement Machine

If you follow the recharging procedure for the players, they should give you trouble-free operation. Like all equipment, it will eventually need service. If your machine malfunctions, as with any problem or question, simply call a Reader Consultant  at 775-684-3354 or 1-800-922-9334. If a Reader Consultant is unable to correct the problem over the phone, you will be instructed to return the machine to the Library, and we will send a replacement machine right away. If you still have the original box, just place the machine in that box, turn the mailing label over so the notched edge is in the upper right hand corner, and place it in the mail.

Again, the postage is free. The important thing to remember is to call us if you are experiencing any difficulties with your machines or a replacement is necessary. Please do not attempt to repair a machine. Just request a new one.

The Cassette Player
 
When your cassette player arrives, listen to the recorded instructions. If you have questions after listening to the recording, call a Reader Consultant.

Function Keys

The cassette machine has been specially designed to make playback simple for you. The function keys are located on a panel along the front of the cassette player. From the left, these keys are stop, rewind, play, fast forward, and eject.

Loading the Cassette

To insert the cassette into the player, press the eject key, the large black key farthest to the right on this panel. A little door will pop open behind the panel of keys.

Playing Your Books

To play side one, slide the cassette under the door, Braille side up with the thin edge of the tape away from you; then, close the door.  Depress the green play key marked with a raised circle located in the middle of the key panel.

Stopping the Tape

To stop the tape, depress the key farthest to the left. The red stop key is marked with a raised "X". Always press the stop key before changing functions.

Rewind

The rewind key allows you to run the tape backward so that you can then replay part of the tape if you like. This black key marked with a raised arrow pointing to the left is located between the stop and play keys.

Fast forward

Fast forward will speed the tape ahead allowing you to skip over part of the tape. To the right of the play key, this black key is distinguished by a raised arrow pointing to the right. Tones for indexing can be heard only at the fast-forward speed.

Special Features

Just to the right of the eject key is a slightly depressed area containing five controls.

Volume Control: Nearest the front of the machine is the volume control that can slide left and right. To increase the volume, slide the control to the right. Slide this control to the left to decrease the volume.

Tone Control: Behind the volume control is another slide control that adjusts the tone. For a deeper sound, slide the tone control to the left. To brighten the tone, slide the control to the right.

Side Selector Switch: Behind the tone control is a V-shaped rocker switch for side selection. Our cassette books are recorded on four tracks or sides. To hear the entire book, you will need to adjust this switch after each even side. To listen to sides one and two, push this switch down to the left.
Listen to side one of the tape then turn the tape over to hear side two. After side two, press the side selector switch to the right and turn the cassette over to hear side three. To hear side four, turn the cassette over one last time.
To listen to the next tape of the book or to begin a new book, press the side selector switch back to the left and insert the new tape.  Some cassettes may contain less than four sides.

Speed Control: Behind the side selector switch is another V-shaped rocker switch that controls the cassette playback speed. The cassette player can run at two preset speeds, 15/16 and 1 7/8 inches per second. Because most Talking Book cassettes run at the special 15/16 speed, they cannot be played back on conventional cassette players. To listen to a Talking Book, press the speed switch down to the left.  The machine will run at the 1 7/8 speed when the switch is pressed down to the right. This is used when playing commercially produced cassettes, such as music tapes you can buy in stores and cassette books available through your public library or local bookstore.

Variable Speed Control: Finally, behind the speed selector switch is the variable speed control. When this slide control is all the way to the left, the tape will play at the normal preset speed (either 15/16 or 1 7/8). Sliding the switch slightly to the right will immediately slow the tape down by as much as 20 percent. If you continue sliding the switch to the right, the speed will begin to increase. When the switch is all the way to the right, the tape runs at 150 times its normal speed. You probably cannot understand the text when it is played this fast. Varying playback speed may work better for some books than others. If you run into difficulty when operating your cassette player, consider the side and speed controls on this machine.  If you have the player set for the commercial speed (1 7/8) when playing a Talking Book, the text will be read at high speed, as if it is being read by a cartoon chipmunk. Make sure you slide the speed control all the way to the left. If you need assistance, call a Reader Consultant.

Battery

When the narrator or spoken text begins to slow down, recharge the battery by plugging the machine into an electrical socket for 8 to 12 hours (e.g., overnight). Unplug the player and listen to your tapes on battery power. When the machine starts to slow down again, repeat the charging process.
Be careful not to overcharge the battery. The machine operates best if you do not leave it plugged in for more than 12 hours at a time.

Helpful Hints

Rewind each tape before you begin to play it to insure that you are listening to the tape from the beginning. After you finish listening to each tape make sure it is rewound to the beginning of odd numbered side (1,3,5,7, etc.) for the convenience of the next listener.
If the tape does not move when in "play", remove the tape and tap it firmly on a flat surface. Place the tape back in the player and try again.
Always push the stop button before pushing anything else (eject, rewind, etc.).
Make sure you have removed the last tape from the cassette machine and returned it to its correct container before you return the book.
Leave the cassette player unplugged when listening to your Talking Books. The cassette player operates on a battery.

The Digital Player

Equipment   
 
When you open your talking-book player box, you will find a series of instruction sheets, the player and packing materials.

The instruction sheets, in large print, comprise a list of important safety instructions and a Quick Start guide embossed in Braille.  All instruction sheets should be saved for reference.
 
Store the box where you can find it so that it can be used to return the player for servicing.

To return the player, mail it to the address shown on the other side of the address card.

There are two players: Standard and Advanced. Most patrons will use the eight-button Standard Player.

The Advanced Player adds five buttons: Menu (how to navigate the book), Prev  (move backward), Next  (jump forward), Info (hear current reading position and other information), and Mark (set bookmarks).

Inserting and removing the book cartridge from the player

Book cartridges are shaped so that they can only be inserted only in the correct way. To insert the cartridge in the player, make sure the flat, rectangular top surface with the print and Braille labels is facing up. Insert the end that does not have the finger hole into the player’s cartridge slot. The player’s cartridge slot is located above the player’s retractable carrying handle and under the play/stop button. Push the cartridge in firmly. The cartridge will lock into place and the book will begin to play. To remove the cartridge, gently tug on the finger hole and pull the cartridge out.

Turn the player on

Near the front, on the left side, is a round red button. It is surrounded by a raised ridge. This is the power button. The letter P appears in Braille next to this power button. Use the power button to turn the player on and off.

Stop/start

At the front of the player, in the middle, is a large green rectangular button. This is the play/stop button. The play/stop button is labeled with the letter P in Braille. Press the play/stop button once to start playing the book. If the book is already playing or if the player is speaking a message, you can press this same play/stop button to stop playing.
Pressing and holding down the Play/Stop button will enter and exit the built-in user guide. The user guide can be accessed at any time the player is turned on. A book need not be present to use the user guide.

Rewind

The rewind button is used to move the reading position backward.
Note: It is not necessary to rewind the book before returning it to the library.
To the left of the play/stop button, you will find the rewind button. It is light gray in color and it is shaped like a triangle pointing toward the left. The edges of the left point of the rewind button are raised. The rewind button is labeled with the letter R in Braille.  The rewind button is used to move the reading position backward.
Tap the rewind button once to move backward 5 seconds in the book. Press and hold the rewind button to move back further in the book.  The longer you hold the button down the more quickly you will move backward.  The player will tell you the how far the reading position has moved. 
If you hold down the rewind button for 10 seconds you will back up 15 minutes in the book.  If you hold down the Rewind button longer than 10 seconds the reading position will continue moving, progressively faster, back to the previous chapter where it will then move from chapter to chapter.  You will hear a beep at the start of each chapter.  If you hold down the rewind button long enough you will reach the beginning of the book. 
When you release the rewind button, immediately after hearing a chapter beep, the player will announce the name of that chapter and play from its beginning.  If the player was stopped prior to pressing the rewind button you will need to press the play button to hear the book. 

Volume Control

To the right of the fast forward button, you will find the volume buttons.  The two buttons are yellow and shaped like rounded triangles.  The rounded edge of each volume button is raised.  The letter V appears in Braille next to the volume buttons.
The lower button, the button pointing down, is the volume down button. When listening to a book, press the volume down button to lower the volume by one level. There are fifteen volume levels. Note that you cannot turn the volume off completely. A double beep will inform you when you have reached minimum volume.
Above the volume down button, you will find the volume up button. It is yellow and is shaped like a rounded triangle pointing up. When listening to a book, press the volume up button to raise the volume by one level. There are fifteen volume levels. A double beep and will inform you when you have reached maximum volume.

Fast Forward

To the right of the play/stop button, you will find the fast forward button. It is light gray in color and it is shaped like a triangle pointing toward the right. The edges of the right point of the fast forward button are raised. The fast forward button is labeled with the letter F in Braille. The fast forward button is used to move the reading position forward.
Tap the fast forward button once to move forward 5 seconds in the book.  Press and hold the fast forward button to move further forward in the book.  The longer you hold the button down the more quickly you will move forward.  The player will tell you the how far the reading position has moved. 
If you hold down the fast forward button for 10 seconds you will advance 15 minutes in the book.  If you hold down the fast forward button longer than 10 seconds the reading position will continue moving, progressively faster, to the next chapter where it will then move from chapter to chapter.  You will hear a beep at the start of each chapter.  If you hold down the fast forward button long enough you will reach the end of the book.  When you release the fast forward button, after moving to a different chapter, the player will announce the name of that chapter and play from its beginning.  If the player was stopped prior to pressing the Fast Forward button you will need to press the play button to hear the book.

Battery

This player is equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery. This means that it does not always have to be plugged into the wall outlet to be usable. However, you have to plug the player in from time to time to recharge the battery. When the battery is fully charged, you will have well over twenty hours of play time. The player’s battery automatically charges itself whenever the stored charge has declined significantly and player is plugged into a wall outlet. 
Note that the battery is not charged every time the player is connected to power outlet so you may notice a reduction in available capacity reported before the player will recharge. It takes about two-and-a-half hours to fully charge a completely discharged battery.  You will be able to use the player normally when the battery is recharging.
It will not harm the player or battery to leave the player plugged into a wall outlet at all times.  If the player is running on battery and not playing a book, it will automatically power off after thirty minutes to save battery power.
Note that the battery is sealed and can only be changed by a service technician.

Sleep button (timer)

Directly above the play/stop button, you will find a gray crescent-shaped button. This is the sleep button. The sleep button is labeled with the letter S in Braille. This sleep button is used to play the book for a time and then stop. You can set the length of time to play in increments of fifteen minutes up to one hour. This feature can be useful when you think you may fall asleep with the player on and do not wish to lose your place in the book. Pressing the sleep button once will play the book for fifteen minutes. Pressing the sleep button twice in succession will play for thirty minutes, three times forty five minutes and four times for one hour.
Each time you press the sleep button after a pause of several seconds, the timer will revert to the original reset of fifteen minutes.  Pressing the Stop button cancels the sleep timer.

Reading tone

Now, moving to the top half of the player, you will find on the left side of the central speaker two buttons shaped like rounded triangles pointing up and down. These are the tone up and tone down buttons. They are light gray in color. The rounded edge of each tone button is raised. The letter T appears in Braille next to these tone buttons. You can use these tone buttons to adjust the tone of the reading voice. There are eleven levels of tone. A single beep will inform you when you have reached the normal level and a double beep will tell you that you have reached the minimum or maximum level. The tone setting of each book can be adjusted to suit your preference and the narrator’s voice.

Reading speed

To the right side of the central speaker, you will find two buttons shaped like rounded triangles pointing up and down. These are the speed up and down buttons. They are light gray in color. The letter S appears in Braille next to the speed buttons. You can use these speed buttons to adjust the speed of the reading voice. There are sixteen levels of speed. A single beep will inform you when you have reached the normal level and a double beep will tell you that you have reached the minimum or maximum level. The speed setting of each book can be adjusted to suit your preference and the narrator’s pace.