After a set number of rings the machine picked up, played your greeting from one tape, beeped, and recorded the caller on a second tape. A blinking number on the front told you how many messages were waiting when you came home.

Because it played through a speaker, you could hear a caller leaving a message and decide whether to pick up. Screening calls was half the point.

Away from home you could call your own number and press a code to hear your messages. Some machines came with a small tone beeper for phones that could only dial pulses.