RadioShack 20-426 - Manual

6 Contents your scanner’s keypad Your scanner’s keys have various functions labeled on and around the keys. To select the function labeled on a key, simply press the key. To select the function labeled above or beside a key, fi rst press FUNC, then release it. F appears on the display. Then quickly p...

7 Contents STATE — selects the state code. PVT/HWY/POL — Scans the private scan bank; scans the private scan bank and highway frequencies (or local police) when pressed in highway scanning mode. Also, used with FUNC + HWY/POL. SRCH/SVC — selects the search band. Starts ID search mode. Also, used wit...

8 Contents your scanner’s rear view EXT SP — connect an external speaker here. ANT — connect the supplied antenna or an external antenna here. DC 12V — connect a power source here. PC/IF — connect data cable for cloning or connecting to a PC.

9 Contents your scanner’s display TRUNK appears during trunk tracking mode M appears when a Motorola trunking channel is selected E appears when an EDACS trunking channel is selected L appears when an LTR trunking channel is selected LIST indicates a scan list BANK indicates a scan bank 1 - 10 indic...

10 The Basics the FCC wants you to know 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 ...

11 The Basics step 1: install your scanner mounting the scanner in your vehicle Before you mount the scanner, make sure you have all the necessary materials. Then confi rm your vehicle has enough room to mount: 2.44” high by 7.06”wide by 6.10” deep(50.8 x 176.5 x 152 mm). Be sure to avoid obstruction...

12 The Basics step 2: power your scanner from a wall outlet 1. Connect the tip of the supplied AC adapter to the DC 12V jack at the rear of your scanner. 2. Plug the AC adapter into your wall outlet. You must use a Class 2 power source that supplies 12V DC and delivers at least 500mA. Its center tip...

13 The Basics Be sure the grounding screw makes complete contact with the metal frame of your vehicle. 3. Connect the red wire of the supplied DC power cord to a voltage source that turns on and off with the ignition switch, such as a spare accessory terminal in your vehicle’s fuse box. 4. Insert th...

14 The Basics step 3: connect your scanner connecting the supplied antenna Plug the telescoping antenna into the ANT connector. The antenna length should be as shown below. Frequency Antenna Length 25-174 MHz Extend fully (4 segments) 400-512 MHz Extend 2 segments 806-1300 MHz Collapse fully (1 segm...

15 The Basics When deciding on an antenna and its location, consider the following: • The location of the antenna should be as high as possible. • The antenna and antenna cable should be as far as possible from sources of electrical noise (appliances, other radios, and so on). • The antenna should b...

16 The Basics Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines: • Do not connect an earphone or headphones to the scanner. The warning alert volume is not adjustable, and damage to your hearing might result if a warning alert sounds while an earphone or headphones is connected. • Do...

17 The Basics step 4: set up your scanner turn on your scanner Turn VOL clockwise. The scanner turns on and the ALERT indicator lights for a moment. Then the alert tone beeps and TEST appears. The last setting you selected before turning the scanner off appears. The alert tone depends on the current...

18 The Basics listen to preprogrammed frequencies Your scanner comes preprogrammed from the factory with 150 of the most frequently used frequencies stored in Channels 1 to 150 of the private bank. You can scan these frequencies as soon as you turn on the scanner. common scanner terms To fi nd a stat...

19 The Basics 2. Service Scanning -- press FUNC + SVC to select one of the service banks to fi nd an active frequency. 3. Band Search -- select a frequency band to search. The search function is different from scanning. It searches for any active frequency step by step within the lower and upper limi...

20 Beyond the Basics advanced scanner features In this section of the user’s guide, you will discover the wide variety of features that make your scanner fl exible and powerful. As you master these features, you will enhance the value and enjoyment of owning your scanner. channel storage banks To mak...

21 Beyond the Basics 2. Enter the channel number where you want to store a frequency and press HOLD/RESUME to select the channel. 3. Enter the frequency you want to store by using the keypad and ./CLR. 4. Press E to store the frequency into the channel. 5. To store the next channel in sequence, pres...

22 Beyond the Basics deleting a stored frequency To delete a stored frequency, select a channel, press 0, and then press E. Channels with no frequencies are automatically locked out. locking out channels You can lock out reception of any channel so it is not scanned during normal scanning. You can a...

23 Beyond the Basics Write down your locked-out channels and put them in a convenient place in case you need to restore them. memory lock To avoid accidentally programming frequencies and talk group IDs, you can lock the memory with MEMORY LOCK . Press FUNC + M-LOCK to activate this feature. M-LOCK ...

24 Beyond the Basics hold/resume To stop on a channel during scanning or to resume scanning, press HOLD/RESUME. direct channel access To access a specifi c channel directly, press HOLD/RESUME, use the keypad to enter the channel number, then press HOLD/RESUME again. You can also press PVT, e , or d i...

25 Beyond the Basics scanning a private bank You can program frequencies into channels of the private bank. There are 1000 channels in the bank. 150 of the most frequently used frequencies are preprogrammed into Channels 1 to 150. You can scan these frequencies as soon as you turn on the scanner. 1 ...

26 Beyond the Basics priority scan When priority scan is turned on, your scanner checks the priority channel in the banks you selected every two seconds for activity. If a signal is present on the priority channel, your scanner monitors the channel until the transmission ends, then resumes normal sc...

27 Beyond the Basics channels. The scanner only checks priority talk groups between transmissions. service scanning The service scan feature allows you to rotate through the following seven service banks, in addition to the highway patrol and local police banks. 1 Weather 2 Fire and Emergency Medica...

28 Beyond the Basics band search setting a search band The scanner can search up to 14 separate frequency ranges to help you discover new stations in your area. To set up a search band, enter into the band search mode. Band Frequency Range (MHz) Mode Step Display 1 25.0000 - 27.9950 AM 5 kHz 25-28 2...

29 Beyond the Basics Your scanner automatically increases its search speed up to 300 steps per second for bands having 5 kHz steps (Hypersearch). While searching, you can change the search direction by pressing e or d . While private scanning in the trunking banks, press SRCH to set the scanner to I...

31 Beyond the Basics After storing the frequency, it moves to the search hold mode. If there is no free channel, the frequency you want to store will automatically be stored in the fi rst channel in the selected bank. 4. Press HOLD/RESUME to resume searching. delay To help prevent missing a reply on ...

32 Beyond the Basics highway patrol alerts Most highway patrol vehicles today come equipped with a secondary radio system known as a MOBILE EXTENDER or VEHICULAR REPEATER . Whenever the dispatcher transmits to any vehicle in the district, the mobile extender in every car within the district is activ...

33 Beyond the Basics ALERT LED lights when it fi nds a priority frequency. See “Highway Patrol Priority Channels”. State Code Order Number Code State Name Number Code State Name 1 AK Alaska 26 MT Montana 2 AL Alabama 27 NC North Carolina 3 AR Arkansas 28 ND North Dakota 4 AZ Arizona 29 NE Nebraska 5 ...

34 Beyond the Basics scanning highway patrol, local police,and private frequencies If the scanner is set to any mode other than the highway patrol, local police, or private mode, press PVT and then press STATE to display only HIGHWAY. Once HIGHWAY appears on the display, use the table below. Press t...

35 Beyond the Basics scan hold 1. When scanning stops on a desired frequency, press HOLD/RESUME to stay on that frequency. When in the hold mode, press e or d to change the frequency. To quickly change frequencies, hold down e or d . If you select a frequency that is a control channel, the scanner m...

36 Beyond the Basics muting the alert tone To temporarily mute the alert tone, press MUTE during a highway warning alert. The alert tone stops and MUTE fl ashes until the alarm cycle fi nishes (3 minutes). To mute all alerts, hold down MUTE for 2 seconds. The scanner beeps twice and MUTE lights. Mute ...

37 Beyond the Basics check and the interruptions in the conversations by pressing HOLD/RESUME to hold on the desired frequency. The highway warning alert is inoperative while the scanner is on hold. Be sure to press HOLD/RESUME to return to normal priority scan operation. You cannot change priority ...

38 Beyond the Basics Skywarn The Skywarn function lets you jump directly to the last channel in memory (Channel 1000) from any mode by pressing FUNC + . The scanner goes into scan hold mode and starts receiving transmissions in the last channel. If no frequency is programmed in the last channel, No ...

39 Beyond the Basics and warnings, watch box notices, and weather forecasts. Listen to Skywarn to hear trained observers in your vicinity call in offi cial reports to a “net control” station which relays those reports to NOAA and other emergency agencies. Most importantly, you get Skywarn reports dir...

40 Beyond the Basics Although the alert beep (warning beep, watch beep, advisory beep) sounds at short intervals for 5 minutes. After that, the emergency beep will sound at intervals of 10 seconds. programming a FIPS code To specify a county, SAME uses a standard established by the US Census bureau,...

42 Beyond the Basics Signal Stalker Your scanner’s Signal Stalker feature lets you set the scanner so it detects and then displays the frequency of a nearby strong radio transmission. You can set the scanner so Signal Stalker works “in the background” while you are scanning other frequencies; turn o...

45 Beyond the Basics using signal stalker To turn on Signal Stalker, turn SQL fully clockwise, then press FUNC + once except in WX search, band select, or program mode. appears. Every 2 seconds, the scanner searches for frequencies in the range you specifi ed in “Setting the Signal Stalker Options”. ...

46 Beyond the Basics trunk tracking Your scanner tracks three major types of trunked radio systems. These systems are described here. • MOTOROLA - Including Type I, Type II, Hybrid, SMARTNET, and Privacy Plus. Motorola systems are widely used by public safety and business users. Most are on the 800 ...

47 Beyond the Basics too high, it could prevent your scanner from locking on the control channel reliably. If it is set too low, it will slightly delay fi nding the control channel. The best setting is the same as for conventional reception and is critical for monitoring trunked systems. programming ...

48 Beyond the Basics STEP 1: Selecting Trunking System Type The fi rst step in a trunk tracking system is storing the frequencies in one of the ten available banks in your scanner. 1. Press TRUNK in conventional programming mode. BANK and TRUNK will begin to fl ash on the display. 2. Select the bank i...

49 Beyond the Basics 3. Then, press E. E (EDACS), M (Motorola) or L (LTR) appears depending on the trunked system selected. If the frequency is out of the range of the system chosen in this step, you will hear an error tone, the channel number fl ashes and an error message appears on the display. 4. ...

50 Beyond the Basics 4. Press e or d to select the scan list location. 5. Enter the talk group IDs for each trunk system. Motorola talk groups To enter a Type 2 Talk Group ID: 1. Enter the ID you want to store by using the keypad. 2. Press E. To enter a Type 1 ID: For a Type I ID, enter the block nu...

51 Beyond the Basics Or you can program all the talk group numbers for one fl eet of an agency. 1. Enter the agency number. 2. Press ./CLR to enter the “dash”. 3. Enter the fl eet number. 4. Press E. Remember the AFS format allows you to enter full or partial EDACS IDs for powerful fl exibility in all ...

52 Beyond the Basics Press TRUNK to start receiving trunked system information. You can receive the trunked system using the ID Scan Mode. You can receive those talk groups that you store in a scan list using ID Search Mode. You can hear all system talk group activity (except unit-to-unit calls). Th...

53 Beyond the Basics direct entry id hold mode Enter the ID you want to receive by using 1 through 9, 0 (or ./CLR) and press d , and you can listen to a specifi c ID (without storing ID to the list). ID search mode Once you have programmed all the frequencies for a trunked system, search will let you...

54 Beyond the Basics programming scan lists during search To select a scan list location and store an ID during search mode, follow these steps: 1. When your scanner stops on an ID you want to store, press HOLD/RESUME. 2. You can change the scan list memory location by using the e or d key. Then pre...

55 Beyond the Basics active. Press e to continue searching the entire trunked system. ID lockout Like conventional scanning, it is possible to lock out unwanted traffi c. This is particularly important in trunked systems because in many areas, water meters, door alarms, traffi c signals, and other mec...

56 Beyond the Basics bank once, while in locked out review mode, hold down L/O for 3 seconds. All locked out IDs in a bank are restored. setting the delay mode for trunking mode A default delay of 2 seconds is automatically set for each talk group for ID scan mode and ID search mode. To set the dela...

57 Beyond the Basics priority ID in List 1 will be checked before the priority in list 2, etc. This function does not work in LTR tracking. Priority scan does not operate when priority IDs are locked out. moving between scan list memories There are two ways to move through your scan list memories. 1...

58 Beyond the Basics To scan a mix of trunking and conventional banks, select the banks you wish to be active, and then press TRUNK. The scanner will instantly begin scanning. You can switch to search mode and the scanner will search for any active IDs on the system. To switch ID scan or ID search, ...

59 Beyond the Basics system if this were the case). If you press the e key while monitoring one ID, the radio will check if any other IDs are active (it will disregard the ID you just left), and if none are active, it will move on. EDACS tracking Your scanner is now able to track EDACS trunked syste...

60 Beyond the Basics an EDACS trunked system Your scanner shows EDACS talk groups in AFS (Agency-Fleet-Subfl eet) format. This helps you see, at a glance, who you are monitoring. And with the partial-entry feature, you can easily include nearby, related channels in the same fl eet or agency. You can j...

61 Beyond the Basics anywhere you need to specify EDACS talk groups. Your scanner can also enter or display EDACS talk groups in decimal format (0-2047). 1. Select the trunking programming mode and the bank you want to change. 2. Press e or d to select EDACS, then press E. 3. Press e or d to select ...

62 Beyond the Basics EDACS SCAT With the EDACS SCAT feature, the data stream transmissions will be eliminated, allowing you to clearly monitor the voice communications on EDACS SCAT systems. To monitor EDACS SCAT systems you only need to program the frequency in the trunk tracking programming mode. ...

68 Beyond the Basics Selecting a Preset Fleet Map 1. Select the trunking programming mode and the bank you want to change. 2. Press e or d to select E1, then press E. 3. Press e or d to select FLEEt, then press E. 4. Press e or d to select the map you want, then press E. The scanner returns to fl eet...

70 Beyond the Basics 13 1 16 2048 4 14 1 16 4096 8 size code restrictions If you select size code 12, 13, or 14, there are some restrictions as to which blocks can be used for these codes. • Size code 12 can only be assigned to blocks 0, 2, 4, or 6.• Size code 13 can only be assigned to blocks 0 and...

71 Beyond the Basics follow the steps listed in “Programming a User Fleet Map” in the previous section; however, if you want a block to be Type II, select size code S-0. When you begin searching a trunking bank with a Hybrid fl eet map, you will see both types of system IDs. That is, Type II IDs usua...

72 Beyond the Basics 6. Press e and select OFS for entering the offset channel. Then use the keypad to enter a new offset channel, then press E. Then press HOLD/RESUME. The scanner returns to the previous screen. You can only input within a range of 380-759. If the system is not tracking properly, y...

73 Beyond the Basics control channel only mode When this function is activated, trunking is performed using control channel data only. Voice channel (also known as “DATA channel”) frequencies do not have to be programmed into memory. This feature only applies to Motorola 800 MHz systems. 1. Select t...

74 Beyond the Basics PL4 (plan 4) : If the last three digits of frequencies are less than 866.0000 and end in one of the following three digits (000, 250, 500, or 750) and if ANY other frequencies end in (125, 375, 625, or 875) use Plan 4. Of course you will know the control channel frequency itself...

77 Beyond the Basics To clear Error, press ./CLR. Once you have fi nished cloning the scanners, reset them by turning them off then on again. This is important if you wish to clone another scanner right away. birdies All radios can receive birdies (undesired signals). If your scanner stops during sca...

78 Beyond the Basics resetting your scanner If the scanner’s display locks up or stops operating properly, you might need to reset the scanner. This procedure clears all the information you have stored in the scanner. Before you reset the scanner, try turning it off and on to see if it begins workin...

79 Beyond the Basics frequently asked questions (FAQs) Q: I drive by patrol cars but do not hear alarms? A: Make sure you are scanning in Highway Mode. Check your antenna connections. In some cases, the alarm might not go off depending on the proximity of the patrol car to your vehicle. Also, terrai...

80 Beyond the Basics Q: Error appears on the display. What does it mean? A: If you were trying to enter a frequency, you might have made a programming error. Re-enter the frequency correctly, including the decimal point. Q: My scanner does not track EDACS systems properly. What’s wrong? A: The logic...

81 Beyond the Basics specifi cations Frequency Coverage 25.0000-27.9950 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 28.0000-29.9950 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 30.0000-49.9950 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 50.0000-54.0000 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 108.0000-136.9875 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 137.0000-143.9950 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 144.0000-147.995...

82 Beyond the Basics glossary Channel - a programmable memory location. Channels are grouped into channel-storage banks. Your scanner has 10 channel-storage banks and each bank has 100 channels. Channel-Storage Banks - Groups of channels, used for frequency storage. Data Skip - allows your scanner t...

83 Beyond the Basics care Keep the scanner dry; if it gets wet, wipe it dry immediately. Use and store the scanner only in normal temperature environments. Handle the scanner carefully; do not drop it. Keep the scanner away from dust and dirt, and wipe it with a damp cloth occasionally to keep it lo...