RadioShack 20-521 - Manual

6 quires that scanners be manufactured in such a way asto not be easily modifiable to pick up those transmis-sions. Do not open your scanner's case to make anymodifications that could allow it to pick up transmis-sions that it is not legal to listen to. Doing so could sub-ject you to legal penalties...

8 Frequency Conversion 63 Troubleshooting 64 Resetting the Scanner ..................................... 67 Care and Maintenance .......................................... 68 Specifications ........................................................ 69

9 PREPARATION POWER SOURCES You can power your scanner from any of three sources: • Internal batteries (not supplied) • Standard AC power (using an optional AC adapter) • Vehicle battery power (using an optional DC adapter) Using Internal Batteries You can power your scanner using four AA batteries....

11 If BATT.Lo flashes and the scanner beeps every 15 seconds, replace (standard/alkaline) or recharge (re-chargeable nickel-cadmium) the batteries. Caution: Always dispose of old batteries promptly andproperly. Do not bury or burn them. Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries The scanner has a built-in ci...

12 Important: At the end of a rechargeable battery’s use-ful life, it must be recycled or disposed of properly.Contact your local, county, or state hazardous wastemanagement authorities for information on recycling ordisposal programs in your area. Some options thatmight be available are: municipal ...

13 1. Turn VOLUME/OFF counterclockwise until it clicks to make sure the power is turned off. 2. Plug the adapter’s 3.4 mm outside diameter/1.3 mm inside diameter barrel plug into your scanner’s POWER jack. 3. Plug the other end of the adapter into a standard AC outlet. If rechargeable batteries are ...

15 CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible anten-na to the connector on the top of your scanner. 1. Align the slots around the antenna’s connector with the tabs on the scanner’s BNC connector. 2. Slide the antenna’s connector down over the scan- ner’s connector and ...

16 CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone ormono headphones (such as Cat. No. 33-178 or 20-210) into the jack on top of your scanner. This auto- matically disconnects the internal speaker. Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines wh...

17 CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an extension speaker (such as Cat. No.21-549), positioned in the right place, might providemore comfortable listening. Plug the speaker cable’s 1 / 8 -inch mini-plug into your scanner’s jack. ATTACHING THE BELT CLIP You can attach the supplied belt...

18 ABOUT YOUR SCANNER Once you understand a few simple terms we use in thismanual and familiarize yourself with your scanner’sfeatures, you can put the scanner to work for you. Yousimply determine the type of communications you wantto receive, then set the scanner to scan those commu-nications. A fr...

19 A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD Your scanner’s keys might seem confusing at first, butthis information should help you understand each key’sfunction. HOLD — holds the frequency search; holds on the cur- rent ID in the trunk tracking mode. SCAN — scans through the stored channels. MAN (manual) — stops scanni...

20 DELAY — programs a 2-second delay for the selected channel, a limit search, or each service scan; programsa 5-second delay while trunk tracking. t — searches down through a selected frequencyrange during a frequency search; selects options dur-ing program operation; changes the ID location number...

22 MON — appears during search modes or when you select a monitor memory. The number to the right of this indicator shows the current monitor memory num-ber. MAN — appears when you press MAN . PGM — appears while you store a frequency into a channel, while you enter a frequency range during alimit s...

23 Monitor Memories The scanner also has 5 temporary memory locationscalled monitor memories. You can use these monitormemories to temporarily store frequencies while youdecide whether to store them into a channel. This ishandy for quickly storing an active frequency when yousearch through an entire...

24 OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNERAND SETTING SQUELCH Note: Make sure the scanner’s antenna is connectedbefore you turn it on. 1. Turn SQUELCH fully counterclockwise. 2. Turn VOLUME/OFF clockwise until it clicks and you hear a hissing sound. 3. Press MAN (manual) to stop the scanner from scanning, ...

25 STORING KNOWN FREQUENCIES INTO CHANNELS Good references for active frequencies are Ra-dioShack's “Beyond Police Call,” “Aeronautical Fre-quency Directory,” and “Maritime Frequency Directory.”We update these directories every year, so be sure toget a current copy. Follow these steps to store frequ...

26 • Your scanner automatically rounds the entered frequency to the nearest valid frequency. Forexample, if you enter a frequency of 151.473,your scanner accepts it as 151.475. • Press DELAY if you want the scanner to pause 2 seconds after a transmission ends before it pro-ceeds to the next channel ...

27 2. Enter the frequency that is the lower limit of the range you want to search (including the decimalpoint), then press E . 3. Press LIMIT . Hi and 956.000 MHz appear. 4. Enter the frequency that is the upper limit of the range you want to search (including the decimalpoint), then press E again. ...

28 Notes: • If you want to start the search from a frequency already stored in one of your scanner’s chan-nels, press MAN or PROG , use the number keys to enter the channel number, then press MAN or PROG again. • If you enter an invalid frequency, the scanner displays Error . Simply repeat this step...

29 When the scanner stops on a transmission, quicklypress either: • HOLD to stop searching so you can listen to the transmission. HOLD appears. • MON/CLEAR to store the displayed frequency into the current monitor memory. To release hold and continue searching, press HOLD or hold down t or s for at ...

33 SPECIAL FEATURES DELAY Many agencies use a two-way radio system that mighthave a period of 2 or more seconds between a queryand a reply. To keep from missing a reply on a specificchannel, you can program a 2-second delay into anychannel or frequency. The scanner continues to moni-tor the channel ...

34 The scanner scans all the channels within the dis-played banks that are not locked out (see “Locking OutChannels”). Notes: • You can manually select any channel within a bank, even if that bank is turned off. • You cannot turn off all banks. One bank must always be active. LOCKING OUT CHANNELS Yo...

36 USING THE KEYLOCK Once you program your scanner, you can protect itfrom accidental program changes by turning on thekeylock feature. When locked, the only controls thatoperate are SCAN , MAN , KEYLOCK , VOLUME/OFF , and SQUELCH . Note: The keylock does not prevent the scanner fromscanning channel...

37 TURNING THE KEY TONE OFF/ON To turn off the key tone, follow these steps. 1. Turn off the scanner. 2. While holding down L-OUT/S/S, turn on the scan- ner. OFF bEEP appears. To turn the key tone back on, repeat these steps. on bEEP appears. TURNING THE BATTERY SAVE FUNCTION OFF/ON To save battery ...

38 SKIPPING DATA SIGNALS You can set the scanner so it skips nonmodulated ordata signals (such as fax or modem transmissions)during a search or scan. Note: Since data signals are not generally found in theair band, this feature does not work in the air band. To turn on the data skip feature, be sure...

39 TRUNK TRACKING Your scanner is designed to track transmissions on Mo-torola Type I, Type II, and hybrid analog trunking sys-tems, which are extensively used in 800 MHzcommunications. Remember these important pointswhen tracking transmissions: • Your scanner monitors Type II systems by default. Ho...

40 The fleets might be the police department, the fire de-partment, utilities, and city administration. The policemight decide to further divide its fleet into subfleetssuch as dispatch, tactical operations, detectives, north,south, east and west side patrols, and supervisors. Allthe available polic...

43 6. Press SRC to begin searching for the trunk’sdata channel (the channelthat controls the trunk). SEARCH flashes as the scanner searches for thedata channel. While the scanner looks through the frequencies,you see them on the display. When the scannerfinds the data channel, it begins trunk tracki...

44 Hint: While scanning, you will not know exactly whothe IDs are assigned to until you listen awhile or untilyou locate ID lists in frequency guides or on internetsites such as www.trunkscanner.com . Within a few minutes, you can usually figure out if what you are lis-tening to is a police, fire, o...

45 Locking Out IDs As with conventional scanning, it is possible to lock outunwanted traffic. This is particularly important in trunk-ed systems because signals you cannot listen to (suchas water meters, door alarms, traffic signals, and en-crypted signals) are assigned IDs just like other users.You...

46 Using Trunk Tracking Scan Delay Many trunked systems have a period of 2 or more sec-onds between a query and a reply. You can program a5-second delay to hold on an ID for 5 seconds to waitfor a reply. The scanner continues to monitor the fre-quency for 5 seconds after the transmission stops be-fo...

47 CHANNEL ACTIVITY BARS Your scanner has 20 channel activity indicators (bars)which show the activity taking place on a trunked sys-tem. You can see how many frequencies are beingused and generally monitor how much communicationtraffic is occurring. Each frequency you store in a trunking bank has a...

48 SCAN LISTS When you program trunked frequencies into a bank(see “Storing Trunked Frequencies” on Page 41), yourscanner sets up 5 scan lists into which you can storeyour favorite IDs. Each list can contain up to 10 IDs, soyou can store a total of 50 IDs for each trunk trackingbank (250 IDs if you ...

49 Or, to enter a Type I ID: a. Use the number keys to enter the block number and fleet number, then press • . b. Enter the subfleet number, then press E . Note: To clear a mistake while entering an ID,press 0 then E , then start over at Step 1. 5. Repeatedly press PROG or s to select the next scan ...

50 SCANNING THE SCAN LISTS Press SCAN to begin scanning the lists you have stored. Note: If you have not stored any IDs, SCAN scrolls on the display, but your scanner does not stop on an ac-tive conversation. To remove a scan list from active scanning, use thenumber keys to enter the scan list’s num...

51 4. Press again. 5. Repeatedly press s or t to select the name of the map you want (such as E1P7 ). The prepro- grammed fleet map appears. 6. Press E , then SRC. The scanner then searches for transmissions using the preset map you chose. Note: When the scanner searches for transmissions,you see Ty...

52 When a Type I system is designed, the address infor-mation for all its user IDs is divided into 8 equal-sizeblocks, numbered 0–7, and each block is assigned asize code. When you set up your scanner to track aType I system, you must choose a size code for eachblock. When you have chosen a size cod...

53 The size codes selected by a Type I system designerdepend on the specific needs of the system's users.Some organizations might want many subfleets withonly a few radios each, while another organizationmight want only a few subfleets, with many radios each.To scan Type I systems, you must select o...

55 Selecting a Preset Fleet Map 1. Set the scanner for conventional scanning, press PROG , then press TRUNK . 2. Select the bank where you want to store the preset fleet map by pressing a number key. 3. Press . 4. Repeatedly press s or t to select E1 . Then, when E1 flashes, press E . E1P13 E1P14 Bl...

56 9. Press SRC . The scanner exits the trunking pro- gramming mode, tunes the data channel, thenbegins to search using the map you programmed. Note: If you select size code S-12, S-13, or S-14, theserestrictions apply: • S-12 can only be assigned to Blocks 0, 2, 4, or 6. • S-13 can only be assigned...

57 A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanneris mainly “line-of-sight.” That means you usually cannothear stations that are beyond the horizon. GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES National Weather Frequencies Canadian Weather Frequencies Note: These frequencies are not preprog...

58 GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS Typical Band Usage Primary Usage As a general rule, most of the radio activity is concen-trated on the following frequencies: VHF Band VHF Band Low Range 29.00–50.00 MHz 6-Meter Amateur 50.00–54.00 MHz U.S. Government 137.00–144.00 MHz 2-Meter Amateur 144.00–148.00 MHz H...

59 UHF Band Note: Remote control stations and mobile units operateat 5 MHz higher than their associated base stations andrelay repeater units. BAND ALLOCATION To help decide which frequency ranges to scan, use thefollowing listing of the typical services that use the fre-quencies your scanner receiv...

62 462.9375–463.1875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MED463.200–467.925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS FM-TV Audio Broadcast, UHF Wide Band (470–512 MHz)(Channels 14 through 69 in 6 MHz steps)475.750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

63 TROUBLESHOOTING If you have problems, here are some suggestions thatmight help. If they do n ot, ta ke yo ur s can ner to you rl oca l RadioShack store for assistance. PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE REMEDY Scanner is on but will not scan. SQUELCH is not adjusted cor-rectly. Turn SQUELCH clockwise. Only o...

66 RESETTING THE SCANNER If the scanner’s display locks up or does not work prop-erly, you might need to reset the scanner. Caution: This procedure clears all the information youhave stored into the scanner. Before you reset thescanner, try turning it off and on to see if it begins work-ing properly...

67 CARE AND MAINTENANCE Your RadioShack PRO-91 150-Channel HandheldTrunking Scanner is an example of superior design andcraftsmanship. The following suggestions will help youcare for your scanner so you can enjoy it for years. Keep the scanner dry. If it gets wet, wipeit dry immediately. Liquids can...

68 SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Coverage: ..... 29–54 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 108–136.975 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 137–174 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 406–512 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 806.0000–823.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)851.0000–868.9875 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 896.1125–956.0000 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) Monitor...

RadioShack A Division of Tandy Corporation Fort Worth, Texas 76102 UBZZ01274ZZ 3A8 Printed in the Philippines Limited One-Year Warranty This product is warranted by RadioShack against manufacturing de-fects in material and workmanship under normal use for one (1) yearfrom the date of purchase from R...