Radio Shack PRO-28 manual

Ca t. N o . 2 0-508 OWNER’S M ANUAL PRO-28 30 Cha nnel Dir ect Entr y Pro gramm able S can ner Please rea d b efore usi ng th is eq uip ment. 20-5 08 .f m Pag e 1 We d nes day , Au gus t 4, 199 9 1:5 0 P M[...]

2  19 97 Ta ndy Co rpor atio n. A ll Ri ghts Re serve d. Radio Sha ck is a reg istere d tra dema rk us ed by Tandy Co rpora tion. FEA TURES Your new Radi o Shack PRO-28 30 Channel Di rect Entry Progra mmable Scanner let s you in on al l the act ion! Thi s sc anner gi ves you direct ac- cess to more tha n 20,000 frequenci es that inc lude the pol[...]

3 Keylock — prevent s you from accid entall y changi ng the scanner ’s pro- gramming. Memory Back up — keep s the chan nel frequenc i e s stored in mem ory for up to 1 hour duri ng a power loss . Low Ba ttery Alarm — lets you know whe n the batteri es get l ow. Three Power Sour ces — let y ou power the scan ner fro m intern al bat- teri e[...]

4 This owne r’s manual al so inclu des the secti on “A Guide to th e Act ion Bands, ” which l ets y ou target services in y our area by giving you fre- quency ranges to search. You ca n then store a ny of these f requenci es int o memor y fo r easy scanni ng. For y our recor ds, we r eco mmend yo u r ecord y our sca nner ’s ser ial num- ber[...]

5 SCANNING LEGALL Y Your scann er co vers fr eque ncies use d by many di ffe rent gr oups i nclud- ing pol i c e and fir e departments , ambul ance servi c es, governm ent agen- cies, pr ivate compan i es , ama teur r adi o servi ce s, mil i tar y operati ons, pager ser vices, and wireline (t el e phone and teleg r aph ) se r vi ce prov i d- ers. I[...]

6 CONTEN TS Pre pa rat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Po wer Sou rc es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Us ing Int ern al B att erie s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Impor tant Inform ati on abou t the[...]

7 T roubleshoot ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Re se ttin g th e S ca nne r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 Ca re an d M aint e nanc e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Sp ec ific ati ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

8 PR EP A R A TI ON POWER SOURCES You ca n power yo ur sca nner from any of thr ee sources : • Int er na l bat te ri es (n ot supplied ) • Standa rd AC power ( usi ng an optional AC adapter ) • V ehicle battery po wer (u si ng a n o ptiona l DC a dapter) USING INTERNAL BA TTERIES You can power you r s canner with fo ur AA batter i es. For t h[...]

9 4. In stall t wo batte r i es in t he compartment and two in th e cover as indic at ed by the pol ar i ty sym bo ls (+ a nd –) marked ins i d e. Cautions : • Never m ix r echargeable and non-rech ar ge able bat teries, or rechar geable batteri es of dif ferent ca pacities . • Use on ly fr esh b atter ies of the requi red size and t y pe. Al[...]

10 The POWER jack power s the scanner and d isconne cts the inter nal b at - ter i es . You c an use t his j ack to conn ect an extern al power source (AC adapt er or DC powe r cord ) rega rdless of the typ e of b atter i es you i nstall. The CH ARGE j ack suppli es power to opera t e the sc anner and also charg es the i nt ernal batteries. Use the[...]

11 1. Connec t the adap ter’s blue-t ipped barr el plug to the adapte r’s cord and set the bar re l pl ug’ s t i p to posit i v e. 2. In sert the adapter ’ s blue-t ipped ba rrel pl ug int o your sca nner ’ s POW ER j ac k. Note: I f you instal l ed recharge able nick el- c ad mium ba t ter ies in t he scanner , remove t he plasti c cap f[...]

12 USING VEHICLE BA TTER Y POWER You can power the scanner f r om your v ehicl e’ s ci garett e ligh t er sock et with an opti ona l DC cig are t te li ght er po wer cord (s uch as Cat. No. 270- 1533). Cauti ons: • Th e recom mended DC power cor d supplie s 12 volts and d elive r s at l east 200 mill iamps . It s cen ter t ip is set to posi tiv[...]

13 • If t he sc anner does not operat e properly when y ou use a DC power cor d, u nplug th e power cord fr om th e cigare t t e ligh ter socket and clean t he socke t to remove ashes and debr is. If it stil l does not o perate pro perly , ch eck the fu se i n the power cord. CHARGING NICKEL-CADM IUM BA TTERIES The scan ner has a built- i n ci rc[...]

14 CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Foll ow t h ese steps to a t t ach the s upplied fl exibl e antenna to the connec- tor on t he top of your sc anner . 1. Alig n the slots ar ound the antenn a’s conn ect or with the tabs on the jack. 2. Press t he antenna down over the ja ck and rotat e the ant enna’s base clo ckwise until it loc ks into place . Connec[...]

15 CONNECTING AN EARPH ONE/ HEADPHONES For pri vate l istening, y ou can plug an ea rphone or m ono hea dphone s (such a s Radio Sha ck Ca t. No. 33- 175 or 20 -210 ) into t he jack o n t op of your sca nner. This aut om ati ca lly di scon nect s the int erna l speaker. Listening Safely To prot ect your he ar i ng, f ollow the se guide l i nes when[...]

16 CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SP EAKER In a noisy ar ea, an ext ension sp eaker (suc h as Radio Shack Cat. No. 21-549 ) or an amplifi ed spea ker ( such as Radio Shack Ca t. No. 21- 541), positioned in the ri gh t p lace, might pr ovide m ore com fort able l is- teni ng. Plug th e speaker cabl e’s 1 / 8 -inc h mini-pl ug into your scanner’ s jac k[...]

17 UNDERST ANDI NG YOUR SCANNER A LOOK A T THE KEYP AD Your s canner’s keys might seem conf using at fi rst, but th i s inf ormation should hel p you understan d each key’ s f unct i o n. SC AN — scans th r ou gh the st ored channels . MANUAL — stops scanni ng an d let s you d irect ly en ter a cha nnel nu m - ber or frequen cy. DELA Y — [...]

18 A LOOK A T THE DISPLA Y The dis pl a y has sever al indi cator s that s how the scan ner’s cur r e nt op- erati ng mode. A quick l ook at the dis pl ay wi ll help yo u underst and how to oper ate your scanner. SRCH — appear s d uring a band search ( b also appears) or a direct search ( d also appears) . SCAN — appear s when you scan channe[...]

19 b — a ppears dur i ng a ban d s earch. d — a ppears dur i ng a direct search. H — a ppears dur i ng a ban d s earch hold. h — a ppears dur i ng a direct search ho ld. 20-5 08.f m Pag e 19 Wedne sday, Augus t 4 , 19 99 1:50 P M[...]

20 OPER A TION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND S ETTING SQUELCH 1. T urn SQUELC H full y cl ock wise. 2. T urn VOLUME/O FF clockwise unt i l it cli cks. The scanner aut o m a ti- call y sca ns the 30 channel s. Note: The firs t time yo u turn on t he scan ner , the channels m ight not ha ve any frequ encies sto red in the m, but the sc anner will c on- [...]

21 5. Slo wl y turn SQU EL CH cou ntercl oc kwise un til you hear a his sing sound. 6. Adj ust V OL UME /O FF to a comfort abl e l ist ening level . 7. Slo wl y t urn SQUELCH cl ock wise until the hissi ng sound stops. Note: I f you want to l i s ten t o a weak or d istant s tati on, turn SQUE LCH counter clockwise to inc r eas e recei ver sensit i[...]

22 Notes: • If y ou make a m ist ake in Step 2, Error app ears on the di splay and the s canner beeps thr ee t imes. Si mply s tart ag ain fro m Step 2. • Y our scanne r aut omat icall y r ounds the enter ed freque ncy to the neares t valid fre quency . For exa mple, i f yo u try t o enter a fr e- quency of 1 51.473, your sc anner a ccepts it a[...]

23 3. T o change th e sea rch direc tion, press t t o s earch do wnward or s to search upwar d. b , SRCH , and t or s ap pear on the displ ay . 4. Wh en t he scanner st ops on an active frequency , you ca n do one of t he f o ll ow i n g: • T o sto re the displaye d frequency into t he moni tor memory , pre ss MON/0 . MON appears on the di spl ay[...]

24 • T o hold the fr equenc y , press H O LD/BAND. h ap pear s on t he dis- play . T o continue th e search, pres s and hold t or s for about 1 second . Notes: • If y ou want t o step throu gh t he frequenci es whil e h is dis pla yed , press t or s. • If you tune to a se arch s kip f r equency , L appears on the dis- play (see “Se a rch Sk[...]

25 LISTENING TO THE MONITOR MEMOR Y The scanner has one monitor mem ory. You can use t his me mory to temporar ily st or e a freq uency whil e y ou decide whet her to s t o re it int o a channel . This i s handy f or quickl y st oring an active f re quency wh en y ou search th rough an enti re band. Once you have te mporar ily stor ed a fre- quency[...]

26 4. Press MO N/ 0 . T he entere d frequency app ears, and th e channel numb er st ar ts fl as hi ng. 5. Press WX/E . The scanner stores the f re quenc y into t he sele cted channel , and t he cha nnel n umber stops flashi ng. SCANNING THE STORED CHANNELS To scan t he stored channe l s , press SCAN . Your sca nner then s cans thr ough all non-lock[...]

27 To tur n off t he 2-second delay on any act ive channel , press DEL A Y agai n while t he chann el number is disp lay ed. D disappears from the dis pl a y. Locking Out Cha nnels You can incre ase the eff ectiv e scanning speed by locki ng out indi vidual channel s t hat have a con tinuou s t ransm issi on, such as a weat her chan- nel. To lock o[...]

28 LISTENING TO THE WEA THER BA ND The FCC (Fed eral Communicat ions Commi ssion) has allocat ed 11 channel s for use by the Nat i onal O cean ic and Atmospher ic Adminis tra- ti on (NO AA). We hav e prepr ogr ammed y our sc anner wit h the sev en fre- quenci es most commonl y used by NOAA (see “N ationa l Weat her Freque ncies”). To hear your [...]

29 A GENERAL GUIDE T O SCANNING Recepti on of t he frequen cies covered by you r scanner is mainl y “li ne-of- sight .” That mean s yo u usu ally cannot h ear stati ons th at are beyon d t he horiz on. GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES National W eather Frequencies * Not prepr ogrammed in this sc anner . Birdie Fr e quencies Every s canne r ha s bir die f r[...]

30 GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS T ypical Band Usage Prim ary U sa ge As a gener al rule, most of t he r a di o act ivity i s concentrat ed o n the fol - lowi ng fr equencies: VHF Band UHF Band Note: Remote con t r ol stat ions and mob ile uni ts oper ate at 5 MHz higher than t heir associ ate d base st ati ons and rel ay r e peat er units. VHF Band (3[...]

31 S p ec if ie d In t e r va ls Frequenc i es i n diff erent bands are a ccessible only at specifi c in t ervals. For ex ample: BAND ALLOCA TION To help decide whic h frequ ency ranges t o s can, us e the f ollowi ng listi ng of the t yp ical s er v ices t hat use the f r e quencies your sca nner rec eives. These fr equencies a re subject t o cha [...]

32 PUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P ublic Servi ces . . . . . . . . . . . . ( Publi c Safety, Local Gove rnment, Fores try Co nser vatio n) PSB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pu blic Safe ty PTR . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

33 VH F High B and (148 –174 M Hz) 148 .050 –150 .345 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CA P , MAR, MIL 150 .775 –150 .790 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M ED 150 .815 –150 .965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

34 173. 3875 –173.5 375 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M IL 173. 5625 –173.5 875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIL Med ical/C rash Crew s 173. 60–1 73.9 875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G OVT ULTRA HIGH FREQUEN[...]

35 A VO IDING IMAGE FREQUENCIES You might discover one of your r e gular s tations on an other f r e quenc y that i s not l isted. It mi ght be what is known as an im age frequen cy. For example, you might fi nd a servic e th at regul arly uses a frequen cy of 453.075 al so on 474. 675 . To see if it is an image, do a lit t l e mat h. Note the new [...]

36 TROUBLES HOOTING If yo u have problems, her e are some s uggesti ons that might help. I f none o f these s uggestions help, t ake your sc anner to y our local Rad io Sha ck st ore for ass is t an ce. PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUS E REMEDY Ke ys do not w ork or di sp la y ch an ge s at ra ndom. Undeterm ined e rror. Reset the s canner (s ee “Resettin g[...]

37 RESETTING THE SCANN ER If th e scanner’ s displa y locks up or does not w ork pro perly aft er you con- nect power , you mig ht hav e to reset the scan ner . Caution: This proc edur e clear s all th e info r mat ion you have pro- grammed into t he sc anner. B efore yo u r es et t he scann er, try t urning i t off an d on to see i f it be gi ns[...]

38 CARE AND MAINTENANCE Your Rad i o Shack PRO-28 30 Channel Direct Entr y Programmable Scanner i s an exampl e of s uperior des ign and cr af t smans hip. The fol - lowi ng suggest i ons will hel p yo u care for your sca nner so you can enj oy it for yea rs. Keep t he scann er dry. If i t get s wet, wi pe it dr y immedi- atel y. Liqui ds might c o[...]

39 SPECIFIC A TI ONS Frequenc y Coverage: 29–54 MHz ( in 5 kHz st eps) 137–174 MHz ( in 5 kHz st eps) 406–512 M Hz (in 12.5 kHz steps) Channels of Operat i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 channel s Sen si t iv ity: (FM: 20 dB S/N at 3 kHz deviat ion) : 29–54 MHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

RADIO SHACK A Division of Tandy Corporation Fort W orth, Te xas 76102 UBZZ01255ZZ 9A7 P rinte d in t he Ph ili ppines Lim it ed O ne-Y e ar W arranty This pro duct is warranted by Radio Sha ck against manu facturing defec ts in material and w orkmanship u nder normal use for o ne (1) year fr om the date of pur chase fro m Radio Sh ack company -owne[...]