Radio Shack 20-163 manual

Thank you for purchasing your T riple T runking Mobile / Base Radio Scanner from RadioShack . Y our scanner scans conventional frequencies and trunked systems. Please read this user’ s guide befor e installing, setting up and using your new scanner . 20-163 T riple T r unking Mobile / Base Radio Scanner www .radioshack.com What’ s Included Scan[...]

2 Contents Y our Scanner ....................................................................... 4 Installing Y our Scanner ........................................................ 7 Setting Up a Mobile Base ............................................................ 7 Bracket Mounting ..............................................................[...]

3 Contents Monitoring ........................................................................ 30 T r unking Setup .................................................................. 31 Dening a T runking Bank ........................................................... 31 T runking Modes ...........................................................[...]

4 Y our Scanner AC adapter DC cable w/fuse DIN sleeve and keys (2) Antenna Mounting bracket Knob (2) Rubber washer (2) Lock washer (2) Screw (2) Rubber foot (3)[...]

5 AC adapter Squelch VOLUME / OFF TRUNK — Accesses trunking functions. L/OUT – Locks out channels, frequencies, or T alk Group IDs. CLEAR PROG – Program. 1-9 / A-Z– Numbers and letters. Zero enters special characters. ./DELA Y – Decimal point, space, delay functions. ENT – Enter . FUNC — Function. TUNE – Enters T une mode. A TT – [...]

6 EXT SP Connect an external speaker . ANT Connect the supplied antenna or an external antenna. DC 13.8V Connect power source. SCREW HOLE Use to mount the scanner in a car . Seek Search Activate[...]

7 Installing Y our Scanner Y ou can mount your triple trunking scanner in your vehicle or use it as a base station. Setting Up a Mobile Base Y ou can place your scanner on a desk, shelf, or table to use it as a base station. Because the speaker is on the bottom of the scanner , you can use the mounting bracket to elevate your scanner off the surfac[...]

8 3. Remove the paper backing from each washer and stick one inside of each bracket’ s ear , aligning the washer’ s hole with the bracket’ s hole. 4. Attach the mounting bracket to your vehicle’ s surface using the supplied screws and lockwashers. Dashboard Installation If you are unsur e how to install your scanner in your vehicle, consult[...]

9 T o remove your scanner fr om the DIN sleeve, insert the two keys straight into the scanner’ s front panel and pull the scanner out. Connecting the Antenna T o connect an external antenna, always follow the installation instructions supplied with the antenna. Use 50-ohm, RG-58, or RG-8, coaxial cable. If the antenna is over 50 feet from the sca[...]

10 Powering Y our Scanner Y ou can power your scanner from a wall outlet, or from your vehicle’ s battery . Y ou must use a power source that supplies 12V DC and delivers at least 600 mA. Its center tip must be set to positive and its plug must t the scanner’ s DC 13.8V jack. The supplied AC adapter and DC power cord meet these specicatio[...]

11 V ehicle (Power Sock et) T o power your scanner from a 12V power sour ce in your vehicle, such as a cigarette-lighter socket, you need a 12V , 600 mA DC cigarette- lighter adapter (not supplied), available at your local RadioShack store. 1. Insert the adapter’ s barrel plug into the scanner’ s DC 13.8V jack. 2. Plug the adapter’ s other en[...]

12 Headphones and Speakers Y ou can plug headphones or speaker (neither included) into your scanner . T o use headphones, connect the plug into the headphone jack on the front panel. Headphones automatically mute the scanner’ s speaker . T o use external speaker , connect the plug into the EXT SP jack on the rear panel. Even though some earphones[...]

13 T o set the keytone: 1 . T urn on the scanner . “Multi-system T runking Scanner” appears. 2 . While “Multi-system T runking Scanner” appears, press 1 to turn on the keytone or 2 to turn it off. T o change the backlight mode: Repeatedly press DIM to adjust display backlight brightness fr om Dark, Light off, or Light. Dela y Sometimes, sev[...]

14 With the attenuator on, the scanner might not receive weak signals. Y ou can reduce interference using two attenuator modes: • Global – (Default) The attenuator setting is applied to all channels, bands, or groups. • Normal – Lets you set the attenuator in each channel, band, or group. Y ou cannot set the attenuator while scanning. T o s[...]

15 FM – Frequency Modulation, used for most public safety transmissions, broadcast, business, and amateur radio transmissions. CT – FM transmissions with Continuous T one Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) DC – FM transmissions with Digital Coded Squelch (DCS) MO – Motorola T runking System ED – EDACS T runking System L T – L TR T runking Sys[...]

16 6. If necessary , press MODE to change the receiving mode. 7. Press ENT . If the frequency is alr eady stored in the bank, “Dupl.Fr eq. ChXXX” appears. T o copy the duplicate frequency anyway , press ENT or press CL to cancel. If you made a mistake in Step 5, “Invalid Freq.” briey appears and the scanner beeps when you press ENT . Go [...]

17 Deleting Sa ved Frequencies T o delete a saved frequency: 1. Press MAN . 2. Use the number keys to enter the frequency’ s channel number . 3. Press MAN . 4. Press PROG . M changes to P . 5. Press FUNC . 6. Press CL . “0.0000” appears. T o delete all saved frequencies in a bank: 1. Press PROG . M changes to P . 2. Press FUNC . 3. Use the nu[...]

18 5. Press FUNC , then MODE . 6. Use the  or  to select the desired CTCSS or DCS code. Y ou can enter the code manually . The scanner automatically lls in the code. See Appendix B for a list of codes. 7. Press ENT . T o save a CTCSS or DCS code: Press ENT while the code appears. Scanner Cloning Y ou can transfer the programmed data to and[...]

19 Sear ching Y ou can search for transmissions using the prepr ogrammed search bank, which is divided into eight search bands. Seek Search When Seek Search is active, the scanner stops on active fr equencies for ve seconds and then resumes sear ching automatically . T o activate Seek Search: 1. Press FUNC then 7 . “Seek Sear ch ON” appears [...]

20 SR3 to SR5 banks contain several groups. T o turn off a gr oup, press the gr oup number; the group number disappears. T o turn the group back on, pr ess the group number again. 2. Adjust the Squelch. After the set delay , the scanner starts searching. When the scanner nds an active fr equency , it stops searching. 3. T o pause while searching[...]

21 Zeromatic While searching, the scanner stops if a transmission triggers the squelch setting. A narrow-band FM transmission can have a deviation of +/- 5 KHz, and the actual total bandwidth, including the tails of the sidebands, can be even greater . However , search intervals smaller than that can stop your scanner short of the correct (center) [...]

22 6. Press SRCH to start searching. 7. Adjust the Squelch. After the set delay , the scanner starts searching. When the scanner nds an active fr equency , it stops searching. Signal Stalker II Signal Stalker II provides a powerful tool to rapidly detect, monitor and save frequencies of nearby or high-power transmissions. Signal Stalker II resem[...]

23 Special Signal Stalker Special Signal Stalker II divides the frequency range by 1 MHz segments. If you lock out 5 frequencies within 1 MHz segment, the scanner will skip that segment in subsequent sweeps. T o use Special Signal Stalker II: 1. Press FUNC . 2. Use  or  to select “Sp. Stalker” appears for Special Signal Stalker II. 3. T o[...]

24 T o review and unlock fr equencies: 1. Press SRCH to enter sear ch mode. 2. Press FUNC then L/OUT . The rst locked-out fr equency and lockout list appear . If the search bank has no locked-out frequencies, “No Lockout” appears. 3. Press  or  to r eview the list. The current position and the total locked-out number also appear as “[...]

25 Scanning Scanning sequentially checks all saved channels for activity . Y ou must save frequencies into channels to scan. The scanner does not scan empty channels or unsaved frequencies. Y ou can increase the scanning speed by locking out channels with continuous transmissions, such as a weather channel or turning off entire banks. T urning off [...]

26 T o review all locked out channels: 1. Press MAN . 2. Repeatedly pressing FUNC and then L/OUT to view each locked- out channel. 3. T o unlock a channel, press L/OUT . “LO” changes to “lo.” 4. When you nish reviewing locked-out channels, pr ess MAN . Y ou can manually select any channel in a bank, even in tur ned- off banks. Priority S[...]

27 T o modify the Priority channel: 1. Press PROG . 2. Press PRI . 3. Use the number keys to enter the frequency . 4. Press ENT . If the frequency is incorr ect, “Invalid Freq” appears briey . W eather Alerts The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated channels for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA[...]

28 SAME Standb y Mode SAME alerts include FIPS codes to identify areas, established by the US Census bureau. Y ou can set your scanner to alert for all areas or limit weather alerts to up to 10 specic areas by FIPS code. The National Weather Service maintains a curr ent list of FIPS codes at www .nws.noaa.gov/nwr/. T o program a FIPS code: 1. Pr[...]

29 T o review stor ed FIPS codes: 1. Press WX then a number key . 2. Press L/OUT to change the lockout status. For information about adding text tags to a FIPS code, see “T ext T ags” on Page 43. T o enter SAME standby: 1. Press FUNC , and then WX . The scanner will monitor the selected weather radio station for alerts with FIPS codes that matc[...]

30 Skyw arn Skywarn is an organized gr oup of trained weather observers. Using Skywarn, you can hear trained observers in your area call in ofcial reports to a contr ol station that relays those r eports to NOAA and other emergency agencies. Before using this featur e, save local Skywarn frequencies for your area into Channel 999. T o use Skywar[...]

31 tune direction, pr ess  or  . When the scanner nds an active frequency , it stops. 4. Press PSE to monitor the fr equency . The transmission signal level is indicated by the 5 dots. T o set a default tuning frequency: 1 . Press MAN . 2. (Optional) Use the number keys to enter the frequency number . 3. Press FUNC , then TUNE . The scanne[...]

32 3. Repeatedly press MODE to select a trunking mode (Motor ola, EDACS, or L TR). 4. Press PROG . T r unking Modes In Closed mode, the scanner stops only on transmissions with saved and unlocked T alk Group IDs. This lets you focus a scan on the frequencies you have identied, ignoring other transmissions. In Open mode, the scanner stops for tra[...]

33 Fleet Maps For Motorola T ype I and hybrid systems, you must program a eet map before saving T alk Group IDs. T o program a eet map: 1. Press PROG then TRUNK . 2. Press FUNC , then pr ess  or  to select the bank. 3. If necessary , repeatedly press MODE to select “Motor ola.” 4. Press FUNC , then pr ess 8 . “Size Code Setting”[...]

34 For Motorola T ype II, enter 15. 6. Press ENT . The next block appears. 7. Repeat steps 5-6 for each block. If you make a mistake, press CL and enter the correct size code. Base and Offset Frequencies T o receive Motor ola VHF and UHF system transmissions, you must program applicable base and of fset frequencies. In the 800 MHz trunking band, yo[...]

35 7. While the S in Step blinks, repeatedly pr ess  or  to select the step number: 5.0, 6.25, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 18.75, 20.0, 25.0, 30.0, 31.25, 35.0, 37.5, 40.0, 43.75, or 50.0 kHz, then press ENT . 8 . Pr ess PROG . UHF-Hi (806-960 MHz) T o program 800 MHz Motor ola trunking: 1. Press PROG then TRUNK to enter the ID pr ogram mode. 2. Press [...]

36 L TR T runking Setup L TR systems, assign each frequency a Home Repeater (HR) number , and are fr equently programmed with unique ID codes for each radio. L TR T alk Group IDs are or ganized in a specic order , and to scan, you must program the fr equencies in HR order . L TR systems are used primarily by businesses, such as taxicabs, deliver[...]

37 T o search for T alk Group IDs: 1. Set the bank to Open mode. 2. Press SCAN . The scanner scans thr ough all unlocked channels in the active banks. 3. When the scanner stops on a transmission, press TRUNK . The scanner displays the ID location: Sub-bank. ID Location 0-4 00-29 Example: 2-01 If the ID has already been saved, “ID was saved” app[...]

38 6 . Use the number and decimal point keys to enter the T alk Group ID: For ED T alk Group IDs, you can enter either a decimal or AFS code. The default setting is decimal ID entry . T o use the AFS code, press FUNC then 2 , “AFS Format” appears for about 2 seconds. Y ou can then enter the AFS code. If you make a mistake, “Invalid ID value?[...]

39 5. T o clear the T alk Group IDs, Press 1 . T o cancel the deletion, press any key except 1 . Sa ving T runking Channels T runking channels are dened using the same procedur e for non- trunking channels. In each bank, you can mix channel modes, including conventional, but you can scan only one trunking mode at a time, either EDACS, Motorola, [...]

40 For Motorola channels, your scanner displays the T alk Group ID memory location, received fr equency , voice channel (VC), and the Motorola ID number . Y our scanner automatically mutes the audio while it decodes control channel data. However , we recommend you turn SQ clockwise and leave it set to a point just after the hiss stops. This lets th[...]

41 Locking Out T alk Group IDs Y ou can only lock out T alk Group IDs when the scanner is in the Closed mode. T o lock out T alk Group IDs: 1. Press PROG then TRUNK . 2. Press FUNC ,  or  to move to the desir ed bank. 3. Press  or  to select the ID. 4. Press L/OUT to lock out the ID. “lo” changes to “LO.” 5. T o remove the locko[...]

42 T o turn off a sub-bank while scanning: 1. When the scanner stops on a transmission, press FUNC . 2. Press TRUNK . The display indicates which sub-bank is turned on or off. The active sub-bank number appears. 3. Press FUNC and the number of the sub-bank you desir e to turn on or off. For example to turn sub-bank 4 on or of f, press FUNC . Then p[...]

43 T ext T ags While scanning, if the scanner stops on a channel with a saved text tag, the text appears on the display . Otherwise, the T alk Group ID appears on the display . Y ou can dene text tags to identify channels, T alk Group IDs, banks or FIPS Codes. T o dene a T ext T ag: 1. T o dene a text tag for a channel: • Pr ess MAN . ?[...]

44 T o enter a number , press 1 , then press the number key . T o enter lowercase character or second-set character for the 0 key , press the number key and then press FUNC . 7 . If you make a mistake, pr ess  or  to move to the character you want to change. 8. Press ENT to save the text. T o display the T alk Group ID: 1. If the scanner disp[...]

45 T roubleshooting I ssue S olution The scanner does not function. Cause: The AC or DC adaptor might not be connected. If using a DC adaptor , the DC adaptor socket might be dirty . Make sure the adaptor’ s barrel plug is fully inserted into the PWR jack. The center tip of the adaptor’ s barrel plug must be set to positive. Unplug the DC adapt[...]

46 I ssue S olution Error message appears when trying to upload or download from a computer . Cause: Y our computer is using Windows XP and does not have the necessary USB cable driver . Download and install the “Windows XP Driver to resolve PC connection error” le fr om your scanner’ s Product Support page or the Software Download page on[...]

47 Initializing the Scanner If the scanner’ s display locks up or does not work properly after you connect a power source or install batteries, you might need to initialize it. Caution: This procedur e clears the scanner’ s memory . Initialize the scanner only after trying all other methods to correct issues. T o initialize the scanner: 1 . T u[...]

48 Scanning Le g ally Y our scanner covers frequencies used by many differ ent groups including police and re departments, ambulance services, government agencies, private companies, amateur radio services, military operations, pager services, and wireline (telephone and telegraph) service providers. It is legal to listen to almost every transmi[...]

49 FCC Notice This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a scanning receiver , pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to pr ovide reasonable pr otection against harmful interference in a r esidential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency ener gy and, if not [...]

50 T alk Group ID – A simultaneous trunking transmission that identies 2-way radio users. This allows trunking systems to allocate a few frequencies to multiple 2-way radio users. Sub-bank – Each bank has an associated T alk Group ID sub-bank. In Closed mode, the scanner only stops if a transmission has a T alk Group ID saved in the associat[...]

51 Ch. Freq. (MHz) Ch. Freq. (MHz) Ch. Freq. (MHz) 13 156.6500 64 156.2250 160.8250 83 157.1750 14 156.7000 65 156.2750 84 157.2250 161.8250 15 156.7500 66 156.3250 85 157.2750 161.8750 16 156.8000 67 156.3750 86 157.3250 161.9250 17 156.8500 68 156.4250 87 157.3750 161.9750 18 156.9000 69 156.4750 88 157.4250 19 156.9500 70 156.5250 20 157.0000 16[...]

52 Ch. Fr eq. (MHz) Ch. Freq. (MHz) Ch. Freq. (MHz) 13 27.1150 27 27.2750 14 27.1250 28 27.2850 Search bank: SR2 FRS/GMRS/MURS band Receive Mode: FM, CT , or DC Ch. Freq. (MHz) Ch. Freq. (MHz) Ch. Freq. (MHz) 01 462.56250 13 467.68750 25 151.94000 02 462.58750 14 467.71250 26 154.57000 03 462.61250 15 462.55000 27 154.60000 04 462.63750 16 462.5750[...]

53 Freq. (MHz) Step (kHz) Freq. (MHz) Step (kHz) 45.940-46.060 10 764.003125-766.996875 3.125 46.080-46.500 10 773.003125-775.996875 3.125 Group 1 794.003125-796.996875 3.125 151.820-151.940 7.5 803.003125-805.996875 3.125 153.770-154.130 7.5 Gr oup 4 154.145-154.445 7.5 851.0125-852.0125 12.5 154.570 852.0375-853.0375 12.5 154.600 853.0625-854.062[...]

54 Group Frequency (MHz) Step (kHz) 0 28.0000-29.7000 5 1 50.0000-54.0000 5 2 144.0000-148.0000 5 3 222.0000-224.9950 5 4 420.0000-450.0000 5 5 902.000-927.9875 12.5 6 1240.0000-1300.0000 6.25 Search bank: SR6 Railr oad Receive mode: FM, CT , or DC Frequency (MHz) Step (kHz) 159.810-161.5650 7.5 Search bank: SR7 Pr ogrammable limit search Receive m[...]

55 DCS Codes: 006 050 125 174 255 343 445 526 703 007 051 131 205 261 346 446 532 712 015 053 132 212 263 351 452 546 723 017 054 134 214 265 356 454 565 731 021 065 141 223 266 364 455 606 732 023 071 143 225 271 365 462 612 734 025 072 145 226 274 371 464 624 743 026 073 152 243 306 411 465 627 754 031 074 155 244 311 412 466 631 032 114 156 245 [...]

56 PubSafety Band Freq. (MHz) Step (kHz) Freq. (MHz) Step (kHz) Group 0 Group 2 33.420-33.980 10 453.0375-453.9625 6.25 37.020-37.420 10 458.0375-458.9625 6.25 39.020-39.980 10 460.0125-460.6375 6.25 42.020-42.940 10 462.5500-462.7250 6.25 44.620-45.860 10 465.0125-465.6375 6.25 45.880 467.5625-467.7125 6.25 45.900 Group 3 45.940-46.060 10 764.0031[...]

57 Appendix E: T alk Group Format Motorola For Motorola T ype I , enter the block number , eet number and subeet number . Fleet No. Subeet No. XXX XX Example: XXX-XX Motorola T ype II talk group IDs ar e 4- or 5-digit numbers, divisible by 16. ED A CS Enter either a four -digit decimal number fr om 0001 to 2047. Agency Fleet Subeet (AFS[...]

58 Appendix F: Specifications Frequency Coverage: 25.000-26.960 MHz .................................................... (in 10 kHz steps/AM) 26.965-27.405 MHz .................................................... (in 10 kHz steps/AM) 27.410-29.505 MHz ...................................................... (in 5 kHz steps/AM) 29.510-29.700 MHz ....[...]

59 216.0025–224.975MHz ........................................................................ 0.5 uV 225-299.975 MHz ................................................................................ 0.5 uV 300-405.975 MHz ................................................................................ 0.8 uV 406–512 MHz .......................[...]

ADDENDUM Cat. No. 20-163 / 20-164 Pr eprogrammed Fr equencies Y our scanner has 155 preprogrammed fr equencies in the ROM. Y ou can load them into Channels 000 to 154. 1. T urn off the scanner and then turn it on again. 2. When Multi-system T runking Scanner appears, press PGM (or PROG ). 3. Press 1 . CH Base Licensee T ext T ag 000 40.5000 ARMY SE[...]

021 151.9550 PURPLE DOT - BUSINESS BAND PURPLE DOT - BB 022 154.0100 FIRE DEP AR TMENTS FIRE DEP AR TMENT 023 154.0700 FIRE DEP AR TMENTS FIRE DEP AR TMENT 024 154.1300 FIRE DEP AR TMENTS FIRE DEP AR TMENT 025 154.1450 FIRE DEP AR TMENTS FIRE DEP AR TMENT 026 154.1600 FIRE DEP AR TMENTS FIRE DEP AR TMENT 027 154.1750 FIRE DEP AR TMENTS FIRE DEP AR [...]

054 155.2800 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY 055 155.2950 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY 056 155.3250 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY 057 155.3400 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY 058 155.3550 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY 059 155.3700 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 060 155.3850 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY 06[...]

080 454.0000 NASCAR TRACK ANNOUNCER NASCAR TRACK 081 460.0250 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 082 460.0500 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 083 460.0750 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 084 460.1000 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 085 460.1250 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 086 460.1500 POLICE DEP AR TMENTS POLICE DEPT . 087 460.1750 [...]

110 460.8500 AIRLINE COMP ANIES A T AIRPORT AIRLINE COMP ANY 111 460.9000 SECURITY ALARM COMP ANIES SECURITY COMP ANY 112 460.9250 SECURITY ALARM COMP ANIES SECURITY COMP ANY 113 460.9500 SECURITY ALARM COMP ANIES SECURITY COMP ANY 114 460.9750 SECURITY ALARM COMP ANIES SECURITY COMP ANY 115 462.5500 GMRS REPEA TER OUTPUT 1 GMRS REPEA TER 1 116 462[...]

138 467.6125 FRS CH 10 FRS CHANNEL 10 139 467.6375 FRS CH 11 FRS CHANNEL 11 140 467.6625 FRS CH 12 FRS CHANNEL 12 141 467.6875 FRS CH 13 FRS CHANNEL 13 142 467.7125 FRS CH 14 FRS CHANNEL 14 143 467.7625 J DOT - BUSINESS BAND J DOT - BB 144 467.8125 K DOT - BUSINESS BAND K DOT - BB 145 467.8500 SIL VER DOT - BUSINESS BAND SIL VER DOT - BB 146 467.87[...]

©2007. RadioShack Corporation. All rights reserved. RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks used by RadioShack Corporation. 20-163 Printed in China GE-07D -3260 10A07 Motorola, Smartnet, ASTRO and Privacy Plus are registered trademarks of Motorola Inc. EDA CS is a registered trademark of M/A-COM Inc. L TR is a registered trademark of EF Johns[...]