RadioShack Pro 2040 Home Scanner Owners Manual

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A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING
Reception of the frequencies cov-
ered by your scanner is mainly “line-
of-sight.” That means you usually
cannot hear stations that are beyond
the horizon. During the summer
months, you might be able to hear
stations in the 30-50 MHz range lo-
cated several hundred or even thou-
sands of miles away. This is because
of summer atmospheric conditions.
This type of reception is unpredict-
able but often very interesting!
GUIDE TO 
FREQUENCIES
National Weather Frequen-
cies...

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Typical Band Usage
Primary Usage
As a general rule, most of the radio activity is concentrated on the following fre-
quencies:
VHF BandHF Band (3.00–30.0 MHz)
10-Meter Amateur Band 29.00–29.70 MHz
High Range 29.70–29.90 MHz
VHF Band (30.00–300.0 MHz)
Low Range 30.00–50.00 MHz
6-Meter Amateur 50.00–54.00 MHz
Aircraft 108.00–136.00 MHz
U.S. Government 138.00–144.00 MHz
2-Meter Amateur 144.00–148.00 MHz
High Range 148.00–174.00 MHz
UHF Band (300.00 MHz–3.0 GHz)
U. S. Government 406.00–420.00 MHz...

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UHF Band
Note: Remote control stations and mobile units operate at 5 MHz higher than
their associated base stations and relay repeater units.
Specified Intervals
Frequencies in different bands are accessible only at specific intervals.
For example:
Note: Your scanner rounds the entered frequency to the nearest valid frequency.
For example, if you try to enter 151.473, the scanner accepts this as 151.475.
Band Allocation
To help decide which frequency ranges to search, use the following listing of the...

34
Abbreviations
AIR  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Aircraft
BIFC  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boise (ID) Interagency Fire Cache
BUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Business
CAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

35
High Frequency (HF) — (3 MHz–30 MHz)
10-Meter Amateur Band — (28.0-29.7 MHz)
29.000–29.700  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  HAM
Very High Frequency (VHF) — (30 MHz-300 MHz)
Low Band — (29.7–50 MHz — in 5 kHz steps)
29.700–29.790  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IND
29.900–30.550  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

36
VHF-Hi Band (148–174 MHz)
148.050–150.345  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CAP, MAR, MIL
150.775–150.790  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MED
150.815–150.965  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOW
150.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

37
170.475 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  PUB
170.4875-173.175 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  GOVT, PUB, Wireless Mikes
173.225–173.375  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MOV, NEWS, UTIL
173.3875–173.5375  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

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Trunked Systems Band — Locally Assigned
861.0125–865.9875  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TSB
Public Safety Band — Locally Assigned
866.0125–868.9875  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  PSB
Common Carrier
869.010–894.000  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

39
TROUBLESHOOTING 
Your Radio Shack PRO-2040 100-Channel Programmable Home Scanner
should require very little maintenance. If you have problems, refer to this chart
for possible solutions. If you cannot solve the problem, contact your local Radio
Shack store for assistance.
Problem Probable Cause Solution
Scanner is totally inoperative. The AC or DC adapter 
is not properly con-
nected.Be sure the adapter is fully 
inserted into the 
DC 12V jack 
and into a working AC or DC 
power source receptacle
The...

40
CARE AND MAINTENANCE 
Your Radio Shack PRO-2040 100-Channel Programmable Home Scanner is an
example of superior design and craftsmanship. The following suggestions will
help you care for your scanner so you can enjoy it for years.
Keep the scanner dry. If it gets wet, wipe it dry immediately. Liq-
uids might contain minerals that can corrode the electronic cir-
cuits.
Handle the scanner gently and carefully. Dropping it can damage
circuit boards and cases and can cause the scanner to work im-...