RadioShack Pro 2045 Weather Alert Home Scanner Owners Manual

Cat. No. 20-418
OWNER’S MANUAL
PRO-2045
200-Channel Weather Alert Home Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
20-418.fm  Page 1  Wednesday, August 4, 1999  12:42 PM 

2
FEATURES
Your RadioShack PRO-2045 200-
Channel Weather Alert Home Scan-
ner lets you in on all the action! This
scanner gives you direct access to
over 49,500 exciting frequencies used
by police and fire departments, ambu-
lance and transportation services, am-
ateur radio, as well as aircraft
communications, Citizen’s Band, and
commercial FM and television broad-
casts.
You can select up to 200 channels for
your scanner to scan, and you can
change your selections at any time. Its
rotary tuning control...

3
Direct Search — lets you search for
transmissions starting from a frequen-
cy you specify.
Count Feature — lets you keep track
of how many times your scanner has
stopped on a channel.
Search Skip — lets you select up to
50 frequencies for the scanner to skip
during a search, so you can avoid fre-
quencies you have already discovered
or that have a continuous transmis-
sion.
Two-Second Scan Delay — delays
scanning for 2 seconds before moving
to another channel, so you can hear
more replies.
Data Skip —...

4
Your scanner can receive all of these
bands:
FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might cause radio or TV
interference even when it is operating
properly. To determine if your scanner
is causing the interference, turn off
your scanner. If the interference goes
away, your scanner was causing it.
Try to eliminate the interference by:
• Moving your scanner away from
the receiver 
• Connecting your scanner to an
outlet that is on a different electri-
cal circuit from the receiver 
• Contacting a RadioShack store for...

5
CONTENTS
Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Connecting Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Using Standard AC Power  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Using Vehicle Battery Power   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Connecting an Antenna   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

6
Special Features   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Delay  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Priority  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Changing Search Speeds  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
Using the Programmable Attenuator  . . . ....

7
PREPARATION
CONNECTING POWER
You can power your scanner from a
standard AC outlet using the supplied
AC adapter or from your vehicle’s bat-
tery using an optional DC power cord.
If a power failure occurs or if the pow-
er cord is disconnected, the scanner’s
memory backup circuit keeps informa-
tion in memory for up to 3 days.
Note: The memory backup circuit be-
gins to protect memory within a few
minutes after you plug in the scanner.
Using Standard AC Power
Warning: Do not use the AC adapter
with an...

8
• If you use your scanner in your
vehicle with the engine running,
you might hear electrical noise
from the scanner. This is normal.
Note: Mobile use of this scanner is
unlawful or requires a permit in some
areas. Check the laws in your area.
Follow these steps to use vehicle bat-
tery power.
1. Insert the DC power cord’s barrel
plug into the scanner’s 
DC 12V
jack.
2. Plug the DC power cord’s ciga-
rette-lighter plug into your vehi-
cle’s cigarette-lighter socket.
CONNECTING AN 
ANTENNA
You can...

9
Note: Always use 50-ohm coaxial ca-
ble to connect an outdoor antenna to
your scanner. For lengths under 50
feet, use RG-58 or RG-8/M coaxial ca-
ble. For lengths over 50 feet, use RG-
8, low-loss coaxial cable. If the coaxial
cable’s connector does not fit the 
ANT
jack, you might also need an adapter.
Your local RadioShack store sells a
complete line of outdoor antennas,
adapters, BNC connectors, and
mounting hardware.
For the best performance, consider
the following when deciding on an out-
door...

10
TESTING ALERT 
OPERATION
For your scanner’s weather alert func-
tion to be effective, you must place the
scanner:
• Where it can receive an emer-
gency alert broadcast (see “Test-
ing Alert Reception” on this page)
• Where you can hear its alert tone
(See “Testing the Weather Alert”
on Page 11).
Once you determine a location that
meets these two conditions, leave the
scanner there for the best protection.
Testing Alert Reception
The fact that you get clear voice re-
ception or that the tone sounds...