RadioShack Pro 2052 Vhf Uhf Scanner Reciever Owners Manual

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• If you tune to a search skip fre-
quency, 
L/O appears. See “Lock-
ing Out Channels and Fre-
quencies” on Page 23.
• To skip data signals (such as
modem signals), press 
DATA. See
“Skipping Data Signals” on
Page 25.
SCANNING THE STORED 
CHANNELS
To begin scanning channels, press
SCAN. The scanner scans through all
non-locked channels in all banks that
are turned on, then stops on the first
transmission it finds. When the trans-
mission ends, the scanner resumes
scanning.
Notes:
 
• Channels with no frequencies are
automatically locked out during
scanning.
• To scan in the trunking mode, see
“Scanning a Trunked Bank” on
Page 33.
MANUALLY SELECTING 
A CHANNEL
You can continuously monitor a single
channel without scanning. This is use-
ful if you hear an emergency broad-
cast on a channel and do not want to
miss any details — even though theremight be periods of silence — or if you
want to monitor a specific channel.
Follow these steps to manually select
a channel.
1. Press 
MANUAL.
2. Enter the channel number.
3. Press 
MANUAL again.
Or, if your scanner is scanning and
stops at the desired channel, press
MANUAL one time. (Pressing MANUAL
additional times causes your scanner
to step through the channels.)
To resume scanning, press 
SCAN.
DELETING A 
FREQUENCY FROM A 
CHANNEL
1. Press MANUAL.
2. Use the number keys to enter the
channel number containing the
frequency you want to delete.
Then press 
MANUAL again.
3. Press 
0 then E. The frequency is
deleted.
PRIORITY
The priority feature lets you scan
through channels and still not miss im-
portant or interesting calls on specific
channels. You can program one
stored channel in each bank as a pri-
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ority channel (for up to a total of 10
stored channels). As the scanner
scans the bank, if the priority feature is
turned on, the scanner checks the pri-
ority channel for activity every 2 sec-
onds.
Changing Priority Channels
The scanner automatically desig-
nates each banks first channel as its
priority channel. Follow these steps to
select a different channel as the priori-
ty channel for a bank.
1. Press 
MANUAL.
2. Enter the channel number you
want to select as the priority chan-
nel, then press 
MANUAL again.
3. Hold down 
PRIORITY until the
scanner beeps twice.   appears
to the right of the channel number.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the
channel in each bank you want to
program as a priority channel.
To turn on the priority feature, press
PRIORITY during scanning. PRI ap-
pears. As you scan the bank, the
scanner checks the bank’s prioritychannel every 2 seconds in each bank
that is turned on, starting from the low-
est to the highest-numbered priority
channel.
To turn off the priority feature, press
PRIORITY.
 PRI disappears.
Note: 
The priority feature must be
turned off to use the data skip feature
(see “Skipping Data Signals” on
Page 25).
Locking Out Priority 
Channels
You can lock out priority channels. If
you lock out all priority channels, 
CH Loc Out appears when you turn
on the priority feature.
P
P
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SPECIAL FEATURES
DELAY
Many agencies use a two-way radio
system that might have a period of 2
or more seconds between a transmis-
sion and a reply. To keep from miss-
ing a reply, you can program a 2-
second delay into any channel or fre-
quency. The scanner continues to
monitor the frequency for 2 seconds
after the transmission stops before re-
suming scanning or searching.
To program a 2-second delay:
• If the scanner is scanning chan-
nel-storage banks and stops on
an active channel where you want
to store a delay, quickly press
DELAY before scanning resumes.
DELAY appears.
• If the desired channel is not
selected, manually select the
channel, then press 
DELAY.
DELAY appears.
• If the scanner is searching, press
DELAY. DELAY appears and the
scanner automatically adds a 2-
second delay to every transmis-
sion it stops on in that band or
limit range.
To turn off the 2-second delay, press
DELAY while the scanner is monitoring
the channel or searching service
banks or limit ranges. 
DELAY disap-
pears.
TURNING CHANNEL-
STORAGE BANKS ON 
AND OFF
You can turn each channel-storage
bank on and off. When you turn off a
bank, the scanner does not scan any
of the 50 channels in that bank.
For banks 1–10, while scanning press
the number key that corresponds to
the bank you want to turn on or off.
For banks 11–20, press SHIFT
, then
press the number key that corre-
sponds to the bank you want to turn
on or off.
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 is always active.
LOCKING OUT 
CHANNELS AND 
FREQUENCIES
You can scan existing channels or
search frequencies faster by locking
out channels or frequencies that have
a continuous transmission, such as a
weather channel.
Note:
 If you just want to skip over a
lengthy transmission (such as a mo-
dem signal), see “Skipping Data Sig-
nals” on Page 25.
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Locking Out Channels
To lock out a channel while scanning,
press 
L/O when the scanner stops on
the channel. To lock out a channel
manually, select the channel and
press 
L/O until L/O appears.
Note:
 You can still manually select
locked-out channels.
To remove the lockout from a channel,
select the channel and press 
L/O until
L/O disappears.
To remove the lockout from all chan-
nels in the channel-storage banks that
are turned on, press 
MANUAL to stop
scanning, then hold down 
L/O until the
scanner beeps twice.
Locking Out Frequencies
To lock out a frequency during a limit
search or service bank search, press
L/O when the scanner stops on the
frequency. The scanner locks out the
frequency, then continues searching.
To lock out a frequency manually, se-
lect the frequency and press 
L/O until
L/O appears.Notes:
• The scanner does not display
locked-out frequencies during a
search.
•
L/O appears when you select a
locked-out frequency.
• You can lock out up to 50 frequen-
cies during a limit search and 20
during a service bank search. If
you try to lock out more frequen-
cies, the first locked-out frequency
is automatically unlocked.
To remove the lockout from a fre-
quency, select the frequency then
press 
L/O. L/O disappears.
To remove the lockout from all fre-
quencies, while searching, press
HOLD then hold down L/O until the
scanner beeps twice.
TURNING THE KEY TONE 
ON AND OFF
The scanner is preset to sound a tone
each time you press a key. To turn off
the key tone, turn off the scanner.
Then, while holding down 
L/O/SKIP,
turn on the scanner. 
OFF bEEP briefly
appears. To turn the key tone back on,
repeat this procedure. 
on bEEP brief-
ly appears.
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CHANGING SEARCH 
SPEEDS
The PRO-2052 has two search
speeds for a limit search.
To switch between the normal and Hy-
perSearch speeds during a limit
search, press 
SPEED. SEARCH flash-
es during HyperSearch.
Note: 
You can use HyperSearch only
in the 5 kHz step bands (29–54 MHz,
137–174 MHz, and 216–224.995
MHz). 
SKIPPING DATA 
SIGNALS
You can set the scanner so it skips
nonmodulated or data signals (such
as modem transmissions) during a
scan or search.
Note:
 Since data signals are not gen-
erally found in the air and VHF TV
bands, this feature does not work in
those bands.To turn on the data skip feature, be
sure the priority feature is turned off
(see “Priority” on Page 21), then press
DATA. DATA appears. To turn off the
feature, press 
DATA again. DATA dis-
appears.
USING NWR-SAME AND 
WEATHER ALERT
Traditional weather radios simply re-
ceive the NOAA (National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration) wea-
ther broadcast (usually within a 50-
mile radius), then sound an alarm if
any emergency code was transmitted
along with the broadcast. This means
that people who live outside an affect-
ed area are often alerted even when
their area is not affected, causing
many of them to ignore potentially real
weather warnings that can save lives.
In 1994, NOAA began broadcasting
coded signals called FIPS (Federal In-
formation Processing System) codes
along with their standard weather
broadcasts from stations in your area.
These codes identify the type of emer-
gency and the specific geographic
area (such as a county) affected by
the emergency. Your scanner re-
ceives, interprets, and displays infor-
mation about the codes so you can
determine if the emergency might
affect your area. Only SAME-
compatible radios (such as this
scanner) are able to take advantage
of this new technology.
Normal Search HyperSearch
100 steps/
second300 steps/
second
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Each FIPS code identifies a specific
geographic area (defined by the Na-
tional Weather Service), so your scan-
ner sounds an alert only when a
weather emergency is declared in that
area. This helps you more efficiently
track the weather conditions in and
around your area.
When a Weather Alert Occurs
When the scanner receives a weather
alert:
• it sounds a series of beeps
• an indicator appears
The scanner also receives other
weather-related signals such as test
events (
TSt appears) and other
events (
--- appears)
Warning:
 The NWS (National Weath-
er Service) uses sophisticated weath-
er models to determine an alert’s
effective time. However, the end of an
alert does not necessarily mean that
the related weather emergency is
over.
Note:
 Once the scanner receives the
SAME code, it retains the information
in the scanner’s memory. This infor-
mation stays in memory even if you
change modes, but is erased when
you turn the scanner off.
Understanding FIPS Codes
For the purpose of broadcasting
weather information, the NWS has di-
vided the United States into regions
by state and county (or parish, where
applicable) then assigned a 6-digit
FIPS code to identify each county or
parish. For example, the code for Tar-
rant County, Texas, is 048439.
The first
digit in a
FIPS code
identifies
the county
subdivi-
sion, the
next two
digits identify the state, and the last
three digits identify the county or par-
ish.
Note:
 Most FIPS codes begin with 0,
which means the code represents an
entire county. The NWS, however,
plans to eventually subdivide some
large counties. When that happens,
each subdivision will be assigned a
digit from 1–9, resulting in codes such
as 148439, 248439, and so on.
Your scanner can receive all SAME
alert signals broadcast within about a
50-mile radius of where you installed
it. To receive SAME alerts and broad-
casts about weather occurring only in
particular counties within that area,
you can program up to fifteen FIPS
codes into the scanner’s memory (see
“Entering Your Area’s FIPS Code(s)”
048439
State
County SubdivisionCounty/
Parish
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on Page 28). For example, this lets
you avoid hearing an alert that applies
to an area within a 50-mile radius but
not necessarily to your county or par-
ish.
Note:
 If you do not program any FIPS
location codes into the scanner’s first
memory (F1), the scanner sounds an
alert if it receives a weather alert with
any
 FIPS code.
Obtaining Your Area’s
FIPS Code(s)
To obtain the FIPS code for the loca-
tion where you installed your scanner,
contact your local RadioShack store
or call the NWS toll free at 1-888-
NWR-SAME 
(1-888-697-7263). If you
call the NWS, follow the instructions
you hear.
Note:
 If you are close to a county or
parish line, you might want to obtain
the codes for the nearby counties or
parishes.
Hint:
 Since you can program up to fif-
teen FIPS codes into the scanner’s
memory, you might want to obtain the
code for other local areas that you fre-
quently travel through (as long as
these areas are within a 50 mile radius
of your location and within an area
covered by your local NWS broadcast
station). That way, you can program
those codes into the scanner and re-
ceive broadcasts covering those loca-
tions, too.
Turning on the SAME and 
Weather Alert
1. Repeatedly press SVC 
until 
appears above 
WX.
2. Press 
ALERT. ALERT appears
and the scanner is set to receive a
SAME-coded signal. The scan-
ner’s audio is muted until it
receives the signal.
When the scanner receives a SAME-
coded signal, it sounds a series of
beeps, 
ALERT flashes, and L3 (if the
broadcast is a statement), 
L2 (if the
broadcast is a watch), or 
L1 (if the
broadcast is a warning) appears. After
that, the scanner automatically tunes
to the weather channel where the
code was broadcast and you hear the
weather broadcast.
To stop the alert, press any key on the
scanner. The alert sound stops and
you hear the weather broadcast.
Warning: 
If severe weather threatens,
do not wait for an alert tone; turn on
the weather broadcast and monitor
the weather information.
To detect a SAME-coded signal on a
specific weather channel, press 
HOLD
during weather search to stop on a
specific channel, press s
 or t
 to se-
lect the desired weather channel, then
press 
ALERT. ALERT appears.
When the scanner detects a SAME-
coded signal broadcast on the weath-
er channel you selected, it sounds a
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series of beeps and L3 (if the broad-
cast is a statement), 
L2 (if the broad-
cast is a watch), or 
L1 (if the
broadcast is a warning) appears.
Once the scanner receives a SAME-
coded signal, it retains the information
in its memory. This information stays
in memory even if you change modes,
but is erased when you turn off the
scanner. You can switch to weather
search mode to check the alert level.
Entering Your Area’s FIPS 
Code(s)
1. Turn on the SAME alert function
(see “Turning on the SAME and
Weather Alert” on Page 27).
2. Hold down 
E until F1 appears.
3. Enter the FIPS code using the
number keys, then press E
.
4. To enter another FIPS code, press
s
 or t
, then repeat Steps 2 and
3.
Note:
 To clear a FIPS code you
entered in Step 3 (while the code
appears on the display), press 
0
then E.
5. When you finish, press 
SVC.
Note:
 If you do not program any FIPS
location codes into the scanner’s first
memory (F1), the scanner sounds an
alert if it receives a weather alert with
any
 FIPS code.
TESTING WEATHER 
ALERT RECEPTION
For your scanner to effectively warn
you about weather alert signals, you
must place it where it can receive an
emergency alert broadcast and where
you can hear its alert tone.
In the United States, the NWS broad-
casts a test alert every week on
Wednesday between 11 AM and 1
PM. To find out the specific test
schedule in your area, contact your lo-
cal NOAA or NWS office. These offic-
es are usually listed in the telephone
book under “US Government, Depart-
ment of Commerce.”
Important:
 The fact that you get clear
reception of a weather broadcast sig-
nal does 
not guarantee that an emer-
gency alert broadcast will trigger your
scanner’s alert function. 
Note:
 The NWS might not broadcast
the test alert if there is bad weather in
any surrounding area.
Testing the Alert Beep
1. If necessary, repeatedly press
SVC 
until appears above WX.
2. If necessary, press 
ALERT so
ALERT is not on the display.
3. Hold down 
ALERT for about 3 sec-
onds. The scanner sounds a loud
series of beeps.
4. Press any key to stop the alert.
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Testing NWR-SAME Code 
Detection
1. Turn on the SAME alert function
(see “Turning on the SAME and
Weather Alert” on Page 27).
2. Hold down 
ALERT for about 3 sec-
onds. The selected frequency
number and 
TESt alternate on
the display. Then, when the scan-
ner receives a test code, 
TSt
appears.
3. Press 
ALERT to exit the test
mode.
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TRUNK SCANNING
Your scanner is designed to track
transmissions on Motorola Type I,
Type II, GE/Ericsson EDACS, and hy-
brid analog trunking systems. Re-
member these important points when
tracking transmissions:
• Your scanner monitors Type II
systems by default. However, you
can change this if the system in
your area is different (see “Types
of Trunking Systems” on this page
and “Scanning Type I and Hybrid
Trunked Systems” on Page 40 for
more information).
• Your scanner tracks a trunked
system 
or scans frequencies in
conventional mode, but it cannot
do both at the same time.
• The frequencies for many of the
800 MHz public safety systems
are listed in the separate “National
Public Safety Trunked System
Frequency & Talk Group Guide”
included with this scanner.
TYPES OF TRUNKING 
SYSTEMS
Your trunk scanning scanner can
monitor three basic types of systems
— 
Type I, Type II, and EDACS. In-
stead of selecting a specific frequency
to transmit on, a trunked system
chooses one of several frequencies in
a 2-way radio user’s talk group when
that user presses PTT (push to talk).
Thus, trunking systems allocate a few
frequencies among many different us-
ers, but the way Type I and Type II
systems do this is slightly different. 
One important distinction between
these systems is the amount of data
transmitted by each radio when its
PTT button is pressed. In a Type I
system, the radio’s talk group ID and
its current affiliation (the trunk system
it belongs to) are both transmitted. In a
Type II system, only the radio’s talk
group ID is transmitted. 
Why the difference? In Type I sys-
tems, each radio in the trunk group in-
dividually transmits its own affiliation,
while the trunk system maintains a da-
tabase that determines each radios
affiliation(s) in Type II systems. 
Another difference between the sys-
tems is that Type I systems are ar-
ranged in a fleet-subfleet hierarchy.
For example, it is possible for a city
using a Type I system to designate
four fleets, each with eight subfleets. 
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