RadioShack Pro 28 Programmable Scanner Reciever Owners Manual

							Cat. No. 20-508
OWNER’S MANUAL
PRO-28
30 Channel
Direct Entry Programmable Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
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ã 1997 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Radio Shack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
FEATURES
Your new Radio Shack PRO-28 30 Channel Direct Entry Programmable
Scanner lets you in on all the action! This scanner gives you direct ac-
cess to more than 20,000 frequencies that include the police depart-
ment, fire department, ambulance, amateur radio, and transportation
services. You can select up to 30 channels for your scanner to scan and
you can change your selection at any time. 
The secret to your scanner’s ability to scan so many frequencies is its
custom-designed microprocessor — a tiny, built-in computer. Your
scanner also has these special features: 
8-Digit Liquid Crystal Display 
— shows channel and frequency num-
bers as well as mode and status indicators.
30 Programmable Channels
 — let you store frequencies into the scan-
ner’s memory.
Band Search 
— lets you search the frequency bands for active fre-
quencies, and direct the search upward or downward through the
bands. 
Direct Search 
— lets you search from the current frequency.
Lockout Function
 — lets you set your scanner to skip over specified
channels while scanning.
Search Skip
 — lets you select up to 20 frequencies for the scanner to
skip during a band or direct search to avoid unwanted frequencies.
Monitor Memory
 — lets you temporarily store a frequency you locate
during a frequency search, which you can then transfer into a channel.
Two-Second Scan Delay
 — lets you delay scanning for 2 seconds be-
fore moving to another channel, so you can hear more replies. 
Weather Band Key
 — scans seven preprogrammed weather frequen-
cies so you can hear about current weather conditions.
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Keylock — prevents you from accidentally changing the scanner’s pro-
gramming.
Memory Backup — keeps the channel frequencies stored in memory
for up to 1 hour during a power loss. 
Low Battery Alarm — lets you know when the batteries get low. 
Three Power Sources — let you power the scanner from internal bat-
teries, a standard AC outlet (using an optional AC adapter), or a vehi-
cle’s battery (using an optional DC adapter). 
Ni-Cd Battery Charging Circuit — lets you recharge nickel-cadmium
batteries while they are inside the battery compartment. 
BNC Connector — lets you connect the supplied flexible antenna or an
optional outdoor antenna. 
Audio Output Jack — lets you connect optional earphones or head-
phones so you can listen privately, or external speakers so you can lis-
ten in a noisy area. 
Your scanner can receive all of these bands:
• 29–54 MHz (VHF Low and 6-Meter Ham Band)
• 137–144 MHz (Government)
• 144–148 MHz (2-Meter Ham Band)
• 148–174 MHz (VHF High) 
• 406–450 MHz (Ham radio and government)
• 450–470 MHz (UHF Standard)
• 470–512 MHz (UHF “T” Band) 
In addition, your scanner is preprogrammed with the following weather
service channels:
• 162.400 MHz
• 162.425 MHz
• 162.450 MHz
• 162.475 MHz
• 162.500 MHz
• 162.525 MHz
• 162.550 MHz
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This owner’s manual also includes the section “A Guide to the Action
Bands,” which lets you target services in your area by giving you fre-
quency ranges to search. You can then store any of these frequencies
into memory for easy scanning.
For your records, we recommend you record your scanner’s serial num-
ber in the space provided. The serial number is on the scanner’s back
panel.
Serial Number _____________ 
FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might cause radio or TV interference even when it is op-
erating properly. To determine whether your scanner is causing the in-
terference, turn off your scanner. If the interference goes away, your
scanner is causing it. Try the following methods to eliminate the interfer-
ence:
• Move your scanner away from the receiver 
• Connect your scanner to an outlet that is on a different electrical
circuit from the receiver 
• Contact your local Radio Shack store for help 
If you cannot eliminate the interference, the FCC requires that you stop
using your scanner.
Note:
 Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires a permit in some
areas. Check the laws in your area.
This device complies with Part 15 of 
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to
the following conditions:
• This device must not cause harmful interference. 
• This device must accept any interference that may cause undes-
ired operation.
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SCANNING LEGALLY
Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different groups includ-
ing police and fire departments, ambulance services, government agen-
cies, private companies, amateur radio services, military operations,
pager services, and wireline (telephone and telegraph) service provid-
ers. It is legal to listen to almost every transmission your scanner can
receive. However, there are some transmissions you should never in-
tentionally listen to. These include:
• Telephone conversations (either cellular, cordless, or other private
means of telephone signal transmission)
• Pager transmissions
• Any scrambled or encrypted transmissions
According to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), you
are subject to fines and possible imprisonment for intentionally listening
to, using, or divulging the contents of such a transmission unless you
have the consent of a party to the conversation (unless such activity is
otherwise illegal). 
Radio Shack encourages responsible, legal scanner use.
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CONTENTS
Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Power Sources  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Using Internal Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Important Information about the External Power Jacks  . . . . . . . . 9
Using Standard AC Power  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Using Vehicle Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting the Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting an Optional Antenna  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Listening Safely  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Traffic Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Connecting an Extension Speaker  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Attaching the Belt Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Understanding Your Scanner  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A Look at the Keypad  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A Look at the Display  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Turning on the Scanner and Setting Squelch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Storing Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Searching For and Storing Active Frequencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Band Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Direct Search  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Search Skip Memory  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Listening to the Monitor Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Moving a Frequency from the Monitor Memory to a Channel . . . 25
Scanning the Stored Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using the 2-Second Delay  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Locking Out Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Manually Selecting a Channel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Listening to the Weather Band  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Using the Keylock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
 A General Guide to Scanning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Guide to Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
National Weather Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Birdie Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Guide to the Action Bands  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Typical Band Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Primary Usage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Specified Intervals  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Band Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Avoiding Image Frequencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Frequency Conversion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Resetting the Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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PREPARATION
POWER SOURCES
You can power your scanner from any of three sources: 
• Internal batteries (not supplied) 
• Standard AC power (using an optional AC adapter) 
• Vehicle battery power (using an optional DC adapter) 
USING INTERNAL BATTERIES
You can power your scanner with four AA batteries. For the longest op-
eration and best performance, we recommend alkaline batteries (such
as Cat. No. 23-552). Or, you can use rechargeable nickel-cadmium bat-
teries (Cat. No. 23-125). 
Warning:
 The scanner has a built-in circuit that lets you recharge
nickel-cadmium batteries inside the battery compartment. However, you
must never use this circuit when you have installed non-rechargeable
batteries in the scanner. Be sure to read “Important Information about
the External Power Jacks” and “Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries.”
Follow these steps to install or replace batteries. 
1. If the scanner is on, turn 
VOLUME/OFF counterclockwise until it
clicks to turn it off. 
2. Press the tab on the battery compartment cover, and lift off the
cover.
3. Remove any old batteries from the compartment and cover. 
Caution:
 Always dispose of old non-rechargeable batteries
promptly and properly. Do not bury or burn them.
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4. Install two batteries in the compartment and two in the cover as
indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside.
Cautions: 
• Never mix rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries, or
rechargeable batteries of different capacities.
• Use only fresh batteries of the required size and type. Always
remove old or weak batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals that
destroy electronic circuits.
5. Replace the cover. 
If 
B flashes on the display and the scanner beeps every 15 seconds, im-
mediately replace or recharge all four batteries. 
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE 
EXTERNAL POWER JACKS
The scanner has two external power jacks — POWER and CHARGE. It
is important that you understand the purpose of each jack before you
connect any adapter to the scanner.
POWER
CHARGE
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The POWER jack powers the scanner and disconnects the internal bat-
teries. You can use this jack to connect an external power source (AC
adapter or DC power cord) regardless of the type of batteries you install. 
The 
CHARGE jack supplies power to operate the scanner and also
charges
 the internal batteries. Use the CHARGE jack only when you in-
stall rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries.
Warning:
 Never use the 
CHARGE jack with non-rechargeable batteries.
If you try to recharge non-rechargeable batteries, they become very hot
and could explode.
USING STANDARD AC POWER
To power the scanner from AC power, you need an AC adapter such as
Cat. No. 273-1652 (not supplied). 
Warning:
 Do not use an AC adapter’s polarized plug with an extension
cord, receptacle, or other outlet unless the blades can be fully inserted
to prevent blade exposure.
Cautions: 
• You must use an AC adapter that supplies 12 volts and delivers at
least 200 milliamps. Its center tip must be set to positive, and its
plug must correctly fit the scanner’s 
POWER and CHARGE jacks.
The recommended adapter meets these specifications. Using an
adapter that does not meet these specifications could damage the
scanner or the adapter.
• Be sure you connect the AC adapter to the scanner before you
connect it to a standard AC outlet. Then disconnect the adapter
from the AC outlet before you disconnect it from the scanner.
Note: 
The scanner receives a 12-volt input at the 
CHARGE or POWER
jack and reduces it to the 6 volts required by the scanner.
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