RadioShack Pro 63 Portable Event Scanner Reciever Owners Manual

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• Never mix rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries,
or rechargeable batteries of different capacities.
5. Insert six batteries in the battery holder as indicated by the
polarity symbols (+ and 
–) marked on the battery holder and
inside the battery compartment.
6. Replace the battery holder in the battery compartment.
Caution: The battery holder fits only one way inside the bat-
tery compartment. Do not force it.
7. Replace the battery compartment cover.
If 
BATT flashes on the display and the scanner beeps, immedi-
ately replace all six non-rechargeable batteries, or recharge all six
rechargeable batteries. See “Important Information About the
PWR and CHG Jacks” and “Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries”
on Page 12.
Important: This product is capable of using rechargeable nickel-
cadmium batteries. At the end of the batteries’ useful life, they
must be recycled or disposed of properly. Contact your local,
county, or state hazardous waste management authorities for in-
formation on recycling or disposal programs in your area. Some
options that might be available are: municipal curb-side collection,
drop-off boxes at retailers, recycling collection centers, and mail-
back programs.
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Important Information About the PWR and CHG 
Jacks
There are two external jacks on the left side of the scanner — PWR
and CHG. It is important that you understand the purpose of each
jack before you connect any adapter to the scanner.
The 
PWR jack powers the scanner and disconnects the internal
batteries. You can use this jack with either an AC adapter or DC
cigarette lighter adapter, regardless of the type of batteries you in-
stalled.
The 
CHG jack powers the scanner and also charges the internal
batteries. The 
CHG jack is covered by a plastic plug. Use the CHG
jack only when rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries are in-
stalled.
Warning:
 Never use the 
CHG jack with non-rechargeable batter-
ies installed. If you try to recharge non-rechargeable batteries,
they become very hot and could explode.
Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries
The scanner has a built-in charging circuit that lets you recharge
nickel-cadmium batteries while they are in the scanner. To charge
the batteries, simply connect an AC or DC adapter to the scan-
ner’s 
CHG jack (see “Connecting Optional Power Sources” on
Page 33).
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Warning: Do not connect either adapter to the scanner’s CHG jack
if you installed non-rechargeable batteries (standard, extra-life, or
alkaline). Non-rechargeable batteries become hot and can ex-
plode if you try to recharge them.
It takes about 10 to 18 hours to recharge batteries that are fully
discharged. You can operate the scanner while recharging nickel-
cadmium batteries, but the charging time is lengthened.
Cautions:
• Do not overcharge nickel-cadmium batteries.
• To prevent damaging nickel-cadmium batteries, never
charge them in an area where the temperature is above
90
°F or below 40°F.
Note: Nickel-cadmium batteries last longer and deliver more pow-
er if you occasionally let them fully discharge. To do this, simply
use the scanner until 
BATT flashes on the scanner’s display and
the scanner beeps. Then fully charge the batteries.
RESETTING THE SCANNER
If the scanner’s display locks up or does not work properly after
you connect a power source, you might need to reset the scanner.
Caution: This procedure clears all the information you pro-
grammed into the scanner. Use this procedure only when you are
sure your scanner is not working properly.
1. If the scanner is on, turn 
VOLUME OFF/MAX counterclockwise
until it clicks to turn it off.
2. While you press and hold down the 
BAND/• and 0 keys, turn
on the scanner.
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3. After 2 seconds, release BAND/• and 0.
USING THE BELT CLIP
You can use the belt clip attached to the back of the scanner for
hands-free carrying when you are on the go. Simply slide the belt
clip over your belt or waistband.
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER 
A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD
A quick look at the scanner’s keys will help you understand the
scanner’s functions.
Number Keys 
— each key has a single digit on it and a range of
numbers printed above it. The single digits refer to the number of
a channel or a frequency. The range of numbers (80-89, for exam-
ple) shows the channels that make up a channel storage bank. In
addition, the keypad has different functions in the manual and
scan modes.
M.SCAN 
— scans through the channels you have stored.
M.BANK 
— scans a channel storage bank you select.
BAND/
• 
— selects a preprogrammed search band or enters the
decimal point when programming frequencies.
MANUAL 
— stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel
number or frequency.
DELAY 
— turns the delay function on or off.
PRI 
— turns the priority channel function on or off.
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WX — scans through the 10 preprogrammed weather channels.
LIGHT — a quick press turns on the display’s backlight for 5 sec-
onds, or turns off the backlight if it is on.
SEARCH 
/   — starts searching for active frequencies so you
can find ones you want to store, or selects the search direction
when you scan channels or manually step through them.
SKIP — selects channels to skip during scanning.
ATT — turns attenuation on to reduce the scanner’s sensitivity, or
turns it off to increase it.
 — locks/unlocks the keypad (except LIGHT) to prevent acci-
dental entries.
LOCK — locks the stored channels to prevent accidental chang-
es.
ENTER —enters frequencies into channels.
A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY
A quick look at the display should help you understand what the
scanner can do.
 — appears when you lock the keypad.
M.BANK — appears with numbers (0-9) to show when the scan-
ner scans through a selected channel storage bank. A bar under
the number shows that the bank is selected.
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M.SCAN — appears with numbers (0-9) to show which channel-
storage banks are turned on for scanning. A bar under the number
shows that the channel-storage bank is selected. See “Bands and
Banks” on Page 18.
BATT 
— flashes when the batteries are low.
CH 
— appears with a number (00-99) to show which of the 100
channels the scanner is tuned to.
P 
— appears when the scanner is tuned to the priority channel.
888.8888 — digits in the middle of the display show which fre-
quency the scanner is tuned to.
WX — appears when you scan or search the 10 preprogrammed
weather channels.
 and   — indicate the search or scan direction.
SRCH — appears during a frequency search.
SKIP — appears when you manually select a channel you
skipped while scanning.
MAN — appears when you manually select a channel.
PRI — appears when the priority feature is selected.
DLY — appears when you turn on the scanner’s 2-second delay
feature.
AT T  — appears when you turn on the scanner’s attenuate fea-
ture.
L — appears beside the channel number when you lock the chan-
nel.
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BANDS AND BANKS 
SEARCH BANDS
Your scanner can tune over 24,000 different frequencies. Each of
these frequencies is contained within a group of frequencies
called a band. The scanner uses permanent memory locations
called search bands (0-9) to group these bands. You can search
these bands to quickly find active frequencies you might want to
store into the scanner’s channels (see “Channel-Storage Banks”
on Page 19).
The scanner has the following search bands.
For example, if you wanted to search for transmissions between
pilots and the control tower at an air show, you could search only
the search bands where you are most likely to hear the transmis-
sions (2, 3, and 6).Search BandSearch Range 
(MHz)
029
–50
150
–54
2 108
–137
3 137
–144
4 144
–148
5 148
–174
6 380
–420
7 420
–450
8 450
–470
9 470
–512
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Notes: 
• The frequencies in the scanner’s search bands are preset.
You cannot change them.
• “Band Allocation” on Page 42 lists frequency ranges and the
broadcasters you are likely to hear on those frequencies.
• Although the scanner displays 
108-137 when you select
search band 2, it receives frequencies of 108 to 136.975
MHz in the search band.
CHANNEL-STORAGE BANKS
You can store up to 100 frequencies into memory locations within
the scanner called channels. You can store one frequency in each
of the 100 channels.
To make it easier to identify and select the frequencies you want
to listen to, the scanner’s channels are divided into 10 channel-
storage banks (0
–9). Each channel-storage bank contains ten
channels.
You can use each channel-storage bank to group frequencies of
the same type, such as those used by racing teams, aircraft and
the control tower, the police department, and ambulance services
(see “A General Guide to Scanning” on Page 39).
For example, you might want to listen to communications between
the driver of Car 26 and his pit crew at a stock car race. Addition-
ally, there might be other broadcasters at the race you want to lis-
ten to, such as the medical center, pace car, and crowd security.
To make it easier to remember where you stored the driver’s fre-
quency, you could program the frequency into Channel 26 (the
same number as his car), then program frequencies for the other
broadcasters in the same bank (starting with Channel 20).
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BASIC OPERATION 
TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND 
SETTING SQUELCH
Note: 
Make sure the scanner’s antenna is connected before you
turn it on.
1. Turn 
SQUELCH MIN/MAX fully counterclockwise.
2. Turn 
VOLUME OFF/MAX clockwise until it clicks and you hear
a hissing sound.
3. Turn 
SQUELCH MIN/MAX clockwise, then leave it set to a
point just after the hissing sound stops.
The scanner automatically starts scanning channels. Press 
MAN-
UAL
 to stop scanning.
Note:
 If you have not stored frequencies into any channels (see
“Searching For and Storing Active Frequencies” on Page 21), the
scanner does not scan. 
OFFMAXMIN MAX VOLUME
SQUELCH
OFFMAXMIN MAX VOLUME
SQUELCH
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