RadioShack Pro 70 Portable Scanner Reciever Owners Manual

							OWNER’S MANUAL
PRO-70
50-Channel Portable Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
Cat. No. 20-310
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INTRODUCTION
Your new RadioShack PRO-70 50-Channel Portable
Scanner lets you in on all the action. This scanner gives
you direct access to over 22,000 exciting frequencies, in-
cluding police and fire departments, ambulance services,
and amateur radio services. You can select up to 50 chan-
nels to scan, and you can change your selection at any
time.
The secret to your scanner’s ability to scan so many fre-
quencies is its custom-designed microprocessor — a tiny,
built-in computer. Your scanner also has these special
features:
Ten Preprogrammed Search Bands
 — let you search
for transmissions within preset frequency ranges, so you
can find interesting frequencies more quickly.
Ten Preprogrammed Weather Frequencies
 — keep
you informed about current weather conditions.
Two-Second Automatic Scan Delay
 — delays scanning
for 2 seconds before moving to another channel, so you
can hear more replies.
50 Channels
 — let you store up to 50 of your favorite fre-
quencies for easy recall and scanning.
Monitor Memory
 — lets you temporarily save an active
frequency you locate during a direct search, until you de-
cide whether or not you want to save it into a channel.
Memory Backup
 — keeps the channel frequencies
stored in memory for about 1 hour during a power loss.
© 1997 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
U.S. Patent No’s. 3,794,925: 3,801,914: 3,961,261: 3,962,644:
4,027,251: 4,092,594: 4,123,715: 4,245,348.
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Channel Lockout — keeps channels you select from be-
ing scanned.
Key Lock — lets you lock the scanner’s keys to help pre-
vent accidentally changing the scanner’s programming.
Flexible Antenna with BNC Connector — provides ex-
cellent reception and is designed to help prevent antenna
breakage.
Liquid Crystal Display — makes it easy to view and
change programming information.
Display Backlight — makes the scanner easy to read in
low light situations.
Three Power Options — let you power the scanner from
internal batteries (non-rechargeable batteries or a re-
chargeable scanner battery pack) or external AC or DC
power (using optional adapters).
We recommend you record your scanner’s serial number
here. This number is on the scanner’s back panel.
Serial Number: 
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Your PRO-70 scanner contains the following prepro-
grammed frequencies (divided into search bands). See
“Using Band Search” on Page 25.
In addition, your scanner is preprogrammed with the fol-
lowing weather service frequencies:BandFrequency 
Search 
Range
(in MHz)Description
0 29-30 10-Meter Amateur Radio
1 30-50 VHF Low
2 50-54 6-Meter Amateur Radio
3 137-144 Aircraft/Air Shows,
Government
4 144-148 2-Meter Amateur Radio
5 148-174 VHF Hi
6 380-420 U.S. Government
7 420-450 70-Centimeter Amateur Radio
8 450-470 UHF Low
9 470-512 UHF “T” Band
161.650 161.775 162.400 162.425
162.525 162.450 162.475
162.500 162.550 163.275
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This owner’s manual also includes the section “A General
Guide to Scanning,” which helps you target frequency
ranges in your service area so you can search for a wide
variety of broadcasts.
FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might cause TV or radio interference even
when it is operating properly. To determine whether your
scanner is causing the interference, turn off your scanner.
If the interference goes away, your scanner is causing
the interference. Try the following methods to eliminate
the interference.
• Move your scanner away from the TV or radio
• Connect your scanner to an outlet that is on a differ-
ent electrical circuit from the TV or radio
• Contact your local RadioShack store for help
If you cannot eliminate the interference, the FCC requires
that you stop using your scanner.
This device complies with Part 15 of the 
FCC Rules. Op-
eration is subject to the following conditions: (1) This de-
vice must not cause harmful interference, and (2) This
device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
Note:
 Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires a
permit in some areas. Check the laws in your area.
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SCANNING LEGALLY
Scanning is a fun and interesting hobby. You can hear
police and fire departments, ambulance services, govern-
ment agencies, private companies, amateur radio servic-
es, aircraft, and military operations. It is legal to listen to
almost every transmission your scanner can receive.
However, there are some electronic and wire communi-
cations that are illegal to intentionally intercept. These in-
clude:
• Telephone conversations (cellular, cordless, or other
private means of telephone signal transmission)
• Pager transmissions
• Scrambled or encrypted transmissions
According to the 
Federal Electronic Communications Pri-
vacy Act
 (ECPA), as amended, you could be fined and
possibly imprisoned for intentionally listening to, using, or
disclosing the contents of such a transmission unless you
have the consent of a party to the communication (unless
such activity is otherwise illegal). These laws change from
time to time and there might be state or local laws that also
affect legal scanner usage.
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CONTENTS
Preparation  ..................................................................  9
Power Sources  ......................................................  9
Using Batteries  ...............................................  9
Using Standard AC Power  ............................  11
Using Vehicle Battery Power  ........................  12
Charging a Rechargeable Battery Pack  .......  13
Connecting the Antenna  ......................................  14
Connecting an Optional Antenna  ..................  15
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones ................  16
 Listening Safely  ...........................................  16
Traffic Safety .................................................  16
Connecting an Extension Speaker  ......................  17
Using the Belt Clip  ...............................................  17
Understanding the PRO-70  ......................................  18
A Look at the Keypad  ..........................................  18
A Look at the Display  ...........................................  19
Operation  ...................................................................  21
Turning On the Scanner and Setting SQUELCH  .  21
Searching For and Storing Active Frequencies  ...  22
Active Frequency References  ......................  22
Storing Frequencies  .....................................  23
Using Band Search .......................................  25
Using Direct Search ......................................  27
Using the Monitor Memory  ...................................  28
Listening to the Monitor Memory  ..................  28
Moving a Frequency from the Monitor
Memory to a Channel  ...................................  28
Scanning the Stored Channels  ............................  29
Monitoring a Stored Channel  ...............................  30
Clearing a Stored Channel  ..................................  31
Special Features  .......................................................  32
Using the Keylock  ................................................  32
Locking Out Channels  .........................................  32
Using a 2-Second Delay  ......................................  33
Using the Display Backlight  .................................  34
Listening to a Weather Band  ...............................  34
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A General Scanning Guide  ......................................  36
Guide to Frequencies  ..........................................  36
National Weather Frequencies  .....................  36
Ham Radio Frequencies ...............................  36
Birdie Frequencies  .......................................  37
Guide to the Action Bands  ...................................  37
United States Broadcast Bands  ...................  37
Typical Band Usage  .....................................  38
Primary Usage ..............................................  38
Specified Intervals  ........................................  39
Band Allocation  ....................................................  40
Avoiding Image Frequencies  ...............................  45
Frequency Conversion  ........................................  46
Troubleshooting ........................................................  47
Resetting/Initializing the Scanner  ........................  49
Resetting the Scanner  ..................................  49
Initializing the Scanner  .................................  50
Care and Maintenance  ..............................................  51
Specifications  ...........................................................  52
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PREPARATION
POWER SOURCES
You can power your scanner from any of three sources:
• Internal batteries or a rechargeable scanner battery
pack (not supplied — see “Using Batteries”)
• Standard AC power (with an optional AC adapter —
see “Using Standard AC Power” on Page 11)
• Vehicle battery power (with an optional DC adapter
— see “Using Vehicle Battery Power” on Page 12)
Notes:
• Connecting an AC or DC adapter to the scanner dis-
connects any internal batteries, but it does not dis-
connect a rechargeable battery pack. If you install a
rechargeable battery pack, you can operate the
scanner and recharge the battery pack at the same
time. See “Using Batteries” and “Charging a
Rechargeable Battery Pack” on Page 13.
• If the scanner stops working properly after connect-
ing it to power, try resetting it. See “Resetting/Initial-
izing the Scanner” on Page 49.
Using Batteries
You can power your scanner from six AA batteries. For the
longest operation and best performance, we recommend
alkaline batteries, such as RadioShack Cat. No. 23-552.
You can also power the scanner from a rechargeable
scanner battery pack, such as Cat. No. 23-288.
Note:
 You can also use six rechargeable nickel-cadmium
batteries (such as Cat. No. 23-125) to power the scanner.
To charge or recharge nickel-cadmium batteries, howev-
er, you must remove them from the scanner and use an
external charger (such as Cat. No. 23-134).
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Follow these steps to install batteries or a battery pack.
1. Press down on the battery compartment cover on the
bottom of the scanner and slide the cover in the
direction of the arrow to remove it.
2. Pull up and slide the battery holder or battery pack
out of the battery compartment.
3. If you are installing individual batteries, insert six bat-
teries in the battery holder as indicated by the polar-
ity symbols (+ and –) marked on the battery holder.
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