RadioShack Pro 79 Vhf Uhf Handheld Scanner Reciever Owners Manual

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Note:
 Ni-Cd batteries last longer and deliver more power if you
occasionally let them fully discharge. To do this, simply use the
scanner until 
B appears on the display. Then fully charge the
batteries.
Important:
 This radio can use Ni-Cd recharge-
able batteries. At the end of a Ni-Cd batterys
useful life, it must be recycled or disposed of
properly. Contact your local, county, or state haz-
ardous waste management authorities for infor-
mation on recycling or disposal programs in your
area or call 1-800-843-7422. Some options that might be avail-
able are: municipal curbside collection, drop-off boxes at retail-
ers such as your local RadioShack store, recycling collection
centers, and mail-back programs.
CONNECTING AN ANTENNA
You must install an antenna before you can operate the scan-
ner. You can use the supplied antenna, or you can connect an
external one (not supplied).
Connecting the Supplied Antenna
The supplied flexible antenna helps your scanner receive strong
local signals. Follow these steps to install the antenna.
1. Align the slots around the antenna’s
connector with the tabs on the
antenna jack.
2. Press the antenna down over the jack
and turn the antenna’s base clock-
wise until it locks into place.
1-800-843-7422
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Connecting an Outdoor Antenna
Instead of the supplied antenna, you can connect an outdoor
base-station or mobile antenna (not supplied) to your scanner
using a BNC connector. Your local RadioShack store sells a va-
riety of antennas. Choose the one that best meets your needs.
When deciding on a mobile or base-station antenna and its loca-
tion, consider these points:
• The antenna should be as high as possible on the vehicle or
building.
• The antenna and its cable should be as far as possible from
sources of electrical noise, such as appliances or other
radios.
• The antenna should be vertical for the best performance.
Always use 50 Ohm coaxial cable, such as RG-58 or RG-8, to
connect the base-station or mobile antenna. For lengths over 50
feet, use RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If the antenna
cable’s connector does not fit in the scanner’s antenna jack, you
might also need a PL-259-to-BNC antenna plug adapter. Your
local RadioShack store carries a wide variety of coaxial antenna
cable and connectors.
If you choose another antenna, remove the supplied antenna
and follow the mounting instructions supplied with the new an-
tenna. Route the antenna’s cable to the scanner, then connect
the cable to the scanner’s antenna jack.
Cautions:
• Do not run the cable over sharp edges or moving parts that
might damage it.
• Do not run the cable next to power cables or other antenna
cables.
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Warning: 
Use extreme caution when you install or remove an
outdoor antenna. If the antenna starts to fall, let it go! It could
contact overhead power lines. If the antenna touches a power
line, contact with the antenna, mast, cable, or guy wires can
cause electrocution and death. Call the power company to re-
move the antenna. DO NOT attempt to do so yourself.
CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/
HEADPHONES
For private listening, you can connect an earphone or head-
phones with a 1/8-inch (3.5-mm) plug to the   jack on the top of
the scanner. (Your local RadioShack store carries a wide selec-
tion of earphones and headphones). Connecting an earphone
or headphones automatically disconnects the internal speaker.
Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use
an earphone or headphones.
• Set the volume to the lowest setting before you begin listen-
ing. After you begin listening, adjust the volume to a com-
fortable level.
• Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended
high-volume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss.
• Once you set the volume, do not increase it. Over time, your
ears adapt to the volume level, so a volume level that does
not cause discomfort might still damage your hearing. 
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Traffic Safety
• Do not use an earphone/headphones with your scanner
when operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle in or near
traffic. Doing so can create a traffic hazard and could be ille-
gal in some areas.
• If you use an earphone/headphones with your scanner while
riding a bicycle, be very careful. Do not listen to a continu-
ous transmission. Even though some earphones/head-
phones let you hear some outside sounds when listening at
normal volume levels, they still can present a traffic hazard.
CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER
In a noisy area, an amplified extension speaker (available at
your local RadioShack store) positioned in the right place, might
provide more comfortable listening. 
Plug the speaker cable’s 
1/8-inch (3.5-mm) plug into your scan-
ner’s   jack.
Note: 
Connecting an external speaker disconnects the scan-
ner’s internal speaker.
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER
Once you understand a few simple terms we use in this manual
and familiarize yourself with your scanner’s features, you can
put the scanner to work for you. You simply determine the type
of communications you want to receive, then set the scanner to
scan them.
A frequency
 is the tuning location of a station (expressed in
kHz or MHz). To find active frequencies, you can use the
search
 function. 
You can also search the service-search banks
, which are pre-
set groups of frequencies categorized by type of service.
When you find a frequency, you can store it into a programma-
ble memory location called a channel
, which is grouped with
your other channels in a channel-storage bank
. You can then
scan
 the channel-storage banks to see if there is activity on the
frequencies stored there. Each time the scanner finds an active
frequency, it stays on that channel until the transmission ends.
A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD
Your scanner’s keys might seem confusing at first, but this infor-
mation should help you understand each key’s function.
Note: 
Some of the scanner’s keys perform more than one func-
tion and are marked with more than one label. The steps in this
Owner’s Manual show only the label on the key appropriate to
the action being performed.
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BAND Lets you search the scanner’s preprogrammed
service-search banks.
PRI/ALERT Turns the priority feature on and off; turns the
WX alert mode on and off.
WX Scans the seven preprogrammed weather chan-
nels.
SCANScans any preprogrammed channels.
MAN Stops scanning and lets you directly enter a
channel number.
Number  
Each key has single-digit (0 to 9) and a range 
of
Keys 
 numbers. Use the range of numbers above the key
 (21–40 for example) to select the channel in a
 channel-storage bank. See “Understanding Banks”
on Page 19.
t
/s
Searches up or down for active frequencies or
selects the direction when scanning channels.
L/O RVW / L/O Reviews locked-out frequencies; lets you lock out
selected channels or frequencies.
MON/CL Lets you store a frequency in one of the 20 moni-
tor memories; clears an incorrect entry.
 / LIGHT Locks (and unlocks) the keypad to prevent acci-
dental entries; turns the backlight on and off.
PGM Programs frequencies into channels.
DELAY
/• Programs a 2-second delay for the selected
channel; enters a decimal point.
ENT (enter) Enters frequencies into channels.
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A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY
The display has indicators that show the scanner’s current oper-
ating status. This quick look at the display will help you under-
stand how your scanner operates.
Appears when you lock the keypad.
t
/s
Indicates the search or scan direction.
AIR Indicates that the scanner is searching the air
service bank.
ALErtAppears when the weather alert is on.
-b-Appears during a service bank frequency search.
BAppears when the batteries are low.
BANK Appears with numbers (1–10) to indicate the
scan bank. Bank numbers with a bar under them
show which banks are turned on for scanning
(see “Understanding Banks” on Page 19).
C-Err Appears when the scanner receives a checksum
error during wired programming.
CH Appears with digits (1–200) or P to show which
channel the scanner is tuned to.
Ch-FULL Appears when you try to enter a frequency dur-
ing a search when all channels are full.
-d-Appears during a direct frequency search.
-dUPL- Appears when you try to store a frequency that is
already stored in another channel.
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dEFAULt Appears when you remove all the lock-outs from
the service bank frequencies.
D-Err Appears when the scanner receives a data error
during wired programming.
DLYAppears when you program a 2-second delay.
End Appears when the scanner has finished wired
programming.
ErrorAppears when you make an entry error.
FD/PD Indicates that the scanner is searching the fire/
police service bank.
FLo ALL-CL Appears when you remove all the locked-out fre-
quencies during a service bank or direct search.
FLo-FULL Appears when you try to lock out a frequency
during a search while 50 frequencies are already
locked out.
F L-out Appears when you start a direct search from a
locked-out frequency.
HAM Indicates that the scanner is searching the ama-
teur radio service bank.
L/O (lockout) 
Appears when you manually select a channel
that was previously locked out during scanning or
when you review a locked-out frequency.
L-r Appears when you review the locked-out fre-
quencies.
M Flashes with a number (1–20) to show which
monitor memory you are listening to.
MANAppears when you manually select a channel.
MRN Indicates that the scanner is searching the ma-
rine service bank.
oFF tonEAppears when you turn the key tone off. 
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on tonEAppears when you turn the key tone on. 
P Appears when the scanner is tuned to the priority
channel.
PGM Appears when you program frequencies into the
scanner’s channels.
PRIAppears when the priority feature is turned on.
SCANAppears when the scanner scans channels.
SRCH Appears during service bank and direct frequen-
cy searches.
StArt Appears when the scanner starts wired program-
ming.
WirEdAppears when you set the scanner to its wired
programming mode to program frequencies into
it.
WX Indicates that the scanner is searching the
weather channels.
UNDERSTANDING BANKS
Channel Storage Banks
To make it easier to identify and select the channels you want to
listen to, channels are divided into 10 banks of 20 channels
each. Use each channel-storage bank to group frequencies,
such as those used by the police department, fire department,
ambulance services, or aircraft (see “Guide to the Action Bands”
on Page 42). 
For example, the police department might use four frequencies,
one for each side of town. You could program the police fre-
quencies starting with Channel 1 (the first channel in bank 1)
and program the fire department frequencies starting with Chan-
nel 21 (the first channel in bank 2).
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Service Banks
The scanner is preprogrammed with the frequencies allocated
by fire/police, aircraft, ham radio, and marine services. This is
handy for quickly finding active frequencies instead of searching
through an entire band (see “Searching the Service Banks” on
Page 28).
Note:
 The frequencies in the scanner’s service banks are pre-
set. You cannot change them.
Fire/Police
Group Frequency Range (MHz)Step 
(kHz)
1 33.420–33.980 20
37.020–37.420 20
39.020–39.980 20
42.020–42.940 20
44.620–45.860 40
45.880 –
45.900 –
45.940–46.060 40
46.080–46.500 20
2 153.770–154.130 60
154.145–154.445 15
154.650–154.950 15
155.010–155.370 60
155.415–155.700 15
155.730–156.210 60
158.730–159.210 60
166.250 –
170.150 –
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