RadioShack Pro 90 TrunkTracker Scanner Owners Manual
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11 When you finish using the DC cigarette-lighter power ca- ble, disconnect it from the cigarette-lighter socket, then disconnect it from your scanner. Note: If the scanner does not operate properly when you connect a DC cigarette-lighter power cable, unplug the power cable from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and other debris. CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible anten- na to the connector on the top of your scanner. 1. Align the slots around the antenna’s connector with the tabs on the scanner’s BNC connector. 2. Slide the antenna’s connector down over the scan- ner’s connector and rotate the antenna connector’s outer ring clockwise until it locks into place. 20-520.fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
12 Connecting an Optional Antenna The scanner’s antenna jack makes it easy to use the scanner with a variety of antennas. Instead of the sup- plied antenna, you can attach a different one, such as an external mobile antenna or outdoor base station anten- na. Your local RadioShack store sells a variety of anten- nas. Always use 50-ohm coaxial cable, such as RG-58 or RG-8, to connect an outdoor antenna. For lengths over 50 feet, use RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If your antenna’s cable does not have a BNC connector, use a BNC adapter available at your local RadioShack store. Follow the installation instructions supplied with the an- tenna, route the antenna cable to the scanner, then con- nect it to the antenna jack. Warning: Use extreme caution when installing or re- moving an outdoor antenna. If the antenna starts to fall, let it go! It could contact overhead power lines. If the an- tenna touches a power line, contact with the antenna, mast, cable or guy wires can cause electrocution and death! Call the power company to remove the antenna. Do not attempt to do so yourself. Cautions : • Do not run the cable over sharp edges or moving parts. • Do not run the cable next to power cables or other antenna cables. • Do not run the cable through a vehicle’s engine compartment or other areas that produce extreme heat. • Follow all cautions and warnings included with the antenna. 20-520.fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
13 CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/ HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone or head- phones with a 1/8-inch mini-plug (such as Cat. No. 33- 175 or 20-210) into the jack on top of your scanner. This automatically disconnects the internal speaker. Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use an earphone or headphones. • Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended high-volume listening can lead to perma- nent hearing loss. • Set the volume to the lowest setting before you begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust the volume to a comfortable level. • Once you set the volume, do not increase it. Over time, your ears adapt to the volume level, so a vol- ume level that does not cause discomfort might still damage your hearing. 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 illegal in some areas. If you use an earphone/headphones with your scanner, be very careful. Do not listen to a continuous broadcast. Even though some earphones/headphones let you hear some outside sounds when listening at normal volume levels, they still can present a traffic hazard. 20-520.fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
14 CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an extension speaker (such as Cat. No. 21-549), positioned in the right place, might provide more comfortable listening. Plug the speaker cable’s 1/8- inch mini-plug into your scanner’s jack. ATTACHING THE BELT CLIP You can attach the supplied belt clip to make your scan- ner easier to carry when you are on the go. Use a Phil- lips screwdriver and the two supplied screws to attach the belt clip to the scanner. Then slide the belt clip over your belt or waistband. Belt Clip 20-520.fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
15 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 find the communications you want to receive, then set the scanner to scan them. A frequency is the tuning location of a station (ex- pressed in kHz or MHz). To find active frequencies, you can use the search function. You can also search the service-search banks, which are preset groups of frequencies categorized by type of service. When you find a frequency, you can store it into a program- mable 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 information should help you understand each key’s function. 20-520.fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
16 SCAN — scans through the stored channels. MANUAL — stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel number or frequency. TRUNK — switches between conventional and trunk tracking modes. SVC (service) — selects a service bank. SPEED/PRI (speed/priority) — turns on and off the Hyper- search mode; sets and turns on and off the priority fea- ture. LOCK/ — locks the keypad to prevent accidental pro- gram changes. Also turns on the display light for 15 sec- onds. Number Keys — each key has a single-digit label and a range of numbers. The single digits are used to enter a channel, frequency, or ID number. The range of num- bers (31–60, for example) indicates the channels that make up a memory bank. • — enters a decimal point or clears an incorrect entry. E (enter) — enters frequencies into channels. t /LIMIT — sets the search direction and holds the frequen- cy search; sets the frequency range. DLY (delay) — programs a 2-second delay for the selected channel, a limit search, or each service scan. Also pro- grams a 5–second delay in the trunk tracking mode. SRCH — searches a specified frequency range to find fre- quencies; searches for another active ID in the trunk tracking mode. L/O (lock out) — lets you lock out selected channels or fre- quencies; lets you lock out a selected ID in the trunk tracking mode. s /HOLD — sets the search direction and holds the fre- quency search; holds on the current ID in the trunk track- ing mode. DATA — turns on or off the data signal skip feature or checks the current trunking bank in the trunk tracking mode. 20-520.fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
17 A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY The display has indicators that show the scanner’s cur- rent operating status. A good look at the display will help you understand how your scanner operates. BANK — appears with numbers (1–10). Numbers with a bar under them show which channel-storage banks are turned on for scanning. TRUNK — appears when the scanner is in the trunk tracking mode. (channel activity indicators) — each represents a re- ceived trunking frequency or a data frequency in the trunk tracking mode (see “Channel Activity Indicators” on Page 40). P — appears when a priority channel is selected. — blinks when the scanner’s battery is low. DATA — appears when the data skip function is active. POLICE — appears when you search the police service bank. FIRE/EMG — appears when you search the fire/emer- gency service bank. AIR — appears when you search the air service bank. MRN — appears when you search the marine service bank. WX — appears when you search the weather service bank. SCAN — appears when you scan channels. 20-520.fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
18 SRCH — lights steadily during a limit search and ID search, and blinks while HyperSearch is active and when you monitor IDs (see “Monitoring IDs” on Page 39). PRI — appears when the priority feature is turned on. HOLD — appears when you manually select a channel or when the scanner is in the hold mode during a search or service bank scan or during a limit search. DLY — appears when you program a delay. L/O — appears when you manually select a channel or frequency you locked out. — appears when you lock the keypad. Error — appears when you make an entry error. 20-520.fm Page 18 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
19 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 30 channels each. Use each channel-storage bank to group frequencies, such as the police department, fire department, ambulance services, or aircraft (see “Guide to the Action Bands” on Page 52). For example, the po- lice department might use four frequencies, one for each side of town. You could program the police frequencies starting with Channel 1 (the first channel in bank 1) and program the fire department frequencies starting with Channel 31 (the first channel in bank 2). Service Banks The scanner is preprogrammed with the frequencies al- located by police, fire/emergency, aircraft, marine, and weather services. This is handy for quickly finding active frequencies instead of searching through an entire band (see “Scanning Service Banks” on Page 23). UNDERSTANDING TRUNKING In the past, groups that broadcast frequently, such as po- lice departments, were restricted to transmitting on just a few frequencies. This resulted in heavy traffic and often required 2-way radio users to wait for a specific frequen- cy to clear before transmitting. Trunked systems allow more groups of 2-way radio users to use fewer frequencies. Instead of selecting a specific frequency to transmit on, a trunked system chooses one of several frequencies when the 2-way radio user presses PTT (push to talk). The system automatically transmits the call on that frequency, and also sends a code that identifies that 2-way radio user’s transmission on a data channel. This scanner lets you select the data channel frequency that you want it to monitor, so you can hear both the call and response transmissions for that 2-way radio user and therefore follow the conversation. (You cannot listen to the data channel itself). 20-520.fm Page 19 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
20 OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH Note: Make sure the scanners antenna is connected before you turn it on. 1. Turn SQUELCH fully clockwise. 2. Turn VOLUME/OFF clockwise until it clicks and you hear a hissing sound. 3. Press MANUAL and turn SQUELCH counterclockwise, then leave it set to a point just after the hissing sound stops. 20-520.fm Page 20 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM