RadioShack Pro 90 TrunkTracker Scanner Owners Manual

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To switch between normal and HyperSearch speeds,
during a limit search, press 
SPEED/PRI. SRCH flashes dur-
ing hypersearch.
Note: 
You can use HyperSearch only in the 5 kHz step
bands (29–54 MHz and 137–174 MHz).
BATTERY SAVE
To save battery power when a channel is manually se-
lected, the scanner’s battery save function automatically
sets the scanner to a standby mode if the scanner does
not receive any signals for more than 1 minute. During
the standby mode, the scanner repeatedly turns off the
internal power for 1 second then turns on the internal
power for about 
1/3 of a second to check for a transmis-
sion.
Note: 
The scanner’s battery save function does not work
if the priority function is on, even if a channel is manually
selected.
SKIPPING DATA SIGNALS
You can set the scanner so it skips nonmodulated or
data signals (such as modem transmissions) during a
search.
Note:
 Since data signals are not generally found in the
air band, this feature does not work in the air band.
To turn on the data skip feature, be sure the priority fea-
ture is turned off (see “Priority” on Page 28), then press
DATA. DATA appears. To turn off the feature, press DATA
again. DATA disappears.
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TRUNK TRACKING
Your scanner is designed to track transmissions on Mo-
torola Type I, Type II, and hybrid analog trunking sys-
tems, which are extensively used in 800 MHz
communications. Remember these important points
when tracking transmissions:
• Your scanner monitors Type II systems by default.
However, you can change this if the system in your
area is different (see “Types of Trunking Systems”
below and “Scanning Type I and Hybrid Trunked
Systems” on Page 44 for more information).
• Your scanner cannot track transmissions on non-
Motorola trunking systems.
• Your scanner cannot track an 800 MHz trunked sys-
tem and scan frequencies in conventional mode at
the same time.
• The frequencies for many of the 800 MHz public
safety systems are listed in the separate “National
Public Safety Trunked System Frequency Guide”
included with your PRO-90.
TYPES OF TRUNKING SYSTEMS
Your trunk tracking scanner can monitor two basic types
of systems — 
Type I and Type II. Instead of selecting a
specific frequency to transmit on, a trunked system
chooses one of several frequencies in a 2-way radio us-
er’s talk group when that user presses PTT (push to talk).
Thus, trunking systems allocate a few frequencies
among many different users, but the way Type I and
Type II systems do this is slightly different. One important
distinction between these systems is the amount of data
transmitted by each radio when its push-to-talk button
(PTT) is pressed. In a Type I system, the radio’s ID and
its current affiliation (the trunk system it belongs to) are
both transmitted. In a Type II system, only the radio’s ID
is transmitted. 
Why the difference? In Type I systems, each radio in the
trunk group individually transmits its own affiliation, while
the trunk system maintains a database that determines
each radios affiliation(s) in Type II systems. 
Another difference between the systems is that Type I
systems are arranged in a fleet-subfleet hierarchy. For
example, it is possible for a city using a Type I system to
designate 4 fleets, each with 8 subfleets. 
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The fleets might be the police department, the fire de-
partment, utilities, and city administration. The police
might decide to further divide its fleet into subfleets such
as dispatch, tactical operations, detectives, north, south,
east and west side patrols, and supervisors. All the avail-
able police radios would then be assigned to one of the
police subfleets, letting the police centralize their com-
munications and control the type of users on a single
system. Determining the exact fleet-subfleet hierarchy
for a particular area is referred to as fleet map program-
ming.
The disadvantage of a Type I system is that the brief
burst of data sent when a user transmits must contain
the radio’s ID and its fleet and subfleet. This is three
times the amount of data a Type II system radio sends.
Since the data capacity of Type I systems is limited and
the amount of data increases with each user, Type I sys-
tems usually accommodate fewer users than Type II
systems. Nevertheless, Type I systems are still in use.
There are also 
hybrid systems which are a combination
of both Type I and Type II. Your scanner defaults to
monitor Type II systems, but you can change to Type I or
a hybrid of Type I and Type II systems by selecting a
preprogrammed fleet map or creating a custom fleet
map for your area (see “Scanning Type I and Hybrid
Trunked Systems” on Page 44).
You do not need to determine the fleet-subfleet hierar-
chy for Type II systems unless you are tracking hybrid
systems that contain both Type I and Type II systems.
SETTING THE SCANNER TO THE 
TRUNK TRACKING MODE
Repeatedly press TRUNK to switch between the scan-
ner’s conventional and trunk tracking modes.
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SETTING SQUELCH FOR THE 
TRUNK TRACKING MODE
Your scanner’s squelch setting is automatically adjusted
in the trunking mode, which means it is not necessary to
manually adjust squelch while tracking trunked transmis-
sions. However, the squelch setting can affect how fast
your scanner acquires the data channel, and, in some in-
stances, can prevent your scanner from acquiring the
data channel at all.
We recommend you set 
SQUELCH to this position before
selecting a trunked bank.
Note:
 You can change this setting, if necessary, to pro-
vide better performance in your area.
PROGRAMMING TRUNKED 
FREQUENCIES
Before you program your scanner to track a trunked sys-
tem, consider the following:
• Valid trunked system frequencies range from
851.0125–868.9875 in 12.5 kHz steps.
• You can use any of your scanner’s banks as either a
trunk tracking bank or conventional scanning bank,
but you cannot mix the two. 
• The scanner only scans one trunked system at a
time. Although you can store frequencies for more
than one trunked system in one of your scanner’s
banks, the scanner only scans the frequencies
associated with the first data channel it finds.
Before scanning a trunked system’s transmissions, you
must store the trunked system’s frequencies in one of
the banks in your scanner by following these steps.
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1. Hold down TRUNK until the scanner beeps twice.
BANK, TRUNK, and the bank numbers flash.
2. Select the bank you want to store the trunked sys-
tem’s frequencies in by pressing a number key. The
scanner automatically selects the first channel in the
bank when you select the bank.
3. Use the number keys to enter the trunked system’s
frequencies, then press 
E.
Note:
 If you entered an invalid frequency in Step 3,
the scanner beeps, the channel number flashes and
Error appears. If this happens, press • to clear
the frequency, then repeat Step 3.
4. Press either 
MANUAL or s to select the next channel
in the bank.
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5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all frequencies have
been entered.
6. Press 
SRCH to begin searching
for the trunk’s data channel (the
channel that controls the trunk).
SRCH flashes as the scanner
searches for the data channel.
While 
the scanner looks through
the frequencies, you see them
on the display. When the scan-
ner finds the data channel, it
begins trunk tracking.
SCANNING A TRUNKED BANK
You can scan one trunked bank at a time. Once you
have stored frequencies for a trunked system in one or
more of the 10 available banks and you are scanning
non-trunked frequencies, follow these steps to begin
trunk scanning.
1. Press 
TRUNK. The indicators for all banks flash.
2. Use the number keys to enter the number for the
trunked bank you want to scan, then press 
SRCH.
The scanner searches for a data channel. When the
scanner finds it, it begins trunk tracking. 
If you entered all of the trunk’s frequencies, you
should be able to follow conversations between
broadcasters even when they change frequen-
cies. IDs, which represent different service
groups, appear.
ID
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Note: To review the bank currently in use, press
DATA while in the trunk tracking mode. The bar for
the selected bank flashes at the top of the display
for about 5 seconds.
3. To return to non-trunked scanning, press 
TRUNK
again.
Hint: While scanning, you will not know exactly who the
IDs are assigned to until you listen awhile or until you lo-
cate ID lists in frequency guides or on internet sites such
as 
www.trunkscanner.com. Within a few minutes, you
can usually figure out if what you are listening to is a po-
lice, fire, or emergency medical 2-way radio user. Other
IDs might take some time, but determining who each ID
represents is half the fun of trunk tracking!
Monitoring an Active ID
When the scanner stops on a transmission, you can hold
the scanner on that transmission. 
1. Press 
HOLD. HOLD appears, the scanner stays on
the current ID, and the channel number changes.
2. If you want to listen to a different ID, use the number
keys to enter the ID you want to hold.
3. Press 
HOLD again. HOLD flashes and the scanner
monitors that ID.
4. When you want to stop the hold and resume search-
ing for a data channel so you can continue trunk
tracking, press 
SRCH.
Note: You can also follow these steps to hold on an ID
while scanning a scan list. See “Scan Lists” on Page 41.
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Locking Out IDs
As with conventional scanning, it is possible to lock out
unwanted traffic. This is particularly important in trunked
systems because signals you cannot listen to (such as
water meters, door alarms, traffic signals, and encrypted
signals) are assigned IDs just like other users. You can
have up to 100 IDs locked out at one time.
Note: 
If you lock out an ID while searching, it is also
locked out of the scan list(s). See “Scan Lists” on
Page 41.
To lock out an ID, press 
L/ O when the ID appears.
The ID is locked out, and the next active ID appears.
Unlocking a Single ID
1. Hold down L/O until you hear two short beeps.
2. Repeatedly press t or s to select the ID you want to
unlock.
3. Press 
L/O.
The ID is unlocked and the next locked ID or 
–
– –––
 (if there are no other locked IDs) appears.
4. Press 
SRCH to continue the scanner’s previous func-
tion.
Unlocking All IDs
Hold down L/O until you hear two short beeps. Then
press 
E to unlock all the IDs at once.­ The scanner beeps
twice.
Note:
 When you unlock all the IDs, the scan list mode
appears. Press 
SCAN to scan the IDs stored in your scan
lists or press 
SRCH to continue the scanner’s previous
function. For more information about scan lists, see
“Scan Lists” on Page 41.
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Using Trunk Tracking Scan Delay
Many trunked systems have a period of 2 or more sec-
onds between a query and a reply. You can program a
5-second delay to hold on an ID for 5 seconds to wait for
a reply. The scanner continues to monitor the frequency
for 5 seconds after the transmission stops before resum-
ing scanning.
Press 
DLY to turn trunk tracking scan delay on or off.
DLY appears when trunk tracking scan delay is set.
Note:
 If you consistently miss responses even with trunk
tracking scan delay set, you might need to change the
default system type or the fleet map you are using. See
“Scanning Type I and Hybrid Trunked Systems” on
Page 44.
Monitoring IDs
You can use your scanner’s display to monitor the fre-
quencies in a trunked system for activity. You cannot
hear conversations in this mode, but this is an excellent
way to determine which talk groups are the most active.
To set the scanner to monitor IDs, hold down 
SRCH until
the scanner beeps twice. 
SRCH flashes, and all active
talk group IDs appear in succession. To stop monitoring
IDs, press 
SRCH again.
Note: 
When you monitor IDs, locked-out IDs also ap-
pear.
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CHANNEL ACTIVITY INDICATORS
Your scanner has 20 channel activity indicators (bars)
which show the activity taking place on a trunked sys-
tem. You can see how many frequencies are being used
and generally monitor how much communication traffic
is occurring.
Each frequency you store in a trunking bank has a corre-
sponding activity indicator. However, since there are
only 20 indicators, but you can store up to 30 frequen-
cies, some indicators might indicate more than one fre-
quency if the trunked system you are scanning has more
than 20 channels.
• The indicator that remains on steadily even when
there are no current transmissions represents the
frequency being used as the data channel.
• The indicator that flashes when an ID appears rep-
resents the frequency being used by the radio you
are currently hearing.
• If an indicator turns on but you do not hear a conver-
sation, the channel is probably being used for a tele-
phone interconnect call or a private call, or the
indicator might be a locked-out ID. Your scanner
does not monitor these types of calls.
• If the scanner is holding on an ID which is not
active, the other activity indicators turn on and off as
other groups use the system.
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