RadioShack Pro 91 Handheld Trunking Scanner Owners Manual

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SETTING SQUELCH FOR THE 
TRUNK TRACKING MODE
Your scanner’s squelch setting is automatically adjust-
ed during trunk tracking, which means it is not neces-
sary to manually adjust squelch while tracking trunked
transmissions. However, the squelch setting can affect
how fast your scanner acquires the data channel, and,
in some instances, can prevent your scanner from ac-
quiring 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.
STORING TRUNKED 
FREQUENCIES
Before you set up your scanner to track a trunked sys-
tem, consider the following:
 Valid trunked system frequencies range from
851.0000–868.9875 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. 
						

							42
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.
1. Press 
PROG then TRUNK.TRUNK appears and
one or more 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 one of the trunked
system’s frequencies, then press 
E.TRUNK,
BANK
 and the bank number, the channel number,
and the frequency appear.
Note:
 If you entered an invalid frequency, the
scanner beeps, the channel number flashes and
Error appears. If this happens, press  to clear
the frequency, then repeat this step.
4. Press either 
PROGor s to select the next channel
in the bank.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all frequencies have
been entered in that bank. 
						

							43
6. Press SRC to begin
searching for the trunk’s
data channel (the channel
that controls the trunk).
SEARCH flashes as the
scanner searches for the
data channel.
While the scanner looks through the frequencies,
you see them on the display. When the scanner
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 5 available banks and you are scanning
conventional (non-trunked) frequencies, follow these
steps to begin trunk scanning.
1. Press 
TRUNK. The numbers for all banks flash,
along with 
BANK and TRUNK.
2. Use the number keys to enter the number for the
trunked bank you want to scan, then press 
SRC.
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.
3. To return to conventional scanning, press 
TRUNK
again.
ID 
						

							44
Hint: While scanning, you will not know exactly who
the IDs are assigned to until you listen awhile or until
you locate 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 lis-
tening to is a police, fire, or emergency medical 2-way
radio user. Other IDs might take some time, but deter-
mining 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 and the scanner
stays on the current ID.
2. If you want to listen to a different ID, use the num-
ber keys to enter the ID you want to hold.
3. Press 
HOLD again. HOLD and the channel number
flash and the scanner monitors that ID.
4. When you want to stop the hold and resume
searching for a data channel so you can continue
trunk tracking, press 
SRC.
Note: You can also follow these steps to hold on an ID
while scanning a scan list. See “Scan Lists” on
Page 48.
Temporarily Storing an ID into the Monitor 
ID Memory
1. When your scanner stops on an ID you want to
store, press 
MON/CLEAR. The scanner stores the
ID into the monitor ID memory.
2. Press 
SRC to resume searching.
Note: To program the ID stored in the monitor ID mem-
ory into the ID scan list, see “Scan Lists” on Page 48. 
						

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Locking Out IDs
As with conventional scanning, it is possible to lock out
unwanted traffic. This is particularly important in trunk-
ed systems because signals you cannot listen to (such
as water meters, door alarms, traffic signals, and en-
crypted 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 48.
To lock out an ID, press 
L-OUT when the ID appears.
The ID is locked out, and the next active ID appears.
Unlocking a Single ID
1. Hold down L-OUTuntil you hear two short beeps.
2. Repeatedly press t or s to select the ID you want to
unlock.
3. Press 
L-OUT.
The ID is unlocked, and the next locked ID or
–– ––– (if there are no other locked IDs) appears.
4. Press 
SRC to continue the scanner’s previous func-
tion.
Unlocking All IDs
Hold down L-OUT 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 ap-
pears. Press 
SCAN to scan the IDs stored in your scan
lists or press 
SRC to continue the scanner’s previous
function. For more information about scan lists, see
“Scan Lists” on Page 48. 
						

							46
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 fre-
quency for 5 seconds after the transmission stops be-
fore resuming scanning.
Press 
DELAY 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 50.
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 ac-
tive. To set the scanner to monitor IDs, hold down
MON/CLEARuntil SEARCH and the channel number
flash, and all active talk group IDs appear in quick suc-
cession. To stop monitoring IDs, press 
SRC again.
Note: 
When you monitor IDs, locked-out IDs also ap-
pear. 
						

							47
CHANNEL ACTIVITY BARS
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 cor-
responding activity bar. However, since there are only
20 bars, but you can store up to 30 frequencies, some
bars might indicate more than one frequency if the
trunked system you are scanning has more than 20
channels.
 The bar that remains on steadily even when there
are no current transmissions represents the fre-
quency being used as the data channel.
 The bar that flashes when an ID appears repre-
sents the frequency being used by the radio to
transmit what you are currently hearing.
 If a bar turns on but you do not hear a conversa-
tion, the channel is probably being used for a tele-
phone interconnect call or a private call, or the bar
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 bars turn on and off as
other groups use the system.
 BANK               2   
						

							48
SCAN LISTS
When you program trunked frequencies into a bank
(see “Storing Trunked Frequencies” on Page 41), your
scanner sets up 5 scan lists into which you can store
your favorite IDs. Each list can contain up to 10 IDs, so
you can store a total of 50 IDs for each trunk tracking
bank (250 IDs if you use all banks as trunking banks!).
Scan lists help you organize trunking system users into
categories. For example, you might use List 1 for police
IDs, List 2 for fire department IDs, List 3 for emergency
medical service IDs, and so on. Once IDs are stored in
lists, you can scan them like you scan conventional
channels. You can program IDs into scan lists manual-
ly, during a search, or automatically.
Manually Storing IDs into Scan Lists
1. Select the trunking bank you want (see “Scanning
a Trunked Bank” on Page 43).
2. After the scanner begins trunk tracking, press
MAN. A number showing the current scan list
appears steadily at the top of the display, and bars
which show activity in other banks appear.
3. Press 
MAN then repeatedly press s or t to select
the ID scan list location (shown at the top of the
display) where you want to store an ID. Then,
press 
PROG to select the ID you want to store.
4. Enter the Type II ID you want to store, then press
E.
ID Scan List 
						

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Or, to enter a Type I ID:
a. Use the number keys to enter the block number
and fleet number, then press 
.
b. Enter the subfleet number, then press 
E.
Note: 
To clear a mistake while entering an ID,
press 
0then E, then start over at Step 1.
5. Repeatedly press 
PROGor s to select the next
scan list location you want to program. Then repeat
Step 4 to enter another ID.
Moving IDs to Scan Lists
1. Press MAN.MAN appears.
2. Select the ID scan list location where you want to
store the IDs. Then press 
PROG.PGM appears.
3. Press 
MON/CLEAR. A monitor ID appears.
4. Press 
E. The scanner stores the IDs into the
selected ID scan lists.
Deleting a Stored ID
1. Press PROG.PGM appears.
2. Repeatedly press s or t to select the scan list loca-
tion (shown at the top of the display) you want to
delete.
3. Press 
0 then E. 
						

							50
SCANNING THE SCAN LISTS
Press SCAN to begin scanning the lists you have
stored. 
Note:
 If you have not stored any IDs, 
SCAN scrolls on
the display, but your scanner does not stop on an ac-
tive conversation.
To remove a scan list from active scanning, use the
number keys to enter the scan list’s number. The scan
list number turns off, and the IDs in that list are not
scanned. 
Note: 
One scan list must always be active. You cannot
remove all of the scan lists.
To restore a scan list to active scanning, use the num-
ber keys to enter its number again.
Press 
SRCto return to the scanner’s previous function. 
SCANNING TYPE I AND HYBRID 
TRUNKED SYSTEMS
Your PRO-91 is set to scan Type II user IDs by default.
When you scan trunked frequencies, each Type II user
ID you see appears as an even number without a dash
(such as 2160). Your PRO-91 can also scan Type I
trunked systems. Each Type I ID appears as a three- or
four-digit number, followed by a hyphen, followed by a
one- or two-digit number (such as 200-14). If you no-
tice a mix of odd- and even-user IDs (such as 6477,
2160, 6481, 6144, and 1167), then you are probably
monitoring either a Type I or hybrid (a combination of
Type I and Type II user IDs) system (see “Types of
Trunking Systems” on Page 39).
You might also notice that you are missing responses
when you hold on an active ID. Unlike Type II systems,
Type I and hybrid systems require a fleet map that sets
specific fleet-subfleet parameters. It is easy to select a
fleet map to scan; what is not always easy is selecting
or programming a map that is being used in your partic-
ular area.