RadioShack Pro 92 Handheld Trunking Scanner Owners Manual

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LTR (E. F. Johnson) Mode
This sets the scanner to decode the talk group ID’s used
with an LTR system. This is a trunking system used pri-
marily by business or private communications service
providers, such as taxi cabs, delivery trucks, and repair
services. LTR systems encode all trunking information as
digital subaudible data that accompanies each transmis-
sion. Users on an LTR system are assigned to specific
talk groups, which are identified by the radio as a six-digit
number. The number is in the form:
AHHUUU
Where:
A = Area code (0 or 1)
H = Home repeater (01 through 20)
U = User ID (000 through 254)
When the scanner receives a transmission on a channel
set to the LTR mode, it first decodes the LTR data includ-
ed with the transmission. In the Open mode, the scanner
stops on the transmission and displays the talk group ID
on the bottom line of the display. In the Closed mode, the
scanner only stops on the transmission if the LTR data
matches a talk group ID that you have stored in the
bank’s talk group ID list and have not locked out.
LTR systems are frequently programmed so that each ra-
dio has a unique ID code.
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Motorola Mode
This sets the scanner to decode the talk group ID’s used
with Motorola trunking systems. These systems are used
by business and public safety groups to efficiently allo-
cate a small number of frequencies (as few as 5) to many
groups of users (as many as several thousand). To do
this, each group of users in the system is assigned to a
specific talk group. For example, the east side patrol of-
ficers might all be assigned to talk group 2160. One chan-
nel in the system is continuously transmitting data that
identifies which talk groups are active on which channel.
In addition, this talk group information is also transmitted
as subaudible data on each active channel.
When the scanner receives a transmission on a channel
set to the Motorola mode, it first decodes the talk group
ID data included with the transmission. In the Open
mode, the scanner stops on the transmission and dis-
plays the talk group ID on the bottom line of the display.
In the Closed mode, the scanner only stops on the trans-
mission if the talk group ID matches a talk group ID that
you have stored in the bank’s talk group ID list and have
not locked out.
Motorola trunking systems come in three flavors: Type I,
Type II, and Type I/II Hybrids. Each type displays and
uses talk group ID’s in slightly different ways.
Motorola Type I ID’s are in the form FFF-SS, where:
FFF= Fleet ID
SS= Subfleet ID
Type I systems are usually organized with different user
groups assigned to different fleets. For example, all po-
lice users might be grouped under fleet 000. Then, within
each fleet, subfleet ID’s are assigned to subgroups of the
main user group. 
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For example, Police ¾
 East Patrol might be assigned to
group 12, making the full Fleet, Subfleet ID be 000-12. To
properly map the raw Type I data to the correct fleet-sub-
fleet format, you must program the correct fleet map into
the scanner. Fleet map information is widely available on
the internet for most Type I systems in use.
Type II systems talk groups are identified by a 5-digit
number. Valid talk group IDs are divisible by 16. If you try
to enter an invalid talk group ID, the scanner rounds the
ID down to the next valid ID.
Type I/II hybrid systems use both fleet-subfleet and 5-dig-
it formats for talk group ID’s.
Note: Since the subaudible data is included with every
transmission, you can generally receive Motorola sys-
tems from further away than when using systems that
only decode the data channel (like the EDACS mode).
However, as the signal quality worsens, or if the signal is
subject to interference, the scanner might not be able to
reliably decode the talk group ID. In this case, you might
occasionally notice that the talk group ID changes during
a transmission.
EDACS Mode
This sets the scanner to decode the talk group ID’s used
with an EDACS (GE/Ericsson) system. This is a trunking
system used primarily by business or private communica-
tions service providers, as well as by some public safety
organizations. EDACS systems transmit active talk group
information only on a dedicated control channel.
EDACS frequencies are organized in a specific order.
Each frequency is assigned a Logical Channel Number
(LCN). For the PRO-92 to correctly switch to an active
frequency, you must program the frequencies in LCN or-
der, starting with Memory 01. EDACS talk group ID’s are
entered as a 4-digit decimal number from 0000 to 4096.
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When there is activity on an EDACS system, that infor-
mation is sent out on the control channel. The scanner
decodes the ID for the active talk group. In the Open
mode, the scanner then goes to the transmission and dis-
plays the talk group ID on the bottom line of the display.
In the Closed mode, the scanner only goes to transmis-
sions that have ID’s that match a talk group ID that you
have stored in the bank’s talk group ID list and have not
locked out.
Because EDACS scanning requires you to have clear re-
ception of the control channel at all times, EDACS sys-
tems tend to have a smaller usable area. An external
antenna can greatly improve EDACS scanning in a fringe
area. If you are having trouble scanning an EDACS sys-
tem, try manually selecting the data channel. If you are
getting good reception, the scanner will indicate talk
group CTR-01. Try changing your location or using an
outdoor antenna to improve reception.
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OPERATION
TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND 
SETTING SQUELCH
1. Turn SQUELCH fully counterclockwise until the indi-
cator points to 
MIN before you turn on the scanner.
2. To turn on the scanner, turn 
VOLUME clockwise.
Welcome To Multi-System Trunking
appears on the display. After about 3 seconds, you
hear a hissing sound.
3. Turn 
SQUELCH clockwise, just until the hissing
sound stops.
Notes: 
• To listen to a weak or distant station, turn
SQUELCH counterclockwise. If reception is poor,
turn 
SQUELCH clockwise to cut out weak trans-
missions.
• If 
SQUELCH is adjusted so you always hear a hiss-
ing sound, the scanner does not scan.
4. To turn off the scanner when you finish, turn 
VOL-
UME
 counterclockwise to OFF.
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STORING KNOWN FREQUENCIES 
INTO CHANNELS
Good references for active frequencies are the Ra-
dioShack 
Police Call, Aeronautical Frequency Directory,
and 
Maritime Frequency Directory. We update these di-
rectories every year, so be sure to get a current copy.
Also see the supplied 
Police Call Trunking Guide.
Follow these steps to store frequencies into channels.
1. Press 
MANUAL, enter the channel number where
you want to store a frequency, then press 
MANUAL
again. M and the channel number appears at the
upper left corner on the display (for example: M100).
2. Press 
PGM. M changes to P on the display.
3. Use the number keys and 
• to enter the frequency
(including the decimal point) you want to store.
If you make a mistake, hold down 
CL for about 0.5
seconds to delete a single digit and about 1.5 sec-
onds to delete all digits. 
4. Press 
ENTER to store the frequency into the channel.
The blinking cursor disappears. 
Notes:
• If you made a mistake in Step 3, 
Invalid
Freq
 briefly appears and the scanner beeps
when you press 
ENTER. Start again from Step 3.
Manual
Bank (1)Channel (00)
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• Your scanner automatically rounds the entered
frequency to the nearest valid frequency. For
example, if you enter a frequency of 151.473, your
scanner accepts it as 151.470.
•Press 
FUNC then press DELAY/1 to turn the delay
function on or off. If you want the scanner to
pause 2 seconds on this channel after a transmis-
sion ends before it proceeds to the next active
transmission, see “Using the Delay Function” on
Page 48. The scanner also stores this setting in
the channel.
• If you are storing frequencies for an EDACS sys-
tem, you must store them in logical channel num-
ber order, with the first frequency in channel 1 for
the current bank.
5. If necessary, press 
MODE to change the receiving
mode. If you select 
P/L or DPL, enter the PL or DPL
code by pressing 
STEP (to move through the codes
upward) or 
FUNC then press STEP (to move down-
ward through the codes).
6. If desired, program a text tag for the channel (see
“Assigning a Text Tag to a Channel”).
7. The next channel in sequence is ready for program-
ming. Press 
PGM and then repeat Steps 3 through 5.
STORING TEXT TAGS
You can customize your scanner by storing text tags (up
to 12 characters) for easy identification of channel trans-
missions, trunk ID’s, or banks.
Assigning a Text Tag to a Channel
To input the text, follow these steps:
1. Press 
MANUAL, enter the channel number where
you want to enter the text, then press 
MANUAL
again. M and the channel number appear at the
upper left corner on the display (for example: M100).
2. Pressing 
PGM changes M to P on the display.
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3. Press TEXT. The cursor appears at the 3rd line on
the display.
4. Enter the text using the numeral keys (see “Text
Input Chart” on Page 39).
Note: If you make a mistake, press   or   to move
to the character you want to change.
For example input “HAM 6m” as follows:
• “H” is the second letter associated with 4 on the
keypad. Press 
4 then press 2.
• “A” is the first letter associated with 2 on the key-
pad. Press 
2 then press 1.
• “M” is the first letter associated with 6 on the key-
pad. Press 
6 then press 1.
• “space” Press 
•.
• “6” is the sixth number associated with 1 on the
keypad. Press 
1 then press 6.
• “m” is the first letter associated with 6 on the key-
pad. Press 
6 and FUNC (for the lower case set),
then press 
1.
5. Press 
ENTER to input the text.
Assigning a Text Tag to a Bank
1. Press PGM.
2. Select a channel within the desired bank by pressing
MANUAL and entering the bank number (000 for
bank 0 or 200 for bank 2, for example). Press 
MAN-
UAL
 again, then press PGM.
3. Press 
FUNC then press 6. The cursor appears at the
3rd line on the display. Enter the text using the key-
pad and press 
ENTER.
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Note: If the channel is programmed for P/L, DPL, LTR,
MOT or ED mode, the scanner displays the mode infor-
mation on the 4th line.
Text Input Chart
Notes: 
• To access the numbers, after you press 
FUNC and 6,
press 
1, then press the desired number you want to
enter.
• To enter a lowercase character or a character from
the second set for key 
0, press FUNC after pressing
the first numeral key.
Press To Enter a Character from this Group
1
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
2A, B, C 
FUNC 2a, b, c
3D, E, F 
FUNC 3d, e, f
4G, H, I 
FUNC 4g, h, i
5J, K, L 
FUNC 5j, k, l
6M, N, O 
FUNC 6m, n, o
7P, Q, R, S 
FUNC 7p, q, r, s
8T, U, V 
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FINDING AND STORING ACTIVE 
FREQUENCIES
You can search for transmissions within ten ranges of fre-
quencies, called a search bank. The search bank is divid-
ed into 10 search bands. You can change the bands with
the 60 preprogrammed search bands in the scanner (see
“Search Banks” on Page 25). You can also change the
search bank’s search ranges manually.
Notes:
• You can use the scanner’s delay feature while
searching the service bank. See “Using the Delay
Function” on Page 48.
• The scanner does not search locked-out frequencies
while searching ranges.
FUNC 8t, u, v
9W, X, Y, Z 
FUNC 9w, x, y, z
0., -, #, _, @, +, *, &, /,  
FUNC 0$,%,!, ^, (,),?,  , `, ^
 
•Space
CLBack Space Press To Enter a Character from this Group
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