RadioShack Pro 92b Handheld Scanner Owners Manual

							21About Your Scanner
A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY
Manual ModeCurrent 
Manual Mode (AM or FM)
Channel
Stored Text
Current Frequency
Current BankMode is FM Receiving a Signal (
• no signal)
Priority Freq. (T)runked
Attenuate (
• no attenuation)
Delay (
• no delay)
Locked ( 
Out
(  Scanning Up)
Scanning Down)
Bank 0–(9)Out
Channel
00–(49)
Motorola(M)anual Mode
Bank 1
Channel 00–(49)
(P)rogram
(S)can(+) Open
(–) Closed
Detecting a 
Trunking or
Talk Group IDTone Signal
Code (I)D Program
Note: If you enter the ID text
tag in an ID code, the scanner
displays it instead of the ID
code and 
.
Scan Mode
• Bank Off
+ Selected for Scanning
in Open Mode
–
 Selected for Scanning
in Closed Mode
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							22
About Your Scanner
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 (0–
9) of 50 (00 to 49) 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 “Typical Band Usage” on
Page 61). For example, the police department might use
four frequencies, one for each side of town. You could
program the police frequencies starting with 000 (the 1st
channel in bank 0) and program the fire department fre-
quencies starting with 100 (the 1st channel in bank 1).
Search Mode6 and 7 are turned off
Search Mode
Current Frequency
Stepping
AM
Delay Scanning Up
Searching 
Frequency
for Range
in Bank 3
Search Mode
Motorola
Search Bank 5
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							23About Your Scanner
The 1st digit identifies the bank (0–9). The 2nd and 3rd
digits identify the channel within the bank (00–49).
Search Banks
This scanner is able to search 10 search banks. You can
also replace a bank with one of the pre-programmed ser-
vice bands. (For the default setting, see “Searching a
Preprogrammed Frequency Range” on Page 34.)
Note:
 You can increase the number of preprogrammed
frequency ranges your scanner can receive (up to 100)
using an optional PC interface kit (available at your local
RadioShack store).
UNDERSTANDING CTCSS/DCS
Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) and
Digital Coded Squelch (DCS) are two methods used to
prevent interference by other radio communications.
Your scanner can receive transmissions that use these
codes.
When your scanner receives a CTCSS transmission, 
PL
(private line) appears. When your scanner receives a
DCS transmission, 
DPL (digital private line) and a 3-dig-
it code appear.
PL Codes
PL codes are low-frequency audio tones that are used to
differentiate different users on the same channel. PL
codes appear according to the EIA standard CTCSS
tones, and range from 67.0 Hz to 254.1 Hz. PL codes
are displayed directly as a frequency.
DPL Codes
DPL codes are similar to PL codes, except they might be
transmitted as either tones or digital codes. Although
there are as many as 4096 DPL codes, only about 100
are actually used.
DPL codes appear in the format 
Dxxx, where xxx is
an octal code.
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							24
About Your Scanner
UNDERSTANDING YOUR 
SCANNER’S MODES
You can program each channel with any of seven re-
ceive modes. Each mode affects how your scanner op-
erates when scanning and receiving transmissions, and
also affects what transmissions you receive when you
set the scanner to the closed mode (see “Open and
Closed Modes” on Page 57). The following sections de-
scribe each mode and how they affect your scanners op-
eration. See “Changing the Receive Mode” on Page 45.
PL, DPL and trunking systems all use some form of 
cod-
ed
 squelch. Coded squelch techniques involve the trans-
mission of a special “code” signal along with the audio of
a radio transmission. A receiver with coded squelch only
activates when the received signal has the correct
“code.” This lets many users share a single frequency,
and decreases interference caused by distant transmit-
ters on the same channel.
In all major metropolitan areas of the United States, ev-
ery available radio channel is assigned to more than one
user. Public safety radio systems on the same frequency
are usually set up at a distance of 40 miles apart, or
more. This means that you may hear transmissions from
a distant system when your local system is not transmit-
ting. By entering the PL for a local system, and operating
the bank in closed mode, the scanner will not stop on
transmissions from the distant system.
With few exceptions, such as the VHF Aircraft and Ma-
rine bands, almost every other VHF or UHF radio system
uses some form of coded squelch. By far, PL is the most
popular mode among non-trunked systems. For most
scanning use, try setting PL mode for all non-trunked
channels. If you operate the bank in open mode, the
scanner will display the appropriate code.
Open and Closed Modes
You can set your scanner to change the way it receives
signals. These settings, called 
open mode and closed
mode
, affect how the scanner receives signals from
communications systems that use some type of closed
squelch (such as PL, DPL, LTR, MOT, and ED systems).
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							25About Your Scanner
You can set each of the scanner’s channel storage
banks to open or closed mode.
In open mode, the scanner scans signals transmitted in
all systems. In closed mode, the scanner scans signals
transmitted only under the following conditions:
• When the signals are in the FM mode.
• When the signals are in the LT, MO, or ED mode
and the signals ID code matches the programmed
ID code.
• When the signals are in the PL or DPL mode 
and
the signals ID code matches the programmed ID
code.
Note:
 When the signals are in the PL or DPL mode,
the scanner receives all signals on a channel when
the ID code is set to NONE.
You can also select the users or talk groups you want
the scanner to receive in closed mode.
When you set a channel storage bank to open mode, 
+
(open) appears under the bank’s number while scan-
ning. When you set a channel storage bank to closed
mode, 
– (closed) appears under the channel storage
banks number while scanning. Or, 
OPEN or CLOSED
appears while the scanner is in manual mode or while
the scanner is receiving a signal during scanning.
See “Changing the Open/Closed Mode” on Page 58 for
more information about setting the open and closed
modes.
AM Mode
This sets the scanner to receive transmissions using am-
plitude modulation (AM). AM is used for aircraft, military,
some amateur radio, and some government transmis-
sions. When the scanner receives a transmission on a
channel set to the AM mode, it always stops on the
transmission.
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							26
About Your Scanner
FM Mode
This sets the scanner to receive transmissions using fre-
quency modulation (FM). FM is used for most public
safety transmissions, as well as broadcast, business,
and amateur radio transmissions. When the scanner re-
ceives a transmission on a channel set to the FM mode,
it always stops on the transmission.
LTR (E. F. Johnson) Mode
You can set your scanner so it decodes the talk group
IDs used with LTR systems. This setting is called the
LTR mode.
LTR systems are trunking systems used primarily by
business or private communications service providers,
such as taxicabs, delivery trucks, and repair services.
These systems encode all trunking information as digital
subaudible data that accompanies each transmission.
Users on an LTR system are assigned to specific talk
groups, which are identified by the radio as six-digit
numbers. These numbers are 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 in-
cluded 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
radio has a unique ID code.
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							27About Your Scanner
Motorola Mode
You can set your scanner so it decodes the talk group
IDs used with Motorola trunking systems. This setting is
called the 
Motorola mode.
Motorola systems are trunking systems used primarily
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
officers might all be assigned to talk group 2160. One
channel 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 categories:
Type I, Type II, and Type I/II Hybrid. Each category dis-
plays and uses talk group IDs in slightly different ways.
Motorola Type I IDs 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, a valid
fleet/subfleet ID identifying all detectives within a police
department might be 
000-12, where 000 identifies all
police users and 
12 identifies the Detective division.
To properly map the raw Type I data  to  the  correct
fleet-subfleet format, you must program the correct
fleet map into the scanner. Fleet map information is
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							28
About Your Scanner
widely available on the Internet for most Type I systems
in use.
Type II system 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-
digit formats for talk group IDs.
Note:
 If the scanner decodes control channel data while
receiving transmissions from a Motorola trunking sys-
tem, 
CNTRL appears on the bottom line of the display.
EDACS Mode
You can set your scanner so it decodes the talk group
IDs used with EDACS (GE/Ericsson) trunking systems.
This setting is called the 
EDACS mode.
EDACS systems are trunking systems used primarily by
business or private communications 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 scanner to correctly switch to an active
frequency, you must program the frequencies in LCN or-
der, starting with Memory 01. EDACS talk group IDs are
entered as a 4-digit decimal number from 0000 to 4095.
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
displays the talk group ID on the bottom line of the dis-
play. In the closed mode, the scanner only goes to trans-
missions with IDs that match talk group IDs you have
stored in the bank’s talk group ID list which are not
locked out.
Because EDACS scanning requires clear reception of
the control channel at all times, EDACS systems tend to
have a smaller usable area. An external antenna can
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							29Operation
greatly improve EDACS scanning in a fringe area. If you
are having trouble scanning an EDACS system, try man-
ually selecting the data channel. If you are getting good
reception, the scanner will indicate talk group 
CTL-01.
Try changing your location or using an outdoor antenna
to improve reception.
ˆOperation
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 ap-
pears. After about 3 seconds, you hear a hissing
sound.
3. Turn 
SQUELCH clockwise, just until the hissing
sound stops.
4. To turn off the scanner when you finish, turn 
VOL-
UME
 counterclockwise to OFF.
Notes: 
• The scanner does not scan if there are no fre-
quencies stored in channels. If the scanner does
not scan and you have already stored frequen-
cies in channels, turn 
SQUELCH further clock-
wise.
• If the scanner picks up unwanted, partial, or very
weak transmissions, turn 
SQUELCH clockwise to
decrease the scanner’s sensitivity to these sig-
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							30
Operation
nals. If you want to listen to a weak or distant sta-
tion, turn 
SQUELCH counterclockwise.
•If 
SQUELCH is adjusted so you always hear a
hissing sound, the scanner will not scan properly.
• To ensure the scanner operates properly while in
the trunking mode, we suggest you set 
SQUELCH
using the above steps, even if the scanner is
automatically muted.
STORING KNOWN FREQUENCIES 
INTO CHANNELS
Good references for active frequencies are Ra-
dioShack’s 
Police Call, Aeronautical Frequency Directo-
ry
, and Maritime Frequency Directory. We update these
directories 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 of the display (for example: M100).
2. Press 
PGM. M changes to P.
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 1
second to delete a single digit and about 2 seconds
to delete all digits. 
4. Press 
ENTER to store the frequency into the chan-
nel. The blinking cursor disappears. 
Manual
Bank (1)Channel (00)
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