RadioShack Pro 93 Handheld Scanner Owners Manual

							21About Your Scanner
FM Mode
The FM mode sets the scanner to receive transmissions
using frequency modulation (FM), 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.
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 five) 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 banks 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 
						

							22
About Your Scanner
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 
òòòVñð
òòòVñðòòòVñð òòòVñð, where 000 identifies all po-
lice 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 widely avail-
able 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, 
á*0.(
á*0.(á*0.( á*0.( 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 
)
						

							23About Your Scanner
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 banks 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
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 
á0(Vòñ
á0(Vòñá0(Vòñ á0(Vòñ.
Try changing your location or using an outdoor antenna
to improve reception.
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 Motorola and EDACS systems).
You can set each of the scanners 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 MOT, or ED mode and
the signals ID code matches the programmed ID
code.
You can also select the user or talk groups you want the
scanner to receive in closed mode.
When you set a channel storage bank to open mode, 
ö
öö ö
appears under the banks number while scanning. When
you set a channel storage bank to closed mode, 
V
VV V ap-
pears under the channel storage banks number while
scanning. 
+,!*
+,!*+,!* +,!* or á(+/! 
á(+/! á(+/!  á(+/!  appears while the scanner is 
						

							24
Operation
in manual mode or while the scanner is receiving a sig-
nal during scanning. See “Changing the Open/Closed
Mode” on Page 64 for more information about setting the
open and closed modes.
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.
3
						

							25Operation
STORING KNOWN FREQUENCIES 
INTO CHANNELS
Good references for active frequencies are Ra-
dioShacks 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 
Trunking Guide.
Note:
 If you are storing frequencies for an EDACS sys-
tem, you must store them in logical channel number or-
der, with the first frequency in channel 1 for the current
bank.
Follow these steps to store frequencies into channels.
1. Press 
MANUAL, enter the bank (0–9) and channel
number (00–29) where you want to store a fre-
quency, then press 
MANUAL again. )
)) ) and the bank
and channel number appear at the upper left corner
of the display (for example: 
)
)) )òò
òòòò òòò
òò ò).
Note: 
When 
)
)) ) is on the display, you can also select
your desired bank and channel number with the
FUNC and arrow keys.
• Press 
FUNC then press 8
88 8 or 9
99 9. The bank num-
ber moves in the direction of the arrow pressed.
• Press 
FUNC then press and hold 8
88 8 or 9
99 9. The
bank number moves continuously in the assigned
direction.
• Press 
8
88 8. The channel number moves upward
one by one. Or, press 
9
99 9. The channel number
moves downward one by one.
2. Press 
PGM. )
)) ) changes to ,
,, ,. 
						

							26
Operation
3. Use the number keys and ./DELAY to enter the fre-
quency (including the decimal point) you want to
store.
If you make a mistake, press 
CL to delete a single
digit or press and hold 
CL about 2 seconds to delete
all digits.
4. Press 
ENTER to store the frequency into the chan-
nel. 
Notes:
• If you made a mistake in Step 3, 
%EM8C@;ý I
						

							27Operation
3. Repeatedly press MODE to select )+0
)+0)+0 )+0 (Motorola) or
! 
! !  !  (EDACS).
4. Press 
PGM and select the channel number using 8
88 8
or 9
99 9.
5. Enter the UHF trunking frequency and press 
ENTER.
6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to enter the other trunking
group frequencies for EDACS or additional control
channel frequencies for Motorola systems.
7. If necessary, press 
MODE to change the receiving
mode.
STORING TEXT TAGS
You can customize your scanner by storing text tags (up
to 12 characters) for easy identification of channel trans-
missions, trunk IDs, or banks.
Assigning a Text Tag to a Channel
1. Press MANUAL, enter the channel number where
you want to enter the text, then press 
MANUAL
again. )
)) ) and the bank and channel number appear
at the upper left corner of the display (for example:
)ñòò
)ñòò)ñòò )ñòò).
2. Press 
PGM. )
)) ) changes to ,
,, ,.
3. Press 
TEXT. The cursor appears at the third line.
4. Enter the text using the numeral keys (see “Text
Input Chart” on Page 29).
Note:
 If you make a mistake, press 
8
88 8 or 9
99 9 to
move to the character you want to change.
For example, to identify amateur (ham) radio trans-
missions in the 6 meter range, input HAM 6m as
follows:
• H is the second letter associated with 4 on the
keypad. Press 
4 then 2. 
						

							28
Operation
• A is the first letter associated with 2 on the key-
pad. Press 
2 then 1.
• M is the first letter associated with 6 on the key-
pad. Press 
6 then 1.
• Space. Press 
./DELAY.
• 6 is the sixth number associated with 1 on the
keypad. Press 
1 then 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 Group ID
1. Press PGM.
2. Press 
TRUNK.
3. Press 
FUNC then 8
88 8 or 9
99 9 to select the desired
bank.
4. Press 
TRUNK to select the desired sub-bank.
5. Press or hold down 
8
88 8 or 9
99 9 to select the desired
group ID.
6. Press 
TEXT then enter the tag using the keypad.
(See “Text Input Chart” on Page 29.)
7. Press 
ENTER to store.
Assigning a Text Tag to a Bank
1. Select a channel within the desired bank by press-
ing 
MANUAL and entering the bank number (000 for
bank 0 or 
200 for bank 2, for example). Press MAN-
UAL
 again.
2. Press 
PGM.
3. Press 
FUNC then 7. The cursor appears at the third
line of the display. Enter the text using the keypad.
(See “Text Input Chart” on Page 29.) 
						

							29Operation
4. Press ENTER to store.
Text Input Chart
Notes:
• To access the numbers, after you press 
TEXT (when
you assign the text tag to a channel) or you press
FUNC and 7 (when you assign the text tag to a
bank), 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.
BUTTONS 
PRESSEDCHARACTERS 
ENTEREDBUTTONS 
PRESSEDCHARACTERS 
ENTERED
1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 92
A B C
2
 then 
FUNCa b c 3
D E F
3
 then 
FUNCd e f4
G H I
 4
 then 
FUNCg h i5
J K L
5
 then 
FUNCj k l6
M N O
6
 then 
FUNCm n o7
P Q R S
7
 then 
FUNCp q r s8
T U V
8
 then 
FUNCtuv9
W X Y Z
 9
 then 
FUNCw x y z0
. - # _ @ + * & / ,
0
 then 
FUNC$ % ! ^ ( ) ? -> ` 
						

							30
Operation
FINDING AND STORING ACTIVE 
FREQUENCIES
You can search for transmissions in the scanner’s pre-
programmed search bank. The search bank is divided
into six search bands. You can change the search range
of Bank SR5 manually by setting the lower and higher
ends of the search range.
Notes:
• You can use the scanners delay feature while
searching the search bank. See “Using the Delay
Function” on Page 42.
• The scanner does not search locked-out frequen-
cies while searching ranges. See “Locking Out
Channels or Frequencies” on Page 42.
Searching a Preprogrammed Frequency 
Range
The scanner contains these preprogrammed search
ranges, stored in the search bank (SR0 – SR5).
Bank  Band
SR0 ..................................................................... Marine
SR1 ........................................................................... CB
SR2 ............................................................... Police/Fire
SR3 ..................................................................... Aircraft
SR4 ......................................................................... Ham
SR5 ............................... Limit search (User changeable)
To select preprogrammed search bands and search
them for active frequencies: