20-509.fm Page 1 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Cat. No. 20-509 OWNER’S MANUAL PRO-29 60-Channel Direct Entry Programmable Scanner Please read before using this equipment.
0-509.fm Page 2 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM FEATURES Your new Radio Shack PRO-29 60-Channel Direct Entry Programmable Scanner lets you in on all the action! This scanner gives you direct access to 30,000 exciting frequencies that include police department, fire department, ambulance, amateur radio, and transportation services. You can select up to 60 channels for your scanner to scan and you can change your selection at any time.
20-509.fm Page 3 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Your scanner can receive all of these bands: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 29–29.7 MHz (10-Meter Amateur Radio) 29.7–50 MHz (VHF Lo) 50–54 MHz (6-Meter Amateur Radio) 108–136.975 MHz (Aircraft) 137–144 MHz (Government) 144–148 MHz (2-Meter Amateur Radio) 148–174 MHz (VHF Hi) 406–420 MHz (Government) 420–450 (70-cm Amateur Radio) 450–470 MHz (UHF Standard) 470–512 MHz (UHF “T” Band) 806–823.9375 MHz (Public Service) 851–868.9375 MHz (UHF Hi) 896.
20-509.fm Page 4 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM FCC NOTICE Your scanner might cause TV or radio interference even when it is operating properly. To determine whether your scanner is causing the interference, turn off your scanner. If the interference goes away, your scanner is causing the interference. Try the following methods to eliminate the interference.
20-509.fm Page 5 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM CONTENTS Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Using Internal Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Important Information About the External Power Jacks . . . . . . 7 Using Standard AC Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-509.fm Page 6 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM PREPARATION POWER SOURCES You can power your scanner from any of three sources: • Internal batteries • Standard AC power (using an optional AC adapter) • Vehicle battery power (using an optional DC adapter) USING INTERNAL BATTERIES You can power your scanner with four AA batteries. For the longest operation and best performance, we recommend alkaline batteries (Radio Shack Cat. No. 23-552). Or, you can use rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries (Cat.
20-509.fm Page 7 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM 3. Install two batteries in the compartment and two in the cover as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside. Caution: Use only fresh, AA alkaline, nickel-cadmium, or general purpose batteries of the required size. Never mix fresh and old batteries or different types of batteries. 4. Replace the cover. If BATT.Lo flashes on the display and the scanner beeps every 15 seconds, immediately replace or recharge all four batteries.
20-509.fm Page 8 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM The CHARGE jack supplies power to operate the scanner and also charges the internal batteries. Use the CHARGE jack only when you install rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. Warning: Never use the CHARGE jack with non-rechargeable batteries. If you try to recharge non-rechargeable batteries, they become very hot and could explode. USING STANDARD AC POWER To power the scanner from AC power, you need an AC adapter such as Radio Shack Cat. No. 20-188.
20-509.fm Page 9 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM USING VEHICLE BATTERY POWER You can power the scanner from your vehicle’s battery power, if the vehicle has a 12-volt, negative ground electrical system. To do so, you need a Radio Shack DC Universal Adapter, Cat. No. 270-1560. Cautions: • You must use a DC adapter that supplies (regulated) 9-volt power and delivers at least 300 milliamps. Its center tip must be set to negative, and its plug must correctly fit the scanner’s DC 9V POWER jack.
20-509.fm Page 10 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM • If the scanner does not operate properly when you use a DC adapter, unplug the adapter from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and other debris. CHARGING NICKEL-CADMIUM BATTERIES The scanner has a built-in charging circuit that lets you recharge nickelcadmium batteries while they are in the scanner.
20-509.fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible antenna to the connector on the top of your scanner. 1. Align the slots around the antenna’s connector with the tabs on the jack. ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ 2. Press the antenna down over the jack and rotate the antenna’s base clockwise until it locks into place. Connecting an Optional Antenna The antenna connector on your scanner makes it easy to use the scanner with a variety of antennas.
20-509.fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/ HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone or mono headphones (such as Radio Shack Cat. No. 33-175 or 20-210) into the jack on top of your scanner. This automatically disconnects the internal speaker. Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use an earphone or headphones: • Do not listen at extremely high volume levels.
20-509.fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Traffic Safety Do not wear an earphone or headphones while you drive a vehicle or ride a bicycle. This can create a traffic hazard and is illegal in some areas. Even though some earphones and headphones are designed to let you hear some outside sounds when you listen at normal levels, they still present a traffic hazard. CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an extension speaker (such as Radio Shack Cat. No.
20-509.fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD Your scanner’s keys might seem confusing at first, but this information should help you understand each key’s function. HI LO AIR ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ SCAN — scans through the programmed channels. MANUAL — stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel num- ber. LOCKOUT/S/S — lets you lock out a selected channel. Skips a specified frequency during limit or direct search.
20-509.fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Number Keys — each key has a single-digit label, and keys 1-6 have a range of numbers printed above them. The single digits refer to the number of a channel or frequency entered. The number range (21-30, for example) show the channels that make up a memory bank. In addition, the keypad has different functions in manual mode, scan mode, and program mode. See “Banks and Memories.
20-509.fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM MAN — appears when you manually select a channel. PGM — appears while you program frequencies into the scanner’s channels. PRI — appears when you select the priority feature. L/O — appears when you manually select a locked-out channel, or during a search hold when the frequency is stored in search skip memory. WX — appears when you scan the preprogrammed weather channels. t and s — indicate the search direction.
20-509.fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM BANKS AND MEMORIES Your scanner can store up to 66 frequencies. You store each frequency in either a memory called a channel, or a temporary memory called a monitor. This scanner has 60 channels and six monitor memories. CHANNEL-STORAGE BANKS To make it easier to identify and select the channels you want to listen to, channels are divided into six channel-storage banks of 10 channels each.
20-509.fm Page 18 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH 1. Make sure that SQUELCH is turned fully counterclockwise before you turn on the scanner. 2. Turn VOLUME clockwise until you hear a hissing sound. 3. Turn SQUELCH clockwise, just until the hissing sound stops. Note: If you want to listen to a weak or distant station, turn SQUELCH counterclockwise. If reception is poor, turn SQUELCH clockwise.
20-509.fm Page 19 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM 3. Use the number keys and CLEAR/. to enter the frequency (including the decimal point) you want to store. HI LO AIR ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ 4. Press WX/E to store the frequency. Notes: • If you made a mistake in Step 3, Error appears on the display and the scanner sounds three beeps. Simply start again from Step 3. • Your scanner automatically rounds the entered frequency to the nearest valid frequency. For example, if you try to enter a frequency of 151.
-509.fm Page 20 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Limit Search A limit search lets you search for active frequencies between upper and lower limits that you set. -L- appears on the display during a limit search. 1. Press PROGRAM, then LIMIT. Lo appears on the display. 2. Enter the lower limit of the frequency range you want to search. 3. Press WX/E, then LIMIT. Hi appears on the display. Note: If the frequency you entered is not a valid frequency, Error appears.
20-509.fm Page 21 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Direct Search When you listen to a channel, you can search up or down from the currently displayed frequency. -d- appears on the display during a direct search. 1. Press MANUAL, the channel number, then MANUAL to select a frequency stored in a channel. HI LO AIR ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ 2. Press t or s to search up or down from the selected frequency. 3.
20-509.fm Page 22 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM LISTENING TO MONITOR MEMORIES Once you have stored frequencies into monitor memories using a direct or limit search, you can listen to the monitor memories by pressing MANUAL, MONITOR, and then the number for the monitor memory you want to listen to. MOVING A FREQUENCY FROM A MONITOR MEMORY TO A CHANNEL Follow these steps to move a frequency stored in a monitor memory to a permanent channel. 1. Press MANUAL. 2.
20-509.fm Page 23 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM MANUALLY SELECTING A CHANNEL You can continuously monitor a specific channel without scanning. This is useful if you hear an emergency broadcast on a channel and do not want to miss any details — even though there might be periods of silence — or if you want to monitor a specific channel. Follow these steps to manually select a channel. 1. Press MANUAL. 2. Enter the channel number. 3. Press MANUAL again.
20-509.fm Page 24 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM SPECIAL FEATURES USING THE KEYLOCK Once you program your scanner, you can protect it from accidental program changes by turning on the keylock feature. In this mode, the only controls that operate are SCAN, MANUAL, KEYLOCK/ , VOLUME, and SQUELCH. Note: The keylock does not prevent the scanner from scanning channels. until the scanner To turn on the keylock, press and hold KEYLOCK/ beeps and KEYLOCK appears on the display.
20-509.fm Page 25 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM TURNING CHANNEL-STORAGE BANKS ON AND OFF You can turn each channel-storage bank on and off. When you turn off a bank, the scanner does not scan any of the 10 channels in that bank. While scanning, press the number key corresponding to the bank you want to turn on or off. If the memory bank indicator is on, the bank is turned on and the scanner scans all channels within that bank that are not locked out.
20-509.fm Page 26 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM To clear all the skip frequencies at once, while in the search mode, press and hold LOCKOUT/S/S until the scanner beeps twice. Notes: • If you program more than 30 skip frequencies, each new frequency replaces ones you stored earlier, starting from the first stored frequency. • You can select the skipped frequency when the scanner is in the hold mode. The scanner displays L/O when you select a skipped frequency.
20-509.fm Page 27 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM USING THE DISPLAY BACKLIGHT You can turn on the display’s backlight for easy viewing in the dark. Press KEYLOCK/ to turn on the display light for 15 seconds. To turn off the light before 15 seconds elapses, press KEYLOCK/ again. Note: Do not hold down KEYLOCK/ or it will lock up the keypad. If this happens, press and hold KEYLOCK/ until the scanner beeps and KEYLOCK disappears from the display.
20-509.fm Page 28 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanner is mainly “line-ofsight.” That means you usually cannot hear stations that are beyond the horizon. GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES National Weather Frequencies 161.650* 162.440* 162.525 161.775* 162.450 162.550 162.400 162.475 163.275* 162.425 162.500 * Not preprogrammed in this scanner, but you can manually program them.
20-509.fm Page 29 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Birdie Frequencies Every scanner has birdie frequencies. Birdies are signals created inside the scanner’s receiver. These operating frequencies might interfere with broadcasts on the same frequencies. If you program one of these frequencies, you hear only noise on that frequency. If the interference is not severe, you might be able to turn SQUELCH clockwise to cut out the birdie. The birdie frequencies on this unit to watch for are: 31.05 41.40 51.
20-509.fm Page 30 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS Typical Band Usage HF Band (3.00–30.0 MHz) 10-Meter Amateur High Range 29.00–29.70 MHz 29.70–29.90 MHz VHF Band (30.00–300.0 MHz) Low Range 6-Meter Amateur Aircraft U.S. Government 2-Meter Amateur High Range 30.00–50.00 MHz 50.00–54.00 MHz 108.00–136.97 MHz 137.00–144.00 MHz 144.00–148.00 MHz 148.00–174.00 MHz UHF Band (300.00 MHz–3.0 GHz) U. S. Government 0.
20-509.fm Page 31 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM Primary Usage As a general rule, most of the radio activity is concentrated on the following frequencies: VHF Band Activities Government, Police, and Fire Emergency Services Railroad Frequencies 153.785–155.980 MHz 158.730–159.460 MHz 160.000–161.900 MHz UHF Band Activities Land-Mobile “Paired” Frequencies Base Stations Mobile Units Repeater Units Control Stations Frequencies 450.000–470.000 MHz 451.025–454.950 MHz 456.025–459.950 MHz 460.025–464.
20-509.fm Page 32 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM BAND ALLOCATION To help decide which frequency ranges to scan, use the following listing of the typical services that use the frequencies your scanner receives. These frequencies are subject to change, and might vary from area to area. For a more complete listing, refer to the “Police Call Radio Guide including Fire and Emergency Services,” available at your local Radio Shack store. Abbreviations Services AIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-509.fm Page 33 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM USXX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Government Classified UTIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power & Water Utilities WTHR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Weather High Frequency (HF) Hi — (3 MHz–30 MHz) 10-Meter Amateur Band—(28.0––29.7 MHz) 29.000–29.700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-509.fm Page 34 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM 150.995–151.130 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROAD 151.145–151.475 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .POL 151.490–151.955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IND, BUS 151.985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELM 152.0075 . . . . . . .
20-509.fm Page 35 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM U. S. Government Band (406–450 MHz) 406.125–419.975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT, USXX 70-cm Amateur Band (420–450 MHz) 420.000–450.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HAM Low Band (450–470 MHz) 450.050–450.925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RTV 451.025–452.025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-509.fm Page 36 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM AVOIDING IMAGE FREQUENCIES You might discover one of your regular stations on another frequency that is not listed. It might be what is known as an image frequency. For example, you might find a service that regularly uses a frequency of 453.075 also on 474.675. To see if it is an image, do a little math. Note the new frequency. Double the intermediate frequency of 10.8 MHz (21.600) and subtract it from the new frequency. 474.
20-509.fm Page 37 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM TROUBLESHOOTING If you have problems, here are some suggestions which might help. PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE REMEDY Scanner is totally inoperative. No power. Check the batteries, or make sure you plugged the scanner into a working outlet. Scanner is on but will not scan. SQUELCH is not correctly adjusted or channels are locked out. Adjust SQUELCH clockwise or remove the lock-out.
20-509.fm Page 38 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM CARE AND MAINTENANCE Your Radio Shack PRO-29 60-Channel Direct Entry Programmable Scanner is an example of superior design and craftsmanship. The following suggestions will help you care for the PRO-29 so you can enjoy it for years. Keep the scanner dry. If it gets wet, wipe it dry immediately. Liquids can contain minerals that can corrode the electronic circuits. Use only fresh batteries of the recommended size and type.
20-509.fm Page 39 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Coverage: VHF Lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29–54 MHz (in 5.0 kHz steps) Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108–136.975 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) VHF Hi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137–174 MHz (in 5.0 kHz steps) UHF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406–512 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 800 MHz . . . . . . . . . 806.0000–823.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 851.0000–868.9375 MHz (in 12.
20-509.fm Page 40 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:58 PM RADIO SHACK LIMITED WARRANTY This product is warranted against defects for 1 year from date of purchase from Radio Shack company-owned stores and authorized Radio Shack franchisees and dealers. Within this period, we will repair it without charge for parts and labor. Simply bring your Radio Shack sales slip as proof of purchase date to any Radio Shack store. Warranty does not cover transportation costs.
