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- 20-522
- Owner's Manual
Radio Shack 20-522 Owner's Manual
Summary of 20-522
Page 1
O w ner ’s m anu al p lease read befo re usi n g thi s eq ui pme n t. Pro-92 handheld scanner 20-522b.Fm page 1 thursday, september 7, 2000 9:41 am.
Page 2: Contents
2 contents ˆ contents features .................................................................... 5 fcc notice .......................................................... 8 scanning legally ................................................. 8 preparation ................................................
Page 3
3 contents operation ................................................................. 29 turning on the scanner and setting squelch .... 29 storing known frequencies into channels ....... 30 storing text tags ............................................... 31 assigning a text tag to a channel ........
Page 4
4 contents trunking operation ................................................ 48 understanding trunking .................................... 49 setting squelch for the trunking mode ............. 50 programming trunking frequencies ................. 50 programming motorola trunking systems (uhf-lo)...
Page 5: Features
5 features ˆ features your radioshack handheld scanner is one of a new generation of scanners designed to track motorola ® type i and type ii (such as smartnet ® and privacy plus ® ) and hybrid analog trunking systems, plus ge/ericsson (edacs ® ) and ef johnson (ltr ® ) type systems, which are exten...
Page 6
6 features 12-character, 4-line, dot-matrix display — shows you detailed operating information and lets you easily program the scanner. Weather alert — automatically sounds the alarm tone to advise of hazardous weather conditions when it detects the alert signal on the local national oceanic and atm...
Page 7
7 features priority channel — you can set the scanner to check one channel every 2 seconds so you do not miss impor- tant calls. Signal attenuation (attenuate) — lets you program each memory location to reduce the scanner’s sensitivity to strong local signals, to reduce interference or noise caused ...
Page 8
8 features • 380–512 mhz • 806–823.9875 mhz • 849–868.9875 mhz • 894–960 mhz this owner’s manual also includes the section “a gen- eral guide to scanning” on page 58 to help you target frequency ranges in your service area so you can search for a wide variety of transmissions. Fcc notice your scanne...
Page 9: Preparation
9 preparation ten to almost every transmission your scanner can re- ceive. However, there are some electronic and wire communications that are illegal to intentionally intercept. These include: • telephone conversations (cellular, cordless, or other private means of telephone signal transmission) • ...
Page 10
10 preparation • if you install the rechargeable battery holder, you can operate the scanner and recharge the rechargeable batteries at the same time. See “using batteries” below and “charging rechargeable bat- teries” on page 12. • if the scanner stops working properly after connect- ing it to powe...
Page 11
11 preparation 3. Insert six aa batteries in the battery holder as indi- cated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked on the holder. Cautions: • use only fresh batteries of the required size and recommended type. • always remove old or weak batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals that destroy elec...
Page 12
12 preparation caution: the battery holder fits only one way. Do not force it. 5. Replace the cover. When battery power is low, low battery! Appears and the scanner beeps continuously. When battery pow- er is depleted, the scanner turns itself off. Replace all six non-rechargeable batteries, or rech...
Page 13
13 preparation • rechargeable batteries last longer and deliver more power if you let them fully discharge once a month. To do this, use the scanner until low battery! Appears. Then fully charge the rechargeable batter- ies. Important: .The epa certified rbrc ® bat- tery recycling seal on the nickel...
Page 14
14 preparation 2. Plug the adapter’s barrel plug into the scanner’s pwr dc 9v jack. 3. Plug the adapter into a standard ac outlet. Using vehicle power you can power the scanner from a vehicle’s 12v power source (such as a cigarette-lighter socket) using a 9v, 300 ma dc adapter and a size h adaptaplu...
Page 15
15 preparation 3. Plug the adapter’s cigarette-lighter plug into your vehicle’s cigarette-lighter socket. Note: if the scanner does not operate properly when you connect a dc adapter, unplug the dc adapter from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and other debris. Conne...
Page 16
16 preparation always use 50-ohm coaxial cable, such as rg-58 or rg-8, to connect an outdoor antenna. For lengths over 50 feet, use rg-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If your antenna’s cable does not have a bnc connector, you will also need a bnc adapter (also available at your local radioshack...
Page 17
17 preparation • set the volume to the lowest setting before you begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust the volume to a comfortable level. • once you set the volume, do not increase it. Over time, your ears adapt to the volume level, so a vol- ume level that does not cause discomfort mig...
Page 18: About Your Scanner
18 about your scanner connecting the clone cable you can transfer the programmed data to and from an- other pro-92 or pro-2067 using the supplied clone ca- ble. Connect the cable between each scanner’s pc/if jacks. See “cloning the programmed data from scanner to scanner” on page 48. You can also up...
Page 19
19 about 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. Func (function) — lets you use various functions by pressing this key along with other keys. Scan — scans through the programmed channels...
Page 20
20 about your scanner tune — lets you input a frequency and allows you to fine tune a frequency along with or . Att (attenuate) — turns attenuation on to reduce the scanner’s sensitivity, or turns it off to increase it. Or — selects the search direction during frequency search or tuning. Search — le...
Page 21
21 about your scanner a look at the display manual mode current manual mode (am or fm) channel stored text current frequency current bank mode is fm receiving a signal ( • no signal) priority freq. (t)runked attenuate ( • no attenuation) delay ( • no delay) locked ( out ( scanning up) scanning down)...
Page 22
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...
Page 23
23 about 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 “...
Page 24
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 mod...
Page 25
25 about 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. ...
Page 26
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...
Page 27
27 about 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 nu...
Page 28
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...
Page 29: Operation
29 operation 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 impr...
Page 30
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 us...
Page 31
31 operation 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. • your scanner automatically rounds the entered frequency to the nearest valid frequency. For example, if you enter a frequency of 151.473, your s...
Page 32
32 operation 2. Press pgm . M changes to p . 3. Press text . The cursor appears at the 3rd line. 4. Enter the text using the numeral keys (see “text input chart” on page 33). Note: if you make a mistake, press or to move to the character you want to change. For example input “ham 6m” as follows: • “...
Page 33
33 operation 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 lowerc...
Page 34
34 operation finding and storing active frequencies you can search for transmissions within ten ranges of frequencies, called search banks. The search bank is di- vided into 10 search bands. You can change the bands with the preprogrammed search bands in the scanner (see “search banks” on page 23). ...
Page 35
35 operation follow these steps to select preprogrammed search ranges and search them for active frequencies. 1. Press search . The scanner searches the active search bank. Note: to reverse a search direction, press or . 2. Using the number keys, enter the search bank num- ber for each search range ...
Page 36
36 operation • if bank 9 in the channel storage banks does not contain any empty channels, bank 9 full. Appears on the display’s lower line. Storing a frequency while searching for a specified channel 1. When the scanner stops on the frequency, press func then tune . 2. Press manual . Select the spe...
Page 37
37 operation note: after you press func , press 5 within about 3 seconds. Otherwise, begin over at step 1. 4. Press or to select the preprogrammed search range. 5. Press enter to replace the search range, then press search to begin searching. Manually changing a search range 1. Press func then searc...
Page 38
38 operation note: you must store frequencies into channels before the scanner can scan them. The scanner does not scan empty channels. The scanner scans through all channels (except those you have locked out) in the active banks (see “turning channel-storage banks off and on” and “locking out chann...
Page 39
39 operation notes: • you cannot change the step frequency while tuning. • you can change the receiving mode while tuning. Deleting frequencies from channels 1. Press manual . 2. Use the number keys to enter the channel with the frequency you want to delete. 3. Press manual again. 4. Press pgm to en...
Page 40: Special Features
40 special features weather channel with a digitally-encoded same signal when an alert is broadcast, the scanner will decode and display the same message, showing the type of alert being broadcast (or unknown message if it does not recognize the event code). To set the scanner to decode and display ...
Page 41
41 special features locking out channels or frequencies you can scan existing channels or search frequencies faster by locking out channels or frequencies that have a continuous transmission, such as a weather channel. Locking out channels to lock out a channel while scanning, press l/out when the s...
Page 42
42 special features • you can lock out as many as 50 frequencies in each bank. If you try to lock out more, memory full! Appears. • if you lock out all frequencies in one search bank and only this search bank is activated, search up... All ranges locked out! Appears and the scanner does not search. ...
Page 43
43 special features 3. Turn squelch fully counterclockwise until the indi- cator points to min . 4. Press func then 4 . Confirm list clear? 1=yes press other key for no. Appears. Press 1 to clear all lock-out frequencies and list cleared appears for about 2 seconds. Press any key other than 1 , to c...
Page 44
44 special features 3. Press func then pri . Pri appears to the right of the frequency. Note: this scanner cannot set a channel as the priority channel if the channel’s receive mode is ltr , mot , or ed . Follow these steps to program a weather channel as the priority channel. 1. Press wx . 2. Selec...
Page 45
45 special features • the scanner always monitors the priority channel even if it is in a bank that is set to closed mode (see “changing the open/closed mode” on page 58). Changing the receive mode the scanner is preset to the most common am or fm re- ceive mode for each frequency range. The preset ...
Page 46
46 special features search band or follow these steps to change steps in a specific bank. 1. Press search . 2. Press func then repeatedly press to select a bank. 3. Turn squelch fully counterclockwise until the indi- cator points to min . 4. Press step continuously until you reach the desired step. ...
Page 47
47 special features using the display backlight you can turn on the display’s backlight for easy viewing in dimly lit areas. Press lit to turn on the display light for 5 seconds. To turn off the light before it automatically turns off, press lit again. Turning the key tone on and off each time you p...
Page 48: Trunking Operation
48 trunking operation 2. Press func then 9 . Use up/down keys to set contrast. Appears. 3. Press or to select the contrast. 4. Press enter to set the display contrast. Cloning the programmed data from scanner to scanner you can transfer the programmed data to and from an- other radioshack cat. No. 2...
Page 49
49 trunking operation codes in the id memory (see “storing talk group ids” on page 55). To listen to the transmission, the mode of the programmed channel must be the same as that of the trunking channel (lt, mo, or ed). When an id code is received, the id list for the bank is searched, and if found,...
Page 50
50 trunking operation setting squelch for the trunking mode your scanner automatically mutes the audio during trunk scanning when it decodes control channel data. Howev- er, we recommend you turn squelch clockwise and leave it set to a point just after the hissing sound stops. This lets the scanner ...
Page 51
51 trunking operation notes: • if you select -- instead of lt , mo , or ed , the scanner does not scan trunked frequencies. Instead, you see: • if you programmed a motorola type i or hybrid system, see “programming fleet maps” on page 53. 3. Press pgm to enter the program mode. 4. Store the trunking...
Page 52
52 trunking operation notes: • base and offset frequencies vary for each type of trunking system. You can get information about these frequencies for the trunking system you want to scan using www.Trunkscanner.Com , other inter- net sources, or locally-published guidebooks. • the scanner automatical...
Page 53
53 trunking operation programming fleet maps you must set the fleet map if you want to receive a mo- torola type i system. Fleet maps are included along with other information about motorola type i systems at www.Trunkscanner.Com . Follow these steps to program a fleet map. 1. Press pgm then trunk ....
Page 54
54 trunking operation 6. Press enter for each entry. If you make a mistake, press cl and enter the correct size code. Note: the default setting of the bank is for motorola type ii. However, if you set type i and you want to return to type ii, enter 15 at step 5. 7. To confirm the input, repeat steps...
Page 55
55 trunking operation storing talk group ids to store a talk group id when scanning, press trunk when the scanner stops on a transmission. The bottom line changes to id#xxxx , indicating that the id is stored. Note: when you try to store more than 100 talk group ids in a bank, memory full! Appears. ...
Page 56
56 trunking operation locking out talk group ids note: you can only lock out talk group ids when the scanner is in the closed mode (see “open and closed modes” on page 57). 1. Press pgm . 2. Press trunk . 3. Press func , or to move the desired bank. 4. Press or to select the id memory. 5. Press l/ou...
Page 57
57 trunking operation 1. Press pgm . 2. Press trunk to enter a talk group id memory mode. 3. Select a talk group id bank using func , or . 4. Press func then 3 . Confirm list clear ?1=yes press other key for no. Appears. 5. Press 1 to clear the all talk group ids within a bank. Please wait then list...
Page 58: A General Guide to
58 a general guide to scanning when no id code is programmed into the scanner, it re- ceives the signal in pl, dpl, ltr, mot, or ed mode. Changing the open/closed mode 1. Press manual . 2. Press func then or to select the channel storage bank. 3. Press func then 2 . Bank open or bank closed appears....
Page 59
59 a general guide to scanning guide to frequencies us weather frequencies ham radio frequencies ham radio operators often transmit emergency informa- tion when other means of communication break down. The chart below shows the frequencies the scanner re- ceives that ham radio operators normally use...
Page 60
60 a general guide to scanning to find the birdies in your scanner, begin by disconnect- ing the antenna and moving it away from the scanner. Make sure that no other nearby radio or tv sets are turned on near the scanner. Use the search function and scan every frequency range from its lowest frequen...
Page 61
61 a general guide to scanning guide to the action bands typical band usage primary usage as a general rule, most of the radio activity is concentrat- ed on the following frequencies: vhf band uhf band vhf band low range 29.00–50.00 mhz 6-meter amateur 50.00–54.00 mhz u.S. Government 137.00–144.00 m...
Page 62
62 a general guide to scanning note: remote control stations and mobile units operate at 5 mhz higher than their associated base stations and relay repeater units. Band allocation to help decide which frequency ranges to scan, use the following listing of the typical services that use the fre- quenc...
Page 63
63 a general guide to scanning wthr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weather high frequency (hf) 10-meter amateur band 29.000–29.700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ham very high frequency (vhf) vhf low band— (29–50 mhz—in 5 ...
Page 64
64 a general guide to scanning 152.030–152.240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telb 152.270–152.480 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ind, taxi, bus 152.510–152.840 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telb 152.870–153.020 . . . . . ...
Page 65
65 a general guide to scanning 460.0125–460.6375 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fire, pol, pub 460.650–462.175 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bus 462.1875–462.450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bus, ind 462.4625–462.525 . . . . . . . ....
Page 66: Troubleshooting
66 troubleshooting to convert mhz to khz, multiply the number of mega- hertz by 1,000: 30.62 (mhz) × 1000 = 30,620 khz to convert from khz to mhz, divide the number of kilo- hertz by 1,000: 127,800 (khz) ÷ 1000 = 127.8 mhz to convert mhz to meters, divide 300 by the number of megahertz: 300 ÷ 50 mhz...
Page 67
67 troubleshooting resetting/initializing the scanner if the scanner’s display locks up or does not work prop- erly after you connect a power source, you might need to reset or initialize it. Important: if you have problems with the scanner, first try to reset it to retain all memory. If that does n...
Page 68: Care
68 care 2. Insert a pointed object, such as a straightened paper clip, into the reset opening on the side of the scanner. Then gently press and release the reset button inside the opening and the backlight lights. Note: pressing reset does not clear the scanner’s memory. Initializing the scanner imp...
Page 69: Specifications
69 specifications • handle the scanner gently and carefully. Do not drop it. • keep the scanner away from dust and dirt. • wipe the scanner with a damp cloth occasionally to keep it looking new. Modifying or tampering with the scanner’s internal com- ponents can cause a malfunction and might invalid...
Page 70
70 specifications 806–960 mhz ............................................... 0.7 µ v am: 29–54 mhz ...................................................... 1 µ v 108–136.9875 mhz ......................................... 1 µ v 137–174 mhz ............................................... 1.5 µ v 380–51...
Page 71
71 specifications dimensions (hwd) .................... 6 1 / 4 × 2 3 / 8 × 1 3 / 4 inches (160 × 61 × 45 mm) weight (without antenna and batteries) ............... 9.9 oz (280 g) specifications are typical; individual units might vary. Specifications are subject to change and improvement without no...
Page 72
Radioshack a division of tandy corporation fort worth, texas 76102 20-522 ge-99d-3314b 06a00 printed in china b limited one-year warranty this product is warranted by radioshack against manufacturing de- fects in material and workmanship under normal use for one (1) year from the date of purchase fr...