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20-508.fm Page 1 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM
Cat. No. 20-508
OWNER’S MANUAL
PRO-28
30 Channel
Direct Entry Programmable Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
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20-508.fm Page 2 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM FEATURES Your new Radio Shack PRO-28 30 Channel Direct Entry Programmable Scanner lets you in on all the action! This scanner gives you direct ac- cess to more than 20,000 frequencies that include the police depart- ment, fire department, ambulance, amateur radio, and transportation services. You can select up to 30 channels for your scanner to scan and you can change your selection at any time. The secret to your scanner’s ability to scan s
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20-508.fm Page 3 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM Keylock — prevents you from accidentally changing the scanner’s pro- gramming. Memory Backup — keeps the channel frequencies stored in memory for up to 1 hour during a power loss. Low Battery Alarm — lets you know when the batteries get low. Three Power Sources — let you power the scanner from internal bat- teries, a standard AC outlet (using an optional AC adapter), or a vehi- cle’s battery (using an optional DC adapter). Ni-Cd Battery Ch
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20-508.fm Page 4 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM This owner’s manual also includes the section “A Guide to the Action Bands,” which lets you target services in your area by giving you fre- quency ranges to search. You can then store any of these frequencies into memory for easy scanning. For your records, we recommend you record your scanner’s serial num- ber in the space provided. The serial number is on the scanner’s back panel. Serial Number _____________ FCC NOTICE Your scanner might c
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20-508.fm Page 5 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM SCANNING LEGALLY Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different groups includ- ing police and fire departments, ambulance services, government agen- cies, private companies, amateur radio services, military operations, pager services, and wireline (telephone and telegraph) service provid- ers. It is legal to listen to almost every transmission your scanner can receive. However, there are some transmissions you should never in- tention
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20-508.fm Page 6 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM CONTENTS Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Using Internal Batteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Important Information about the External Power Jacks . . . . . . . . 9 Using Standard AC Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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20-508.fm Page 7 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Resetting the Scanner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 7
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20-508.fm Page 8 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM PREPARATION POWER SOURCES You can power your scanner from any of three sources: • Internal batteries (not supplied) • 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 op- eration and best performance, we recommend alkaline batteries (such as Cat. No. 23-552). Or, you can use rechargeable nickel
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20-508.fm Page 9 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM 4. Install two batteries in the compartment and two in the cover as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside. Cautions: • Never mix rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries, or rechargeable batteries of different capacities. • Use only fresh batteries of the required size and type. Always remove old or weak batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals that destroy electronic circuits. 5. Replace the cover. If B flashes on the
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20-508.fm Page 10 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM The POWER jack powers the scanner and disconnects the internal bat- teries. You can use this jack to connect an external power source (AC adapter or DC power cord) regardless of the type of batteries you install. The CHARGE jack supplies power to operate the scanner and also charges the internal batteries. Use the CHARGE jack only when you in- stall rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. Warning: Never use the CHARGE jack with non-rechargea
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20-508.fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM 1. Connect the adapter’s blue-tipped barrel plug to the adapter’s cord and set the barrel plug’s tip to positive. 2. Insert the adapter’s blue-tipped barrel plug into your scanner’s POWER jack. Note: If you installed rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries in the scanner, remove the plastic cap from the CHARGE jack and put the cap in the POWER jack. Connect the AC adapter to the CHARGE jack. This powers the scanner and recharges the batterie
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20-508.fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM USING VEHICLE BATTERY POWER You can power the scanner from your vehicle’s cigarette lighter socket with an optional DC cigarette lighter power cord (such as Cat. No. 270- 1533). Cautions: • The recommended DC power cord supplies 12 volts and delivers at least 200 milliamps. Its center tip is set to positive and its plug properly fits the scanner’s POWER and CHARGE jacks. Using a power cord that does not meet these specifications could damage
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20-508.fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM • If the scanner does not operate properly when you use a DC power cord, unplug the power cord from the cigarette lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and debris. If it still does not operate properly, check the fuse in the power cord. CHARGING NICKEL-CADMIUM BATTERIES The scanner has a built-in circuit that lets you recharge nickel-cadmium batteries while they are in the scanner. To charge the batteries, remove the plastic ca
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20-508.fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible antenna to the connec- tor 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 scan- ner with a variety of antennas.
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20-508.fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 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 ear- phone or headphones. • Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended high- volume listening can lead to per
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20-508.fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an extension speaker (such as Radio Shack Cat. No. 21-549) or an amplified speaker (such as Radio Shack Cat. No. 21- 541), positioned in the right place, might provide more comfortable lis- 1 tening. Plug the speaker cable’s /8-inch mini-plug into your scanner’s jack. ATTACHING THE BELT CLIP You can attach the supplied belt clip to make your scanner easier to use when you are on the go. Use
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20-508.fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 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. SCAN — scans through the stored channels. MANUAL — stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel num- ber or frequency. DELAY — programs a 2-second delay for the selected channel. L-OUT/S/S — lets you lock out a selected channel. Skips a specified fre- quency during
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20-508.fm Page 18 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY The display has several indicators that show the scanner’s current op- erating mode. A quick look at the display will help you understand how to operate your scanner. SRCH — appears during a band search (b also appears) or a direct search (d also appears). SCAN — appears when you scan channels. MAN — appears when you manually select a channel. K MON — appears when you listen to a monitor memory. WX — appears when you sc
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20-508.fm Page 19 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM b — appears during a band search. d — appears during a direct search. H — appears during a band search hold. h — appears during a direct search hold. 19
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20-508.fm Page 20 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 1:50 PM OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH 1. Turn SQUELCH fully clockwise. 2. Turn VOLUME/OFF clockwise until it clicks. The scanner automati- cally scans the 30 channels. Note: The first time you turn on the scanner, the channels might not have any frequencies stored in them, but the scanner will con- tinuously scan the empty channels. 3. Press MANUAL to stop the scanning. The display shows the cur- rent channel. 4. Turn VOLU
