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20-561.fm Page 1 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM
20-561
Cat. No.
OWNER’S MANUAL
PRO-63 100-Channel
Portable Event Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
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20-561.fm Page 2 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM INTRODUCTION Your new Radio Shack PRO-63 100-Channel Portable Event Scanner lets you in on all the action — in the pits at the big race, on the sidelines at a pro football game, or on the streets of your home town. This scanner gives you direct access to over 24,000 exciting frequencies, including those used by participants and staff at sporting events and air shows, police and fire departments, ambulance services, and amateur radio services
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20-561.fm Page 3 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM Direct Channel Access — lets you directly access any stored channel while you scan the banks. Button — lets you lock the scanner’s keys to help prevent accidentally changing the scanner’s programming. Priority Channel — you can set the scanner to check one chan- nel every 2 seconds so you do not miss important calls. Auto Lock — lets you lock the scanner’s programmed channels to keep you from accidentally erasing frequencies stored in the ch
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20-561.fm Page 4 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM Your PRO-63 scanner can receive all of these frequencies. • 29-54 MHz (10-Meter Amateur Radio, VHF Lo, 6-Meter Amateur Radio) • 108-136.975 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows) • 137-174 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows, Auto Racing, Government, Motion Picture/Video Industry, Pro Sports Teams, Radio/TV Remote Broadcast Pickup, Stadiums/Venues, 2-Meter Amateur Radio, VHF Hi) • 380-512 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows, Auto Racing, Government, Pro Sports Teams, Radio/TV R
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20-561.fm Page 5 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM This owner’s manual also includes the section “A General Guide to Scanning,” which helps you find frequency ranges to scan for a wide variety of broadcasters. Note: Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires a permit in some areas. Check the laws in your area. FCC NOTICE Your scanner might cause TV or radio interference even when it is operating properly. To determine whether or not your scanner is causing the interference, turn off y
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20-561.fm Page 6 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM SCANNING LEGALLY Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different groups including police and fire departments, ambulance services, gov- ernment agencies, private companies, amateur radio services, military operations, pager services, and wireline (telephone and telegraph) service providers. It is legal to listen to almost every transmission your scanner can receive. However, there are some transmissions you should never intentionally l
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20-561.fm Page 7 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM CONTENTS PREPARATION ........................................................................ 9 Connecting the Flexible Antenna........................................9 Installing Batteries ............................................................. 9 Important Information About the PWR and CHG Jacks...........................................................12 Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries.........................12
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20-561.fm Page 8 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM OPTIONS ............................................................................... 33 Connecting Optional Power Sources .............................. 33 Using AC Power....................................................... 33 Using Vehicle Battery Power ................................... 34 Connecting a Mobile or Base-Station Antenna ............... 35 Connecting an Earphone/Headphones .......................... 37 Listening Safely .
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20-561.fm Page 9 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM PREPARATION CONNECTING THE FLEXIBLE ANTENNA 1. Hold the antenna so it stands straight up. 2. Slip the slots in the antenna’s connector over the tabs on the ANT jack on top of the scanner. 3. Press down and turn the antenna’s base clockwise until it locks into place. Note: Instead of the supplied flexible antenna, you can connect a mobile or base-station antenna (not supplied) to your scanner. For more information, see “Connecting a Mobile o
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20-561.fm Page 10 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM Follow these steps to install or replace batteries. 1. If the scanner is on, turn VOLUME OFF/MAX fully counter- clockwise until it clicks to turn it off. VOLUME SQUELCH OFF MAX MIN MAX 2. While pressing and holding down the battery compartment cover on the bottom of the scanner, slide the cover in the direction of the arrow to remove it. 3. Remove the battery holder from the battery compartment. 4. Remove any old batteries from the battery h
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20-561.fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM • Never mix rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries, or rechargeable batteries of different capacities. 5. Insert six batteries in the battery holder as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked on the battery holder and inside the battery compartment. 6. Replace the battery holder in the battery compartment. Caution: The battery holder fits only one way inside the bat- tery compartment. Do not force it. 7. Replace the battery c
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20-561.fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM Important Information About the PWR and CHG Jacks There are two external jacks on the left side of the scanner — PWR and CHG. It is important that you understand the purpose of each jack before you connect any adapter to the scanner. The PWR jack powers the scanner and disconnects the internal batteries. You can use this jack with either an AC adapter or DC cigarette lighter adapter, regardless of the type of batteries you in- stalled. The
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20-561.fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM Warning: Do not connect either adapter to the scanner’s CHG jack if you installed non-rechargeable batteries (standard, extra-life, or alkaline). Non-rechargeable batteries become hot and can ex- plode if you try to recharge them. It takes about 10 to 18 hours to recharge batteries that are fully discharged. You can operate the scanner while recharging nickel- cadmium batteries, but the charging time is lengthened. Cautions: • Do not overcha
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20-561.fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM 3. After 2 seconds, release BAND/• and 0. USING THE BELT CLIP You can use the belt clip attached to the back of the scanner for hands-free carrying when you are on the go. Simply slide the belt clip over your belt or waistband. 14
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20-561.fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD A quick look at the scanner’s keys will help you understand the scanner’s functions. Number Keys — each key has a single digit on it and a range of numbers printed above it. The single digits refer to the number of a channel or a frequency. The range of numbers (80-89, for exam- ple) shows the channels that make up a channel storage bank. In addition, the keypad has different functions in the
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20-561.fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM WX — scans through the 10 preprogrammed weather channels. LIGHT — a quick press turns on the display’s backlight for 5 sec- onds, or turns off the backlight if it is on. SEARCH / — starts searching for active frequencies so you can find ones you want to store, or selects the search direction when you scan channels or manually step through them. SKIP — selects channels to skip during scanning. ATT — turns attenuation on to reduce the scanner
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20-561.fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM M.SCAN — appears with numbers (0-9) to show which channel- storage banks are turned on for scanning. A bar under the number shows that the channel-storage bank is selected. See “Bands and Banks” on Page 18. BATT — flashes when the batteries are low. CH — appears with a number (00-99) to show which of the 100 channels the scanner is tuned to. P — appears when the scanner is tuned to the priority channel. 888.8888 — digits in the middle of t
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20-561.fm Page 18 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM BANDS AND BANKS SEARCH BANDS Your scanner can tune over 24,000 different frequencies. Each of these frequencies is contained within a group of frequencies called a band. The scanner uses permanent memory locations called search bands (0-9) to group these bands. You can search these bands to quickly find active frequencies you might want to store into the scanner’s channels (see “Channel-Storage Banks” on Page 19). The scanner has the follow
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20-561.fm Page 19 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM Notes: • The frequencies in the scanner’s search bands are preset. You cannot change them. • “Band Allocation” on Page 42 lists frequency ranges and the broadcasters you are likely to hear on those frequencies. • Although the scanner displays 108-137 when you select search band 2, it receives frequencies of 108 to 136.975 MHz in the search band. CHANNEL-STORAGE BANKS You can store up to 100 frequencies into memory locations within the scann
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20-561.fm Page 20 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:48 PM BASIC OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH Note: Make sure the scanner’s antenna is connected before you turn it on. SQUELCH MIN/MAX 1. Turn fully counterclockwise. VOLUME SQUELCH OFF MAX MIN MAX 2. Turn VOLUME OFF/MAX clockwise until it clicks and you hear a hissing sound. VOLUME SQUELCH OFF MIN MAX MAX 3. Turn SQUELCH MIN/MAX clockwise, then leave it set to a point just after the hissing sound stops. The scanner automat
