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20-520.fm Page 1 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM
Owner’s Manual Cat. No. 20-520
PRO-90 300-Channel
TrunkTracker Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
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20-520.fm Page 2 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM FEATURES Your new RadioShack PRO-90 300-Channel Trunk- Tracker Scanner is the first of a new generation of scan- ners designed to track Motorola Type I and Type II (such as Smartnet , and Privacy Plus ) and hybrid an- alog trunking systems, which are extensively used in many 800 MHz communication systems. Trunking communications systems let a large group of 2- way radio users (or even different groups of 2-way radio users) efficiently use
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20-520.fm Page 3 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM Ten Channel-Storage Banks — let you store 30 chan- nels in each bank to group channels so you can more easily identify calls. Five Scan Lists — let you store up to 50 IDs in each tracking bank (up to a total of 500). Two-Second Scan Delay — delays scanning for about 2 seconds before moving to another channel, so you can hear more replies that are made on the same channel. Lock-Out Function — lets you set your scanner to skip over specified ch
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20-520.fm Page 4 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM Flexible Antenna with BNC Connector — provides ex- cellent reception and is designed to help prevent anten- na breakage. Or, you can connect an external antenna. Memory Backup — keeps the frequencies stored in memory for an extended time. Three Power Options — let you power the scanner us- ing the built-in rechargeable battery pack, external AC power using the supplied AC adapter/charger, or DC power using an optional DC cigarette-lighter pow
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20-520.fm Page 5 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM We recommend you record your scanner’s serial num- ber here. The number is on the bottom panel. Serial Number: ___________________________ FCC NOTICE Your scanner might cause radio or TV 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 it. Try the following methods to eliminate the interference: • Move
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20-520.fm Page 6 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM CONTENTS Preparation ................................................................ 8 Power Sources ..................................................... 8 Using the Rechargeable Battery Pack .......... 8 Using Standard AC Power ............................ 9 Using Vehicle Battery Power ....................... 10 Connecting the Antenna ..................................... 11 Connecting an Optional Antenna ................ 12 Connecting an
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20-520.fm Page 7 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM Trunk Tracking ......................................................... 32 Types of Trunked Systems ................................. 32 Setting the Scanner to the Trunk Tracking Mode 33 Setting Squelch for the Trunk Tracking Mode .... 34 Programming Trunked Frequencies ................... 34 Scanning a Trunked Bank .................................. 36 Monitoring an Active ID ............................... 37 Locking Out IDs .............
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20-520.fm Page 8 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM PREPARATION POWER SOURCES You can power your scanner from any of three sources: • Built-in rechargeable battery pack • Standard AC power using the supplied AC adapter/ charger • Vehicle battery power using an optional DC ciga- rette-lighter power cable Using the Rechargeable Battery Pack You must charge your scanner’s built-in rechargeable battery pack before you can use it to power the scanner. Your scanner has a built-in charging circuit
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20-520.fm Page 9 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM 1. Press down on the battery compartment cover and slide the cover in the direction of the arrow to remove it. 2. Disconnect the battery pack’s connector from the scanner’s connector. Then remove the battery pack from the battery compartment. 3. Attach the new battery pack's connector to the bat- tery socket inside the battery compartment. Then put the battery pack into the compartment. 4. Replace the cover. When the scanner’s battery gets lo
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20-520.fm Page 10 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM EXT. PWR Jack Warning: Do not use the AC adapter/charger's polarized plug with an extension cord, receptacle, or other outlet unless the blades can be fully inserted to prevent blade exposure. Caution: Use only the supplied AC adapter/charger. It is specifically designed for this scanner. Using Vehicle Battery Power To power the scanner from your vehicle's cigarette-light- er socket, you need a DC cigarette-lighter power cable, such as Cat.
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20-520.fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM When you finish using the DC cigarette-lighter power ca- ble, disconnect it from the cigarette-lighter socket, then disconnect it from your scanner. Note: If the scanner does not operate properly when you connect a DC cigarette-lighter power cable, unplug the power cable from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and other debris. CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible anten- na
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20-520.fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM Connecting an Optional Antenna The scanner’s antenna jack makes it easy to use the scanner with a variety of antennas. Instead of the sup- plied antenna, you can attach a different one, such as an external mobile antenna or outdoor base station anten- na. Your local RadioShack store sells a variety of anten- nas. 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
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20-520.fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/ HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone or head- 1 phones with a /8-inch mini-plug (such as 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. Extended high-volume listening can
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20-520.fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an extension speaker (such as Cat. No. 21-549), positioned in the right place, might provide 1 more comfortable listening. 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 scan- ner easier to carry when you are on the go. Use a Phil- lips screwdriver and the two supplied screws to attach the bel
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20-520.fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER Once you understand a few simple terms we use in this manual and familiarize yourself with your scanner’s features, you can put the scanner to work for you. You simply find the communications you want to receive, then set the scanner to scan them. A frequency is the tuning location of a station (ex- pressed in kHz or MHz). To find active frequencies, you can use the search function. You can also search the service
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20-520.fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM SCAN — scans through the stored channels. MANUAL — stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel number or frequency. TRUNK — switches between conventional and trunk tracking modes. SVC (service) — selects a service bank. SPEED/PRI (speed/priority) — turns on and off the Hyper- search mode; sets and turns on and off the priority fea- ture. LOCK/ — locks the keypad to prevent accidental pro- gram changes. Also turns on the display li
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20-520.fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY The display has indicators that show the scanner’s cur- rent operating status. A good look at the display will help you understand how your scanner operates. BANK — appears with numbers (1–10). Numbers with a bar under them show which channel-storage banks are turned on for scanning. TRUNK — appears when the scanner is in the trunk tracking mode. (channel activity indicators) — each represents a re- ceived trunking fre
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20-520.fm Page 18 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM SRCH — lights steadily during a limit search and ID search, and blinks while HyperSearch is active and when you monitor IDs (see “Monitoring IDs” on Page39). PRI — appears when the priority feature is turned on. HOLD — appears when you manually select a channel or when the scanner is in the hold mode during a search or service bank scan or during a limit search. DLY — appears when you program a delay. L/O — appears when you manually select a
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20-520.fm Page 19 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM 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 of 30 channels each. Use each channel-storage bank to group frequencies, such as the police department, fire department, ambulance services, or aircraft (see “Guide to the Action Bands” on Page 52). For example, the po- lice department might use four frequencies, one for each side of town.
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20-520.fm Page 20 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:06 PM OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH Note: Make sure the scanner's antenna is connected before you turn it on. 1. Turn SQUELCH fully clockwise. 2. Turn VOLUME/OFF clockwise until it clicks and you hear a hissing sound. 3. Press MANUAL and turn SQUELCH counterclockwise, then leave it set to a point just after the hissing sound stops. 20
