Radio Shack 20-136 User manual

Thank you for purchasing your 200 Channel Desktop Radio Scanner from
RadioShack. Please read this user’s guide before installing, setting up and
using your new scanner.
20-136
PRO-136
www.radioshack.com
Scanner
AC adapter
Antenna
User’s guide
Preprogrammed frequency list
Quick start guide
Desktop Radio Scanner
What’s Included

2
C ontents
Scanner Setup ................................................................................ 4
Scanner Features .................................................................................................4
Connecting the Antenna......................................................................................6
Powering Your Scanner........................................................................................6
Installing Batteries...........................................................................................6
Battery Notes.................................................................................................7
Recycle Rechargeable Batteries....................................................................7
Scanner Placement..............................................................................................7
Connecting Headphones.....................................................................................8
Listening Safely................................................................................................8
Connecting the External Alert Out .....................................................................8
Understanding Your Scanner..............................................................................8
Turning on the Scanner........................................................................................9
Setting the Clock/Alarm......................................................................................9
Alarm Function..............................................................................................10
Programming Frequencies into Channels.....................................................10
Searching ..................................................................................... 12
Fine Tune.............................................................................................................12
Service Bank Search.........................................................................................12
Storing Frequencies Found During a Search.................................................13
Search Skip Memory.........................................................................................13
Search Speeds...................................................................................................14
Scanning....................................................................................... 15
Scanning Stored Channels...............................................................................15
Manually Selecting a Channel.........................................................................15
Weather Scan.....................................................................................................16

3
Contents
Receiving NWR-SAME and Weather Alert Signals.......................................16
Turning On the Digital Weather Alert Feature..........................................16
Receiving Alerts in Standby Mode...............................................................17
Testing the Weather Alarm...........................................................................17
3URJUDPPLQJ$OHUWVIRUD6SHFLÀF&RXQW\.................................................17
Programming FIPS .....................................................................................17
Skywarn..............................................................................................................18
About Skywarn..............................................................................................19
Settings ........................................................................................ 20
Setting Delay......................................................................................................20
Turning Channel-Storage Banks On or Off.....................................................20
Locking Out Channels.......................................................................................20
Setting Priority...................................................................................................21
Using the Display Backlight.............................................................................21
Advanced Programming ................................................................. 22
Cloning Your Scanner........................................................................................22
Wired Programming..........................................................................................23
Additional Information................................................................... 24
FCC Notice..........................................................................................................24
Scanning Legally................................................................................................24
Care.....................................................................................................................25
Service and Repair............................................................................................25
6SHFLÀFDWLRQV....................................................................................................25
Troubleshooting.................................................................................................27
Resetting your Scanner................................................................................27

4
Scanner Setup
Scanner Setup
Scanner Features
•
/
CLR
/
DELAY
Enter a decimal point.
Clear an entry.
Turn delay on or off.
Select a service band:
MAR (Marine), FD/PD (Fire/Police),
AIR (Aircraft), HAM, or FM.
WX
/
Start a weather
scan. Press and
hold to activate
Skywarn.
ENT (Enter)
/
PROGRAM
Complete the entry of frequencies.
Put the scanner in programming
mode.
SCAN
/
MAN
Scan the stored channel frequencies. Go to manual mode.
SRCH
Start a fine tune search.
S
/
T
Search up and down in a fine tune or service search.

5
Scanner Setup
0-9
Input a number.
PRI (Priority)
/
WX ALERT
Turns the priority function on or off.
Press to turn weather alert on and off.
L/O
Lockout selected channels or skip specified
frequencies during a search.
PSE (Pause)
Stop and resume search or scan.
Press to turn the backlight on for 15 seconds.
Press and hold to turn the backlight on and off.
POWER
Press and hold to
turn the scanner
on or off.
Clock Switch
Set to Alarm Set to set the alarm time.
Set to Clock Set to set the current time.
Set to Clock to display the current time.
Alarm Switch
Set to Off to disable alarm.
Set to Radio to enable the radio alarm.
Set to Tone to enable the tone alarm.

6
Scanner Setup
Connecting the Antenna
Attach the supplied antenna to the scanner by aligning the arrow
on its base with the tab on the scanner’s BNC connector and then
pressing into place.
When using an external antenna, always connect with 50-ohm,
RG-58, or RG-8 coaxial cable. If the antenna
is over 50 feet from the scanner, use
RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial
cable. If your antenna’s cable does
not have a BNC connector, your
local RadioShack store carries a
variety of BNC adapters.
Powering Your Scanner
Insert the supplied AC adapter’s barrel plug
into the power jack on the back of the scanner. Plug the adapter into a
standard household outlet that supplies 120V AC, 60Hz. Do not plug the
adapter into a switch-controlled outlet.
Installing Batteries
1. Remove the battery compartment cover.
2. Insert three AA batteries (not included) into the battery compartment,
matching the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside.
3. Replace the cover.
DC 12V Jack

7
Scanner Setup
Battery Notes
• Use fresh alkaline AA batteries.
• Rechargeable batteries can be used, but battery life is shorter than
with alkaline batteries. The scanner will not recharge batteries in the
compartment.
• Always remove old or weak batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals that
destroy electronic circuits.
• Do not mix old and new batteries, different types of batteries
(standard, alkaline, or rechargeable), or rechargeable batteries of
different capacities.
• The batteries are intended to provide backup power for the clock and
for scanning for a short time. When the backup batteries becomes too
low, appears. Promptly replace the batteries.
• When you either install batteries or connect the AC Adapter to a
standard wall outlet, the scanner powers on and goes to STANDBY
mode. The display shows the initial clock time of 12:00 AM. The
scanner remains in STANDBY mode.
Recycle Rechargeable Batteries
Placing rechargeable batteries in the trash can be harmful to
the environment. Instead, recycle old rechargeable batteries
at your local RadioShack store free of charge. RadioShack
participates in the RBRC©battery recycling program, and is
committed to preserving the environment and conserving natural
resources. Call 1-800-THE-SHACK (1-800-843-7422) for moreCall 1-800-THE-SHACK (1-800-843-7422) for more
information.
Scanner Placement
• Do not use the scanner in high-moisture environments such as the
kitchen or bathroom.
• Avoid placing the scanner in direct sunlight or near heating elements
or vents.
• If your scanner receives interference or electrical noise, move the
scanner or its antenna away from the source. You might also try
changing the height or angle of the antenna.

8
Scanner Setup
Connecting Headphones
For private listening, you can plug a mono earphone or headset into the
Headphone Jack on the back of your scanner. This automatically disconnects
the internal speaker. Note that the sound is not in stereo.
Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these
earphone or headphones guidelines:
• Do not listen at extremely high
volume levels. Extended high-
volume listening can lead to
permanent hearing loss.
• Set the volume to the lowest
setting before listening. Turn
on the scanner, and adjust the
volume to a comfortable level.
• After you set the volume, do not
increase it. Over time, your ears
adapt to the volume level, so a
volume level that does not cause
discomfort might still damage
your hearing.
Connecting the External Alert Out
To provide additional alerting options for the weather alert, connect a
switch-closure activated device such as a strobe or siren controller (not
supplied). The devise can be up to 200mA, AC/DC 20V and must have a
3.5mm mono plug cable. Plug the device into the Alert Out Jack on the back
of your scnner.
Understanding Your Scanner
We use a few simple terms in this manual to explain the features of the
scanner. Familiarize yourself with these terms and the scanner’s features, and
you can put the scanner to work for you right away.
The scanner scans conventional frequencies. A frequency, expressed in
MHz, is the tuning location of a station. To find active frequencies, use the
search function or consult an online resource such as www.radioreference.
com.
Headphone Jack
Alert Out Jack

9
Scanner Setup
Besides searching within a selected frequency range, you can also search
your scanner’s service banks. Service banks are preset groups of frequencies
categorized by the type of services that use those frequencies. The scanner
is preprogrammed with all the frequencies allocated to the Marine, Aircraft,
Police (Fire/Emergency), Ham and FM services.
When you search and find a desired frequency, you can store it into a
programmable memory location called a channel. Channels are grouped
into channel-storage banks. Your scanner has 10 channel-storage banks
(numbered 0-9). Each bank contains 20 channels (numbered 0-19), for a total
of 200 channels. You can scan the channel storage banks to see if there is
activity on the frequencies stored there.
Note: Search for frequencies to find your local frequencies, after you
have programmed these frequencies into channels, you can scan the
channels.
Use each channel-storage bank to group frequencies. For example, the
police department might use four frequencies in your town while the
fire department uses an additional four. You could program the police
frequencies in bank 0, and program the fire department frequencies in bank 1.
Turning on the Scanner
1. Turn SQUELCH fully counterclockwise.
2. Press and hold the POWER button to turn on your scanner. Turn up the
VOLUME until you hear a hissing sound.
3. Turn SQUELCH clockwise until the hissing stops.
Note: Make sure the antenna is connected before you turn on
the scanner.
To perform a quick check of scanner operation, press the WX/key. If you
are near a NOAA weather station, you should hear weather information.
Setting the Clock/Alarm
Your scanner’s clock displays whenever you
turn off the radio functions. It can also be
used as an alarm clock.
To set the clock time:
1. Slide the Clock Switch to Clock Set.

10
Scanner Setup
2. The hour digits flash. Press Tor Sor press the number keys to enter
the hour. Then press ENT/PROGRAM to set.
3. The minutes digits flash. Press Tor Sor press the number keys to enter
the minutes. Press ENT/PROGRAM to set.
Note: When setting the clock minutes, the seconds digits are reset
to 00 to enable accurate time adjustment.
4. AM/PM flashes. Press Tor Sto select
AM or PM. Press ENT/PROGRAM to set.
5. To save your selection, slide the Clock
Switch to Clock.
6. To set the alarm, slide the Clock Switch
to Alarm Set and repeat steps 2-5.
Alarm Function
• Slide the Alarm Switch to Tone, if you want the alarm to sound a tone
at the set time.
• Slide the Alarm Switch to Radio if you want the alarm to sound with
the channel that was previously selected in Scan Mode. The radio
alarm will only sound in Standby Mode.
• To silence the alarm, slide the Alarm Switch to Off. If you do not turn
off the alarm, it will sound for 20 minutes then reset to alert you again
the following day.
Programming Frequencies into Channels
Before the scanner can begin to scan, you must program a frequency into at
least one channel.
To locate and store specific frequencies into channels for later use:
1. From Scan Mode, press SCAN/MAN to stop scanning.
2. Press ENT/PROGRAM to put the scanner in programming mode. PGM
appears.
3. Use the number keys to enter both the channel storage bank and the
channel number you want to assign to a frequency.
4. Press SCAN/MAN.