Radio Shack PRO-76 User manual

Owner’s Manual Cat. No. 20-313
PRO-76
200-Channel VHF/UHF/Air
Handheld Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
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2
FEATURES
Your new RadioShack VHF/
UHF/Air Handheld Scanner
lets you in on all the action!
This scanner gives you di-
rect access to over 23,000
exciting frequencies, includ-
ing those used by police and
fire departments, ambu-
lance services, aircraft,
transportation services, and
amateur radio. You can se-
lect up to 200 channels for
your scanner to scan and
you can change your selec-
tion at any time.
Your scanner also has these
special features:
Weather Alert — the scan-
ner automatically sounds an
alert when it receives a
weather emergency signal.
Weather Band Key —
scans seven prepro-
grammed weather frequen-
cies to keep you informed
about current weather condi-
tions.
Wired Programming — you
can connect your scanner to
a personal computer and
program frequencies into the
scanner from the computer
using an optional cable and
software.
Note: The necessary cable
and software, and additional
information about using your
personal computer to pro-
gram your scanner, are
available at your local Ra-
dioShack store.
Liquid Crystal Display —
makes it easy to view and
change programming infor-
mation.
Search Skip — lets you se-
lect up to 20 frequencies for
the scanner to skip during a
limit or direct search to avoid
unwanted frequencies.
Direct Search — lets you
search for a transmission
starting from a specified fre-
quency.
Ten Channel-Storage Banks
— you can store 20 chan-
nels in each bank (200 total
channels), letting you group
channels so you can more
easily identify calls.
©1999 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack and Adaptaplug are registered trademarks
used by Tandy Corporation.
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Ten Monitor Memories —
let you temporarily save up
to ten frequencies you locate
during a search, so you can
move selected frequencies
to channel storage later.
Scan Delay — delays scan-
ning for about 2 seconds be-
fore moving to another
channel, so you can hear
more replies that are trans-
mitted on the same channel.
You can also set the scan-
ner to delay on all active fre-
quencies during a search.
Memory Backup — keeps
the channel frequencies
stored in memory for an ex-
tended time even if the scan-
ner loses power.
Three Power Options —
you can power the scanner
from internal (rechargeable
or non-rechargeable) batter-
ies or external AC or DC
power (using an optional AC
or DC adapter).
Low Battery Alert — warns
you when the battery power
gets low.
Key Lock — lets you lock
the scanner’s keys to help
prevent accidentally chang-
ing the scanner’s program-
ming.
Key Confirmation Tones
— the scanner sounds a
confirmation tone when you
perform an operation cor-
rectly and an error tone if
you make an error.
Lockout Function — lets
you set the scanner to ig-
nore specified channels
when scanning.
Ten Priority Channels —
let you set the scanner to
check up to ten channels ev-
ery 2 seconds so you do not
miss important calls.
Display Backlight —
makes the scanner easy to
read in low-light situations.
Supplied Flexible Antenna
with BNC Connector —
provides good reception of
strong local signals. You can
connect an external anten-
na with a BNC connector to
the scanner for improved re-
ception of distant/weaker
signals.
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Your scanner can receive these bands:
Note: See “Specifications” on Page 44 for more information
about the scanner’s frequency steps.
Frequency
Range (MHz) Types of Transmissions
29–54 10-Meter Ham Band, VHF Lo, 6-Meter Ham Band
108–136.975 Aircraft
137–174 Military Land Mobile, 2-Meter Ham Band, VHF Hi
406–512 Federal Government, 70-cm Ham Band, UHF
Standard Band, UHF “T” Band
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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 your scanner
away from the receiver.
• Connect your scanner to
an outlet that is on a dif-
ferent electrical circuit
from the receiver.
• Contact your local
RadioShack store for
help.
Note: Mobile use of this
scanner is unlawful or re-
quires a permit in some ar-
eas. Check the laws in your
area.
SCANNING
LEGALLY
Your scanner covers fre-
quencies used by many dif-
ferent groups including
police and fire departments,
ambulance services, govern-
ment agencies, private com-
panies, amateur radio
services, military opera-
tions, pager services, and
wireline (telephone and tele-
graph) service providers. It is
legal to listen to almost ev-
ery transmission your scan-
ner can receive. However,
there are some transmis-
sions you should never in-
tentionally listen to. These
include:
• telephone conversa-
tions (cellular, cordless,
or other private means
of telephone signal
transmission)
• pager transmissions
• any scrambled or
encrypted transmissions
According to the
Electronic
Communications Privacy Act
(ECPA), you are subject to
fines and possible imprison-
ment for intentionally listen-
ing to, using, or divulging the
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6
contents of such a transmis-
sion unless you have the
consent of a party to the
communication (unless such
activity is otherwise illegal).
This scanner is designed to
prevent reception of illegal
transmissions, in compliance
with the law which requires
that scanners be manufac-
tured in such a way as to not
be easily modifiable to pick
up those transmissions. Do
not open your scanner's
case to make any modifica-
tions that could allow it to
pick up transmissions that it
is not legal to listen to. Doing
so could subject you to legal
penalties.
We encourage responsible,
legal scanner use.
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CONTENTS
Preparation ............................................................................. 9
Installing Batteries ............................................................. 9
Important Information About the External Power Jacks .. 10
Using AC Power .............................................................. 11
Using Vehicle Battery Power ........................................... 12
Charging Rechargeable Batteries ................................... 12
Connecting an Antenna ................................................... 13
Connecting the Supplied Antenna ............................... 13
Connecting an Outdoor Antenna ................................. 14
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones ........................... 15
Listening Safely ........................................................... 15
Traffic Safety ............................................................... 16
Connecting an Extension Speaker .................................. 16
Using the Belt Clip ........................................................... 16
Understanding Your Scanner ............................................. 17
A Look at the Keypad ...................................................... 17
A Look at the Display ...................................................... 19
Understanding Banks ...................................................... 21
Channel Storage Banks .............................................. 21
Monitor Memories ........................................................... 21
Operation .............................................................................. 22
Turning On the Scanner/Setting Volume and Squelch .... 22
Storing Known Frequencies into Channels ..................... 22
Finding and Storing Active Frequencies .......................... 23
Using Limit Search ...................................................... 23
Using Direct Search .................................................... 24
Using Monitor Memory .................................................... 25
Listening to a Monitor Memory .................................... 25
Moving a Frequency from a Monitor Memory
to a Channel ................................................................ 26
Scanning Channels ......................................................... 26
Manually Selecting a Channel ......................................... 27
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Special Features .................................................................. 28
Using the Keylock ........................................................... 28
Locking Out Channels .................................................... 28
Delay ............................................................................... 29
Turning Channel-Storage Banks On and Off .................. 29
Using Search Skip Memory ............................................ 30
Using Priority .................................................................. 30
Using the Display Backlight ............................................ 31
Turning the Key Tone On or Off ...................................... 32
Listening to the Weather Band ....................................... 32
WX Alert ...................................................................... 32
Avoiding Image Frequencies ........................................... 33
Resetting the Scanner .................................................... 33
A General Guide to Scanning ............................................ 34
Guide to Frequencies ...................................................... 34
Ham Radio Frequencies ............................................. 34
National Weather Frequencies ................................... 34
Birdie Frequencies ...................................................... 34
Guide to the Action Bands .............................................. 35
Typical Band Usage (MHz) ......................................... 35
Primary Usage ............................................................ 35
Band Allocation ............................................................... 36
Frequency Conversion .................................................... 40
Troubleshooting .................................................................. 41
Care and Maintenance ........................................................ 43
Specifications ...................................................................... 44
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PREPARATION
INSTALLING
BATTERIES
You can power your scanner
with four AA batteries (not
supplied). For the best per-
formance and longest life, we
recommend RadioShack al-
kaline batteries. Or, you can
use rechargeable nickel-
cadmium or nickel-metal hy-
dride batteries. Both types of
batteries are available at
your local RadioShack store.
Cautions:
• The scanner has a built-
in circuit that lets you
recharge nickel-
cadmium batteries in-
side the battery com-
partment. However, you
must never use this cir-
cuit when you have
installed non-
rechargeable batteries
in the scanner. Be sure
to read “Important Infor-
mation About the Exter-
nal Power Jacks” on
Page 10 and “Charging
Rechargeable Batter-
ies” on Page 12.
• Use only fresh batteries
of the required size and
recommended type.
• Do not mix old and new
batteries, different types
of batteries (standard,
alkaline, or recharge-
able), or rechargeable
batteries of different
capacities.
Follow these steps to install
batteries.
1. While pressing down on
the tab on the bottom of
the battery compart-
ment cover, pull it away
from the scanner to
remove it.
2. Install two batteries in
the battery compart-
ment and two in the
cover as indicated by
the polarity symbols (+
and –) marked on the
inside of the battery
compartment and inside
the cover.
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3. Replace the cover.
When BATT.Lo flashes and
the scanner beeps every 15
seconds, or if the scanner
stops operating properly, re-
place or recharge the batter-
ies.
Warning: Dispose of old bat-
teries promptly and properly.
Do not burn or bury them.
Caution: If you do not plan to
use the scanner with batter-
ies for a month or more, re-
move the batteries. Batteries
can leak chemicals that can
destroy electronic parts.
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION
ABOUT THE
EXTERNAL
POWER JACKS
The scanner has two exter-
nal power jacks — POWER
and CHARGE. It is important
that you understand the pur-
pose of each jack before you
connect any adapter to the
scanner.
The POWER jack lets you
power the scanner using an
external power source (AC
or DC adapter). Connecting
an adapter also disconnects
the internal batteries.
The CHARGE jack supplies
power to operate the scan-
ner and also charges the in-
ternal batteries. Use the
CHARGE jack only when you
have installed rechargeable
nickel-cadmium batteries.
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