PRO-2040 100-Channel Programmable Home Scanner (220-0414) Operation Faxback Doc. # 17766 TURNING ON THE SCANNER/SETTING THE VOLUME AND SQUELCH 1. Turn SQUELCH fully clockwise. 2. Press POWER to turn on the scanner. The scanner continuously scans the unlocked channels. NOTE: The first time the scanner is turned on, the channels might not have any frequencies stored in them, but the scanner will continuously scan the empty channels anyway. 3. Press MANUAL to stop the scanning. The display shows the current channel. 4. Turn VOLUME/MIN/MAX clockwise to set the scanner's volume about 1/4 of the way between MIN and MAX. 5. Turn the SQUELCH counterclockwise until a hissing noise is heard. 6. Adjust VOLUME/MIN/MAX to a comfortable level. 7. Slowly turn SQUELCH clockwise until the hissing noise stops. SQUELCH TIPS: If the scanner picks up unwanted or weak transmissions, slightly turn SQUELCH clockwise to decrease receiver sensitivity. If the scanner does not pick up any transmissions, slightly turn SQUELCH counterclockwise to increase receiver sensitivity. FINDING BIRDIE FREQUENCIES Birdies are operating frequencies generated and used inside the scanner's receiver. These operating frequencies could interfere with broadcasts on the same frequencies and make them difficult or impossible to receive. These are the most common birdies to watch for: 31.0500 MHz 134.550 MHz 127.2500 MHz 136.050 MHz 128.1875 MHz 138.050 MHz 128.2500 MHz 140.275 MHz 129.6875 MHz 144.900 MHz 132.0500 MHz 171.250 MHz 132.2625 MHz If one of these frequencies is stored into a channel, the user might only hears noise when the scanner stops on that frequency. If the interference is not severe, turning SQUELCH clockwise might cut out the birdie. To find the specific birdies for a scanner: 1. Disconnect the antenna and move it away from the scanner. NOTE: Make sure that no other nearby radios or TVs are turned on. 2. Search every frequency band from its lowest frequency to the highest (see "Searching For and Temporarily Storing Active Frequencies"). If searching stops (as if the scanner has found a signal) but there is no sound, that frequency might be a birdie. For future reference, a user should record all the birdies in their particular scanner. MANUALLY STORING FREQUENCIES IN CHANNELS Up to 100 frequencies can be manually stored into a scanner's channels. Radio Shack sells some good references for active frequencies, such as "Police Call Radio Guide Including Fire and Emergency Services", "Official Maritime Frequency Directory", and "Official Aeronautical Frequency Directory". Radio Shack updates these directories every year, so be sure to get a current copy. If a user does not have a reference to frequencies in their area, use a limit or direct search to find a transmission. Follow these steps to manually store frequencies: 1. Press MANUAL to stop the scanning. 2. Enter the desired channel number to store the frequency at. 3. Press PGM. 000.0000MHz, PROGRAM, BAND, the bank number, and the selected channel number appear on the display. 4. Enter the frequency the user wants to store, including the decimal point. NOTES: Frequencies are separated from each other in the following steps: Frequencies Steps 29.0 - 108.0 MHz 5 kHz 108 - 136.975 MHz 12.5 kHz 137.0 - 300.0 MHz 5 kHz 300 - 3000 MHz 12.5 kHz When entering a frequency, the scanner automatically rounds it to the nearest valid number. For example, if the 151.473 frequency is entered, the scanner rounds it up to 151.475. 5. Press ENTER to store the frequency into the selected channel. NOTE: If a mistake is made in Step 4, Error appears on the display. Repeat Steps 4 and 5. 6. To program the next channel in sequence, repeat Steps 3 - 5. To program other channels not in sequence, repeat Steps 2 - 5. SEARCHING FOR AND TEMPORARILY STORING ACTIVE FREQUENCIES Frequencies can be searched using a limit or direct search, then the user either skips selected frequencies or temporarily stores frequencies into monitor memories. Limit Search A limit search provides for searching active transmissions within a specified range of frequencies. NOTE: The scanner's delay feature can be used while using limit search (see "Delay"). Follow these steps to search for active frequencies: 1. Press PGM, them LIMIT. Lo and a frequency appear on the display. 2. Using the number keys, enter the lowest frequency (including the decimal point) the user wants to search within the desired frequency range, then press ENTER. NOTE: If an invalid frequency is entered, Error appears on the display. To correct this, simply repeat the step. 3. Press LIMIT. Hi and a frequency appear on the display. 4. Using the number keys, enter the highest frequency the user wants to search within the desired frequency range, then press ENTER. 5. Press UP TRIANGLE to search upward from the lower to the upper limit, or press DOWN TRIANGLE to search downward form the upper to the lower limit. -L-, SEARCH, and UP TRIANGLE or DOWN TRIANGLE appear, and the next available monitor memory flashes on the display. 6. When the scanner finds an active frequency the user wants to monitor, the following options are available: To store the displayed frequency into the current monitor memory, quickly press MON. To continue the search, press UP/DOWN TRIANGLE. To hold the frequency, press LIMIT. -H- appears on the display. Press LIMIT again to exit the hold mode and resume the limit search. NOTES: If the UP or DOWN TRIANGLE is pressed during the hold mode, the frequency changes in the current step increment toward the upper or lower limits. If a search skip frequency is tuned, the display shows LOCKOUT (see "Search Skip Memory). Direct Search A direct search allows the user to specify a starting frequency, then search for active transmissions above or below the specified frequency. NOTE: The scanner's delay feature can be used while using direct search (see "Delay"). 1. Press MANUAL. 2. Using the number keys, enter the frequency (including the decimal point) the user wants to start the search from, or the channel number containing the starting frequency, then press MAN or PGM to select the channel. 3. Press UP TRIANGLE to search up or DOWN TRIANGLE to search down starting from the specified frequency or channel. -d-, SEARCH, and the UP/DOWN TRIANGLE appear, and the next available monitor memory flashes on the display. NOTE: If an invalid frequency is entered, Error appears on the display. To correct this, repeat Steps 2 and 3. 4. When the scanner finds an active frequency the user wants to monitor, do one of the following: To store the frequency into the current monitor memory, press MON. To continue the search, press UP/DOWN TRIANGLE. To hold the frequency, press LIMIT. -h- appears on the display. Press LIMIT again to exit the hold mode and resume the direct search. NOTES: If the UP/DOWN TRIANGLES are pressed during the hold mode, the frequency changes in the current step increment toward the upper or lower limits. If a search skip frequency is tuned, the display shows LOCKOUT (see "Search Skip Memory"). Search Skip Memory Specified frequencies can be skipped during a limit or direct search. This lets the user avoid unwanted frequencies or ones already stored in a channel. Up to 50 skip frequencies can be programmed into the scanner's memory. To skip a frequency, press L/O/SEARCH SKIP when the scanner stops on the frequency during a limit or direct search. To clear a single frequency from skip memory so the scanner can stop on it during a limit or direct search, press MANUAL to hold the search, enter the frequency, then press L/O/SEARCH SKIP until LOCKOUT disappears from the display. To clear all the skip frequencies at once, while in the search mode, press and hold L/O/SEARCH SKIP until the scanner beeps twice. NOTES: If more than 50 skip frequencies are programmed, each new frequency replaces earlier ones, starting from the first stored frequency. The user can select the skipped frequency when the scanner is in the hold mode. The scanner displays LOCKOUT when a skipped frequency is selected. LISTENING TO MONITOR MEMORIES After temporarily storing frequencies into the scanner's monitor memories, listen to them by pressing MANUAL, MON, then the number for the desired monitor memory. NOTE: To listen to the monitor memories, the priority channel feature must be turned off (see "Designating a Priority Channel"). MOVING A FREQUENCY FROM A MONITOR MEMORY TO A CHANNEL 1. Press MANUAL to stop the scanning. 2. Enter the channel number where the monitor frequency will be stored, then press PGM. PROGRAM appears on the display. 3. Press MON, then enter the monitor memory number that has the frequency to store into the channel. MON and the entered frequency appear, and the channel number blinks on the display. 4. Press ENTER. The scanner stores the frequency into the selected channel. SCANNING THE STORED CHANNELS To scan the stored channels, press SCAN. The scanner scans through all the stored channels except the ones the user locks out (see "Locking Out Channels"). If needed, readjust SQUELCH to eliminate the hissing sound between transmissions. Turning Channel-Storage Banks On and Off The scanner can be set to scan more efficiently by turning selected channel storage banks on and off. When turning off a bank, the scanner does not scan any of the 10 channels in the bank. While scanning, press the number key corresponding to the bank the user wants to turn on or off. If the memory bank indicator is on, the bank is turned on and the scanner scans all channels within that bank that are not locked out. If the indicator is off, the scanner does not scan any of the channels within that bank. NOTES: Any channel in the bank can be manually selected, even if the bank is turned off. The user cannot turn off all banks. There must be at least one active bank. MANUALLY SELECTING A CHANNEL A specific channel can be continuously monitored without scanning. This is useful if there is an emergency broadcast on a channel and the user wants to hear all the details (even though there might be periods of silence) or if the user wants to monitor only a specific channel or a locked-out channel. To manually select a channel, press MANUAL, enter the channel number, then press MANUAL again. If scanning has stopped at the desired channel, simply press MANUAL once. Repeatedly press MANUAL to step through the channels one at a time. LISTENING TO THE WEATHER BAND The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has allocated 11 channels for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This scanner is preprogrammed with the following frequencies available to NOAA: 162.425 MHz 162.500 MHz 162.440 MHz 162.525 MHz 162.450 MHz 162.550 MHz 162.475 MHz To hear a local forecast and regional weather information, simply press WX. WX appears on the display. The scanner scans through the weather band and stops on an active broadcast. If a broadcast is weak, press WX again to continue to scan through the weather band. SPECIAL FEATURES DESIGNATING A PRIORITY CHANNEL By designating a priority channel, the user can scan through the programmed channels and still not miss an important or interesting call on a specific channel. NOTE: Users can select only one channel as the priority channel. To program a stored channel as the priority channel, press PGM, the desired channel number, then PRI/HYPER SEARCH. P appears on the display. To turn on the priority feature, press PRI/HYPER SEARCH during scanning. PRIORITY appears on the display. The scanner now checks the priority channel every 2 seconds, and stays on the channel if there is activity. P appears on the display whenever the scanner is set to the priority channel. To turn off the priority feature, press PRI/HYPER SEARCH until PRIORITY disappears from the display. USING THE 2-SECOND DELAY Many agencies use a two-way radio system that might have a period of several seconds between a query and a reply. To avoid missing a reply, a 2-second delay can be programmed into any channel. When the scanner stops on an active channel with a programmed delay, it continues to monitor the channel for 2 seconds after the activity stops before resuming scanning. To program a 2-second delay into a specific channel, manually select the desired channel then press DLY. DELAY appears on the display. To program a 2-second delay when the scanner stops on an active channel during scanning, quickly press DLY while the channel is still active. DELAY appears on the display. To turn off the programmed delay on any active channel, press DLY while the channel is still active. DELAY disappears from the display. LOCKING OUT CHANNELS A scanner can be set to scan more efficiently by locking out channels the user does not want to monitor. This is handy for locking out channels where a frequency with a continuous transmission, such as a weather channel, has been stored. To lock out a channel, press MANUAL, enter the desired channel number, press MAN or PGM to select the channel, then press L/O/SEARCH SKIP so LOCKOUT appears on the display. NOTES: Locked out channels can still be manually selected. The user cannot lock out all channels. There must be at least one active channel in each bank. To unlock a channel, manually select the channel, then press L/O/ SEARCH SKIP so LOCKOUT disappears from the display. To unlock all channels, while the scanner is scanning, select the banks containing the locked channels to be unlocked, press MANUAL, then press and hold L/O/SEARCH SKIP until the scanner beeps twice. CHANGING SCANNING AND SEARCH SPEEDS The PRO-2040 has two scan and three search speeds. Type Speed Normal Scan 12 channels/second Hyper Scan 50 channels/second Normal Search 50 steps/second High Speed Search 100 steps/second Hyper Search 300 steps/second To change the scanning speed, during scanning, press SPEED to switch between normal and hyper scan speeds. SCAN flashes on the display during hyper scan speed. NOTES: Scan speeds can also be changed when listening to the weather band. UP or DOWN TRIANGLE flashes on the display during hyper scan. To change the search speed, during a limit or direct search, press SPEED to switch between the normal and high speed search speeds. UP or DOWN TRIANGLE flashes on the display during high speed search. To select the hyper search speed, during a limit or direct search, press PRI/HYPER SEARCH. SEARCH flashes on the display during hyper search speed. NOTE: Hyper search speed can only be used in 5kHz-step bands. SKIPPING DATA SIGNALS The scanner can be set to skip data signals (nonmodulated signals such as preamble signals for pagers) during a limit or direct search. NOTE: Data signals in the air band (AM mode) cannot be skipped. To skip data signals, press DATA so DATA appears on the display. The scanner might pause momentarily at an unwanted signal but resumes searching in 2 or 3 seconds. To stop skipping data signals, press DATA so DATA disappears from the display. (cjs/all-11/07/95)