PRO-2039 Scanner (200-0462) Preparation Faxback Doc. # 15924 This scanner is primarily designed for use in the home as a base station. You can place it on a desk, shelf, or table. The scanner's front feet fold up or down. Adjust them to give you the best view of the display. CONNECTING THE ANTENNA To attach the supplied telescoping antenna, simply screw it clockwise into the hole on the scanner's top. The scanner's sensitivity depends on the antenna's length and various environmental conditions. For the best reception of the transmissions you want to hear, adjust the antenna length. ┌───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Frequency │ Antenna Length │ ├───────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ 30 - 174 MHz │ extend fully │ │ 380 - 512 MHz │ extend 2 segments │ │ 806 - 960 MHz │ collapse fully (1 segment only) │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Connecting an Optional Antenna The telescoping antenna is adequate for strong local signals. But, for improved reception, you can connect a multi-band outdoor antenna (not supplied) to the scanner. The local Radio shack store sells a variety of antennas. Choose the one that best meets your needs. When deciding on an outdoor base antenna and its location, consider the following: The location of the antenna should be as high as possible. The antenna and antenna cable should be as far as possible from sources of electrical noise (appliances, other radios, and so on). The antenna should be vertical for the best performance. To connect an optional antenna, always use 50-ohm coaxial cable, such as RG-58 or RG-8. For lengths over 50 feet, use RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If the coaxial cable's connector does not fit in the ANT jack, you might also need a PL-259-to-BNC antenna plug adapter, such as Cat. No. 278-120. The local Radio Shack store carries a wide variety of coaxial antenna cable and connectors. Follow the mounting instructions supplied with the antenna. Then route the antenna cable to the scanner. and connect it to the ANT jack on the back of the scanner. CAUTION: Do not run the cable over sharp edges or moving objects. WARNING: Use extreme caution when you install or remove an outdoor antenna. If the antenna starts to fall, let it go! It could contact overhead power lines. If the antenna touches a power line, contact with the antenna, mast, cable, or guy wires can cause electrocution and death. Call the power company to remove the antenna. DO NOT attempt to do so yourself. CONNECTING POWER To power the scanner, plug the scanner's AC power cord into a standard AC outlet. CAUTION: To prevent electric shock, the plug's blades are polarized and fit only one way. If the plug does not fit easily, turn it over and try again. Do not force the plug into the AC outlet. The memory backup circuit begins to function a few minutes after you connect the scanner to AC power. If a power failure occurs or if the power cord is disconnected, this circuit protects information in the scanner's memory for about 1 hour. RESETTING AND INITIALIZING THE SCANNER If the scanner's display locks up or the scanner does not work properly after you connect power, you might have to reset the scanner's display or initialize the scanner. Resetting the Scanner's Display 1. Turn off the scanner, then turn it on again. 2. Insert a pointed object, such as a straightened paper clip, into the RESET hole on the back of the scanner. If the scanner still does not work properly, you might have to initialize the scanner. Initializing the Scanner CAUTION: This procedure clears all information you programmed into the scanner's memory. Initialize the scanner only when you are sure the scanner is not working properly. 1. Turn off the scanner, then turn it on again. 2. Press and hold down CLEAR and insert a pointed object, such as a straightened paper clip, into RESET hole on the back of the scanner. 3. Release RESET. When information reappears, release CLEAR. NOTE: You must release RESET before releasing CLEAR in order to clear the memory. CONNECTING HEADPHONES For private listening, you can connect an optional pair of headphones with a 1/8-inch plug to the scanner. Use monaural headphones, such as Cat. No. 20-210. Insert the headphones' plug into the headphone jack on the front of the scanner. NOTE: Plugging in headphones automatically disconnects the internal speaker. Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use headphones. Set the volume to its lowest setting before you begin listening. After you put on the headphones, adjust the volume to a comfortable listening level. Do not listen at extremely high-volume levels. Extended high-volume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss. Do not increase the volume once you establish a comfortable listening level. Over time, your ears adapt to the volume level, so a volume level that does not cause discomfort might still damage your hearing. Traffic Safety Do not wear headphones while operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle. This can create a traffic hazard and is illegal in some areas. Even though some headphones are designed to let you hear some outside sounds when listening at normal volume levels, they still present a traffic hazard. CONNECTING AN EXTERNAL SPEAKER You can connect an optional external speaker with a 1/8-inch plug to the scanner. Use an 8-ohm external speaker capable of handling over 5 watts of power, such as Cat. No. 21-549. Insert the speaker cable's plug into the EXT SPKR jack on the back of the scanner. NOTE: Plugging in an external speaker automatically disconnects the scanner's internal speaker. UNDERSTANDING THE SCANNER A Look at the Keyboard A quick glance at this section should help you understand each key's function. SCAN - scans through the programmed channels. MAN - stops scanning to let you directly enter a channel number. L/OUT - lets you lock out selected channels. DELAY - programs a 2-second delay for the selected channel. LIMIT - sets the frequency range you want to search. UP and DOWN ARROWS - search up or down from the currently displayed frequency. MON - accesses the 10 monitor memories. SPEED - selects a low or high scanning/search speed. PRI - sets and turns on/off the priority feature for a particular channel. CLEAR - clears an incorrect entry. PGM - programs frequencies into channels. Number Keys - each key has a single digit label and a range of numbers above it. Use the digits on the keys to enter the numbers for a channel or a frequency. Use the range of numbers above the key (61-80, for example) to select the channels in a channel-storage bank (see "Understanding Channel-Storage Banks"). .(dot) - enters a decimal point when you enter a frequency. ENTER - stores a frequency in a channel. A Look at the Display The display has several indicators that show the scanner's current operating mode. A quick look at the display will help you understand how to operate the scanner. MAN - appears when you manually select a channel. SCAN - appears when you scan channels. SRCH - appears during a limit search (-L- also appears) or a direct search (-d- also appears). UP and DOWN arrows appear to indicate the search direction. PRI - appears when you turn on the priority channel feature. P - appears when the scanner is set to the priority channel. MONITOR - appears when you listen to a monitor memory. BANK - bars to the right of this indicator show which memory banks are turned on for scanning. CH - appears with a number (1-200) to show which of the scanner's 200 channels it is tuned to. MHz - appears with digits to show which of the 31,000 possible frequencies the scanner is tuned to. UP and DOWN arrows - indicate the search direction. DELAY - appears when the scanner stops at a channel you programmed for a 2-second delay. PGM - appears when you program frequencies into the scanner's channels. L/OUT - appears when you lock out a channel or manually select a locked-out channel. UNDERSTANDING MEMORY You can store frequencies into either a permanent memory location, called a channel, or a temporary memory location, called a monitor memory. You can store up to 200 channels and 10 monitor memories. CHANNEL-STORAGE BANKS To make it easier to identify and select the channels you listen to most often, channels are divided into 10 channel-storage banks (1 to 10) of 20 channels each. You can use each channel-storage bank to group frequencies, such as those used by the police department, fire department, ambulance services, or aircraft (see "Guide to the Action Bands"). For example, there might be three or four police departments in your area, each using several different frequencies. Additionally, there might be other law enforcement agencies such as state police, county sheriffs, or SWAT teams that use their own frequencies. You could program all law enforcement frequencies starting with Channel 1 (Bank 1), then program the fire department, paramedic, and other public safety frequencies starting with Channel 21 (the first channel in Bank 2). MONITOR MEMORIES The scanner also has 10 monitor memories. You can use these memories to temporarily store frequencies while you decide whether or not to save them in channels. This is handy for quickly storing an active frequency when you search through an entire band. NOTES: To store a frequency into a monitor memory, you must perform a limit or direct search. See "Searching For and Temporarily Storing Active Frequencies." You can select monitor memories manually, but you cannot scan them. See "Using Monitor Memories." (TE/all-07/18/95)