PRO-57 Scanner (200-0126) A General Guide to Scanning Faxback Doc. # 19705 BIRDIES Birdies are the products of internally generated signals that make some frequencies difficult or impossible to receive. If you program one of these frequencies, you hear only noise on that frequency. If the interference is not severe, you might be able to rotate SQUELCH clockwise to cut out the birdie. The most common birdies to watch for are listed below. Birdie Frequencies Low Band Hi Band UHF Band 30.730 MHz 140.795 MHz 384.000 MHz 30.740 MHz 140.805 MHz 396.800 MHz 32.080 MHz 143.430 MHz 409.600 MHz 32.105 MHz 143.440 MHz 422.400 MHz 38.390 MHz 153.595 MHz 435.200 MHz 38.410 MHz 153.605 MHz 40.975 MHz 153.675 MHz 40.990 MHz 153.685 MHz 44.795 MHz 163.920 MHz 44.805 MHz 163.935 MHz 51.195 MHz 166.395 MHz 51.235 MHz 166.405 MHz RECEPTION NOTES Reception on the frequencies covered by your Pro-57 is mainly "line of sight." That means you usually cannot hear stations at your listening location that are beyond the horizon. During the summer months, you might be able to hear stations in the 30-50 MHz range located several hundred or even thousands of miles away. This is due to summer atmospheric condition. This type of reception is unpredictable but often very interesting! One very useful service is the National Weather Service's continuous weather broadcasts. These broadcasts contain weather broadcasts and data for the area around the station, plus bulletins on any threatening weather conditions. These stations use three frequencies - 162.40, 162.475, or 162.55 MHz. In most areas of the country, you can receive one of these frequencies. GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS With the right frequencies programmed into your Pro-57, you can monitor very exciting events. With a little investigation, you can find frequencies that are active in your community. Each area of the country can and does use different frequencies. We can give you some general pointers, and you can take it from there. Find out if there is a local club that monitors your community's frequencies. Perhaps a local electronics repair shop that works on equipment similar to your scanner can give you channel frequencies used by local services. A volunteer police department or fire department employee can also be a good source for this information. As a general rule on VHF, most activity is concentrated between 153.785 and 155.98 MHz and between 153.73 and 159.45 MHz. Here you will find local government, police, fire, and most other emergency services. If you are near a railroad yard or major railroad tracks, look around 160.0 and 161.9 MHz for signals. In some larger cities, there has been a move to the UHF bands for emergency services. Here, most of the activity is between 453.025 and 453.95 MHz and between 456.025 and 459.95 MHz. In the UHF band, the overall spreads of 456.025-459.95 and 465.025-469.975 MHz are used by mobile units and control stations associated with base and repeater units that operate 5 MHz lower (that is, 451.025 -454.95 and 460.025-464.975 MHz). This means that if you find an active frequency inside one of the mobile unit's frequency spreads, you can look 5 MHz lower (or higher, as the case may be) to find the major base station/repeater for that radio service. Frequencies in the VHF bands are accessible in 5 kHz steps. In the UHF bands, frequencies are 12.5 kHz apart. Your Pro-57 automatically sounds the entered frequency down to the nearest valid frequency. For example if you try to enter a frequency of 151.473, the Pro-57 accepts this entry as 151.470. TYPICAL BAND USAGE The following is a brief listing of the services that typically use the bands received by your scanner. This listing can help you decide which ranges you would like to scan. Abbreviations: BA...........................................Remote Broadcast (Radio & TV) CA..................................................General Mobile (Radio) CAP.......................................................Civil Air Patrol IB................................................................Business IF.........................................................Forest Products IM.................................................Motion Picture Industry IP......................................................Petroleum Industry IS........................Special Industrial (Construction, Farming, etc.) IT...................................................Telephone Maintenance IW...............................................Power and Water Utilities IX...........................................................Manufacturers IY.......................................Relay Press (newspaper reporters) LA.......................................Automotive Emergency (tow trucks) LJ..................................................Motor Carriers, Trucks LR................................................................Railroad LU...................................................Motor Carriers, Buses LX....................................................................Taxi MC...............................Maritime Limited Coast (private stations) MG.......................................Maritime Government (Coast Guard) MP................................Maritime Public Coast (marine telephone) MS.......................................................Maritime Shipyard PF....................................................................Fire PH.....................................................Highway Maintenance PL........................................................Local Government PM........................................................Medical Services PO...................................................Forestry Conservation PP..................................................................Police PS.......................................................Special Emergency RA.............................................Mobile Telephone (Aircraft) RC.................................Mobile Telephone (radio common carrier) RT...................................Mobile Telephone (landline companies) BIFC..........................................Boise Interagency Fire Cache Government Agencies: UAF..............................................................Air Force UAR...................................................................Army UBW............................International Boundary & Water Laboratories UCE.....................................Environmental Resarch Laboratories UCF.............................................Maritime Fisheries Service UCG............................................................Coast Guard UCM................................................Maritime Administration UCO...........................................................Ocean Survey UCP................................................National Capitol Police UCW...............................................National Weather Service UCX.................................................Department of Commerce UEP........................................Environmental Protection Agency UER...................................................Department of Energy UFA........................................Federal Aviation Administration UFC......................................Federal Communications Commission UGC..............................................Soil Conservation Service UGF.........................................................Forest Service UGS........................................General Services Administration UGX..............................................Department of Agriculture UHW................................Department of Health and Human Services UIB........................................Bonneville Power Administration UIF.................................Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife UIG......................................................Geological Survey UII...............................................Bureau of Indian Affairs UIL..............................................Bureau of Land Management UIM........................................................Bureau of Mines UIP..................................................National Park Service UIR..................................................Bureau of Reclamation UIS......................................Southwestern Power Administration UIX.............................................Department of the Interior UNO.........................................................United Nations UNS...................................................................NASA UPO.........................................................Postal Service USA................................................Federal Government Misc USD.......................................................State Department USN...................................................................Navy UTC......................................................Bureau of Customs UTM.....................................................Bureau of the Mint UTR...........................................Department of Transportation UTV.............................................Tennessee Valley Authority UTX....................................................Treasury Department UVA................................................Veterans Administration UXX.............................................................Classified 30 - 50 MHz BAND 30.00 - 30.55..........................................USA,UAR,USN,UCG,UAF 30.58 - 31.98...............................................IS,IP,IB,LU,PO 32.00 - 32.99..................................USA,UAR,USN,UCG,UGX,UAF,UIR 33.02 - 33.98............................................PS,PH,IS,IB,IP,PF 34.01 - 34.99..........................UCG,UER,USA,UAR,UAF,USN,UGX,UIP,UIF 35.02 - 35.98............................................IB,IT,RC,RT,IS,PS 36.01 - 36.99...............UIX,UER,USA,UAR,USN,UTR,UCO,IP,UHW,UGF,UGX,UAF 37.02 - 37.98...............................................PP,PL,IQ,PH,PS 38.27 - 38.99..........................USA,USN,UGX,UGF,UAR,UAF,UIX,UTX,UVA 39.02 - 39.98........................................................PP,PL 40.01 - 41.99............UIA,UAR,IP,UAF,USA,UVA,UER,USN,UIF,UIR,UTV,UIM,IP UIX,UEP,UCG,UIL BIFC,UHW,UTX 42.02 - 42.94...........................................................PP 42.96 - 43.68............................................IB,IS,IT,RC,RT,PS 43.70 - 44.60........................................................LU,LJ 44.62 - 46.58............................................PP,PO,PL,PH,PF,PS 46.61 - 46.99.................................USA,UIL,BIFC,UAF,UAR,UGX,UGF 47.02 - 49.58............................................PH,PS,IS,IW,IF,IP 49.61 - 49.99..............................UIL,UAR,UGC,UAF,UAR,UGX,UGF,USA 150 - 173 MHz BAND 150.775 - 151.985.....................................PM,LA,IF,PH,PO,IS,IB 152.0075- 152.840........................................PM,RC,LX,IF,IB,RT 152.870 - 153.725........................................IM,IS,IP,IX,IF,IW 153.740 - 156.240.....................................PL,PF,IS,IB,PP,PM,PH 156.255 - 157.450........................................IP,MC,MS,MG,MP,PM 157.470 - 158.700.........................LA,LX,IF,IS,IB,RT,IW,IP,IX,IT,RC 158.730 - 159.480...........................................PP,PL,PH,PO,IP 159.495 - 161.565....................................................LR,LJ 161.580 - 162.000..............................................IP,MC,BA,MP 162.025 - 173.9875.........................UIL,UAR,UGC,UAF,UAR,UGX,UGF,USA 406 - 512 MHz BAND 406.125 - 419.975...............................................Misc.Govt. 450.050 - 450.925.......................................................BA 451.000 - 451.700...........................................IW,IF,IP,IT,IX 451.725 - 452.175..............................................IS,IF,IP,LX 452.200 - 452.950..............................................LX,LJ,LR,LA 452.975 - 453.975........................................IY,PL,PH,PF,PO,PP 454.000 - 457.600........................................IP,RC,RT,RA,BA,IB 458.025 - 467.925...............................PM,PP,IB,IX,IF,IP,IT,IW,GM 482.000 - 508.9875.....................................Mixed Public Safety Unlike the lower bands, frequencies in the 800 MHz band are not allocated by the FCC to specific services. In each area, the channels are licensed on a first-come, first served basis. There are two categories for licensing: Public Safety and Industrial. Systems using one to five channels might use trunked service, but all systems with more than five channels must use a trunked service. 851.0125 - 855.9875...................................Conventional Systems 856.0125 - 860.9875................................Conventional or Trunked 861.0000 - 865.9875........................................Trunked Systems 866.0000 - 869.9999.....................................Reserved-Satellite You might discover one of your regular stations on another frequency that is not listed. It might be known as an "image." For example, you suddenly find 453.2750 also on 474.8750. To see if it is an image, do a little math. Double the intermediate frequency of 10.7 MHz and subtract that number (21.4 MHz) from the new frequency. If the answer is the regular frequency, you have tuned to an image. Occasionally, you might get interference on a weak or distant channel from a strong broadcast 21.4 MHz below the tuned frequency. This is rare, and the image signal is usually cleared whenever there is a broadcast on the actual frequency. (/all-03/01/96)