Radio Shack 20-164 User Manual
20-164
Triple Trunking
Handheld Radio Scanner
Thank you for purchasing your Triple
Trunking Handheld Radio Scanner
from RadioShack. Your scanner scans
conventional frequencies and trunked
systems. Please read this user’s guide
before installing, setting up and using
your new scanner.
What’s Included
Scanner
Antenna
Belt Clip
Non-rechargeable
Battery Holder
Rechargeable Battery
Holder
Preprogrammed
Frequency Addendum
User’s Guide
www.RadioShack.com
C
3
Contents
ontents
Scanner Features ........................................5
Scanner Display............................................ 6
Connecting the Antenna.............................8
Attaching the Belt Clip................................8
Powering Your Scanner ............................... 9
Batteries.................................................... 9
External Power ....................................... 11
Headphones and Speakers.......................12
Keytones and Keylock ...............................13
Backlight and Contrast..............................13
Delay ........................................................... 15
Squelch and Attenuator ............................ 15
Scanner Setup ........................................... 17
Defining a Channel .................................... 18
Copying a Frequency ................................19
Deleting Saved Frequencies..................... 20
CTCSS and DCS......................................... 20
Scanner Cloning......................................... 21
Searching................................................... 23
Seek Search................................................23
Search Banks .............................................. 23
Zeromatic.................................................... 25
Programming a Search Range..................26
Signal Stalker II........................................... 26
Special Signal Stalker ............................ 27
Locking Out Frequencies..........................28
Saving Found Frequencies........................ 29
Scanning....................................................30
Locking Out Channels............................... 30
Priority Scanning ........................................ 31
Weather Alerts ........................................... 32
SAME Standby Mode ................................ 33
Skywarn.......................................................36
Monitoring ................................................37
Trunking Setup.......................................... 38
Defining a Trunking Bank .......................... 38
Trunking Modes ......................................... 38
Motorola Trunking Setup ..........................39
Fleet Maps.............................................. 40
Base and Offset Frequencies................ 41
EDACS Trunking Setup .............................43
LTR Trunking Setup.................................... 43
Searching for Talk Group IDs....................44
Saving a Talk Group ID..............................45
Deleting Talk Group IDs............................46
Saving Trunking Channels.........................47
Trunk Scanning.......................................... 48
Trunking Delay ...........................................49
Locking Out Talk Group IDs...................... 49
Turning Off Sub-Banks............................... 50
Talk Group ID Hold....................................51
Additional Information.............................. 52
Scanner Maintenance................................52
Text Tags..................................................... 52
Troubleshooting......................................... 54
Birdie Frequencies.....................................55
Initializing the Scanner ..............................56
2
C
5
ontents
Scanner Features
Scanner Features
Service and Repair ..................................... 57
Scanning Legally ........................................ 57
FCC Notice................................................. 58
References................................................. 60
Appendix A: Glossary................................60
Appendix B: Search Banks ........................ 60
Appendix C: CTCSS / DCS Codes ........... 66
Appendix D: Signal Stalker II .................... 67
Appendix E: Talk Group Format...............69
Appendix F: Specifications .......................70
Index ...........................................................73
Limited Warranty........................................ 76
PRI – Priority
TEXT – Activates text
buttons.
PSE – Pause
MODE – Changes
receive mode.
KEY/LIGHT – Keypad
lock and backlight.
TUNE – Enters Tune
mode.
ATT – Attenuator.
ST – Navigates
functions.
SRCH – Search.
VOLUME / OFF
Squelch
Headphones
— Signal Stalker.
SCAN — Starts a scan.
FUNC — Function
MAN — Manually select a
channel or enter a channel
number.
TRUNK — Accesses
trunking functions.
WX/ — Weather search
and Skywarn.
1-9 / A-Z– Numbers and letters. Zero enters special
characters.
/DELAY – Decimal point, space, delay functions.
•
CL – Clear.
L/OUT – Locks out channels, frequencies, or Talk Group IDs.
PGM – Program.
ENT – Enter.
4
Scanner Features
7
Scanner Features
Scanner Display
Global
attenuator
Func key
pressed
Control channel
processing
Bank
0 - 9
Channel
00 - 99
Attenuator
on/off
Signal strength
meter
Receive Mode
AM, FM, CT, DC,
or
MO, ED
LT
Scan/search
direction
PRI
pri
Priority on
Priority off
DLY
dly
Delay on
delay off
+
Open mode
–
Closed mode
S
Seek Search
S
Activated
LO
Locked out
lo
No lockout
ZM
Zeromatic on
zm
Zeromatic off
VC
Voice Channel
S
Scan mode
M
Manual mode
P
Program mode
P
Pch
Priority channel
SR
Search Range
Receiving
Frequency
6
Bank or channel
number
Channel tag
Bank tag
ID number
(Trunking/
CTCSS/DCS)
ID tag
Installation
9
Installation
Connecting the Antenna
To connect an external antenna, always follow
the installation instructions supplied with
the antenna. Use 50-ohm coaxial cable, such
as RG-58 or RG-8X, to connect an outdoor
antenna. For lengths between 50 and 100 feet,
use RG-8X low-loss dielectric coaxial cable.
For lengths over 100 feet, use RG8. You also
may need a BNC adapter (not supplied).
To attach the supplied antenna:
1. Align the antenna slots
with the tabs on the
scanner, and slide the
antenna into place.
2. Turn while pushing
down until the antenna
locks into place.
Warning: Use extreme
caution when installing
or removing 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, touching 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.
Powering Your Scanner
You can power your scanner with four AA
batteries (not supplied), or an external power
source.
Batteries
When battery power is low, battery symbol
flashes and the scanner beeps every 30
seconds. When battery power is depleted, the
scanner turns itself off.
For the longest operation and best
performance, use alkaline batteries, available
at your local RadioShack store, or use
RadioShack 1600 mAh nickel-metal hydride
(Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries.
Rechargeable batteries last longer and deliver
more power if you let them fully discharge
once a month. To do this, use the scanner until
battery symbol flashes.
Warning: Never install nonrechargeable batteries in the
yellow rechargeable battery
holder. Non-rechargeable
batteries can get hot or
explode if you try to
recharge them.
Attaching the Belt Clip
To carry your scanner, slide the
supplied belt clip down on the
back of the scanner. To remove
the belt clip, pull the tab out and
slide the clip upward.
8
Installation
11
Installation
To install batteries:
1. Slide open the battery compartment
cover on the back of the scanner.
2. Place 4 AA batteries into the correct
battery holder matching polarity symbols
(+ / –):
• Black – Alkaline (non-rechargeable)
• Yellow – Rechargeable.
3. Place the battery holder into the battery
compartment and replace the cover.
To charge batteries:
1. Install rechargeable batteries.
2. Connect an external power source to the
PWR DC 9V jack. Using the scanner while
charging will increase charge time.
Battery Current Charge Time
Ni-MH 1600 mAh 16 hours
Ni-Cd 600 mAh 6 hours
Ni-Cd 850 mAh 8 hours
Do not overcharge batteries.
Overcharging shortens battery life.
Battery Notes:
• Each battery holder fits only one way. Do
not force it.
• Use only fresh batteries of the required
size and recommended type. Do not mix
old and new batteries, different types
(alkaline or rechargeable), or rechargeable
batteries of different capacities.
• Remove old or weak batteries. If you will
not use the scanner with batteries for a
month, remove the batteries. Batteries
can leak chemicals that destroy electronic
circuits.
• Always dispose of old batteries promptly
and properly. Do not bury or burn them.
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
more information.
External Power
You can power your scanner using a
9V, 400mA AC/DC adaptor and size C
adaptaplugTM (neither supplied).
To use an external power source:
1. Always connect the adapter (not supplied)
to the scanner first.
2. Plug the adapter into the
power source.
3. To disconnect, unplug the
adapter from the power
source first.
POWER DC 9V — External
power source (not included).
10
Installation
13
Installation
If you use an external power source for
regular operation, install alkaline batteries
for emergencies. Rechargeable batteries will
self-discharge, even when not used, and could
have no usable power.
Caution: You must use a Class 2 power source
that supplies 9V DC and delivers at least
400 mA. Its center tip must be set to positive
and its plug must fit the scanner’s PWR DC 9V
jack. Using an adaptor that does not meet
these specifications could damage the
scanner or the adaptor.
Headphones and Speakers
You can plug headphones or an amplified
speaker (neither included) into your scanner’s
headphone jack. This automatically mutes the
scanner’s speaker.
Even though some earphones/headphones let
you hear some outside sounds when listening
at normal volume levels, they still can present
a traffic hazard.
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.
Keytones and Keylock
The scanner sounds a tone each time you
press a key. To prevent accidental changes,
you can lock the keypad.
To set the keytone:
1. Turn on the scanner.
Trunking Scanner”
2. While
To lock the keypad:
1. Press
2. To unlock the keypad, press FUNC then
“Multi-system Trunking
Scanner”
keytone or 2 to turn it off.
locked”
is locked. When locked, the only controls
that operate are FUNC, KEY/LIGHT, SQ,
and VOL.
KEY/LIGHT again.
appears.
appears, press 1 to turn on the
FUNC then KEY/LIGHT.
appears briefly and the keypad
“Multi-system
appears.
“Key
“Key unlocked”
Backlight and Contrast
Your scanner features a backlit keypad and
display for easy viewing. You can select from
three backlight modes:
Normal – Press LIGHT to activate the
backlight.
Keypress – Press any key on the keypad to
activate the backlight.
Ignore – Keypress mode, but the scanner
ignores the function of the first key pressed to
activate the backlight.
12
Installation
15
Installation
Note: The light remains on for a set time
after the last button is pressed.
To turn on the backlight:
1. Hold down
LIGHT until the light turns on.
2. To turn off the backlight, press LIGHT.
To change the backlight mode:
1. Turn on the scanner.
Trunking Scanner”
2. While
“Multi-system Trunking
Scanner”
appears, press LIGHT.
“Multi-system
appears.
3. Press S or T to select a backlight mode
and duration (seconds).
Normal Keypress Ignore
3K3I3
5K5I5
10 K10 I10
20 K20 I20
4. Press ENT.
To change the display contrast:
1. Press
MAN.
2. Press FUNC then 9.
3. Press S or T to select the contrast.
4. Press ENT.
Delay
Sometimes several seconds can pass between
transmissions. To avoid missing a reply, a
delay is automatically set for each channel.
The scanner pauses for 2 seconds after a
transmission stops before it resumes scanning
or searching.
To turn the delay on and off:
1. Press
/DELAY.
•
“DLY”
appears if the delay
is on.
2. To turn on the delay, press •/DELAY
again.
“dly”
appears if the delay is off.
Squelch and Attenuator
The squelch and attenuator control the
scanner sensitivity. If you hear a hissing noise,
the scanner will remain on the current channel.
To set squelch:
1. Turn
2. Turn SQUELCH up (clockwise) a little
3. If noise starts breaking the squelch, turn
With the attenuator on, the scanner might not
receive weak signals, but immunity to adjacent
strong signals is improved.
SQUELCH down (counterclockwise)
until you hear noise.
past where the noise stops. The higher
the squelch is set, the stronger the signal
required to break the squelch.
SQUELCH up to decrease the scanner’s
sensitivity. To hear weaker signals, turn
SQUELCH down to increase its sensitivity.
14
Installation
17
Setup
You can reduce interference using two
attenuator modes:
• Global – (Default) The attenuator setting is
applied to all channels, bands, or groups.
• Normal – Lets you set the attenuator in
each channel, band, or group.
Note: You cannot set the attenuator
while scanning.
To set the attenuator mode:
1. To set Global mode, press
ATT. On the display
2. To set Normal mode, press FUNC and
then ATT. On the display
Then for each channel:
• On – Press ATT.
• Off – Press ATT again.
Note: You cannot set the attenuator
while scanning.
“A”
appears.
FUNC and then
“G”
appears.”
“G”
disappears.
“A”
disappears.”
Scanner Setup
A frequency, expressed in kHz or MHz, is the
tuning location of a station.
Your scanner saves frequencies to channels
and groups the channels into banks. The
scanner’s 10 banks each hold 100 channels
(1,000 channels total).
The scanner is preset to the most common
AM or FM receive modes for each frequency
range. However, some amateur transmissions
may operate in a different mode. If the
transmission sounds weak or distorted,
you may have the channel set to the wrong
receive mode:
AM – Amplitude Modulation, primarily used
for aircraft, military, some amateur and
government transmissions.
FM – Frequency Modulation, used for most
public safety transmissions, broadcast,
business, and most amateur radio
transmissions.
16
CT – FM transmissions with Continuous Tone
Coded Squelch System (CTCSS)
DC – FM transmissions with Digital Coded
Squelch (DCS)
MO – Motorola Trunking System
ED – EDACS Trunking System
LT – LTR Trunking System
Setup
19
Setup
Note: If you change the receive mode
using MODE key, the scanner shows the
receive mode for small caps (ex.
ct, or dc
default setting, press FUNC then press
MODE.
). If you want to change the
fm, am,
Defining a Channel
Go to www.radioreference.com for the latest
frequency references.
To define a channel:
1. Press
2. Enter the bank (0-9) and channel number
3. Press MAN again. “M” and the bank and
4. Press PROG. “M” changes to “P”.
5. Use the number keys to enter the
6. If necessary, press MODE to change the
7. Press ENT.
MAN.
(00-99) where you want to store the
frequency (Example: 101 for Bank 1,
Channel 1).
channel number appear.
frequency (including the decimal point).
If you make a mistake, press CLEAR to
delete a single digit or hold CLEAR about
2 seconds to start over.
Note: Your scanner automatically
rounds to the nearest valid frequency.
For example, if you enter 151.553, your
scanner rounds to 151.550.
receiving mode.
If the frequency is already stored in the
bank,
“Dupl.Freq. ChXXX”
copy the duplicate frequency anyway,
press ENT or press CLEAR to cancel.
If you made a mistake in Step 5,
Freq.”
when you press ENT. Go back to step 5 again.
8. Press MAN again. “M” and the bank and
channel number appear.
briefly appears and the scanner beeps
Note: For information about adding text
tags to a channel or bank, see “Text Tags”
on Page 52.
appears. To
“Invalid
Copying a Frequency
When you copy a frequency, all the channel
conditions, including mode, are also copied.
To copy a frequency:
1. Press
2. Tune the frequency you want to copy.
3. If necessary, press MODE to change the
4. Press FUNC then ENT.
5. To select a new bank, press the bank number.
6. Press ENT.
7. Press MAN.
TUNE.
receiving mode.
“Bank 9 Store?”
appears.
“Channel Stored!”
briefly.
If the frequency is already stored in the
bank,
“Dupl.Freq. ChXXX”
copy the duplicate frequency anyway,
press ENT or press CLEAR to cancel.
appears
appears. To
18
Setup
21
Setup
Deleting Saved Frequencies
To delete a saved frequency:
1. Press
2. Use the number keys to enter the
3. Press MAN.
4. Press PROG. “M” changes to “
5. Press FUNC.
6. Press CLEAR.
To delete all saved frequencies in a bank:
1. Press
2. Press FUNC.
3. Use the number keys to enter the bank
4. Press FUNC then CLEAR.
5. Press 1 to clear all. Pressing any other key
MAN.
frequency’s channel number.
P”.
“0.0000”
PROG. “M”changes to “
number.
to delete all frequencies.”
bank?”
aborts.
“Bank ## selected. Fn + CLR
appears.
appears.
P”.
“Clear entire
appears.
CTCSS and DCS
CTCSS and DCS allow multiple users to share
a single radio frequency without hearing each
other’s transmissions. Your scanner features
an advanced, CTCSS and DCS decoder that
displays CTCSS or DCS codes when available.
Note: CTCSS, DCS, and digital voice
transmissions operate independently of
each other. Your scanner will not decode
digital voice transmissions for CTCSS or
DCS channels. Use FM mode for mixed
analog and digital voice transmissions.
To define a channel’s CTCSS or DCS code:
1. Press
2. Navigate to the channel.
3. Enter a conventional frequency.
4. Press MODE until the desired mode (
5. Press FUNC, then MODE.
6. Use the S or T to select the desired
7. Press ENT.
To save a CTCSS or DCS code, press ENT
while the code appears.
PROG. “M” changes to “P”.
CT
orDC) appears with the default search
code value.
CTCSS or DCS code.
Note: You can enter the code manually.
The scanner automatically fills in the
code. See “Appendix C” on page 65 for a
list of codes.
Scanner Cloning
You can transfer the programmed data to and
from another PRO-164 or PRO-163 scanner
using a connecting cable which has 1/8-inch
(3.5mm) stereo (TRS) phone plugs on both
ends (not supplied).
You can also upload or download programmed
data to or from a PC using a USB cable
available through your local RadioShack store.
The application software is available online
at www.starrsoft.com and www.scancat.com,
or use a search engine to find “scanner
programming software.”
20
Setup
23
Searching
To clone the scanner data:
1. Turn on both scanners.
2. Connect the connecting cable to each
scanner’s PC/IF jack.
** CLONE MODE **
appears.
3. Press S.
“Confirm to send data?”
appears.
4. Press 1 to send the data to the other unit
or press any other key to cancel.
5. To exit the clone mode, remove the cable.
Note:
“CLONE MODE Incorrect
Model”
appears if you connect a scanner
other than a PRO-164 or PRO-163.
Searching
You can search for transmissions using the
preprogrammed search bank, which is divided
into eight search bands.
Seek Search
When Seek Search is active, the scanner stops
on active frequencies for five seconds and
then resumes searching automatically.
To activate Seek Search:
1. Press
2. To turn off Seek Search, press FUNC then
Search Banks
To search preprogrammed search banks:
1. Press
FUNC then 7.
“Seek Search ON”
appears briefly and S appears on the
display.
7 again.
“Seek Search OFF”
appears
briefly.
SRCH repeatedly to select a bank.
22
Bank Band Freq. Chart
SR0 Marine Page 61
SR1 CB Page 62
SR2 FRS/GMRS/MURS Page 62
SR3 Public Safety Page 63
SR4 Aircraft Page 65
SR5 Amateur Bands Page 65
SR6 Railroad Page 65
SR7 Limit search (User change-
able)
Searching
25
Searching
• For SR0-SR2, you can directly select a
channel or search through the band.
• SR3 to SR5 banks contain several groups.
To turn off a group, press the group
number; the group number disappears. To
turn the group back on, press the group
number again.
2. Adjust the Squelch. After the set delay, the
scanner starts searching. When the scanner
finds an active frequency, it stops searching.
3. To pause while searching, press PSE. The
scanner stops searching and
*** PAUSED ***
appears. To resume, press PSE again.
4. If the scanner stops on an unwanted
frequency, you can press L/OUT to lock
out the frequency.
To search banks SR0-SR2:
1. Press
SRCH repeatedly to select SR0, SR1,
or SR2.
2. To search the entire band, press FUNC
then SRCH.
“SRCH”
“MAN”
(Manual select) or
(searches through the band)
appears.
The scanner starts searching while
“SRCH”
appears on the display. When the
scanner finds an active frequency, it stops
searching.
Press FUNC then SRCH again to return to
the previous mode.
“MAN”
3. To select a channel while
appears on
the display, press a channel number or use
S or T.
4. Adjust the Squelch.
5. If the scanner stops on an unwanted
frequency, you can press L/OUT to lock
out the frequency. For more information,
see Locking Out Frequencies on Page 28.
6. To pause while searching, press
PSE. The scanner stops searching
and
*** PAUSED ***
appears. To
resume, press PSE again.
Zeromatic
While searching, the scanner stops if a
transmission triggers the squelch setting.
A narrow-band FM transmission can have
a deviation of +/- 5 KHz, and the actual
total bandwidth, including the tails of the
sidebands, can be even greater. However,
search intervals smaller than that can stop
your scanner short of the correct (center)
frequency.
The Zeromatic function allows the scanner to
find the correct center frequency for search
banks SR3, SR4, SR5, SR6 and SR7. Zeromatic
automatically tunes the step-increment
frequency closest to the center frequency.
To activate Zeromatic:
1. Press
2. To turn Zeromatic off, press FUNC then 0
FUNC then 0.
appears briefly, then
again.
“ZM”
changes to
“Zeromatic ON.”
“ZM”
appears.
“zm.”
24
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