Radio Shack PRO-2050 User Manual
20-430 .fm Page 1 Wednesday, A ugust 4, 1999 1:29 PM
Owner’s Manual
300-Channel TrunkTracker Home Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
Cat. No. 20-430
PRO-2050
VHF/UHF/Air/800MHz
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FEATURES
Your new RadioShack PRO-2050
VHF/UHF/Air/800MHz 300-Channel
TrunkTracker Home Scanner is one of
a new generation of scanners designed to track Motorola Type I,
Type II (such as Smartnet and Privacy Plus), and hybrid analog trunking
systems, which are extensively used
in many 800 MHz communication systems.
Trunking communications systems let
a large group of 2-way radio users (or
even different groups of 2-way radio
users) efficiently use a group of frequencies. Instead of selecting a specific frequency for a transmission, the
2-way radio user simply selects a talk
group. The trunking system automatically transmits the call on the first
available frequency, an d also sends a
code that uniquely identifies that 2way radio user’s transmission on a different frequency called a data channel.
Since the trunking sy stem might send
individual 2-way radio user’s calls and
response transmissions on different
frequencies, it is difficult to listen to
trunked communications using a regular scanner. The PRO-2050 monitors
the data channel frequency sent with
a 2-way radio user’s transmission and
instantly switches to an active frequency, so you c an hear the call and
response for that 2-way radio user
and easily “follow” the conversation.
The scanner also lets you scan conventional transmissions, and is preprogrammed with service-search
banks for convenience. B y pressing a
single button, you can quickly search
those frequencies most commonly
used by public service and other
agencies without tedious and complicated programming.
This scanner gives you direct access
to over 30,000 exciting frequencies,
including those used by police and fire
departments, ambulance services,
and amateur radio services, and you
can change your selection at any time.
Your scanner also has these special
features:
Ten Channel-Stora
e Banks
— let
you store 30 channels in each bank to
group channels so you can more easily identify calls.
Five Scan Lists
— let you st ore u p t o
50 IDs in each tracking bank (up to a
total of 500).
Triple-Co nversion Circ uitr
— virtually eliminates any interference from
IF (intermediate frequency) images,
so you hear only the selected frequency.
©
1997 Tandy Corporation.
RadioShack i s a regist ered t rademark used by Tandy Co rporation.
HyperSearch and HyperScan are trademarks used by Tandy Corporation.
Motorola, Smartnet, and Privacy Plus are trademarks of Motorola, Inc.
All Rights Reserv ed .
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Scan Delay — delays scanning for
about 2 seconds before moving to another channel in conventional mode,
so you can hear more replies that are
made on the same channel. In trunk
tracking mode, it delays for about 5
seconds before moving to another ID.
Lock-Out Function — lets you set
your scanner to skip over specified
channels or frequencies when scanning or searching, and skip over IDs
when tracking trunked systems.
Priority Channels — lets you program one channel in each bank (10 in
all). As the scanner scans a bank, it
checks the bank’s priority channel every 2 seconds so you don't miss transmissions on that channel.
Five Service-Search Banks — lets
you search preset frequencies in separate public service, police, fire/emergency, aircraft, and weather banks, to
make it easy to locate specific types of
calls.
signals, making a scan or search faster.
Manual Access — lets you directly
access any stored channel.
Liquid-Crystal Display — makes it
easy to view and change programming information.
Display Backlight — makes the
scanner easy to read in low-light situations.
Supplied Telescoping Antenna —
provides good reception of strong local signals.
External Antenna Terminal — lets
you connect an external antenna with
a BNC connector to the scanner for
improved reception of distant/weaker
signals.
Memory Backup — k eeps the channel frequencies stored in memory for
an extended time.
HyperSearch and HyperScan —
let you set the scanner to search at up
to 300 steps per second (in frequ ency
bands with 5 kHz steps) and scan at
up to 50 channels per s econd, to help
you quickly find interesting broadcasts. (The normal search speed is
100 steps per second).
Data Signal Skip — lets yo u set the
scanner to skip non-modulated or data
signals during scanning and searches.
This lets the scanner avoi d non-voice
Key Confirmation Tones — the
scanner sounds a tone when you perform an operation correctly, and an error tone if you make an error.
Duplicate Channel Alert — warns
you when the frequency you are storing already exists in memory.
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Your PRO-2050 scanner can receive
all of these bands:
Frequency
Range
29–29.7 MHz 10-Meter Amateur
29.7–50 MHz VHF Lo
50–54 MHz 6-Meter Ham Band
108–136.975
MHz
137–144 MHz Military Land Mobile
144–148 MHz 2-Meter Ham Band
148–174 MHz VHF Hi
406–420 MHz Federal
420–450 MHz 70-cm Ham Band
450–470 MHz UHF Standard Band
470–512 MHz UHF “T” Band
806–824 MHz
851–869 MHz
896–956 MHz
T ypes of
Tr ansm issions
Radio
Aircraft
Government
Public Service “800 ”
except
Cellular Band
FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might caus e T V or radi o
interference even when it is operating
properly. To determine if your scan ner
is causing the interference, turn off
your scanner. If the interference goes
away, your scanner is causing it. Try
to eliminate the interference by:
• Moving your scanner away from
the receiver
• Connecting your scanner to an
outlet that is on a different electr ical circuit from the receiver
• Contacting your local RadioShack store for help
If you cannot eliminate the interference, the FCC requires that you stop
using your scanner.
This device complie s with Part 15 of
FCC Rules
the
the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept
any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired
operation.
. Operation is subject to
Note: See “Specifications” on Page 51
for more information about the scanner’s frequency steps.
4
We recommend you record your scanner’s serial number here. The number
is on the scanner’s back panel.
Serial Number _________________
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SCANNING LEGALLY
Scanning is a fun and interesting hobby. You can hear police and fire departments, ambulance services,
government agencies, private companies, amateur radio services, aircraft,
and military operations. It is legal to
listen to almost every transmission
your scanner can receive. However,
there are some electronic and wire
communications that are illegal to intentionally intercept. These include:
• Telephone conversations (cellular, cordless, or other private
means of telephone signal transmission)
• Pager transmissions
• Scrambled or encrypted transm issions
According to the Federal Electronic
Communications Privacy Ac t (ECPA),
as amended, you c ould be fined and
possibly imprisoned for intentionally
intercepting, using, or disclosing the
contents of such a transmission unless you have the consent of a party to
the communication (unless such activity is otherwise illegal). These laws
change from time to time and there
might be state or lo cal laws that also
affect legal scanner usage.
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CONTENTS
Preparation ........................................................................................................... 8
Connecting an Antenna ................................................................................... 8
Connecting the Supplied Antenna ............................................................... 8
Connecting an Outdoor Antenna ................................................................. 8
Connecting Power ........................................................................................... 9
Using AC Power .......................................................................................... 9
Using Your Vehicle’s Battery Power .......................................................... 10
Connecting an Extension Speaker ................................................................ 10
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones ......................................................... 11
Listening Safely ......................................................................................... 11
Understandin
A Look at the Front Panel .............................................................................. 12
A Look at the Display ..................................................................................... 14
Understanding Banks ............................................................. ....... .. .......... .... 16
Channel Storage Banks . ............................................................................ 16
Service Banks ............................................................................................ 16
Understanding Trunking ........................................................... ....... ..... ....... .. 16
Operation ............................................................................................................ 17
Turning On the Scanner and Setting Squelch ............................................... 17
Storing Known Frequencies into Channels ................................................... 17
Searching Service Banks .............................................................................. 18
Limit Search ................................................................................................... 19
Scanning the Stored Channels ...................................................................... 20
Manually Selecting a Channel ....................................................................... 20
Clearing a Frequency from a Channel ........................................................... 21
Special Features ............................................................................................... 22
Delay ............................................................................................................. 22
Turning Channel-Storage Banks On and Off . ................................................ 22
Locking Out Channels and Frequencies ....................................................... 23
Locking Out Channels ............................................................................... 23
Locking Out Frequencies ........................................................................... 23
Priority ........................................................................................................... 24
Turning the Key Tone On/Off . . ....................................................................... 25
Changing Search Speeds .............................................................................. 25
Skipping Data Signals ................................................................................... 25
Your Scanner ............................................................................ 12
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Trunk Tracking ................................................................................................... 26
Types of Trunking Systems ........................................................................... 26
Setting the Scanner to the Trunk Tracking Mode .......................................... 27
Setting Squelch for the Trunk Tracking Mode ............................................... 27
Programming Trunked Frequencies .... .......................................................... 28
Scanning a Trunked Bank ............................................................................. 29
Monitoring an Active ID ............................................................................. 30
Locking Out IDs ......................................................................................... 30
Unlocking a Single ID ................................................................................ 31
Unlocking All IDs ....................................................................................... 31
Using Trunk Tracking Scan Delay ............................................................. 31
Monitoring IDs ........................................................................................... 32
Channel Activity Indicators . ........................................................................... 32
Scan Lists ..................................................................................................... 33
Manually Storing IDs into Scan Lists ......................................................... 33
Storing IDs Into Scan Lists While Searching ............................................. 34
Automatically Storing an ID in a Scan List Location .................................. 34
Deleting a Stored ID .................................................................................. 34
Scanning the Scan Lists ............................................................................... 34
Scanning Type I and Hybrid Trunked Systems ............................................. 35
Selecting a Preset Fleet Map .................................................................... 38
Programming a Fleet Map ......................................................................... 39
Programming a Hybrid System ................................................................. 40
A General Guide to Scanning ........................................................................... 41
Guide to Frequencies .................................................................................... 41
National Weather Frequencies .................................................................. 41
Canadian Weather Frequencies ............................................................... 41
Birdie Frequencies .................................................................................... 41
Guide to the Action Bands ............................................................................ 42
Typical Band Usage .................................................................................. 42
Primary Usage .......................................................................................... 43
Band Allocation ............................................................................................. 43
Frequency Conversion .................................................................................. 48
Troubleshooting ................................................................................................ 49
Resetting the Scanner .................................................................................. 52
Care and Maintenance ...................................................................................... 53
Specifications .................................................................................................... 54
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PREPARATION
This scanner is designed primarily for
use in the home as a base station.
You can place it on a desk, shelf, or
table.
Your scanner’s front feet fold up or
down. Adjust them to give you the
best view of the display.
Your scanner’s display is protected
during shipment by a piece of blue
film . Peel off th is film be fore you u se
the scanner.
The scanner’s sens itivity depends on
the antenna’s length and vario us env ironmental conditions. For the best reception of the transmissions you want
to hear, adjust the antenna’s length.
Frequency Antenna Length
CONNECTING AN
ANTENNA
Connecting the Supplied
Antenna
You must install an antenna before
you can operate the scanner.
The supplied telescoping antenna
helps your scanner receive st rong local signals. To install the antenna,
screw it clockwise into the hole on the
scanner’s top.
8
29–54 MHz Extend fully
108–174 MHz Collapse one
se
ment
406–956 MHz Collapse both
se
ments
Connecting an Outdoor
Antenna
Instead of the supplied antenna, you
can connect an outdoor base-station
or mobile antenna (not supplied) to
your scanner using a B NC connector.
Your local RadioShack store sells a
variety of antennas. Choose the one
that best meets your needs.
When deciding on a mobile or basestation antenna and its locat ion, consider these points:
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• The antenna should be as high as
possible on the vehicle or building.
• The antenna and its cable should
be as far as possible from sources
of electrical noise (appliances,
other radios, etc.).
• The antenna should be vertical for
the best performance.
To connect an optional base-station or
mobile antenna, first remove the supplied antenna from the scanner. Always use 50-ohm coaxial cable, such
as RG-58 or RG-8, to connect the
base-station or mobile antenna. For
lengths over 50 feet, use RG-8 lowloss dielectric coaxial cab le. If the antenna cable’s connector does not fit in
ANT.
the
jack, you might also need a
Motorola-to-BNC antenna plug a dapter, such as RadioShack Cat. No. 278-
117. Your local RadioShack store carries a wide variety of coaxial antenna
cable and connectors.
Once you choose an antenna, follow
the mounting instructions supplied
with the antenna. Then rout e the antenna’s cable to the scanner and connect the cable to t he
ANT.
jack on the
back of the scanner.
Cautions:
• Do not run the cable over sharp
edges or moving parts that might
damage it.
• Do not run the cable next to power
cables or other antenna cables.
Use extreme caution
Warnin
:
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
Using AC Power
The scanner’s supplied AC adapter
lets you power the scanner from a
standard AC outlet. To connect power
to the scanner, insert the AC adapter’s
barrel plug into the
back of the scanner, then plug the AC
adapter into a standard AC outlet.
DC 12V
jack on the
ANT
DC 12V
ANT
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Cautions:
• The supplied AC adapter supplies
12 volts DC power and delivers
500 milliamps. Its center tip is set
to positive, and its plug properly
fits the scanner’s
DC 12V
jack.
Using an adapter that does not
meet these specifications could
damage the scanner or the
adapter.
• Be sure to connect the AC
adapter to the scanner before you
connect it to an AC outlet, and disconnect the AC a dapter from the
AC outlet before you d isconnect it
from the scanner.
Warning: Do not use the AC adapter’s polarized plug with an extension
cord receptacle unless the blades can
be fully inserted to preven t blade exposure.
Using Your Vehicle’s Battery
Power
ANT
DC 12V
Cautions:
• If you use a DC cigarette lighter
power cable with the scanner, it
must supply 12 volts and at least
500 milliamps of DC automotive
power. Its center tip must be set to
positive, and its plug must correctly fit the
DC 12V
jack on the
back of the scanner. The recommended power cable mee ts these
specifications. Using a power
cable that does not meet these
specifications could damage the
scanner or the power cable.
• If you use a cigarette lighter power
cable and your vehicl e’s engine is
running, you might hear electrical
noise from the engine w hile s canning. This is normal.
If your AC power fails (during an
emergency, for example), you can
power your scanner from your vehicle’s cigarette lighter socket with an
optional DC cigarette lighter power cable, such as Cat. No. 270-1533 (not
supplied).
To connect an optional DC cigarette
lighter power cable, insert its barrel
plug into the
DC 12V
jack on the back
of the scanner, then plug the power
cable into your vehicle’s cigarette
lighter socket.
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Note: Mobile use of this scanner is
unlawful or requires a perm it in some
areas. Check the laws in your area.
CONNECTING AN
EXTENSION SPEAKER
In a noisy area, an amplified extension
speaker (such as Cat. No. 21-541),
positioned in the right place, might
provide more comfortable listening.
Plug the speaker cable’s
into your scanner’s jack.
1
-inch plug
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Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these
guidelines when you use an earpho ne
or headphones.
• Do not listen at extremely high
volume levels. Extended highvolume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss.
Note: Connecting an external speaker
disconnects the scanner’s internal
speaker.
CONNECTING AN
EARPHONE/
HEADPHONES
For private listening, you can connect
an earphone or headphones with a
inch plug (such as Cat. No. 33-175 or
20-210) to the jack on the front of
the scanner. This automatically disconnects the internal speaker.
1
/
•Set
VOLUME
to the lowest setting
before you begin listening. After
you begin listening, adjust
UME
to a comfortable level.
• Once you set
VOLUME
VOL-
, 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.
-
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER
Once you understand a few simple terms we use in this manual and familiarize
yourself with your scanner’s features, you can put the scanner to work for you. You
simply determine the type of communications you want to receive, then set the
scanner to scan them.
A
frequenc
active frequencies, you can use the
You can also search the
quencies categorized by type of service.
When you find a f requenc y, you can store it into a programmable mem ory l ocati on
called a
. You can then
bank
the frequencies stored there. Each time the s canner finds an active frequency, it
stays on that channel until the transmission ends.
is the tuning location of a station (expresse d in kHz o r MHz). To find
func ti on.
, which are preset groups of fre-
channel-stora
channel
search
service-search banks
, which is grouped with your other channels in a
the channel-storage banks to see if there is activity on
scan
A LOOK AT THE FRONT PANEL
Your scanner’s keys migh t seem confusing at first, but this inform ati on shoul d hel p
you understand each key’s function.
Some of the scanner’s keys perform more than one function and are marked
Note:
with more than one label. The s teps in this Owner’s Manual show onl y the l abel on
the key appropriate to the action being performed.
e
VOLUME
SQUELCH
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Turns the scanner on or off and adjusts the volume.
Adjusts the scanner’s squelch.
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SCAN
MANUAL
Scans through the stored channels.
Stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel
number or frequency.
TRUNK
Switches between conventional and trunk tracking
modes.
SVC
(service)
PRIORITY/SPEED
Selects a service bank.
Sets and turns on and off the priority feature; turns the
HyperSearch mode on and off.
Number Keys Each key has a single-digit label and a range of num-
bers. The single digits are used to enter a channel,
frequency, or ID number. The range of numbers (31–
60, for example) indicates the channels that m ake up
a memory bank.
•
CLEAR
E
(enter)
Enters a decimal point.
Clears an entry.
Enters frequencies into channels or enters IDs into a
scan list.
LIMIT/
t Sets the frequency range; sets the search direction
and holds a frequency search.
DELAY
Programs a 2-second delay for the sele cted channel,
a limit search, or each service scan. Also programs a
5-second delay in the trunk tracking mode.
SEARCH
Searches a specified frequency range to find frequencies; searches for another active ID in the trunk tracking mode.
L/O/SKIP
(lock out/skip)
Lets you lock out selected channels or frequencies;
lets you lock out a selected ID in the trunk tracking
mode.
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HOLD/
s Holds on the current ID in the trunk tracking mode;
sets the search direction and holds the frequency
search.
DATA
Turns the data signal skip feature on or off or checks
the current trunking bank in the trunk tracking mode.
A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY
The display has indicators that show the scanner’s current operating status. A good
look at the display will help you understand how your scann er operates.
LIST
BANK
Appears with numbers (1–10) to indicate the scan
PUB
Appears with a number (1 –5) to indicate the list num ber.
bank.
Appears when you search the public safety service
bank.
POLICE
FIRE/EMG
AIR
WX
TRUNK
14
Appears when you search the police service bank.
Appears when you se arch the fire/emerg ency service
bank.
Appears when you search the air service bank.
Appears when you search the weather service bank.
Appears when the scanner is in trunk tracking mode.
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(channel activity indicator) active.
P
SCAN
MANUAL
PRI
HOLD
DELAY
DATA
L/O
(lockout) Appear s when you manuall y select a chan nel , frequen-
SEARCH
t
s Lights steadily during a limit search, service search,
Shows whic h cont rol/voi ce ch annel s are cu rrent ly
Appears when a priority channel is selected.
Appears when you scan channels.
Appears when you set the scanner to its manual
mode.
Appears when the priority feature is turned on.
Appears when the scanner i s in the hold mode during
a search.
Appears when you program a delay.
Appears when the data skip function is active.
cy, or ID you locked out.
and ID search, and blinks while HyperSearch is active
and when you monitor IDs. The arrow indicates the
search direction.
Error
Appears when you make an entry error.
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UNDERSTANDING
BANKS
Channel Storage Banks
To make it easier to identify and select
the channels you want to listen to,
channels are divided into 10 banks of
30 channels each. Use each channelstorage bank to group frequencies,
such as those used by the police department, fire department, am bulance
services, or aircraft (see “Guide to the
Action Bands” on Page 39). For example, the police department might use
four frequencies, one for each side of
town. You could program the police
frequencies starting with Channel 1
(the first channel in bank 1) and program the fire department f requencies
starting with Channel 31 (the first
channel in bank 2).
Service Banks
The scanner is preprogrammed with
the frequencies allocated by public
safety, police, fire/emergency, aircraft,
and weather services. This is handy
for quickly finding active frequencies
instead of searching through an entire
band (see “Searching Service Banks”
on Page 18).
UNDERSTANDING
TRUNKING
In the past, gro ups that broad cast frequently, such as police departments,
were restricted to transmitting on just
a few frequencies. This resulted in
heavy traffic and often required 2-way
radio users to wait for a specific frequency to clear before transmitting.
Trunked systems allow more groups
of 2-way radio users to use fewer f requencies. Instead of selecting a specific frequency to transmit on, a
trunked system chooses one of several frequencies when the 2-way radio
user presses PTT (push to talk). The
system automatically transmits the
call on that f requency, and also sends
a code that identifies that 2-way radio
user’s transmission on a data channel.
You can set this scanner to monitor
the data channel frequency, so you
can hear both the call and response
transmissions for that 2-way radio
user and therefore follow the conversation. (You cannot listen to the data
channel itself in the trunk mode.)
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OPERATION
TURNING ON THE
SCANNER AND SETTING
SQUELCH
1. Turn
2. Turn
3. Turn
Notes:
• If the scanner will not scan, turn
• If the scanner picks up unwanted,
SQUELCH
counterclockwise.
VOLUME
you hear a hissing sound.
SQUELCH
leave it set to a p oint j us t after the
hissing sound stops.
SQUELCH
partial, or very weak transmissions, turn
decrease the scanner ’s sensitivity
to these signals. If you want to listen to a weak or distant station,
SQUELCH
turn
back clockwise un ti l
further clockwise.
SQUELCH
VOLUME
and
clockwise, then
clockwise to
counterclockwise.
fully
STORING KNOWN
FREQUENCIES INTO
CHANNELS
Good references for active frequencies are the RadioShack “Police Call
Guide including Fire and Emergency
Services,” “Official Aeronautical Frequency Directory,” and “Maritime Frequency Directory.” We update these
directories every year, so be sure to
get a current copy.
Note:
quencies, see “Programming Trunked
Frequencies” on Page 26.
Follow these steps to store frequencies into channels.
To store trunking system fre-
1. Press
nel number (1–300) where you
want to store a frequency, then
press
nel number appears.
2. Use the number keys and
enter the frequency (including the
decimal point) you want to store.
MANUAL
MANUAL
, enter the chan-
again. The chan-
•
to
SQUELCH
•If
always hear a hissing sound, the
scanner does not scan properly.
is adjusted so you
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