Radio Shack PRO-2096 User Manual

20-496

PRO-2096 Digital Trunking

Mobile/Base Scanner

Please read this user’s guide before installing, setting up and using your new product

www.radioshack.com

Contents

Thank you for purchasing your Pro-2096 digital trunk scanner from RadioShack. You can mount your scanner in a ﬁ xed position and use it as a base scanner or you can use it as a mobile scanner by mounting it in a vehicle. This scanner is the ﬁ rst of an innovative and exciting new generation, capable of receiving digital voice modulation from the newest and most sophisticated conventional and trunked radio networks. No additional hardware or add-on cards are needed.

user’s guide • quick start guide • preloaded data addendum

DC cable w/fuse

Scanner

DIN sleeve and keys (2)

Antenna

AC adapter

Mounting bracket

Knob (2)

Rubber washer (2)

Lock washer (2)

Screw (2)

Rubber foot (3)

The Basics

contents

your scanner’s keypad 7

your scanner’s rear view 9

your scanner’s display 10

step 1: install your scanner 11

mounting your scanner in your dashboard 11 mobile mounting in your vehicle 11 using your scanner as a base station 12

step 2: power your scanner 13

from a wall outlet 13 through your vehicle’s ignition 13 from your vehicle’s cigarrette lighter 14

step 3: connect your scanner 15

connect the supplied antenna 15 connect an external antenna 15 connect an external speaker or headphones 16

step 4: set up your scanner 17

squelch 17 storing conventional frequencies 17 deleting frequencies from channels 18 searching and tuning 19

basic scanning 20

about channel-storage banks 20 monitoring a single channel 20

using CTCSS and DCS 21

searching a preprogrammed frequency range 21 search bank charts 22

The Basics

searching for active frequencies 27 using Zeromatic 27 using seek search 27 manually tuning to a frequency 28

frequency copy 29

copying a frequency into a speciﬁ ed channel 29 copying a frequency to a vacant channel

into a speciﬁ ed bank 30

copying a frequency to the priority channel 30

listening to the weather band 31

same standby mode 31 testing weather alert 32 using delay 33 locking out channels/frequencies 33 locking out channels 33 locking out frequencies 34 reviewing locked-out search frequency 34 clearing locked-out search frequencies 35 clearing locked-out frequencies in search banks 35 changing the receive mode 35 using attenuator 36 global attenuator 37 turning the key tone on or off 37 using the dimmer 38 changing the display contrast 38

virtual scanner 39

using V-scanner 40 using digital AGC 45 cloning programmed data 45 cloning v-scanner data 46 full cloning 47 selective cloning 47

The Basics

trunking operation 50

setting squelch for trunk scanning 50 talkgroup ID hold 50 turning an ID sub-bank on or off 50 open and closed mode operation 51 toggling open and closed modes 52 manual ID lockout toggle 52 activate ID lockout while scanning 53 reviewing locked-out talkgroup IDs 53 changing from ID text tag display

to ID code display 53 trunked delay function 53 clearing talkgroups IDs 54 clearing all talkgroup IDs in one bank 55

programming trunked systems 56

Motorola analog, digital, and APCO-25 systems 56 EDACS systems 57 Motorola VHF and UHF systems 58 Motorola 800MHz splinter systems 59 ﬂ eet maps 59 programming the priority channel 61 programming a stored channel frequency

in the priority channel 61 programming the priority channel directly 61 programming a weather channel as the priority channel 62 turning priority on or off 62 programming CTCSS/DCS channels 63 storing talkgroup ids 65

text tags 67

assigning a text tag to a channel 67 assigning a text tag to a group ID 68 assigning a text tag to a channel-storage bank 68

The Basics

text input chart 69 using channel receive modes 69 updating the DSP ﬁ rmware 69

truobleshooting 70

resetting/initializing your scanner 71

resetting your scanner 71 initializing your scanner 72

care 73

replacing the fuse 73 service and repair 73

speciﬁ cations 74

The FCC wants you to know 77

scanning legally 77

glossary 78

warranty 84

RadioShack, RadioShack.com. Hypersearch, Hyperscan, V-Scanner, and Adaptaplug are trademarks used by RadioShack Corporation.

Motorola, Smartnet, ASTRO and Privacy Plus are registered trademarks of Motorla Inc.

EDACS is a registered trademark of MA-COM Inc.

The IMBE(TM) Voice Coding Technology embodied in this product is protected by intellectual property rights including patent rights, copyrights and trade secrets of Digital Voice Systems, Inc. This voice coding Technology is licensed solely for use witthin this Communications Equipment. The user of this Technology is explicitly prohibited from attempting to decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Object Code, or in any other way convert the Object Code into a human readable form.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,870,405 and 5,517,511.

This device made under license under one or more of the following U.S. Patents: 4,590,473; 4,636,791; 5,148,482; 5,185,796; 5,271,017; 5,377,229

The Basics

your scanner’s keypad

TRUNK — stores the trunking ID code or

holds the trunking ID while scanning.

L/OUT — locks out selected channels

and ID codes, and skips speciﬁ ed

frequencies during a search.

CLEAR — clears an incorrect entry.

PROG — programs frequencies in

selected channels.

PWR/VOL/SQ — long knob turns OFF/ON,

and controls volume. Short knob controls

squelch.

PC/IF — connect data cable for cloning

or connecting to a PC.

s — attach headphones with

1/8” jack here.

The Basics

FUNC — press in

combination with other keys to

perform various functions.

ATT — Press to activate

attenuation (reduce scanner

sensitivity, block strong signals).

Press again to deactivate

attenuation.

TUNE — Press TUNE, PAUSE

then e or d to tune to a

frequency.

PAUSE — pauses search or

tune operation.

DIM — adjusts the backlight

level (Light, Dark, or OFF).

WX — press to scan

programmed weather channels.

See p. 31

TEXT — press to input text.

SRCH — press to search

through search banks.

MAN — press to manually

enter a channel number.

or d — press to scan or

search in either direction.

PRI — turns the priority

function on or off.

MODE — press to change the

receive mode.

SCAN — press to scan

programmed channels.

The Basics

Press to enter a number or a character (in text mode).

./DELAY — press to enter

a decimal point, space, or

hyphen. Press to program delay

time for a channel/search bank.

ENT — press to conﬁ rm

frequency and text entries.

your scanner’s rear view

ANT — connect the supplied

antenna or an external antenna here.

SCREW HOLE — use to mount

the scanner in a car with some

hardware (screw not supplied).

RESET— press to reset your scanner.

DC 13.8V — connect a

power source here.

EXT SP — connect an

external speaker here.

The Basics

your scanner’s display

Receiving a Signal ( no signal) Channel 00-(49) Bank 0-(9)

(M)anual Mode (P)rogram (S)can

Priority On/Off Indicator

Attenuator On/Off Indicator

Delay On/Off Indecator

Lockout On/Off Indecator (While Scanning, ScanningDirection, or .)

Open/Closed Mode Indecator

Receiving Mode

Receiving Frequency

Stored Text or Bank and Channel Numbe r

Detected ID Display (Trunking & CTCSS/DCS)

Bank Off

Open Mode

Closed Mode

Search Range Number

Zeromatic On/Off Indicator

Sub-Group

Search Range Name

Scan Mode

Frequency

Bank Off

Search Mode

The Basics

Note

step 1: install your scanner

You can mount your digital trunking scanner in your vehicle, install it for mobility, or install it as a base station.

mounting your scanner in your dashboard

If you are unsure about how to install your scanner in your vehicle, consult your automobile manufacturer, dealer, or a qualiﬁ ed installer. Before installing, conﬁ rm your scanner ﬁ ts in the desired mounting area and you have all the necessary materials. Your scanner requires a 2 x 71/8 x 5 5/16 inch (50 x 180 x 135 mm) mounting area.

1. Remove the four rear screws and pull off the black case before installing your scanner.

2. Install the DIN sleeve into the opening in your dashboard, lip facing out.

3. Push out the top and bottom tabs to hold the sleeve ﬁ rmly in place.

4. Slide the scanner into the sleeve until it locks in place.

Note

To remove your scanner from the DIN sleeve, insert the two keys straight into the scanner’s front panel. Then, remove the scanner by pulling front panel.

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Note

When mounting in your dashboard, you will need to connect an external antenna and an external speaker.

mobile mounting in your vehicle

You can mount your scanner under the dashboard, or on top of it, using the mounting bracket.

The Basics

Note

1. Attach the three protective rubber feet to the mounting bracket when you use the scanner on a ﬂ at surface. Do not

use them when you mount the bracket with screws.

2. Use the supplied mounting bracket as a template to mark positions for the two mounting screws.

3. At the marked positions, drill holes slightly smaller than the screws.

4. Remove the paper backing from each washer and stick one inside of each bracket’s ear, aligning the washer’s hole with the bracket’s hole.

5. Attach the mounting bracket to your vehicle’s surface using the supplied screws and lockwashers.

6. Slide the scanner into the bracket, aligning the scanner’s holes with the holes in the bracket, and then screw the mounting knobs into the scanner.

Note

When drilling holes, be sure to avoid obstructions behind the mounting surface. Consult a qualiﬁ ed installer if in doubt.

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using your scanner as a base station

You can place your scanner on a desk, shelf, or table to use it as a base station. Since the speaker is on the bottom of the scanner, you may want to use the mounting bracket to elevate your scanner off the surface for better sound. Follow the mobile vehicle mounting instructions above to afﬁ x your scanner to a desk, shelf, table or other ﬂ at surface (except that the bracket will be below the scanner).

The Basics

Note

Warning!

step 2: power your scanner

You can power your scanner from a wall outlet, through your vehicle’s ignition, or from your vehicle’s cigarette lighter.

from a wall outlet

Note

Warning!



1. Connect the tip of the supplied AC adapter to the DC

13.8V jack at the rear of your scanner.

2. Plug the AC adapter into your wall outlet.

You must use a Class 2 power source that supplies 13.8V DC and delivers at least 600mA. Its center tip must be set to positive and its plug must ﬁ t the scanner’s DC 13.8V jack. Using an adapter that does not meet these speciﬁ cations could damage the scanner or the adapter.

To prevent electric shock, do not use the AC adapter’s polarized plug with an extension cord, receptacle, or other outlet unless you can fully insert the blades to prevent blade exposure.

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through your vehicle’s ignition

1. Disconnect the cable from the negative (-) terminal of your vehicle’s battery.

2. Ground the black wire of the supplied DC power cord to your vehicle’s chassis.

The Basics

Note

Be sure the grounding screw makes complete contact with the metal frame of your vehicle.

3. Connect the red wire of the supplied DC power cord to a voltage source that turns on and off with the ignition switch, such as a spare accessory terminal in your vehicle’s fuse box.

4. Insert the power cord’s barrel plug into the scanner’s DC 13.8V jack.

5. Reconnect the cable to the negative (-) terminal of your

Rear View

vehicle’s battery.

Note

You must use a power source that supplies 12V DC and delivers at least 600 mA. Its center tip must be set to positive and its plug must ﬁ t the scanner’s DC 13.8V jack. The supplied DC power cord meets these speciﬁ cations. Using a power cord that does not meet these speciﬁ cations could damage the scanner or the adapter.

from your vehicle’s cigarrette lighter

To power your scanner from a 12V power source in your vehicle, such as a cigarette-lighter socket, you need a 12V, 600 mA DC cigarette-lighter adapter (not supplied), available at your local RadioShack store.

1. Insert the adapter’s barrel plug into the scanner’s DC 13.8V jack.

2. Plug the adapter’s other end into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter or power socket.

Note

When you use a cigarette-lighter adapter, you might hear electrical noise from your engine while scanning. This is normal.

The Basics

step 3: connect your scanner

connect the supplied antenna

Push the antenna onto your scanner’s antenna connector and rotate until it locks into place.

Your scanner’s sensitivity to various frequencies depends on its location and the antenna’s length. For best reception, adjust the antenna’s length as follows:

Frequency Antenna Length

25-54 MHz Extend fully

108-174 MHz Extend 4 segments

216-225 MHz Extend 3 segments

406-1300 MHz Collapse fully

connect an external antenna

You will need to connect an external antenna when you mount your scanner in the dashboard of your vehicle. You may also want to connect an external antenna if you use your scanner as a base station.

Your local RadioShack store sells a variety of antennas. Always use 50-ohm coaxial cable, such as RG-58 or RG-8, to connect an outdoor antenna. For lengths exceeding 50 feet, use RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If your coaxial cable does not have a BNC connector, you will also need a BNC adapter (not supplied).

The Basics

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.

connect an external speaker or headphones

When you mount your scanner in your dashboard, you will need to connect an external speaker or headphones.

Connect

headphones here

listening safely

To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use headphones.

Connect external

speaker here

• Adjust VOL (volume) to its lowest level before putting on headphones. With the headphones on, adjust VOL to a comfortable level.

• Avoid increasing the volume once you set it. Over time, your sensitivity to volume decreases, so volume levels that do not cause discomfort might damage your hearing.

• Avoid listening at high volume levels. Prolonged exposure to high volume levels can cause permanent hearing loss.

trafﬁ c safety

Do not wear headphones while driving. This can create a trafﬁ c hazard and is illegal in some areas. Even though some headphones let you hear outside sounds when you listen at normal levels, they still can present a trafﬁ c hazard.

The Basics

step 4: set up your scanner

squelch

1. Rotate VOL clockwise to turn on your scanner. DSP LOADING and Welcome To Digital Trunking appears. In a few seconds, you might hear a hissing sound.

2. Adjust VOL to a comfortable listening level.

3. Rotate SQ (squelch) fully counterclockwise to OFF. Then, rotate SQ clockwise until the hissing sound stops.

4. To turn off the scanner, turn VOL counterclockwise to OFF.

storing conventional frequencies

1. Turn on your scanner and press PROG.

2. Select the desired channel storage bank and channel, and then press PROG.

3. Use the number keys and ./DELAY (to enter the decimal point) to enter the frequency you want to store.

4. Press ENT to store the frequency.

5. The scanner conﬁ gures the channels you enter after a two second delay. A D appears at the top of the display. If you do not want the scanner to pause before it resumes scanning, press ./DELAY until D no longer appears on the display.

6. To receive conventional frequencies, including AM, FM/Digital, CTCSS and DCS, press MODE. For more information on CTCSS and DCS programming, see “Programming CTCSS/DCS channels”.

7. If desired, program a text tag for the channel. See “Assigning a Text Tag to a Channel”.

8. To program additional channels, press PROG or move to the next channel memory location.

e or d to

The Basics

Notes

If you make a mistake entering the frequency, Invalid Freq brieﬂ y appears.

When you store a frequency by pressing ENT, your scanner beeps.

Press CLEAR to backspace and correct a character, or hold down CLEAR for about two seconds to clear the entire ﬁ eld and start over.

Your scanner automatically rounds the frequency you enter to the nearest valid frequency. For example, if you enter 151.53, your scanner accepts it as 151.5275. Reception of the frequency will not be adversely affected.

If you enter a frequency that is already stored, an error tone sounds. Dupl.f and the duplicated frequency number appear. Press CLEAR and enter another frequency.

You can replace any stored frequency by selecting the desired bank and channel, pressing PROG, and then entering the new frequency.

Press FUNC, and then CLEAR to erase programmed frequency data.

deleting frequencies from channels

In certain circumstances you may wish to completely clear the contents of a channel. One example would be to create empty channels in a selected channel storage bank so the frequency copy function has empty channels available for copied frequencies. See “Copying a Frequency to a Vacant Channel into a Speciﬁ ed Bank”.

1. Press PROG.

2. Use the number keys or

e or d to select the frequency you

want to delete.

3. Press FUNC, and then CLEAR. The frequency is cleared, and

0.00000 appears on the display.

The Basics

Notes

searching and tuning

You can search for transmissions using the scanner’s preprogrammed search banks. The search banks include six preprogrammed search ranges, SR0 to SR5. You can change the search range of Bank SR6 manually by setting the lower and higher ends of the search range.

Notes

You can use the scanner’s delay feature while searching. See “Using Delay”.

You can set CTCSS or DCS mode when searching any range, except for SR0, SR1, and SR4. The scanner will display detected CTCSS or DCS codes depending on the mode setting. See “Using CTCSS and DCS”.

The scanner does not search locked-out frequencies while searching ranges.

You can use PAUSE to temporarily pause searching. The scanner will remain on the frequency that was active when PAUSE was pressed until you press PAUSE again. You can simply listen to the radio trafﬁ c on the paused frequency, or copy the frequency to a channel before resuming your search.

The Basics

basic scanning

Press SCAN to begin scanning channels. The scanner scans through all channels in the active channel storage bank. See “About Channel Storage Banks”.

• You must store frequencies into channels before you can scan them. The scanner does not scan through empty channels.

• To change the scanning direction, press scanning.

e or d while

about channel-storage banks

• To turn on a channel storage bank, press the number key corresponding to the desired bank until the bank’s number appears on the display.

• To turn off a channel storage bank, press the number key corresponding to the desired bank until the bank’s number disappears from the display.

• The scanner does not scan channels within a bank you have turned off; however, you can manually select any channel in a storage bank, even if the bank is turned off.

• You cannot turn off all channel storage banks. There must always be at least one active channel storage bank.

monitoring a single channel

You can monitor a single channel by manually navigating to that channel. The scanner will receive transmissions only on that frequency.

Beyond the Basics

using CTCSS and DCS

Your scanner’s advanced, DSP-based CTCSS and DCS, decoder allows you to listen only to a frequency group that is of interest to you. Simply specify the group’s speciﬁ c CTCSS or DCS code for a certain frequency. CTCSS and DCS can also help reduce interfering signals that cause your scanner to stop on one channel.

When your scanner stops on a conventional frequency that is conﬁ gured for CTCSS or DCS, it checks for a match between the transmitted CTCSS or DCS code and the code stored in channel memory. If the transmitted and stored codes match, the scanner stops on the transmission and allows the audio to pass to the speaker. If the codes do not match, the scanner resumes scanning. If the special “search” code is in use, the scanner instantly displays any detected CTCSS code if programmed for CTCSS mode, or DCS code if programmed for DCS code. You can store the detected code into channel memory by pressing ENT while the code is displayed.

searching a preprogrammed frequency range

The scanner contains these preprogrammed search ranges, stored in the search bank (SR0-SR6).

Bank Band

SR0 Marine

SR1 CB

SR2 FRS/GMRS/MURS

SR3 Police/Fire

SR4 Aircraft

SR5 Ham

SR6 Limit search (User conﬁ gurable)

1. Repeatedly press SRCH to select a search bank.

Beyond the Basics

Note

2. In the marine, CB and FRS bands, you can directly select a channel or search through the band. When M appears on the left on the second line, you can directly select a channel (see “Search Bank Charts”). Use the numeric keypad to select a speciﬁ c two-digit channel number (for example, press 1 6 to select Channel 16, or 0 5 to select channel 5). You can also change the channels by pressing

e or d.

There are several group banks in the SR3 Police/Fire and

SR5 ham bands. You can turn on the groups by pressing the group numbers. For example, to turn on group 0, press 0.

3. Press FUNC, SRCH while M appears in SR0, SR1 or SR2. M changes to S. Then search through the band. To return to the previous mode, press FUNC, SRCH.

4. Rotate SQ clockwise and leave it set to a point just after the hissing sound stops. After two seconds (if the delay feature is on), the received frequency appears and the scanner starts searching.

5. When the scanner ﬁ nds an active frequency, it stops searching, and resumes when the transmission ends. If delay is programmed with the search range the scanner will pause for a reply before search resumes.

search bank charts

Search bank: SR0 Marine band

Note

For some Marine frequencies, two frequencies are assigned to one channel, for example, 157.000 and

161.600 are assigned to Channel 20.

Beyond the Basics

Receive mode: FM/Digital

Ch. Frequency

(MHz)

01 156.0500 05 156.2500

06 156.3000 07 156.3500

08 156.4000 09 156.4500

10 156.5000 11 156.5500

12 156.6000 13 156.6500

14 156.7000 15 156.7500

16 156.8000 17 156.8500

18 156.9000 19 156.9500

20 157.0000

161.6000

22 157.1000 23 157.1500

24 157.2000

161.8000

26 157.3000

161.9000

28 157.4000

162.0000

64 156.2250

160.8250

66 156.3250 67 156.3750

68 156.4250 69 156.4750

70 156.5250 71 156.5750

72 156.6250 73 156.6750

74 156.7250 77 156.8750

78 156.9250 79 156.9750

80 157.0250 81 157.0750

82 157.1250 83 157.1750

84 157.2250

161.8250

Ch. Frequency

(MHz)

21 157.0500

25 157.2500

161.8500

27 157.3500

161.9500

63 157.1750

65 156.2750

85 157.2750

161.8750

Beyond the Basics

86 157.3250

161.9250

88 157.4250

87 157.3750

161.9750

Search bank: SR1 CB band Receive mode: AM

Ch. Frequency

(MHz)

01 26.9650 02 26.9750

03 26.9850 04 27.0050

05 27.0150 06 27.0250

07 27.0350 08 27.0550

09 27.0650 10 27.0750

11 27.0850 12 27.1050

13 27.1150 14 27.1250

15 27.1350 16 27.1550

17 27.1650 18 27.1750

19 27.1850 20 27.2050

21 27.2150 22 27.2250

23 27.2550 24 27.2350

25 27.2450 26 27.2650

27 27.2750 28 27.2850

29 27.2950 30 27.3050

31 27.3150 32 27.3250

33 27.3350 34 27.3450

35 27.3550 36 27.3650

37 27.3750 38 27.3850

39 27.3950 40 27.4050

Ch. Frequency

(MHz)

Search bank: SR2 FRS/GMRS/MURS Receive Mode: FM/Digital, CT or DC

Beyond the Basics

Ch. Frequency

(MHz)

01 462.5625 02 462.5875

03 462.6125 04 462.6375

05 462.6625 06 462.6875

07 462.7125 08 467.5625

09 467.5875 10 467.6125

11 467.6375 12 467.6625

13 467.6875 14 467.7125

15 462.5500 16 462.5750

17 462.6000 18 462.6250

19 462.6500 20 462.6750

21 462.7000 22 462.7250

23 151.8200 24 151.8800

25 151.9400 26 154.5700

27 154.6000

Ch. Frequency

(MHz)

Search bank: SR3 Police/Fire band Receive Mode: FM/Digital, CT or DC

Group Frequency (MHz) Step (kHz)

0 33.420 – 33.980 20

37.020 – 37.420 20

39.020 – 39.980 20

42.020 – 42.940 20

44.620 – 45.860 40

45.880

45.900

45.940 – 46.060 40

46.080 – 46.500 20

Beyond the Basics

1 153.770 – 154.130 60

2 453.0375 – 453.9625 12.5

3 851.0125 – 860.9875 25

Search bank: SR4 Aircraft Receive mode: AM

154.145 – 154.445 15

154.650 – 154.950 15

155.010 – 155.370 60

155.415 – 155.700 15

155.730 – 156.210 60

158.730 – 159.210 60

166.250

170.150

458.0375 – 458.9625 12.5

460.0125 – 460.6375 12.5

465.0125 – 465.6375 12.5

866.0125 – 868.9875 12.5

Frequency (MHz) Step (kHz)

108.000 – 136.9875 12.5

Search bank: SR5 Ham band Receive mode: FM/Digital, CT, DC, AM (depends on group)

Group Frequency (MHz) Step (kHz)

0 28.0000 – 29.7000 5

1 50.0000 – 54.0000 5

2 144.0000 – 148.0000 5

3 222.0000 – 225.0000 5

4 420.0000 – 450.0000 12.5

5 1240.0000 –

1300.0000

6.25

+ 58 hidden pages

Radio Shack PRO-2096 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual