Radio Shack PRO-63 User Manual
20-561 .fm Page 1 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
OWNER’S MANUAL
Please read befor e using this equipment.
Cat. No.
20-561
PRO-63 100-Channel
Portable Event Scanner
20-561 .fm Page 2 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
INTRODUCTION
Your new Radio Shack PRO-63 100-Channel Portable Event
Scanner lets you in on all the action — in the pits at the big race,
on the sidelines at a pro football game, or on the streets of your
home town. This scanner gives you direct access to over 24,000
exciting frequencies, including those used by participants and
staff at s porting event s and air sho ws, polic e and fire d epartments,
ambulance services, and amateur radio services. You can select
up to 100 chan nel s to s can and you c an c hange your s elect ion s at
any time.
The secret to your scanner’s ability to scan so many frequencies
is its cus tom-desi gn ed micr opr ocessor — a t iny, buil t-i n c omput er.
Your scanner has all these special features.
Ten Preprogrammed Sear ch Bands
missions within preset f requency ranges, so you can find interesting frequencies more quickly.
— let you searc h for trans-
Ten Preprogrammed Weather Frequencies
formed about current weather conditions.
Ten Channel-Storage Banks
each bank to group channels so calls are easier to identify.
Two-Second Scan Delay
before moving to anot her channel, so you can hear more replies.
Channe l S k ip
select from being scanned.
Memory Bank Scan
any of the scanner’s channel-storage banks.
Radio Shack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
2
— lets you set your scanner to keep channels you
— lets you scan frequencies you stored in
1995 Tandy Corporation.
„
All Rights Reserv ed .
— let you store 10 channels in
— delays scanning f or about 2 s econds
— keep you in-
20-561 .fm Page 3 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
Direct Channel Access — lets you directly access any stored
channel while you scan the banks.
Button — lets you lock the scanner’s keys to help prevent
accidentally changing the scanner’s programming.
Priority Channel — you can set the scanner to check one chan-
nel every 2 seconds so you do not miss important calls.
Auto Lock — lets you lock the scanner’s programmed channels
to keep you from accidentally erasing frequencies stored in the
channels.
ATT (At tenua te) Butto n — reduces the scanner’s sensitivity to
strong local signals, to reduce interference or noise caused by
these signals.
Liquid Crystal Displ ay — makes i t easy to view and cha nge pr ogramming information.
Display Backlight — makes the display easy to read in dimly-lit
areas.
Three Power Options — let you power the scanne r from alk aline
or rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, or external AC or DC
power.
Flexible Antenna with BNC Connect or — provid es exc ellen t r eception and is designed to help prevent antenna breakage.
Memory Backup — keeps ch annel frequen cies stored in memory
for up to 10 years during a power lo ss.
For your records, we urge you to record your scanner’s serial
number in the space below. The serial number is located on the
scanner’s back panel.
Serial Number: _____ ___________
3
20-561 .fm Page 4 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
Your PRO-63 scanner can receive all of these frequenci es.
• 29-54 MHz (10-Meter Amateur Radio, VHF Lo, 6-Meter
Amateur Radio)
• 108-136.975 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows)
• 137-174 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows, Auto Racing, Government,
Motion Picture/Video Industry, Pro Sports Teams, Radio/TV
Remote Broadcast Pickup, Stadiums/Venues, 2-Meter
Amateur Radio, VHF Hi)
• 380-512 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows, Auto Racing, Government,
Pro Sports Teams, Radio/TV Remote Broadcast Pickup, 70Centimeter Amat eur Radio, Stadiums/Venues, UHF Lo, UHF
“T” Band)
Your PRO-63 scanner contains the following preprogrammed
search bands.
• 29-50 MHz (10-Meter Amat eur Radi o, VHF Lo)
• 50-54 MHz (6-Meter Am ateur Radio)
• 108-136.975 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows)
• 137-144 MHz (Aircraft/Air Shows, Government)
• 144-148 MHz (2-Meter Amateur Radio)
• 148-174 MHz (Auto Racing, Motion Picture/Video Industry,
Pro Sports Teams, Radio/TV Rem ote Broadcast Pickup, Stadiums/Venues)
• 380-420 MHz (Military Aircraft/Air Shows)
• 420-450 MHz (70-Centim eter Amateur Radio)
• 450-470 MHz (Auto Racing, Pro Sports Teams, Radio/TV
Remote Broadcast Pic kup, Stadiums/V enues)
• 470 - 512 MH z (UHF “ T ” Band)
4
20-561 .fm Page 5 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
This owner’s manual also includes the section “A General Guide
to Scanning,” which helps you find frequency ranges to scan for a
wide variety of broadcasters.
Note: Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires a permit
in some areas. Check the laws in your area.
FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might cause TV or radio interference even when it
is operating p rop erly. To det er mine whet her or no t your s canner i s
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
electrical circuit from the receiver.
• Contacting your local Radio Shack store for help.
If you cannot eli minate t he int erfer ence, th e FCC req uires th at you
stop using your scanne r.
5
20-561 .fm Page 6 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
SCANNING LEGALLY
Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different groups
including police and fire departments, ambulance services, government agencies, private companies, amateur radio services,
military operations, pager services, and wireline (telephone and
telegraph) service providers. It is legal to listen to almost every
transmissi on your scanner can re ceive. However, there are some
transmissions you should never intentionally listen to. These include:
• Telephone conversations (either cellular, cordless, or other
private means of t elephone signal transmiss ion)
• Pager transmissions
• Any scrambled or encrypted transmissions
According to the Electronic Communic ati ons Privacy Act (ECPA),
you are subject to fi nes and pos sible impr isonment for i ntention ally listening to, using, or divulging the contents of such a transmission unless you have th e consent of a party to the communication
(unless such act ivity is otherwise illegal).
Radio Shack encourages responsible, legal scanner use.
6
20-561 .fm Page 7 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
CONTENTS
PREPARATION........................................................................ 9
Connecting the Flexible Antenna.... ....................................9
Installing Batteries............................................................. 9
Important Information About the PWR and
CHG Jacks...........................................................12
Charging Nic kel-Cad miu m B at te ries..... .. ............... .. .12
Resetting the Scanner.................................................... 13
Using the Belt Clip.......................................................... 14
UNDERST ANDING YOUR SCANNER............. ..................... 15
A Look at the Keypad...................................................... 15
A Look at the Display....................................................... 16
BANDS AND BANKS .............................. .. .. .......................... 18
Search Bands...................................................................18
Channel-Storage Banks ..................................................19
BASIC OPERATION ..............................................................20
Turning On the Scanner and Setting Squelch..................20
Searching For and Storing Active Frequencies............... 21
Limit Search .............................................................22
Manually Storing Frequencies.................................. 23
Scanning the Stored Channels........................................ 25
Scanning All Channels .............................................25
Turning Channel-Storage Banks On and Off............25
Scanning a Channel-Storage Bank ..........................26
Manually Selecting a Channel.......... ........... .. ............ .. .... 26
Listening to the Weather Band ........................................ 27
ADVANCED OPERATION ........................................ .. .. ......... 28
Delay ...............................................................................28
Skipping Channels ................................................ .. ......... 28
Priority ............................................................................. 29
Using Channel Lock................ ............ .. ....................... ... 30
Using the Display Backlight............................................. 30
Using the Attenuator.... .. ........................... ....................... 31
Turning the Key Tone On and Off ....................................31
Using the Keylock............................................................ 32
7
20-561 .fm Page 8 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
OPTION S ..... ... ............................. .. ... .............. ... .. ....... ... .. ...... 33
Connecting Optional Power Sources..................... .. .. ..... 33
Using AC Power....................................................... 33
Using Vehicle Battery Power ................................... 34
Connecting a Mobile or Base-Station Antenna...............35
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones............ .............. 37
Listening Safely ....................................................... 37
Traffic Safety............................................................ 38
Connecting an Extensi on Speaker.............. .. ................. 38
A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING..................................... 39
United States Broadcast Band.............. .. ........................ 39
Typical Band U sa g e ...... .............................. .. ... ....... .. ... ... 39
VHF Band (30.00-300. 0 MHz) .......... ............ ...........39
UHF Band (300.00 MHz-3.0 GHz)........................... 40
Primary Usage ................................................................ 41
VHF Band .......... ........................... ...........................41
UHF Band................................................................ 41
Specified Intervals........................................................... 42
Band Allo c a tio n ............... .. ... ....... .. ... ............... .. .. ........ .. .. 42
Ham Radio Frequencies................. ........... .. ....................47
National Weather Frequencies........................................ 47
Birdie Frequencies ..........................................................48
Frequency Conversion ......................... .. .........................49
TROUB L E S HO O T IN G...................... .. .. ........ .. ... .............. ... .. . 50
CARE AND MAINTENANCE .......................... ...................... .52
SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................. 53
8
20-561 .fm Page 9 Wedne sday, Augus t 4, 1999 3:48 PM
PREPARATION
CONNECTING THE FLEXIBLE ANTENNA
1. Hold the antenna so it stands straight up.
2. Slip the slots in t he antenna’s connect or over the tabs on the
ANT
jack on top of the scanner.
3. Press down and turn the antenna’s base clockwise until it
locks into place.
Note:
Instead of t he supplied flexibl e antenna, you can connec t a
mobile or base-s tation antenna ( not supp lied) to your s canner. For
more information, see “Connecting a Mobile or Base-Station Antenna” on Page35.
INSTALLING BATTERIES
You can power your sc anner wi th si x AA batter ies. For t he longe st
operation and best performance, we recommend alkaline batteries, such as Cat. No. 23-552. Or, you can use rechargeable nickel-cadmium batte ries (Cat. No. 23-125).
Note:
You can also power your scanner from either standard AC
power (using an optional AC adapter) or vehicle battery power
(using an optional DC cigarette lighter adapter). See “Connecting
Optional Power Sources” on Page33 for more information.
9
OFF
MAX
MIN MAX
VOLUME
SQUELCH
20-561 .fm Page 10 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
Follow these steps to install or replace batt eries.
1. If the scanner is on, turn
VOLUME OF F/MAX
fully counter-
clockwise until it clicks to turn it off.
2. While pressing and holding down the battery compartment
cover on the bottom of the scanner, slide the cover in the
direction of the arrow to remove it.
3. Remove the battery holder from the battery compartment.
4. Remove any old batteries from the battery holder.
Cautions:
• Always dispose of old non-rechargeable batteries
promptly and properly. Do not bury or burn them.
• Never leave dead or weak bat teries in the battery holder.
10
20-561 .fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
• Never mix rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries,
or rechargeable batteries of different capacities.
5. Insert six batteries in the battery holder as indicated by the
polarity symbols (+ and
–
) marked on the battery holder and
inside the battery compartment.
6. Replace the battery holder in the battery compartm ent.
Caution: The battery holder fits only one way inside the bat-
tery compartment. Do not force it.
7. Replace the battery com partment cover .
If
flashes on the display and the scanner beeps, immedi-
BA T T
ately replace al l si x n on-rech arge able bat teri es, or rechar ge a ll six
rechargeable batteries. See “Important Information About the
PWR and CHG Jacks” and “Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries”
on Page 12.
Important: This product is capable of using rechargeable nickelcadmium batteries. At the end of the batteries’ useful life, they
must be recycled or disposed of properly. Contact your local,
county, or state hazardous waste management authorities for information on recycling or disposal programs in your area. Some
options that might be avail able a re: m unici pal curb-s ide coll ectio n,
drop-off boxes at retailers, recycling collection centers, and mailback programs.
11
20-561 .fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
Important Information About the PWR and CHG
Jacks
There are two ex ternal j acks on the l eft side o f the scanne r —
CHG
and
. It is important that you understand the purpose of each
PWR
jack before you connect any adapter to the scanner.
PWR
The
jack powers the scanner and disconnects the internal
batteries. You can use this jack with either an AC adapter or DC
cigarette ligh ter ada pter, regar dless o f t he typ e of bat t eries you installed.
CHG
The
batteries . The
jack powers the scanner and also charges the internal
CHG
jack is c overed by a plast ic plug. Use the
CHG
jack only when rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries are installed.
Warning:
Never use the
CHG
jack with non-rechargeable batteries installed. If you try to recharge non-rechargeable batteries,
they become very hot and could explode.
Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries
The scanner has a built-in charging circuit that lets you recharge
nickel-ca dmium b atter ies while th ey are i n the s canne r. To c harge
the batteries, simply connect an AC or DC adapter to the scan-
CHG
ner’s
Page 33).
12
jack (see “Connecting Optional Power Sources” on
20-561 .fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
Warning: Do not connect either adapter to the scanner ’s
if you installed non-rec har geable bat teri es (standa rd, extra- lif e, or
alkaline). Non-rechargeable batteries become hot and can explode if you try to rechar ge them.
It takes about 10 to 18 hours to recharge batteries that are fully
discharged. You c an operat e the scann er whil e rec hargin g nickel cadmium batteries, but the charging time is leng thened.
Cautions:
• Do not overcharge nickel-cadmium batteries.
• To prevent damaging nickel-cadmium batteries, never
charge them in an area where the temperature is above
°
90
F or below 40°F.
Note: Nick el-cad mium b atter ies l ast l onger and d elive r mo re power if you occasionally let them fully discharge. To do this, simply
use the scanner until
the scanner beeps. Then fully charge the batteries.
flashes on the scanner’s display and
BA T T
CHG
jack
RESETTING THE SCANNER
If the scanner’s display locks up or does not work properly after
you connect a power s ource, you m ight need t o r eset the scanner .
Caution: This procedure clears all the information you programmed into the scanner. Use this procedure only when you are
sure your scanner is not working properly.
1. If the scanner is on, turn
until it clicks to turn it off.
2. While you press and hold down the
on the scanner.
VOLUME O F F/M AX
counterclockwi se
•
and 0 keys, turn
BAND/
13
20-561 .fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
•
3. After 2 seconds, release
BAND/
and 0.
USING THE BELT CLIP
You can use the belt clip attached to the back of the scanner for
hands-free car rying when you are on the go. Simply slide the belt
clip over your belt or waistband.
14
20-561 .fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
UNDERST ANDING YOUR SCANNER
A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD
A quick look at the scanner’s keys will help you understand the
scanner’s functions.
Number Keys
numbers printed above it. The single digits refer to the number of
a channel or a frequenc y. The range of number s (80-89, for example) shows the cha nnels that make up a channel storage bank. In
addition, the keypad has different functions in the manual and
scan modes.
M.SCAN
M.BANK
BAND/
•
decimal point when programming frequencies.
MANUAL
number or frequency.
DELAY
PRI
— turns the priority channel function on or off.
— each key has a single digit on it and a range of
— scans through the chann els you have stored.
— scans a channel storag e bank you select.
— selects a preprogrammed search band or enters the
— stops scann ing and lets you direct ly enter a channel
— turns the delay function on or off.
15
20-561 .fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
WX — scans through the 10 preprogrammed weather channels.
LIGHT — a quick press turns on t he display’s backlight for 5 sec-
onds, or turns off the backlight if it is on.
SEARCH
can find ones you want to store, or selects the search direction
when you scan channels or manually step through them.
SKIP — selects channels to skip during scanning.
A TT — turns attenuat ion on to redu ce the scanner’ s sensitivity, or
turns it off to increase it.
— locks/unlocks the keypad (ex cept LIGHT) to prevent acci-
dental entries.
LOCK — locks the stored channels to prevent accidental chang-
es.
ENTER —enters frequencies into channels.
/ —
starts searc hing for acti ve freque nci es so yo u
A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY
A quick look at the display should help you understand what the
scanner can do.
— appears when you lock the keypad.
M.BANK
ner scans through a selected channel storage bank. A bar under
the number shows that t he bank is selected.
16
— appears with numbers (0-9) to show when the scan-
20-561 .fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3: 48 PM
M.SCAN
storage banks ar e tu rned on f or s canni ng. A b ar unde r the n umber
shows that the cha nnel-s torage b ank i s selec ted. See “Band s and
Banks” on Page 18.
BA TT
CH
channels the scanner is tuned to.
— appears when the scanner is tune d to the priority channel.
P
888.8888
quency the scanner is tuned to.
WX
weather channels.
and — indicate the search or scan direction.
SRCH
SKIP
skipped while scann ing.
MAN
— appears with numbers (0-9) to sh ow which channel-
— flashes when the batt eries are low.
— appears with a number (00-99) to show which of the 100
— digits in the middle of the display show which fre-
— appears when you scan or search the 10 preprogrammed
— appears during a frequency search.
— appears when you manually select a channel you
— appears when you manually select a channel.
— appears when the priority feature is selected.
PRI
— appears when you turn on the scanner’s 2-second delay
DLY
feature.
— appears when you turn on the scanner’s attenuate fea-
ATT
ture.
— appears beside the channel number whe n you l ock the ch an-
L
nel.
17
Loading...