Radio Shack PRO-90 User Manual

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Owner’s Manual

Cat. No. 20-520

PRO-90 300-Channel

TrunkTracker Scanner

Please read before using this equipment.

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FEATURES

Your new RadioShack PRO-90 300-Channel Trunk­Tracker Scanner is the first of a new generation of scan­ners designed to track Motorola Type I and 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 2­way rad io user s (or e ven dif ferent g roups of 2-way radio
users ) e ffi ci e ntl y us e a l arg e rang e of fr eq ue nci e s. I nst e ad
of selecting a specific frequency for a transmission, the 2­way radio u ser simply se lects a talk group. The tru nking
system automatica lly transmits the call o n the first avail­able frequency, and also sends a code that uniquely iden­tifies that 2-way radio user’s transmission on a different
frequency called a data channel.

Since the tr unkin g system might send individual 2-way ra­dio user’ s calls and re sponse trans missions on d ifferent
frequencies, it is difficult to lis ten to trunk ed commun ica­tions using a regular scanner. The PRO-90 lets you select
and monitor the data channel frequency sent with a 2-way
radio user’s transmission, so you can hear the call and re­sponse for that 2-wa y radio user and easily “ follow” the
conversa tion.

The scanner also lets you scan conventional transmis­sions, and is preprogrammed with service-search banks
for convenience. By pressing a single button, you can
quickly search those frequencies most commonly used
by public service and other agencies without tedious and
complicated pr ogramming.

This scanner gives you direct access to over 31,000 excit­ing frequencies, including police and fire departments,
ambul ance services, and amateur radio s ervic es, and you
can change your selection at any time.

Your scanner also has these special features:

Triple-Conversion Circuitry

— virtually eliminates any
interference from IF (intermedi ate frequency) images, so
you hear only the sel ected frequency.

©

1997 Tandy Corporation.

RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.

HyperSearch and HyperScan are trademarks used by

Motorola, Smartnet, and Privacy Plus are trademarks of

All Rights Reserved.

Tandy Corporation.

Motorola, Inc.

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Ten Channel-Storage Banks — let you store 30 chan­nels in each bank to group channels so you can more
easily identify calls.

Five Scan Lists — let you store up to 50 IDs in each
tracking bank (up to a total of 500).

Two-Second Scan Delay — delays scanning for about
2 seconds before moving to another channel , so you can
hear more replies that are made on the same channel.

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) and then have the scanner check it
every 2 seconds so you don't miss transmissions on
those channels.

Five Service-Search Banks — lets you search preset
frequencies in separate police, fire/emergency, aircraft,
marine, and weather banks, to make it easy to locate
specific typ es of calls.

HyperSearch and HyperScan — lets you set the
scanner to search at up to 300 steps per second and
scan at up to 100 frequencies per second in frequency
bands with 5 kHz steps, to help you quickly find interest­ing broadcasts. The normal search speed is 100 steps
per second.

Data Signal Skip — lets you set the scanner to skip
non-modulated or data signals during searches. This lets
the scanner avoid non-voice signals, making a search
faster.

Key Lock — lets you lock the scanner's keys to help
prevent accidental changes to the scanner's program­ming.

Manual Access — lets you directly access any 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.

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Flexible Antenna wit h BNC Connector — provides ex­cellent reception and is designed to help prevent anten­na breakage. Or, you can connect an external antenna.

Memory Backup — keeps the frequencies stored in
memory for an extended time.

Three Power Options — let you power the scanner us­ing the built-in rechargeable battery pack, external AC
power using the supplied AC adapter/charger, or DC
power using an optional DC cigarette-lighter power ca­ble.

Key Confirmation Tones — the scanner sounds a tone
when you perform an operation correctly, and an error
tone if you make an error.

Battery Low Alert — warns you when battery power
gets low.

Battery Save — saves battery power when the scanner
does not detect any transmissions for more than 1
minute when a channel is manually selected.

Your scanner can receive these bands:

Frequency Range Step Transmission

29–29.7 MHz 5 kHz 10-Meter Ham

Band

29.7–50 MHz 5 kHz VHF Lo
50–54 MHz 5 kHz 6-Meter Ham Band
108–136.9875 MHz 12.5 kHz Aircraft
137–144 MHz 5 kHz Military Land

Mobile
144–148 MHz 5 kHz 2-Meter Ham Band
148–174 MHz 5 kHz VHF Hi
406–420 MHz 12.5 kHz Federal Govern-

ment
420–450 MHz 12.5 kHz 70-cm Ham Band
450–470 MHz 12.5 kHz UHF Standard

Band
470–512 MHz 12.5 kHz UHF “T” Band
806–956 MHz 12.5 kHz Public Service

“800” Band, except

cellular band

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We recommend you record your scanner’s serial num­ber here. The number is on the bottom panel.

Serial Number: _____ ______________________

FCC NOTICE

Your scanner might cause radio or TV interference even
when it is op erating pro perly . To determ ine whet her your
scanner is causing the interference, turn off your scanner.
If the i nter feren ce goes awa y, y our s can ner i s ca usin g it .
Try the following methods to eliminate the interference:

• Move your scanner away from the receiver

• Connect your scanner to an outlet that is on a differ­ent electrical circuit from the receiver

• Contact your local RadioShack store for hel p

Note:

Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires

a permit in some areas. Chec k the l aws in your area.

SCANNING LEGALLY

Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different
groups including poli ce and fire departmen ts, ambu lance
services, government agencies, private companies, am­ateur radio services, military operations, pager services,
and wireline (te lephone a nd te legrap h) servi ce prov id ers.
It is legal to l isten to al most every t ransmis sion your scan ­ner can receive. However, there are some transmissions
you should never intentionally l isten to. These inclu de:

• Telephone conversations (either cellular, cordless,
or other private means of t elephone signal transmis­sion)

• Pager transmissions

• Any scrambled or encrypted transmis sions

According to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
(ECPA), you are subject to fines and possible imprison­ment for intentionally listening to, using, or divulging the
contents of such a transmission unless you have the
consent of a party to the conversation (unless such ac­tivity is otherwise illegal). We encourage responsible, le­gal scanner use.

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CONTENTS

Preparation ................................................................ 8

Power Sources ..................................................... 8

Using the Rechargeable Battery Pack .......... 8

Using Standard AC Power ............................ 9

Using Vehicle Battery Power ....................... 10

Connecting the Ant enna .......... ........... .......... ...... 11

Connecting an Optional Ant enna ................ 12

Connecting an Earphone/Headphones . ............. 13

Listening Safely .......................................... 13

Traffic Safety ............................................... 13

Connecting an Extension Speaker ..................... 14

Attaching the Belt Clip ........................................ 14

Understanding Your Scanner ................................. 15

A Look at the Keypad ......................................... 15

A Look at t he Display ......................................... 17

Understandi ng Ban k s ... ... .. ........ .. ............... .. ... ... 19

Channel Storage Banks .............................. 19

Service Banks ............................................. 19

Understandi ng Trunk in g ....... .. ... ....... .. ... ....... ... .. . 19

Operation . .. ....... ... .. ........ .. .. ........ .. ... ....... .. ............... . 20

Turn ing On the Scanner and Setting Squelch .... 20

Storing Known Frequencies into Channels ........ 21

Limit Search ....................................................... 22

Scanning Service Banks .................................... 23

Scanning the Stor ed Channels .......................... 25

Manually Select ing a Channel ........ .......... .......... 25

Deleting a Stored Frequency ............................. 25

Special Features ...................................................... 26

Delay .. ............ ............ .......... ............ ............ ...... 26

Turn ing Channel-Storage Banks On and Off ..... 27

Locking Out Channels and Frequencies ............ 27

Locking Out Channels ................. .......... ..... 27

Locking Out Frequencies ........... .......... ....... 28

Priorit y ........................ .. ... ....... ... .. ....... ... .. ........ .. . 28

Using the Keylock .............................................. 30

Using the Display Backlight ................................ 30

Changing Search Speeds ..... .......... .......... ......... 30

Batter y S a ve ..................... ... .. ....... ... ............... .. . 31

Skipping Data Signals ........................................ 31

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Trunk Tracking ......................................................... 32

Types of Trunked Systems ................................. 32

Setting the Scanner to th e Trunk Tr acking Mode 33

Setting Squelch for t he Trunk Tr acking Mode .... 34

Programming Trunked Frequenci es .......... ......... 34

Scanning a Trunked Bank .................................. 36

Monitoring an Active ID ............................... 37

Locking Out IDs ........................................... 38

Unlocking a Single ID .................................. 38

Unlocking All IDs ......................................... 38

Using Trunk Tracking Scan Delay ............... 39

Monitoring IDs ............................................. 39

Channel Activity In dicators ......................... ........ 40

Scan Lists ........................................................... 41

Manually Storing IDs into Scan Lists ........... 41

Storing IDs Into Scan Lists

While Searching .......................................... 42

Automatically Storing an ID

in a Scan List Location ................................ 42

Deleting a Stored ID .................................... 43

Scanning the Scan Lists ..................................... 43

Scanning Type I and Hybrid Tru nked Systems ...44

Selecting a Preset Fleet Map ..................... 48

Programming a Fleet Map .......................... 49

Programming a Hybrid System .................. 50

A General Guide to Scanning ................................. 51

Guide to Frequencies ................................ ......... 51

National Weather Frequencies .................... 51

Canadian Weather Frequencies .................. 51

Birdie Frequencies .......... .. .......... .......... ...... 51

Guide to the Action Bands ................................. 52

Typical Band Usage .................. .......... ........ 52

Primary Usage ....... ................................ ...... 52

Band Allocation ................................................. 53

Frequency Conversion ...................................... 57

Trou bleshooting ................... ............ ...................... .. 58

Care and Maintenance ............................................. 61

Specifications .......................................................... 62

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PREPARATION

POWER SOURCES

You can power your scanner from any of three sources:

• Built-in rechargeable battery pack

• Standard AC power using the supplied AC adapter/
charger

• Vehicle battery power using an optional DC ciga­rette-lighter power cable

Using the Rechargeable Battery Pack

You must charge your scanner’s built-in rechargeable
battery pack befo re you can use it to power the scanner.
Your scanner has a built-in charging circuit that lets you
charge the rechargeable battery pack while it is in the
scanner.

To charge the battery pack, simply connect the supplied
AC adapter/charger or an optional DC cigarette-lighter
power cable to the scanner’s
Standard AC Power” on Page 9 or “Using Vehicle Bat­tery Power” on Page 10.

EXT. PWR

jack. See “Using

It takes about 14–16 hours to recharge a battery pack
that is fully discharged. (You can operate the scanner
while recharging the battery pack, but charging takes
longer).

Notes:

• The scanner automatically stops charging the bat­tery pack when it is fully charged, even if the sup­plied AC adapter/charger or a DC cigarette-lighter
power cable is stil l connected to the scanner.

• A rechargeable bat tery pack lasts longer and deliv­ers more power if you occasionally let it fully dis­charge. To do this, simply use the scanner until the
low battery indicator appears. Then fully charge the
battery pack.

If the battery pack doesn’t power the scanner even after
you charge it, you must replace it. You can order a re­placement battery pack from your local RadioShack
store.

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1. Press down on the battery compartment cover and
slide the cover in the direction of the arrow to
remove it.

2. Disconnect the battery pack’s connector from the
scanner’s connector. Then remove the battery pack
from the battery comp artment.

3. Attach the new battery pack's connector to the bat­tery socket inside the battery compartment. Then
put the battery pack int o the compartment.

4. Replace the cover.

When the scanner’s battery gets low, blinks and
the scanner beeps about every 15 seconds.

Important: At the end of a rechargeable battery pack's
useful life, it must be recycled or disposed of properly.
Contact your local, county, or state hazardous waste
management authorities for information on recycling or
disposal prog rams in your area. Some options t hat might
be available are: municipal curb-side collection, drop-off
boxes at retailers such as your local RadioShack store,
recycling collection centers, and mailback programs.

Using Standard AC Power

To power the scanner from AC power, use the supplied
AC adapter/charger. Plug the adapter/charger's barrel
plug into the scanner's

EXT. PWR

adapter/charger's power module into a standard AC out­let.

jack. Then plug the AC

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EXT. PWR Jack

Warning: Do not use t he AC adapter/charger's polarized

plug with an extension cord, receptacle, or other outlet
unless the blades can be fully inserted to prevent blade
exposure.

Caution: Use only the supplied AC adapt er/charger. It is
specifica ll y designed for this scan ner.

Using Vehicle Battery Power

To power the scanner from your vehicle's cigarette-light­er socket, you need a DC cigarette-lighter power cable,
such as Cat. No. 270-031 .

Cautions:

• The DC cigarette-lighter power cable must be capa­ble of delivering 12 volts, its center tip must be set to
positive, and its barrel plug must correctly fit the
scanner's

EXT. PWR

jack. The recommended power
cable meets these specifications. Using a power
cable that does not meet these specifications could
damage the scanner or the power cable.

• To protect your vehicle's electrical system, always
plug the power cable into the scanner before you
plug it into your vehicle's cigarette-lighter socket.
Always unplug the power cable from the vehicle's
cigarette -l ighter socket before you un plug it from the
scanner.

• Insert the DC cigarette-lighter power cable's barrel
plug into the

EXT. PWR

jack, then plug the power

cable's othe r end into your vehicle' s cigarette-li ghter

socket.

.

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When you finish usi ng the DC cigarette-lighter power ca­ble, disconnect it from the cigarette-lighter socket, then
disconnect it from your scanner.

Note: If the scanner does not operate properly when you
connect a DC cigarette-lighter power cable, unplug the
power cable from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean
the socket to remove ashes and other debris.

CONNECTING THE ANTENNA

Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible anten­na to the connector on the top of your scanner.

1. Align the slots around the antenna’s connector with
the tabs on the scanner’s BNC connector.

2. Slide the antenna’s connector down over the scan­ner’s connector and rotate the antenna connector’s
outer ring clockwise until it locks into place.

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Connecting an Optional Antenna

The scanner’s antenna jack makes it easy to use the
scanner with a variety of antennas. Instead of the sup­plied ante nna, you can att ach a different one, such as an
external mobile antenna or outdoor base station anten­na. 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 over
50 feet, use RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If
your antenna’s cable does not have a BNC connector,
use a BNC adapter available at your local RadioShack
store.

Follow the installation instructions supplied with the an­tenna, route the antenna cable to the scanner, then con­nect it to the antenna

jack.

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, 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.

Cautions

:

• Do not run the cable over sharp edges or moving
parts.

• Do not run the cable next to power cables or other
antenna cables.

• Do not run the cable through a vehicle’s engine
compartment or other areas that produce extreme
heat.

• Follow all cautions and warnings included with the
antenna.

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CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/
HEADPHONES

For private listening, you can plug an earphone or head­phones with a
175 or 20-210) into the jack on top of your scanner.
This automatically disconnects the i nternal speaker.

1

/8-inch mini-plug (such as Cat. No. 33-

Listening Safely

To protect you r hearing, follow these guide lines when you
use an earphone or headphones.

• Do not listen at extremely high volume levels.

Exten ded hig h-volume listening can l ead to perma­nent hearing loss.

• Set the volume to the lowest setting before you

begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust the
volume to a comfortabl e level.

• Once 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.

Traffic Safety

Do not use an earphone/headphones with your scanner
when operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle in or
near traffic. Doing so can create a traffic hazard and
could be illegal in some areas.

If you use an earphone/headphones with your scanner,
be very careful. Do not listen to a continuous broadcast.
Even though some earphones/headphones let you hear
some outside sounds when listening at normal volume
levels, they still can present a tra ffic hazard.

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CONNECTING AN EXTENSION
SPEAKER

In a noisy area, an extension speaker (such as Cat. No.
21-549), positioned in the right place, might provide
more comfortable listening. Plug the speaker cable’s
inch mini-pl ug into your scanner ’s jack.

1

/8-

ATTACHING THE BELT CLIP

You can attach the supplied belt clip to make your scan­ner easier to carry when you are on the go. Use a Phil­lips screwdriver and the two supplied screws to attach
the belt clip to the scanner. Then slide the belt clip over
your belt or waistband.

Belt Clip

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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 c an put th e scanner to work for you. Yo u
simply find the communications you want to receive,
then set the scanner to scan them .

frequency

A
pressed in kHz or MHz). To find active frequencies, you
can use the

You can also search the service-search banks, w hich
are preset groups of frequencies catego rized by type of
service.

When you find a frequency, you can store it into a program­mable memory location called a
with your other channels in a
can then
activity on the frequencies stored there. Each time the
scanner finds an active frequency, it stays on that channel
until the transmission ends.

is the tuning location of a station (ex-

search

function.

channel

channel-storage bank

scan

the channel-storage banks to see if there is

, which is grouped

. You

A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD

Your scanner’s keys might seem confusing at first, but
this information should help you understand each key’s
function.

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SCAN

— scans through the stored channels.

MANUAL

— stops scanning and lets you directly enter a

channel number or fr equency.

TRUNK —

switches between conventional and trunk

tracking modes.

SVC (service)

SPEED/PRI (speed/priority) —

— selects a service bank.

turns on and off the Hyper­search mode; sets and turns on and off the priority fea­ture.

LOCK/

— locks the keypad to prevent acc idental pro­gram changes. Also turns on the display light for 15 sec­onds.

Number Keys — each key has a single-digit label and a
range of numbers. 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
make up a memory bank.

— enters a decimal point or clears an incorrect entry.

•

E (enter)

t

— enters frequencies into channels.

/LIMIT

— sets th e search direction and hol ds the frequen-

cy search; sets t he frequency range.

DLY (delay)

— programs a 2-second del ay for the selected
channel, a limit search, or each service scan. Also pro­grams a 5–second delay in the trunk tracking mode.

SRCH

— searches a specified frequency range to find fre­quencies; searches for another active ID in the trunk
tracking mode.

L/O (lock out) —

lets you lock out selected channels or fre­quencies; lets you lock out a selected ID in the trunk
tracking mode.

s

/HOLD

— sets the search direction and holds the fre­quency sea rch; holds o n the current ID in th e trunk tra ck­ing mode.

DATA

— turns on or off the data signal skip feature or
checks the current trunking bank in the trunk tracking
mode.

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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 scanner operates.

— appears with numbers (1–10). Numbers with a

BANK

bar under them show which channel-storage banks are
turned on for scanning.

— appears when the scanner is in the trunk

TRUNK

tracking mode.

(channel activity indicators) — each represents a re­ceived trunking frequency or a data frequency in the
trunk trac king mode (see “Channel Acti vity Indicators” on
Page 40).

— appears when a priority channel is selected.

P

— blinks when the scanner’s battery is low.

— appears when the data skip function is act ive.

DATA

POLICE

bank.

FIRE/EMG

gency service bank.

AIR

MRN

bank.

WX

bank.

SCAN

— appears when you sear ch the police servi ce

— appears when you search the fire/emer-

— appears when you search the air ser vice bank.

— appears when you search the marine service

— appears when you search the weather service

— appears when you scan channels.

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— lights steadily during a limit search and ID

SRCH

search, and blinks while HyperSearch is active and
when you monitor IDs (see “Monitoring IDs” on
Page 39).

— appears when the priority feature is turned on.

PRI

— appears when you manually select a channel

HOLD

or when the scanner is in the hold mode during a search
or service bank scan or during a limit se arch.

— appears when you program a delay.

DLY

— appears when you manually select a channel or

L/O

frequency you loc ked out.

— appears when you lock the keypad.

— appears when you make an entry error.

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 channel-storage bank to
group frequencies, such as the police department, fire
department, ambulance services, or aircraft (see “Guide
to the Action Bands” on Page52). 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 frequencies starting with
Channel 31 (the first channel in bank 2).

Service Banks

The scanner is preprogrammed with the frequencies al­located by police, fire/emergency, aircraft, marine, and
weather services. This is handy for quickly finding active
frequencies instead of searching through an entire band
(see “Scanning Service Banks” on Page 23).

UNDERSTANDING TRUNKING

In the past, groups that broadcast frequentl y, such as po­lice departments, were restricted to transmitting on just a
few frequencies. This resul ted in heavy traffic and often
required 2-way radio users to wait for a specific frequen­cy to clear befor e transmit ting.

Trunke d systems al low more gr oup s of 2-way ra di o u ser s
to use few er frequencies. Instead of selecti ng 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 frequency, and also sends a code that
identi fies that 2-way radio us er’s transmissio n on a data
channe l.

This scanner lets you select the data channel frequency
that you want it to monitor, 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).

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OPERATION

TURNING ON THE SCANNER
AND SETTING SQUELCH

Note:

Make sure the scanner's antenna is connected

before you turn it on.

1. Turn

2. Turn

3. Press

SQUELCH

VOLUME/OFF

hear a hissing sound.

then leave it set to a point just after the hissing
sound stops.

MANUAL

fully clock wise.

clockwise until it clicks and you

and turn

SQUELCH

counterclockwise,

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Notes:

• If you have not stored frequencies into any chan­nels, the scanner does not scan.

• If the scanner picks up unwanted, partial, or very
weak transmissions, turn
to decrease the scanner's sensitivity to these sig­nals. If you want to listen to a weak or distant sta­tion, turn

•If
sound, the scanner does not scan properly.

SQUELCH

SQUELC H

is adjusted so you always hear a hissing

SQUELCH

clockwise.

counterclo ckwise

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: To store trunking system frequencies, see “Pro­gramming Trunked Frequencies” on Page 34.

Follow these steps to store frequencies into channels.

1. Press

2. Use the number keys and

MANUAL

want to store a frequency, then press
The channel number appears.

(including the decimal point) you want to store.

, enter the c hannel number where you

MANUAL

to enter the frequency

•

again.

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3. Press E to store the frequency into the channel.

Notes:

• If you made a mistake in Step 2,

and the scanner beeps when you press

Error

appears

E

. Simply

start again from Step 2.

• Your scanner automatically rounds the entered

frequency to the nearest valid frequency. For
example, if you enter a frequency of 151.473,
your scanner accepts it as 151.475.

•Press

DELAY

if you want the scanner to pause 2
seconds on this channel after a transmission
ends before it proceeds to the next channel (see
“Delay” on Page 26). The scanner also stores
this setting in the channel.

4. If you want to program the next channel in
sequence, press

MANUAL

and repeat Steps 2 and 3.

LIMIT SEARCH

If you do not know a frequency to store, you can search
for transmissions within a range of frequencies you se­lect, called the
any interesting frequencies you find into channels.

1. Press
want to store a frequency, then press
The channel number appears.

2. Use the number keys and
that is the lower limit of the range you want to
search.

3. Press

22

limit search range

MANUAL

, enter th e channel number where you

LIMIT

.

. Then you can store

to enter the frequency

•

MANUAL

again.

20-520 .fm Page 23 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

4. Use the number keys and • to enter the frequency
that is the upper limit of the range you want to
search.

5. Press

LIMIT

, then press

SRCH

. The scanner begins to

search from the lower li mit to the upper limit.

6. When the scanner stops on a transmission, quickly
press either:

•E to store the displayed frequency into the chan-

nel. The scanner stores the frequency and con­tinues searching.

• s or t to stop searching so you can listen to the

transmission.

HOLD

appears.

To release hold and continue searching, press

SRCH

.

Notes:

• To step through the frequencies while

HOLD

appears, press s or t.

• If you tune to a search skip frequency,

L/O

appears. See “Locking Out Channels and Frequen­cies” on Page 27.

• To skip data signals (such as modem signals), pre ss

DAT A

. See “Skipping Data Signa ls” on Page 31.

SCANNING SERVICE BANKS

You can scan for police, fire/emergency, aircraft, mar ine,
and weather transmissions even if you do not know the
specific frequencies that are used in you r are a. And, you
can store any of the fr equencies you find into channels.

23

20-520 .fm Page 24 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Your scanner has the following preprogrammed service
banks.

• POLICE — contains 1,079 polic e frequencies.

• FIRE/EMG — contains 280 fire and emergency ser­vice frequencies.

• AIR — contains 2,319 aircraft and air service fre­quencies.

• MRN contains 65 marine freque ncies.

• WX — contains 7 weather frequenci es.

To select a service bank, press
name

(POLICE, FIRE/EMG, AIR, MRN

SVC

. A service bank’s

, or

WX)

and
one of the preset police frequencies appear. After a 2­second delay, scanning begins. To select another ser­vice bank, repeatedly press

SVC

until the scanner dis-

plays the name of the bank you want to use.

Notes:

• In the marine band, the active frequency and its
marine channel number alternately appear.

• To skip data signals ( such as modem signals), press

DATA

. See “Skipping Data Signal s” on Page 31.

• Because frequencies are not always assigned to the
same services everywhere, you might hear transmis­sions from one service in another service group.

If necessary, press SCAN

to start scanning immediately

or to continue sca nning if you want to skip a frequency.
During service-scan, you can press

scanning.
down one step, or press

appears. Press s or t to move up or

HOLD

SCAN

to resume sc anning.

HOLD

to pause the

Follow these steps to store frequencie s into channels.

MANUAL

.

1. Press

HOLD

appears.

2. Use the number keys t o enter the channel number
(1–300) where you want to store the frequency, then

MANUAL

press

3. Press

SVC

.

to select a s ervi ce bank an d beg in scanni ng .

4. When the scanner stops on a transmission, press

HOLD

. The frequency appear s.

5. Press

E

to store the frequency into the channel.

24

20-520 .fm Page 25 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

SCANNING THE STORED CHANNELS

To begin scanning channels, press

SCAN

. The scanner
scans through all non-locked channels in the activated
banks. When the scanner finds a transmission, it stops
on it. When the transmission ends, the scanner res um es
scanning.

Note:

To scan in the trunk tracking mode, see “Scanning

a Trunked Bank” on Page 36.

MANUALLY SELECTING A CHANNEL

You can continuously monitor a single channel without
scanning. Thi s is useful if you hear an emergency broad­cast on a channel and do not want to miss any details —
even though there might be periods of silence — or if
you want to monitor a specific channel.

Follow these steps to manually select a channel.

1. Press

2. Enter the channel number.

3. Press

Or, if your scanner is scanning and stops at the desired
channel, press
ditional times causes your scanner to step through the
channels.)

MANUAL

MANUAL

MANUAL

.

again.

one time. (Pressing

MANUAL

ad-

To resume scanning, pre ss

SCAN

.

DELETING A STORED FREQUENCY

1. Press

2. Use the number keys to enter the channel number

3. Press

Note:

locked out during scanning.

MANUAL

.

containing the frequency you want to delete. Then

MANUAL

press

again.

0

, then press E. The frequency is deleted.

Channels with no frequencies are automatically

25

20-520 .fm Page 26 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

SPECIAL FEATURES

DELAY

Many agencies use a two-way radio system that might
have a period of 2 or more seconds between a query
and a reply. To keep from missing a reply, you can pro­gram a 2-second delay into any channel or frequency.
The scanner continues to monitor the frequency for 2
seconds after the transmission stops before resuming
scanning or searc hing.

To program a 2-second delay:

• If the scanner is scanning channel-storage banks

and stops on an active channel where you want to

.

DLY

DLY

before it continues

store a delay, quickly press
scanning again.

• If the desired channel is not

selected, manually select the
channel, then press
appears.

DLY

appears.

DL Y

• If the scanner is scanning service banks, press
while the scanner is scanning.
the scanner automati cally adds a 2-second delay
to every transmission it stops on in that band.

To turn off the 2-second delay, press
ner is monitoring the channel or scanning the service
banks.

disappears from the display.

DLY

appears and

DLY

DLY

while the scan-

DL Y

26

20-520 .fm Page 27 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

TURNING CHANNEL-STORAGE
BANKS ON AND OFF

You can turn each channel-storage bank on and off.
When you turn off a bank, the scanner does not scan
any of the 30 channels in that bank.

While scanning, press the number key that corresponds
to the bank you want to turn on or off. If the bar under the
bank number is on, the bank is turned on and the scan­ner scans all channels within that bank that are not
locked out. If the bar is off, the scanner does not scan
any of the channels within that bank.

Notes:

• You can manually select any channel within a bank,

even if that bank is turn ed off.

• You cannot turn off all banks. One bank is always

active.

LOCKING OUT CHANNELS AND
FREQUENCIES

You can scan existing channels or search frequencies
faster by locking out channels or frequencies that have a
continuous tra nsm ission, such as a weather cha nnel.

Note:

If you jus t want to skip over a lengthy transmission
(such as a modem signal), see “Skipping Data Signals”
on Page 31.

Locking Out Channels

To lock out a channel while
scanning, press
scanner stops on the chan­nel. To lock out a channel
manually, manually select
the channel and hold down

L/O

until

L/O

L/O

when the

appears.

L/O

27

20-520 .fm Page 28 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Note: You can still manually select locked-out channels.
To remove the lockout from a channel, manually select

the channel and hold down

L/O

until

disappears

L/O

from the display.
To unlock all channels in the banks that are turned on,

press

MANUAL

to stop scanning, then hold down

L/O

until

the scanner beeps twi ce.

Locking Out Frequencies

To lock out a frequency during a limit search or service
bank scan, press
quency. The scanner locks out the frequency, then con­tinues searching. To lock out a frequency manually,
manually select the frequency and hold down

appears.

L/O

Notes:

• The scanner does not display locked-out frequen-

cies during a search.

• You can lock out as many as 20 frequencies during

a search. If you try to l ock out more than 20 freq uen­cies, the first locked-out frequency is automatically
unlocked.

when the scanner stops on the fre-

L/O

L/O

until

Follow these steps to remove the lockout from a fre­quency.

1. During a search, select the frequency you want to
remove the lockout from.

2. Press

L/O

.

disappears from the display.

L/O

To remove the lockout from all frequencies, while
searching, hold down

until the scanner beeps twice

L/O

(about 2 seconds).

PRIORITY

The priority feature lets you scan through channels and
still not miss important or interesting calls on specific
channels. You can program one stored channel in each
bank as a priority channel (for up to a total of 10 stored
channels). As the scanner scans the bank, if the priority
feature is turned on, the scanner checks the priority
channels for act ivity every 2 seconds.

28

20-520 .fm Page 29 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

The scanner automatically designates each bank's first
channel as its priority channel. Follow these steps to se­lect a dif fer ent channel as the priority channel for a bank.

1. Press

MANUAL

.

2. Enter the channel number you want to select as the
priority channel, then press

PRI

3. Hold down

until the scanner beeps twice.

MANUAL

again.

appears to the left of th e channel number .

4. Repeat Steps 2–3 for the channel in each bank you
want to program as a priorit y channel.

P

To turn on the priority feature, press

appears. Every 2 seconds the scanner checks the

PRI

PRI

during scanning.

priority channel in each bank that is turned on, starting
from the lowest to the highest-numbered priority chan­nel.

To turn off the priority feature, press

PRI

.

PRI

disap-

pears.

Notes:

• The priority feature must be turned off to use the
data skip feature (see “Skipping Data Signals” on
Page 31).

• You can lock out priority channels. If you lock out all
priority channels,

P ch Loc Out

appears when

you turn on the priorit y feature.

29

20-520 .fm Page 30 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

USING THE KEYLOCK

Once you program your scanner, you can protect it from
accidental program changes by turning on the keylock
feature. When locked, the only controls that operate are

SCAN, MANUAL, LOCK/

Note:

The keylock does not prevent the scanner from

scanning channels.

VOLUME/OFF

,

, and

SQUELCH

.

To turn on the keylock, hold down
appears. To turn it off, hold down

LOCK/

LOCK/

until
until

disappears.

USING THE DISPLAY BACKLIGHT

You can turn on the display backlight for easy vi ewing at
night. Press

LOCK/

to turn on the display backlight
for 15 seconds. To turn off the backlight before 15 sec­onds elapse, press the button again.

CHANGING SEARCH SPEEDS

The PRO-90 has two search speeds for a limit search.

Normal Search HyperSearch

100 steps/second 300 steps/second

30

20-520 .fm Page 31 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

To switch between normal and HyperSearch speeds,
during a li m it search, press
ing hypersearch.

Note:

You can use HyperSearch only in the 5 kHz step

bands (29–54 MHz and 137–174 MHz).

SPEED/PRI

.

SRCH

flashes dur-

BATTERY SAVE

To save battery power when a channel is manually se­lected, the scanner’s battery save function automatically
sets the scanner to a standby mode if the scanner does
not receive any signals for more than 1 minute. During
the standby mode, the scanner repeatedly turns off the
internal power for 1 second then turns on the internal
power for about
sion.

1

/3 of a second to check for a transmis-

Note:

The scanne r’ s battery save function does not work
if the priority function is on, even if a channel is manua ll y
selected.

SKIPPING DATA SIGNALS

You can set the scanner so it skips nonmodulated or
data signals (such as modem transmissions) during a
search.

Note:

Since data signals are not generally found in the

air band, this featu re does not work in the air band.

To turn on the data skip feature, be sure the priority fea­ture is turned off (see “Priority” on Page 28), then press

DATA

.

again.

appears. To turn off the feature, press

DATA

disappears.

DATA

DATA

31

20-520 .fm Page 32 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

TRUNK TRACKING

Your scanner is designed to track transmissions on Mo­torola Type I, Type II, and hybrid analog trunking sys­tems, which are extensively used in 800 MHz
communications. Remember these important points
when tracking transmissions:

• Your scanner monitors Type II systems by default.

However, you can change this if the system in your
area is different (see “Types of Trunking Systems”
below and “Scanning Type I and Hybrid Trunked
Systems” on Page 44 for more information).

• Your scanner cannot track transmissions on non-

Motorola trunking systems.

• Your scanner cannot track an 800 MHz trunked sys-

tem and scan frequencies in conventional mode at
the same time.

• The frequencies for many of the 800 MHz public

safety systems are listed in the separate “National
Public Safety Trunked System Frequency Guide”
included with your PRO-90.

TYPES OF TRUNKING SYSTEMS

Your trunk tracking scanner can monitor two basic types
of syste ms —
specific frequency to transmit on, a trunked system
chooses one of several frequencies in a 2-way radio us­er’s talk group when that use r presse s PTT (push to talk).
Thus, trunking systems allocate a few frequencies
among many different users, but the way Type I and
Type I I systems do this is slightly dif ferent. One important
distinction between these systems is the amount of data
transmitted by each radio when its push-to-talk button
(PTT) is pressed. In a Type I system, the radio’s ID and
its cur rent af filiati on (the trunk sy stem it belon gs to) are
both tran smitte d. In a Ty pe II syste m, on ly the rad io’s ID
is transmitted.

Why the differen ce? In Type I systems, each radio in the
trunk group i ndividually transm its its own affiliation, while
the trunk system maintains a database that determines
each radio's affiliation(s) in Type II systems.

Another difference between the systems is that Type I
systems are arranged in a fleet-subfleet hierarchy. For
example, it is possible for a city using a Type I system to
designate 4 fleets, each with 8 subfleets.
32

Type I

and

Type II

. Instead of selecting a

20-520 .fm Page 33 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

The fleets might be the police department, the fire de­partment, utilities, and city administration. The police
might decide to further divide its fleet into subfleets such
as dispatch, tactical operations, detectives, north, south,
east and west side patro ls, and supervi sors. All the avai l­able police radios would then be assigned to one of the
police subfleets, letting the police centralize their com­munications and control the type of users on a single
system. Determining the exact fleet-subfleet hierarchy
for a particular area is referred to as fleet map program­ming.

The disadvantage of a Type I system is that the brief
burst of data sent when a user transmits must contain
the radio’s ID and its fleet and subfleet. This is three
times the amount of data a Type II system radio sends.
Since the data capacity of Type I systems is limited and
the amount of data increases wit h each user, Type I sys­tems usually accommodate fewer users than Type II
systems. Nevertheless, Type I systems are still in use.

There are also
of both Type I and Type II. Your scanner defaults to
monitor Type II systems, but you can change to Type I or
a hybrid of Type I and Type II systems by selecting a
preprogrammed fleet map or creating a custom fleet
map for your area (see “Scanning Type I and Hybrid
Trunked Systems” on Page44).

You do not need to determine the fleet-subfleet hierar­chy for Type II systems unless you are tracking hybrid
systems that contain both Type I and Type II systems.

hybrid

systems which are a combination

SETTING THE SCANNER TO THE
TRUNK TRACKING MODE

Repeatedly press
ner’s conventi onal and trunk tracking modes.

TRUNK

to switch between the scan-

33

20-520 .fm Page 34 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

SETTING SQUELCH FOR THE
TRUNK TRACKING MODE

Your scanner’s squelch setting is automatically adjusted
in the trunking mode, which means it is not necessary to
manually adjust squelch while tracking trunked transmis­sions. However, the squelch setting can affect how fast
your scanner acquires the data c hannel, and, i n some in­stances, can prevent your scanner from acquiring the
data channel at al l.

We recommend you set
selecting a trunked bank.

Note:

You can change this setting, if necessary, to pro-

vide better performance in your area.

SQUELCH

to this position before

PROGRAMMING TRUNKED
FREQUENCIES

Before you progr am your scanner to track a trunked sys­tem, consider t he fol lowing:

• Valid trunked system frequencies range from

851.0125–868.9875 in 12.5 kHz steps.

• You can use a ny of your sc anner’ s banks as either a

trunk tracking bank or conventional scanning bank,
but you cannot mix the t wo.

• The scanner only scans one trunked system at a

time. Although you can store frequencies for more
than one trunked system in one of your scanner’s
banks, the scanner only scans the frequencies
associated with the first data channe l it finds.

Before scanning a trunked system’s transmissions, you
must store the trunked system’s frequencies in one of
the banks in your scanner by following these st eps.

34

20-520 .fm Page 35 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

1. Hold down

BANK, TRUNK,

TRUNK

until the scanner beeps twice.

and the bank numbers flash.

2. Select the bank you want to store the trunked sys­tem’s frequencies in by pressing a number key. The
scanner automatically sel ects the first channel in the
bank when you select the bank.

3. Use the number keys to enter the trunked system’s
frequencies, then press

Note:

If you entered an invalid frequency in Step 3,

E

.

the scanner beeps, the channel num ber f lashes and

Error

appears. If this happens, press • to clear

the frequency, then repeat Step 3.

4. Press either
in the bank.

MANUAL

or s to select the next channel

35

20-520 .fm Page 36 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all frequencies have
been entered.

6. Press

SRCH

to begin searching
for the trunk’s data channel (the
channel that controls the trunk).

flashes as the scanner

SRCH

searches for th e data channel.
While the scanner looks through

the frequencies, you see them
on the display. When the scan­ner finds the data channel, it
begins trunk tracking.

SCANNING A TRUNKED BANK

You can scan one trunked bank at a time. Once you
have stored frequencies for a trunked system in one or
more of the 10 available banks and you are scanning
non-trunked frequencies, follow these steps to begin
trunk scanning.

1. Press

TRUNK

. The indicator s for all banks flash.

2. Use the number keys to enter the number for the
trunked bank you want to scan, then press

SRCH

The scanner searches for a data channel. When the
scanner finds it, it begins trunk tracki ng.

If you entered all of the trunk’s frequencies, you
should be able to follow conversations between
broadcasters even when they change frequen­cies. IDs, which represent different service
groups , a pp ear.

ID

36

.

20-520 .fm Page 37 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Note: To review the bank currently in use, press

while in the trunk tracking mode. The bar for

DATA

the selected bank flashes at the top of the display
for about 5 seconds.

3. To return to non-trunked scanning, press

TRUNK

again.

Hint: While scanning, you will not know exactly who the
ID's are assigned to until you listen awhile or until you lo­cate ID lists in frequency guides or on internet sit es such
as

www.trunkscanner.com

. Within a few minutes, you
can usually figure out if what you are listening to is a po­lice, fire, or emergency medical 2-way radio user. Other
IDs might take some time, but determining who each ID
represents is half the fun of trunk trackin g!

Monitoring an Active ID

When the scanner stops on a transmission, you can hold
the scanner on that transmission.

1. Press

HOLD

.

HOLD

appears, the scanner stays on

the current ID, and the channel number changes.

2. If you want t o listen to a different ID, use the number
keys to enter the ID you want to hol d.

3. Press

HOLD

again.

flashes and the scanner

HOLD

monitors that ID.

4. When you want to stop t he hold and r esume search­ing for a data channel so you can continue trunk
tracking, pr ess

SRCH

.

Note: You can also follow these steps to hold on an ID
while scanning a scan list. See “Scan Lists” on Page 41.

37

20-520 .fm Page 38 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Locking Out IDs

As with conventional scanning, it is possible to lock out
unwanted traffic. This is particularly important in trunked
systems because signals you cannot listen to (such as
water meters, door alarms, traffic signals, and encrypted
signals) are assigned IDs just like other users. You can
have up to 100 IDs locked out at one tim e.

Note:

If you lock out an ID while searching, it is also

locked out of the scan list(s). See “Scan Lists” on
Page 41.

To lock out an ID, press

when the ID appears.

L/O

The ID is locked out, and the next active ID appears.

Unlocking a Single ID

1. Hold down

2. Repeatedly press t or s to select the ID you want to
unlock.

3. Press

L/O

The ID is unlocked and the next locked ID or

– –––

4. Press

SRCH

tion.

until you hear two short beeps.

L/O

.

(if there are no other locked IDs) appears.

to continue th e scanner’s previous f unc-

Unlocking All IDs

Hold down
press

to unlock all the IDs at once.- The scanne r beeps

E

twice.

until you hear two short beeps. Then

L/O

–

Note:

When you unlock all the IDs, the scan list mode
appears. Press
lists or press

to scan the IDs stored in your scan

SCAN

to continue the scanner’s previous

SRCH

function. For more information about scan lists, see
“Scan Lists” on Page 41.

38

20-520 .fm Page 39 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Using Trunk Tracking Scan Delay

Many trunked systems have a period of 2 or more sec­onds between a query and a reply. You can program a
5-second delay to hold on an ID for 5 seconds to wait for
a reply. The scanner continues to monitor the frequency
for 5 seconds aft er the transmissio n stops before resum ­ing scanning.

Press

DLY

Note:

to turn trunk tracking scan delay on or off.

DLY

appears when trunk tracking scan delay is set.

If you consistently miss responses even with trunk
tracking scan delay set, you might need to change the
default system type or the fleet map you are using. See
“Scanning Type I and Hybrid Trunked Systems” on
Page 44.

Monitoring IDs

You can use your scanner’s display to monitor the fre­quencies in a trunked system for activity. You cannot
hear conversations in this mode, but this is an excellent
way to determine which talk groups are the most active.
To set the scanner to monitor IDs, hold down
the scanner beeps twice.

flashes, and all active

SRCH

talk group IDs appear in succession. To stop monitoring
IDs, press

SRCH

again.

SRCH

until

Note:

When you monitor IDs, locked-out IDs also ap-

pear.

39

20-520 .fm Page 40 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

CHANNEL ACTIVITY INDICATORS

Your scanner has 20 channel activity indicators (bars)
which show the activity taking place on a trunked sys­tem. You can see how many frequencies are being used
and generally monitor how much communication traffic
is occurrin g.

Each frequency you store in a trunking bank has a corre­sponding activity indicator. However, since there are
only 20 indicators, but you can store up to 30 frequen­cies, some indicators might indicate more than one fre­quency if th e trunked syste m you are scanning ha s m ore
than 20 channels.

• The indicator that remains on steadily even when

there are no current transmissions represents the
frequency being used as the data channel.

• The indicator that flashes when an ID appears rep-

resents the frequency being used by the radio you
are currently hearing.

• If an indicator turns on but you do not hear a conver-

sation, the cha nnel is probabl y being used f or a tele­phone interconnect call or a private call, or the
indicator might be a locked-out ID. Your scanner
does not monitor t hese types of calls.

• If the scanner is holding on an ID which is not

active, t he other activity indicators tu rn on and off as
other groups use the system.

40

20-520 .fm Page 41 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

SCAN LISTS

When you program trunked frequencies into a bank ( see
“Programming Trunked Frequencies” on Page 34), your
scanner sets up 5 scan lists into which you can store
your favorite IDs. Each list can contain up to 10 IDs, so
you can store a total of 50 IDs for each trunk tracking
bank (500 IDs if you use all banks as trunking banks!).
Scan lists help you organize trunking system users into
categories. For example, you might use List 1 for police
IDs, List 2 for fire department IDs, List 3 for emergency
medical service IDs, and so on. Once IDs are stored in
lists, you can scan them like you scan conventional
channels. You can program IDs into scan lists manually,
during a search, or automatically.

Manually Storing IDs into Scan Lists

1. Select the trunking bank you want (see “Scanning a
Trunked Bank” on Page36).

2. After the scanner begins trunk tracking, press

UAL

. A bar appears at the top of the display, showing

the current scan list.

MAN-

3. Repeatedly press s or t to select the scan list loca­tion (shown at the top of the display) you want to
program.

41

20-520 .fm Page 42 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

4. Enter the Type II ID you want to store, then press E.

Or, to enter a Type I ID:
a. Use the number keys to enter the block number

and the fleet number, then press
b. Enter the subfleet number, then press

Note:

To clear a mistake while ent eri ng an ID, press

twice, then start over at Step 1.

•

5. Repeatedly press
scan list location you want to program. Then repeat
Step 4 to enter another ID.

MANUAL

.

•

E

.

or s to select the next

Storing IDs Into Scan Lists While Search­ing

Follow thes e steps to select a scan list location and store
an ID during a search.

1. When your scanner stops on an ID you want to
store, press
memory location flashes.

2. Press E to store the ID in the selected scan list
memory location. Or, repeatedly press s or t to
select the scan l ist memory location you want, then
press

3. Press

PRI

. The currently selected scan list

E

.

SRCH

to resume searching.

Automatically Storing an ID in a Scan List
Location

Follow these steps to store an ID in the first empty scan
list location during a search.

1. When your scanner stops on an ID you want to
store, press
played scan lis t l ocation.

42

E

. The scanner stores the ID in the dis-

20-520 .fm Page 43 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

2. Press

SRCH

to resume searching.

Deleting a Stored ID

1. Repeatedly press s or t to select the scan list loca­tion (shown at the top of the display) you want to
delete.

2. Press

0

then E.

SCANNING THE SCAN LISTS

SCAN

Press
gram med.

Note:

on the display but your scanner does not stop on an ac­tive conversation.

to begin scanning the lists you have pro-

If you haven't programmed any IDs,

SCAN

scrol ls

To remove a scan list from active scanning, use the
number keys to enter the scan list’s number. The scan

43

20-520 .fm Page 44 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

list indicator turns off, and the IDs in that list are not
scanned.

Note: One scan list must always be active. If you try to re­move all the scan lists, the first scan list will stay active.

To restore a scan list to active scanning, use the number
keys to enter its number again.

Press
To alternate the display between the channel activity in-

dicators and the scan list indicators, press

to return to the scanner’ s previous function.

SRCH

PRI

.

SCANNING TYPE I AND HYBRID
TRUNKED SYSTEMS

Your PRO-90 is set to scan Type II user IDs by default.
When you scan trunked frequencies, each Type II user
ID you see appears as an even number without a dash
(such as 2160). Your PRO-90 can also scan Type I
trunked systems. Each Type I ID appears as a three- or
four-digit number, followed by a hyphen, followed by a
one- or two-digit number (such as 200-14). If you notice
a mix of odd- and even-user IDs (such as 6477, 2160,
6481, 6144, and 1167), then you are probably monitor­ing either a Type I or hybrid (a combination of Type I and
Type 2 user IDs) system (see “Types of Trunked Sys­tems” on Page 32).

You might also notice that you are missing responses
when you hold on an active ID. Unlike Type II systems,
Type I and hybr id systems require a fleet map that sets
specific fleet-subfleet parameters. It is easy to select a
fleet map to s can; what is not alway s easy is selecting or
programming a map that is being used in your particular
area.

When a Type I system is designed, the address informa­tion for all i ts user IDs is divided into 8 equal-size blocks,
numbered 0–7, and each block is assigned a size code.

44

20-520 .fm Page 45 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

When you set up your scanner to track a Type I system,
you must choose a size code for each block. When you
have chosen a size code for all 8 blocks, you will have

duplicated the

fleet map

for the system you are tracking.
If you have chosen correctly, you will be able to track
transmissions in that system.

Each size code defines the number of fleets, subfleets,
and IDs each block has. For example, you can see in the
following table that a size code of S-4 has one fleet,
which is divided into 16 separate subfleets, and it has a
total of 512 indivi dual IDs.

Size Fleets Subfleets IDs Block

Used

S-0 Reserved block for Type II IDs
S-1 128 4 16 1
S-2 16 8 64 1
S-3 8 8 128 1
S-4 1 16 512 1
S-5 64 4 32 1
S-6 32 8 32 1
S-7 32 4 64 1
S-8 16 4 128 1
S-9 8 4 256 1
S-10 4 8 256 1
S-11 2 16 256 1
S-12 1 16 1024 2
S-13 1 16 2048 4
S-14 1 16 4096 8

Each ID in the block is unique. The left-most digit is the
block number in the ID. The next two digits identify which
fleet is active, and the last digit(s) (after the hyphen)
identifies t he subfleet.

The size codes select ed by a Type I syst em desi gner de ­pend on the specific needs of the system's users. Some
organizations might want many subfleets with only a few
radios each, while another organization might want only
a few subfleets, with many radios each. To scan Type I

45

20-520 .fm Page 46 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

systems, you must select or program a fleet map with
the same size code assignments as the trunked system.
If you d o this ac curatel y, you w ill track a ll the flee t and

subfleet combinations used by the system. In other
words, you will hear complete communications while
monitoring a trunked system.

Note: Preset fleet maps might be available at

www.trunkscanner.com

.

If you do not already know the size codes used, you will
have to guess them. But since you do not have to figure
out all the blocks at once, this is not as hard as it seems.
Select a size code for a block, then press

SRCH

. Now lis­ten to the communications. If you decide you are receiv­ing most of the replies to the conversations with IDs
assigned to the block you just programmed, then you
have probably selected the right size code and can work
on the next block of the ma p.

There are 16 preset fleet maps to choose from, and it is
best to start with these when setting up a Type I or hy­brid trunk tracking bank. If none of the following preset
fleet maps allow you t o follow complete conversations,
then you probably need to program your own fleet map
(see “Programming a Fleet Map” on Page 49).

E1P1 E1P2 E1P3

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

0S110S40S4
1S111S41S4
2S112S42S4
3S113S43S4
4S114S44S4
5S115S45S4
6S116S46S12
7S117S47---

E1P4 E1P5 E1P6

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

0S120S40S3

46

20-520 .fm Page 47 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

1---1S41S10
2 S4 2 S12 2 S4
3S43---3S4
4S44S44S12

E1P4 E1P5 E1P6

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

5S45S45--­6S46S46S12
7S47S47---

E1P7 E1P8 E1P9

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

0S100S10S4
1S101S11S4
2S112S22S0
3S43S23S0
4S44S34S0
5S45S35S0
6S46S46S0
7S47S47S0

E1P10 E1P11 E1P12

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

0S00S40S0
1S01S01S0
2S02S02S0
3S03S03S0
4S04S04S0

47

20-520 .fm Page 48 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

5S05S05S0
6S46S06S0
7S47S07S4

E1P13 E1P14 E1P15

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

Block Size

Code

0S30S40S4
1S31S31S4
2S112S102S4
3S43S43S11
4S44S44S11
5S05S45S0
6 S0 6 S12 6 S12
7 S0 7 --- 7 ---

E1P16

Block Size

Code

0S3
1S10
2S10
3S11
4S0
5S0
6S12
7---

Selecting a Preset Fl eet Map

1. Select the bank where you want to store the preset
fleet map by pressi ng a num ber key.

48

20-520 .fm Page 49 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

DATA

DATA

again.-

.

, then press

E1

2. Press

3. Repeatedly press s or t to select

4. Repeatedly press s or t to select the name of the
map you want (such as

), then press E.

P7

The scanner then searches for transmissions using the
preset map you chose.

Note:

When the scanner searches for transmissions,

you see Type I fleet and subfleet IDs such as

100-9, 000-12

, or

400-8

.

100-12

How do you know if the preset map you selected is cor­rect? Listen to see if you are following complete conver­sations. If not, try another preset map.

,

Programming a Fleet Map

1. Select the bank where you want to program the fleet
map by pressing a number key.

DAT A

.-

DATA

DATA

.

appears, then press

E1

appears.

USr

.

2. Press

3. Repeatedly press s or t until

4. Repeatedly press s or t until

5. Press

49

20-520 .fm Page 50 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

6. Repeatedly press s or t to select the size code for
the first block, then press

E

.- The next available

block appears.

7. Repeat Step 6 until you have selected a size code
for each block you want to work with.

8. Press

SRCH

. The scanner exits the trunking pro­gramming mode, tunes the data channel, then
begins to search us ing the map you programmed.

Note:

If you select size code S-12, S-13, or S-14, these re-

strictions apply:

• S-12 can only be assigned to Blocks 0, 2, 4, or 6.

• S-13 can only be assigned to Blocks 0 and 4.

• S-14 can only be assigned to Block 0.

Since these size codes require multiple blocks, you will
be prompted for the next available block when program­ming a fleet map. For example, if you assign Block 0 as
an S-12, the scanner prompts you for

, the next block

b2

available, instead of b1. And if you assign Block 0 as an
S-14, you would not see another prompt because it uses
all available blocks.

Programming a Hybrid System

A hybrid system is simply a Type I system with some of
its blocks designated as Type II blocks. To program a
hybrid system, follow the steps listed in “Programming a
Fleet Map” on Page 49. However, if you want a block to
be Type II, select size code

S-0

in Step 6.

50

20-520 .fm Page 51 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING

Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanner is
mainly “line-of-sight.” That means you usually cannot
hear stations that are beyond the horizon.

GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES

National Weather Frequencies

162.400 162.475 162.525

162.425 162.500 162.550

162.450

Canadian Weather Frequencies

161.650 161.775 163.275

Note:

These frequencies are not pre-programmed in the
weather service bank but can be manually pr ogrammed
into a channel.

Birdie Frequencies

Every scanner has birdie frequencies. Birdies are sig­nals created inside the scanner’s receiver. These oper­ating frequencies might interfere with broadcasts on the
same frequencies. If you program one of these frequen­cies, you hear only noise on that frequency. If the inter­ference is not severe, you might be able to turn
clockwise to cut out the birdie. This scanner’s birdie fre­quencies (in MHz) are:

41.6000 406.2000 438.4000 489.2500

118.8875 413.1750 445.8250 495.3625

138.7000 413.2250 445.8375 496.3750

138.7050 416.1125 455.7375 813.4000

158.5150 426.0125 465.6500 852.0375

158.5200 426.0250 475.5500 899.2375

168.4250 435.9250 485.4625 926.7000

SQUELCH

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20-520 .fm Page 52 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS

Ty pical Band Usage

VHF Band

Low Range 29.00–50.00 MHz
6-Meter Amateur 50.00 –54.00 MHz
U.S. Government 137.00–144.00 MHz
2-Meter Amateur 144.00– 148.00 MHz
High Range 148.00–174. 00 MHz

UHF Band

U.S. Government 406.00–420.00 MHz
70-cm Amateur 420.00–450.00 MHz
Low Range 450.00–470.00 MHz
FM-TV Audio Broadcast, Wide
Band
Public Service 806.00–823.93 MHz
Conventional Systems 851.00–856.00 MHz
Conventional/Trunked Sys­tems
Trunked Systems 861.00–866.00 MHz
Public Safety 866.00–868.93 MHz
High Range 896.11–902.00 MHz
33-Centimeter Amateur 902.00–928.00 MHz
Private Trunked 935.00–940.00 MHz
General Trunked 940.0 0–941.00 MHz
Fixed Services 941.00–944.00 MHz
Studio-to-Transmitter Broad­cast Links
Private Fixed Services, Paging 952.00–960.00 MHz
Aeronautical Navigation 960.00–1000.00 MHz

470.00 –512.0 0 MH z

856.00 –861.0 0 MH z

944.00 –952.0 0 MH z

Primary U sage

As a general rule, most of the radio activit y is concentrat­ed on the f ollowing frequencies:

VHF Band

Activities Frequencies

Government, Police, and Fire 153.785–155.980 MHz
Emergency Services 158.730–159.460 MHz
Railro ad 160.00 0– 161.90 0 MH z

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20-520 .fm Page 53 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

UHF Band

Activities Frequencies

Land-M obile “Paired” Fre­quenci es

Base Stations 451.025–454.950 MHz
Mobile Units 456.025–459.950 MHz
Repeater Units 460.025–464.975 MHz
Contro l Stations 465.025–469.975 MHz

450.000–470.000 MHz

Note: Remote control stations and mobile units operate
at 5 MHz higher than their associated base stations and
relay repeater units.

BAND ALLOCATION

To help decide which frequency ranges to scan, use the
following listing of the typical services that use the fre­quencies your scanner receives. These frequencies are
subject to change, and might vary from area to area. For
a more complete listing, refer to the “Police Call Radio
Guide including Fire and Emergency Services,” available
at your local RadioShack store.

Abbreviations Services

BIFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boise (ID) Interagency Fire Cache

BUS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Business

CAP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Civil Air Patrol

CB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Citizens Band

CCA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Common Carrier

CSB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Conventional Systems

CTSB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Conventional/Trunked Systems

FIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fire Department

HAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amateur (Ham) Radio

GOVT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Federal Government

GMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Mobile Radio

GTR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Trunked

IND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Industrial Services

(Manufacturing, Construction, Farming, Forest Products)

MAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Military Amateur Radio

MARI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maritime Limited Coast

MARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Military Affiliate Radio System

MED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emergency/Medical Services

MIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .U.S. Military

MOV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Motion Picture/Video Industry

NEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mobile Narrow

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Relay Press (Newspaper Reporters)

OIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oil/Petroleum Industry

POL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Police Department

PUB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public Services

(Public Safety, Local Government, Forestry Conservation)

PSB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public Safety

(Coast Guard, Mar ine Telephone,

Shipboard Radio, Private Stations)

53

20-520 .fm Page 54 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

PTR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Private Trunked

ROAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Road & Highway Maintenance

RTV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Radio/TV Remote Broadcast Pickup

TAXI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taxi Services

TELB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mobile Telephone

. . (Aircraft, Radio Common Carrier, Landline Companies)

TELC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cordless Phones

TELM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telephone Maintenance

TOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tow Trucks

TRAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Transportation Services

. . . . . . . . . . (Trucks, Tow Trucks, Buses, Railroad, Other)

TSB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Trunked Systems

TVn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FM-TV Audio Broadcast

USXX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Government Classified

UTIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power & Water Utilities

WTHR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Weather

VERY HIGH FREQUENCY (VHF)
VHF Low Band—(29–50 MHz—in 5 kHz steps)

29.000–29.700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HAM

29.900–30.550 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

30.580–31.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, PUB

32.000–32.990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

33.020–33.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS, IND, PUB

34.010–34.990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

35.020–35.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS, PUB, IND, TELM

36.000–36.230 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

36.250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oil Spill Cleanup

36.270–36.990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

37.020–37.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PUB, IND

38.000–39.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

39.020–39.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PUB

40.000–42.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT, MIL, MARI

42.020–42.940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . POL

42.960–43.180 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IND

43.220–43.680 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELM, IND, PUB

43.700–44.600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TRAN

44.620–46.580 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . POL, PUB

46.600–46.990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT , TELC

47.020–47.400 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PUB

47.420 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Red Cross

47.440–49.580 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, PUB

49.610–49.990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIL, TELC

6-Meter Amate ur Band—(50–54 MHz)

50.00–54.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HAM

Aircraft Band—(108–137 MHz)

108.00–121.490 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AIR

121.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AIR Emergency

121.510–136.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AIR

U.S. Government Band (137–144 MHz)

137.000–144.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

2-Meter Amateur Band (144–148 MH z)

144.000–148.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HAM

VHF High Band (148–174 MHz)

148.050–150.345 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CAP, MAR, MIL

150.775–150.790 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

150.815–150.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOW, Oil Spill Cleanup

54

20-520 .fm Page 55 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

150.995–151.475 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ROAD, POL

151.490–151.955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, BUS

151.985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TELM

152.0075 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

152.030–152.240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELB

152.270–152.480 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IND, TAXI, BUS

152.510–152.840 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELB

152.870–153.020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IND, MOV

153.035–153.725 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, OIL, UTIL

153.740–154.445 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PUB, FIRE

154.490–154.570 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, BUS

154.585 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oil Spill Cleanup

154.600–154.625 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS

154.655–156.240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MED, ROAD, POL, PUB

156.255–157.425 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OIL, MARI

157.450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

157.470–157.515 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOW

157.530–157.725 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, TAXI

157.740 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS

157.770–158.100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELB

158.130–158.460 . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS, IND, OIL, TELM, UTIL

158.490–158.700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELB

158.730–159.465 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . POL, PUB, ROAD

159.480 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OIL

159.495–161.565 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TRAN

161.580–162.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OIL, MARI, RTV

162.0125–162.35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL, USXX

162.400–162.550 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WTHR

162.5625–162.6375 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT , MIL, USXX

162.6625 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

162.6875–163.225 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL, USXX

163.250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

163.275–166.225 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL, USXX

166.250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT, RTV, FIRE

166.275–169.400 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, BIFC

169.445–169.505 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wireless Mikes, GOVT

169.55–169.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL, USXX

170.000–170.150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIFC, GOVT, RTV , FIRE

170.175–170.225 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT

170.245–170.305 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wireless Mikes

170.350–170.400 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, MIL

170.425–170.450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIFC

170.475 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PUB

170.4875–173.175 . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT, PUB, Wireless Mikes

173.225–173.5375 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MOV, NEWS, UTIL, MIL

173.5625–173.5875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIL Medical/Crash Crews

173.60–173.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOVT

ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY (UHF)
U. S. Government Band (406–420 MHz)

406.125–419.975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GOVT, USXX

70-cm Amateur Band (420–450 MHz)

420.000–450.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HAM

Low Band (450–470 MHz)

450.050–450.925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RTV

451.025–452.025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, OIL, TELM, UTIL

452.0375–453.00 . . . . . . . . . . .IND, TAXI, TRAN TOW, NEWS

453.0125–454.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PUB, OIL

454.025–454.975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELB

455.050–455.925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RTV

457.525–457.600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS

55

20-520 .fm Page 56 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

458.025–458.175 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

460.0125–460.6375 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIRE, POL, PUB

460.650–462.175 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS

462.1875–462.450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BUS, IND

462.4625–462.525 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IND, OIL, TELM, UTIL

462.550–462.925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GMR, BUS

462.9375–463.1875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MED

463.200–467.925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUS

FM-TV Audio Broadcast, UHF Wide Band (470–512 MHz)
(Channels 14 through 69 in 6 MHz steps)

475.750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Channel 14

481.750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Channel 15

487.750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Channel 16

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

511.750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Channel 20

Note:

Some cities use the 470–512 MHz band for land/

mobile servic e.

Conventional Systems Band – Locally Assigned

851.0125–855.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CSB

Conventional/Trunked Systems Band – Locally Assigned

856.0125–860.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CTSB

Trunked Systems Band – Locally Assigned

861.0125–865.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TSB

Public Safety Band – Locally Assigned

866.0125–868.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PSB

33-Centimeter Amateur Band (902–928 MHz)

902.0000–928.0000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HAM

Private Trunked

935.0125–939.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PTR

General Trunked

940.0125–940.9875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GTR

56

20-520 .fm Page 57 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

FREQUENCY CONVERSION

The tuning location of a station can be expressed in fre­quency (kHz or MHz) or in wavelength (meter s). The fol­lowing information can help you make the necessary
conversions.

1 MHz (m illi on) = 1,000 kHz (thousand)

To convert MHz to kHz, multiply the number of mega­hertz by 1,000:

9.62 (MHz) x 1000 = 9620 kHz

To convert from kHz to MHz, divide the number of kilo­hertz by 1,000:

2780 (kHz) ÷ 1000 = 2.780 MHz

To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of
megahertz:

300 ÷ 7.1 MHz = 42.25 meters

57

20-520 .fm Page 58 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you have problems, here are some suggestions that
might help. If they do not, ta ke your scan ner to y our
local RadioShack store for assistanc e.

PROBLEM

Scann er is on
but will not scan.

Scann er is tot ally
inoperative.

The scanner’s
displa y dim s or
the sc anner
sounds a tone
every 15
seconds.

30

–

POSSIBLE

CAUSE

SQUELCH

correctly
adjusted.

Only one ch an­nel or no chan­nels are stored.

No power. Check the battery

The AC adapter/
charger or DC
adapter is not
connected.

The battery pack
is not correctly
installed.

The battery pack
is weak.

is not

REMEDY

Adjust

SQUELCH

counterclockwise.

Store f requencies
into mo re than one
channe l.

pack or make sure
the scanner is
plugged into a work­ing AC or DC outlet.

Recharge the bat­tery pack.

Be sure the
adapter’s barr el
plug is fully plugged
into the

EXT. PWR

jack.
Make sure t he bat-

tery pack is ins tal led
properly.

Recharge the bat­tery pack.

Keypad does not
work.

appears. The battery pack

Poor or no
reception.

58

The keyl ock
function is acti­vated.

is weak.
Battery pack is

weak or com­pletely dis­charged.

To turn off the key­lock, press

appears from the
display.

Recharge the bat­tery pack.

Check the battery
pack, ma ke s ure t he
scanner is plugged
into a working AC or
DC outlet.

LOCK/

until dis-

20-520 .fm Page 59 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

PROBLEM

Poor or no
reception (con­tinued)

Error

appears.

In the scan
mode, the scan­ner locks on fre­quencies that
have an unc le ar
transmission.

Scanner will not
track a t runked
system.

Scanner will not
stop whi le scan­ning a scan list.

POSSIBLE

CAUSE

An ante nna is
not connected or
connected incor­rectly.

Programming
error.

Programmed fre­quencies are the
same as “birdie”
frequencies.

The tra nsmission
might not use a
system that can
be tracked by
your scanner .

The data fre­quency i s miss­ing.

The syst em you
are trying to
track is a Type I
system, and the
scanner is set to
scan Type II sys­tems.

No IDs have
been stored.

The IDs yo u
have stored are
not active.

REMEDY

Make sure an
antenna is con­nected to the scan­ner.

Reprogram the fre­quency correctly,
including the deci­mal poin t.

Avoid progr a m mi ng
frequencies listed
under “Birdie Fre­quencies” on
Page 51 or only lis­ten to them manu­ally.

Scan another trans­mission.

Find the data fre­quency (see “Pro­gramming Trunked
Frequencies” on
Page 34).

Set the sc an ne r to
receive Type I
trunked frequen­cies. See “Scan­ning Type I and
Hybrid Trunked Sys­tems” on Page 44.

Store one or more
IDs (see “Scan
Lists” on Page 41).

Scan another trans­mission.

59

20-520 .fm Page 60 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

PROBLEM

Scann er will not
acquire a data
channel.

Missin g replies
to conversations.

Channel activity
indi cators are
flashing but no
sound is heard.

POSSIBLE

CAUSE

SQUELCH

is not
correctly
adjusted for
trunk tracking.

The freq ue n cy
used for the data
channel is miss­ing.

The system you
are trying to
track is a Type I
system, and the
scanner is set to
scan Type II sys­tems.

The sele cted
fleet map is
incorrect.

Not all of the
trunk’s frequen­cies have been
entered.

The tr ansmission
might be a pri­vate or tele­phone
interc onne ct cal l.
The scan ne r
does not scan
these ty pe s of
transmissions.

The ID shown is
not active.

REMEDY

Adjust squelch for
trunk tracking. See
“Setting Squelch for
the Trunk Tracking
Mode” on Page 33.

Add the f req ue nc y
used for the data
channel to the fr e­quency l ist. (see
“Programming
Trunked Frequen­cies” on Page 34).

Set the scanner to
receive Type I
trunked frequen­cies. See “Scan­ning Type I and
Hybrid Trunked Sy s­tems” on Page 44.

Try another preset
fleet map or pro­gram your own fleet
map (see “Scan­ning Type I and
Hybrid Trunked Sy s­tems” on Page 44).

Enter all of the
trunk’s frequencies.

Scan for another
transmission.

Wait for the ID to
become active, or
scan another trans­mission.

60

20-520 .fm Page 61 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

CARE AND MAINTENANCE

Your RadioShack PRO-90 300-Channel TrunkTracker
Scanner is an example of superior design and crafts­manship. The following suggestions will help you care
for your scanner so you can enjoy it for years .

Keep the scanner dry. If it gets wet, wipe it
dry immediately. Liquids can contain min­erals that can corrode the electronic cir­cuits.

Use only recharg eable bat teri es of the rec­ommended size and type. Always remove
old and weak batteries. They can leak
chemicals that dest roy electronic circuits.

Handle the scanner gently and carefully.
Dropping it can damage circui t boards and
cases and can cause the scanner to work
improperly.

Use and store the scanner only in normal
temperature environments. Temperature
extremes can shorten the life of electronic
devices, damage batteries, and distort or
melt plastic parts.

Keep the scanner away from dust and dirt,
which can cause premature wear of parts.

Wipe the scanner with a damp cloth occa­sionally to keep it looking new. Do not use
harsh chemicals, cleaning solvents, or
strong detergent s to clean the scanner.

Modifying or tampering with the scanner’s internal com­ponents can cause a malfunction, invalidate your scan­ner’s warranty and void your FCC authorization to
operate it. If your scanner is not operating as it should,
take it to your local RadioShack store for assistance.

61

20-520 .fm Page 62 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

SPECIFICATIONS

Frequency Coverage: ........ 29–54 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)

108–136.9875 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)

137–174 MHz (in 5 kHz st eps)

406–512 MHz (in 12. 5 kHz steps)

806.0000–823.9875 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)

849.0125–868.9875 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)

894.0125–956.0000 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)

Channels ................................................................. 300

Number of Banks ....................................................... 10

Sensitivity (AM/ F M ):

NFM: 20 dB S/N at 3 kHz deviation):

29–54 MHz ............. .......... .. .......... .......... ...... 0.5 µV

137–174 MHz ........................................... .... 0.4 µV

406–512 MHz ........................................... .... 0.4 µV

806–956 MHz ........................................... .... 0.6 µV

AM: 20 dB S/N at 60% mo dulat i o n):

108–136.9875 MHz ...................................... 1.5 µV

Spurious Rejection (at 40.84 MHz) ...................... 50 dB

Selectivity:

10 kHz ........................................................... –6 dB

15 kHz ............ .. ... ....... .. ... ....... ... .............. ... . –50 dB

IF Rejection (at 162.4 MHz) ......... .......... .......... .... 80 dB

Operating Temperature .. –4
Scan Speed:

Normal ................................. 100 Channels/Second

Service ........................... 100 Frequencies/Second

Search Speed:

Normal ......................... .......... .... 100 Steps/Second

Hypersearch ............................ .. 300 Ste ps/Second

Priority Sampling .......................................... 2 Seconds

Delay Time ................................................... 2 Seconds

IF Frequencies ... 380.7 MHz, 10.85 MHz, and 450 kHz

Antenna Impedance ..................... .......... ......... 50 Ohms

Audio Output .................... 180 mW nominal into 8 Ohm

38 mW nominal into 32 Ohm Stereo Headphones

9 mW nominal into 64 Ohm Earphone

Built-in Speaker Size .......................... 1

to 140° F (–20° to 60° C)

°

Internal speaker

1

/2-inch (36 mm)

62

20-520 .fm Page 63 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Power Requirements ......... Rechargeable Battery Pack

(4.8 VDC), or

AC Adapter/Charger or

Optional DC Adapter (12 VDC 200 mA)

Current Drain:

Squelched .................................................... 70 mA

Full Output .................................................. 180 mA

1

Dimensions (HWD) ..................... 6

× 2

/3 × 111/16 Inches

(153 × 63.5 × 43 mm)

Weight .................................................................... 11 oz

(310 g)

Specifications are typical; individual units might vary.
Specifications are subject to change and improvement
without notice.

63

y

y

g

y

y

g

y

y

g

g

y

y

g

y

y

y

g

g

y

y

g

j

y g

g

20-520 .fm Page 64 We dnesday, August 4, 19 99 3:06 PM

Limited One-Year Warranty

This product is warr anted by RadioShack against manufacturing de­fects in material and workma nship under norma l use for one (1)
from the date of purchase f rom RadioShac k compan
and authorized RadioShack franchisees and dealers. EXCE PT AS
PROVID ED HE REI N, Radi o Sh ack M AKE S NO EX PR E SS WARR AN­TIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDI NG THOSE OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PUR­POSE, ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THE
WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES CONTAINED HEREIN. EXCEPT
AS PROVIDED H EREIN, RadioShack SHA LL HAVE NO LIABILITY
OR RESPONSIBILITY TO CUSTOMER OR ANY OTHER PERSON
OR ENTIT Y WITH RESP ECT TO ANY LIABI LITY, LOSS O R DAM­AGE CAUSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY B Y USE OR PERFOR­MANCE OF THE PRODUCT OR ARISING OUT OF ANY BREACH
OF THIS WARRANTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY
DAMAGES RESULTING FROM INCONVENIENCE, LOSS OF TIME ,
DATA, PROPERTY, REVENUE, OR PROFIT OR ANY INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN
IF RadioShack HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGES.
Some states do not allow th e l im itations o n ho w lon
rant

lasts or the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so
the above limitations or exclusions ma
In the event of a product defect durin
product and the RadioShack sales rec eipt as proof of pu rchase date
to an

RadioShack store. Radio Shack will, at its option, unle ss othe r­wise provided b
char

e for parts and labor; ( b) replace the product with one of t he
same or similar desi
parts and products, and products on which a refund is made, become
the propert
ma

be used in the performance of warra nty service. Repaired or re­placed parts and products are warranted for the remainder of the ori
inal warrant
the product made after the expiration of the warrant
This warrant
tributable to acts of God, abuse, accident, misuse, improper or abnor­mal usa
maintenance, alteration, li
or current; (b) an
Authorized Service Facil it
ies; (d) cosmetic dama
costs; or (f) costs of pro duct removal, installation, s et-up service ad-

ustment or reinstallation.
This warrant
other ri

100 Throckmorton St., Suite 600, Fort Worth, TX 76102

law: (a) correct the defect by product repair without

n; or (c) refund the purchase price. All replaced

of RadioShack. New or recondit ione d part s and produ cts

period. You will be charged for repair or replaceme nt of

does not cover: (a) damage or fail ure cau sed by or at-

e, failure to follow instructions, improper installation or

ives you specific legal rights, and you may also have

hts which vary from state to state.

RadioShack Customer Relations, Dept. W,

htning or other incidence of excess voltage

repairs other than those provided by a RadioShack

; (c) consumables such as fuses or batte r-

e; (e) transportation, shipping or insuranc e

not apply to you.

the warran ty period, take the

-owned stores

an implied war-

period.

We Service What We Sell

ear

3/97

-

A Division of Tandy Corporation

RadioShack

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

8A7 Printed in the Philippines

UBZZ01271ZZ