Realistic PRO-37 Owner's Manual

\

PRO-37

RADIO

SHACK

LIMITED WARRANW

This

product

is warranted against defects

for 1

year

from date of

purchase

lrom Radio

Shack company-owned

stores

and

authorized

Radio

Shack

franchisees and dealsrs.

Within this

period,

we will

repair

it without charge

for

parts

and labor. Simply brlng

your

Radio Shack sales sllp as

proof

of

purchase

date to any

Radio

Shack

store.

Warranty

does not cover transportation costs.

Nor

does

it cover a

product

subjected

to misuse or

accidental damage.

EXCEPT

AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RADIO

SHACK

MAKES NO WARRANTIES,

EXPRESS OB IMPLIED,

INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF

MERCHANTABILITY AND

FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR

PURPOSE.

Some states

do

not

permit

limitation

or

exclusion of implied warranties; therefore, the aforesaid

limitation(s) or exclusion(s)

may

not

apply

to the

purchaser.

This warranty

giv6s you

specific

legal rights

and

you

may

also

have other

rights

which

vary lrom

stato

to Stata.

We Service What

We

Sell

RADIO

SHACK

Division

of

Tandyi

Corporation

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OWNER'S MANUAL

Programmable

Scanner

Please

read

before

using this equipment

cat.

No.

20-138

RaLrsfre

A

241

Printed

in

Japan

INTRODUCTION

Your Realistic

PRO-37 Programmable

Scanner

lets

you

in

on all

the action!

This scanner

gives you

direct access

to

over 31,000

frequencies that

in-

clude the

police

department,

fire

de-

partment,

ambulance

service, ama-

teur

radio,

and transportation

ser-

vices. You can store

frequencies

in

your

scanner's

200 channels and

you

can change

your

selections

at any

time.

The

secret to

your

scanner's ability

to

scan so

many

frequencies

is its

custom-designed

microprocessor

-

a

tiny,

built-in computer.

Your

scanner's

microprocessor also

gives your

scan-

ner these special

features:

Hyperscan

-

lets

you

search

through

frequencies at up

to 50 steps

per

sec-

ond or scan stored channels at

25

channels/second.

Ten

Channel-Storage

Banks

-

let

you group your

stored

frequencies so

that

you

can easily

identify calls.

Liquid-Crystal

Display - shows the

selected channel

and

frequency.

Two-Second Scan

Delay

-

lrelpspre-

vent

the

loss of

replies on a channel

while

you

are

scanning

Memory

Backup

-

keeps

the

channel

frequencies stored

in

your

scanner's

memory

for up to

t hour

without the

battery.

Lockout Function

-

makes

your

scanner skip

over specified

channels.

Priority Channel-

helps

keep

you

from missing

important calls

on the

selected

priority

channel.

Monitor

Banks - let

you

save

up to

ten channels

located during a

fre-

quency

search.

Your PRO-37 covers allthese

bands:

.

30-50

MHz

(VHF

Lo)

.

50-54

MHz

(6-Meter

Ham Band)

.

1 0B-136.975

MHz

(Aircraft)

.

137-144

MHz

(Government)

.

144-148

MHz

(2-Meter

Ham

Band)

.

148-174

MHz

(VHF

Hi)

.

380-450

MHz

(Ham

Radio and

Government)

.

450-470

MHz

(UHF

Lo)

.

470-512

MHz

(UHF

TV)

.

806-823.9375

MHz

(UHF

Hi)

.

851.1125-808.9375

MHz

(UHF

Hi)

.

896.1125-960

MHz

(UHF

Hi)

CONTENTS

lntroduction

..............2

Preparation

..............4

Power

Sources

.......................4

Connecting the

Antenna .........7

Connecting an

Earphone ........8

Connecting

an

Extension

Speaker..

..........8

Understanding

Your

Scanner......

...................9

A Look

at the

Disp1ay................. ................9

A Look

at the

Keyboard .............

..............10

Understanding Channel

Storage

Banks

..................... 11

.Operation

...............12

Using the

Reset Button ................ ...........12

Setting the

Volume

and Squelch Controls......

............12

Using

the Key

Lock

..............12

Programming

the Scanner...............

.......13

Searching for Active Frequencies

............14

Moving a Frequency From Monitor Memory

to a

Channel ...............................16

A

General Guide to Scanning

......................19

Birdies

...............19

Reception Notes.......... .........19

Guide to the

Action 8ands......... ..............20

Care and

Maintenance

............-23

Troubleshooting .............

...........24

Specif

ications.................

...........25

Your

scanner

might

cause

radio

or

TV lf

you

cannot eliminate the

interfer-

interference,

even

when it is

operat- ence, the

FCC requires that

you

stop

ing

properly.

To

determine

whether

using

your

scanner.

your

scanner

is

causing

the

interfer-

ence. turn off vour scanner.

lf

the

in-

For

your

important records,

please

re-

- ' -'

'::::,';'::^::"^-',^

cord

your

scanner's serial

number

in

terference

goes

away,

your

scanner

is

;;-^:::^

-^:.i;-^"-

-,

causins the

interrerence. rry

to erimi-

II"- :t'::^t:f

i1t^d'-Il"^::l]'lii[

nate

the

interference

by:

oer ls

locateo

on me

DacK oT tne

scanner.

Moving

your

scanner away

from

the

receiver

Contacting

your

local Radio

Shack

store

for help

@ 1991 Tandy Corporation.

All Rlghts Reserved.

Radio

Shack and Realistic are reglstered

trademarks

used by

Tandy Gorporation.

4

Serial

Number:

PREPARATION

POWER SOURCES

You

can

power your

scanner

from any

of the

following three

sources:

.

lnternal

batteries

.

A

standard

AC

outlet

(using

an

op-

tionalAC

adapter)

.

Your

vehicle's battery

(using

an op-

tional

DC

adapter)

Using

Batteries

You

can

operate

your

scanner

from

six

AA

batteries.

For

longest

operation

and best

performance,

we recom-

mend alkaline

batteries

(Cat.

No.

23-

552). Or,

you

can use

rechargeable

nickel-cadmium

batteries

(Cat.

No.

23-125).

Warning:

The

scanner

has a

built-in

circuit

that

lets

you

recharge

nickel-

cadmium

batteries

inside the scanner.

However,

you

must

never use this

cir-

cuit

when

you

have

installed

non-re-

chargeable

batteries

in the scanner.

Be

sure

to

read

"lmportant

lnforma-

tion

about

External

AdaPters" and

"Charging

Nickel-Cadmium

Batteries."

BATT flashes

on the

display

and a

beep

sounds

every 3 seconds

when

the batteries

are

low. When this

hap-

pens,

replace all

six batteries

immedi-

ately

(or

recharge the

nickel-cadmium

batteries).

Important lnformation

about

External

Adapters

The

scanner has

two external

power

The CHG

jack

supplies

power

to oper-

jacks

-

PWR

and

CHG. lt is important

ate the scanner

and also applies

that

you

understand

the

purpose

of

power

to the

internal

batteries to

each

jack

before

you

connect any charge

them. Use the CHG

jack

only

adapter to the

scanner.

lmproper

use when

you

have

installed rechargeable

of the

jacks

can damage the

scanner

nickel-cadmium

batteries.

and the

power

adapter'

warning: Never

use

the

cHG

jack

The PWR

jack

powers

the

scanner

with non-rechargeable

batteries. lf

and disconnects

the

internal

batteries.

you

try to

recharge

non-rechargeable

You can

use this

jack

with

an

external batteries,

they become

very hot

and

power

source

regardless

of the type could even

explode.

of batteries lnstalled.

Using an

AC Power

Source

To

power

the scanner from AC

power,

you

need

Radio

Shack's

9-volt,

300mA AC

adapter

(Cat.

No. 273-

1455).

Use of an adapter with

differ-

ent

ratings

could

damage

your

scan-

ner

or the adapter.

1

Remove

the

battery

compartment

cover

by

pressing

down

on the arrow

and sliding

the

cover in the direction

of the arrow.

2

Remove the battery

holder

from the

battery

compartment

and

remove any

old batteries.

Then,

install

six

AA

batteries

in

the

holder,

observing

the

polarity

(+

and

-)

as

marked

on

the battery

holder.

3

Place the

battery

holder

in

the

compartmenl

so that

the

holder's

metal contacts

line

up

with

the

metal contacts

in the battery

com-

partment.

4

Replace the battery

compartment

cover.

1 Plug

the

adapter's

plug

into

the scanner's

PWR

jack.

Note: lf

you

have installed rechargeable

nickel-cadmium

batteries

in

your

scanner,

you

can connect the

AC

adapter

to the

cHG

jack.

This

powers

the scanner

and

recharges

the

batteries

at the same time. See "Charging

Nickel-Cadm ium Batteries."

2

Plug

the adapter

power

module

into

a stan-

dard AC outlet.

3

When

you

finish

using

the

AC

adapter, dis-

connect it from

the

AC

outlet. Then,

discon-

nect

it from

the

PWR

jack.

4

Using a

DC Adapter

You

can

power

the

scanner

from

your

vehicle's cigarette

lighter

socket,

pro-

vided the

vehicle

has

a

12-volt, nega-

tive-ground

electrical

system.

To do

so,

you

need Radio Shack's

Universal

DC Adapter

(Cat.

No. 270-1560)

or an

adapter

rated at 9V

minimum 300

mA.

Note:

ln

some

areas,

mobile use of

a

scanner

is

unlawful

or

requires a

per-

mit. Check the

laws in

your

area.

CHARGING

NICKEL.CADMIUM

BATTERIES

Your

scanner

has a built-in circuit that

recharges nickel-cadmium

batteries.

To

charge the batteries, simply con-

nect

an

AC

or

DC

adapter

to

the

CHG

jack

as

explained

in

"Power Sources."

Warning: Do not

connect either

adapter to the

CHG

jack

if

you

have

not installed

rechargeable

batteries.

Non-rechargeable

batteries

can be-

come

hot

and

even

explode

if

you

try

to

recharge

them.

It

takes

10

to

18

hours

to

recharge

batteries

that are

fully

discharged.

You

can operate

the scanner

while

you

charge

the batteries, but the

charging time

is longer.

Charging

Hints:

.

Nickel-cadmium batteries deliver

more

power

if

you

occasionally

let

them

discharge completely.

To

do

this, use the scanner

until

recep-

tion becomes

poor.

Then, fully

charge the batteries.

lf

you

do

not

do this occasionally, they

can tem-

porarily

lose the ability to deliver

fullpower.

.

To

prevent permanent

nickel-cad-

mium battery

power

loss, never

charge

your

batteries

in an area

where the temperature

is

above

about

B0

degrees

Fahrenheit.

Also,

if

you

use an external charger,

do

not

overcharge the batteries.

.

ll

you plan

to use

rechargeable

batteries, do

not

use any

adapter

other than

those specified

in

"Power

Sources."

While

adapters

of

the

same

voltage rating

and at

least the

minimum

current

rating

could

power

the scanner, other

adapters

might not work

properly

with

the charging

circuit

in

your

scanner, and could

permanently

damage

the batteries or

your

scan-

ner.

CONNECTING

THE

ANTENNA

Attach

the

flexible

antenna

to the

ANT

(antenna)

jack

on top of

the scanner.

Slip

the slot

in

the antenna's connec-

tor over the

protrusion

on the

jack.

Then,

press

down

and

rotate

the base

of the antenna until

it locks

into

place.

1 Connect the

adapter's

green

barrel

plug

to

the

adapter's

power

cable

with

the

tip set

to

NEG

(negative).

2

Set

the adapter's

voltage switch

to 9V.

3

lnsert the

adapter's

barrel

plug

into the

scanner's

PWR

jack.

Note:

lf

you

have installed

rechargeable

bat-

teries

in the

scanner,

you

can connect

the

DC adapter

to the

CHG

jack.

This

powers

the

scanner

and

recharges

the

nickel-cadmium

batteries

at the

same time.

See

"Charging

Nickel-Cadm

ium Batteries."

4 Plug the

other end

of the

adapter

into

your

vehicle's cigarette

lighter socket.

Note:

lf

the scanner does

not operate

prop-

erly

when

you

use a

DC

adapter,

unplug the

adapter

from the

lighter

socket

and clean the

socket to

remove ashes and other

debris.

A

?

5

When

you

linish using

the

DC

adapter,

dis-

connect

it from the cigarette

lighter.

Then,

disconnect

it from the

scanner.

UNDERSTANDING

YOUR

SCANNEH

The

antenna

jack

on

your

scanner

makes it

easy to use

your

scanner

with

a

variety

of antennas.

You

can

remove

the supplied antenna,

if

you

want,

and attach a different

one, such

as an external

mobile

antenna,

tele-

scopic antenna, or outdoor base an-

tenna.

Radio Shack stores sell the

antenna connector adapters that

let

you

use these antennas.

Use coaxial cable to connect an out-
door antenna.

Always

use

50-ohm co-

axial

cable. For lengths over 50

feet,

use

RG8 low-loss

dielectric coaxial

cable.

CONNECTING

AN

EARPHONE

For

private

listening,

plug

an ear-

phone

into the

EAR

jack

on top of

your

scanner.

This automatically

dis-

connects

the speaker.

We recom-

mend Radio Shack's earphone

Cat.

No.

33-175.

ln a

noisy environment,

mono

headphones

(Cat.

No. 20-210)

make listening easier.

Always set

volume

to

its minimum

po-

sition before

you

plug

in

earphones or

headphones. Then,

adjust the

volume

to a confortable

listening level.

Warning: Do not listen

at extremely

high volume levels,

especially

when

using an

earphone. Extended

high-

volume listening

can

lead

to

perma-

nent hearing loss.

CONNECTING

AN

EXTENSION SPEAKER

ln

a

noisy

area, an extension

speaker

such as

Radio

Shack Cat.

No. 21-

549,

positioned

in

the

right

place,

might

provide

more comfortable

lis-

tening.

Plug

the speaker cable's

1/8-

inch mini-plug into

the scanner's

EAR

jack.

A LOOK

AT THE DISPLAY

The display

has

several

indicators

that show the scanner's

current oper-

ating

mode. A

quick

look

at the dis-

play

will help

you

understand

your

scanner's operation.

The

above

illustration

shows

all

your

scanner's

indicators. The following

is

a brief

explanation of each

indicator.

BANK

-

bars to the

right of this

indi-

cator show

which

memory

banks

are

turned on

for the scan

mode. See

"Understanding Channel Storage

Banks."

SCAN

-

comes on

when

you

are

scanning channels.

DLY

-

appears

when the scanner

is

set to

a channel that

you

have

pro-

grammed

with

the delay

feature. See

"Using

the

Delay Feature."

L/O

-

appears

when

the channel

you

are

listening

to

is locked

out of the

scan

mode. See

"Locking

Out Chan-

nels."

MAN-comes on

when

you

have

manually

selected

a channel.

tr

,x'3[

J3g5gg4gg]g

E rT,-T,r,,-T

fl

,-T

ff E

ff

fl

ii,'.I

AY

sRcH

scAN ,o* ,on PRr

DLY L/o

ch

-

digits that

precede

this

indicator

show

which of the

200 channels

you

have

tuned the

scanner to.

MHz

-

digits that

precede

this

indica-

tor show

which of the 3'1,000

possible

frequencies

you

have

tuned the

scan-

ner

to.

MON

-

appears

when

you

are

listen-

ing to

a

monitor memory.

PRI- appears

when

you

have

turned

on the

priority

channelfeature.

PGM

-

appears

when

you

are

pro-

gramming

frequencies into the

scanner's

channels.

BATT

-

flashes

every

three seconds

when the batteries

need to be

re-

placed

or recharged.

El-

appears

when

you

listen

to

the

priority

channel.

SHCH

-

appears during a

limit

search

(-L-

also displayed)

or a direct

frequency search

(-d-

also displayed).

r

and v also appear

in

the display to

indicate

the

direction of the search.