20-513.fm Page 1 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Owner’s Manual Cat. No. 20-513 PRO-74 100-Channel VHF/UHF/Air/800 MHz Race Scanner Please read before using this equipment.
0-513.fm Page 2 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM FEATURES Your new RadioShack PRO-74 100-Channel VHF/UHF/Air/800 MHz Race Scanner lets you in on the action in the pits at the big race or on the streets of your home town. This scanner gives you direct access to more than 30,000 frequencies, including those used by participants and staff at auto races and air shows, by government agencies, police and fire departments, ambulance and transportation services, and amateur radio.
20-513.fm Page 3 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Hypersearch — lets you set the scanner to search at up to 300 steps per second, to help you quickly find interesting broadcasts. (The normal search speed is 100 steps per second). Two-Second Scan Delay — automatically delays scanning for about 2 seconds before moving to another channel, so you can hear more replies. Lock-Out Function — lets you set your scanner to skip over specified channels.
20-513.fm Page 4 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Resume Start — the scanner saves its settings when you turn the power off. This returns you to the function you were using if you accidentally turn the scanner off or the batteries are weak. Triple-Conversion Circuitry — virtually eliminates any interference from IF (intermediate frequency) images, so you hear only the selected frequency. Your scanner can receive these bands: Frequency Range (MHz) Step (kHz) Transmission 29–29.7 29.7–50 50–54 108–136.
20-513.fm Page 5 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM FCC NOTICE Your scanner might cause radio or TV interference even when it is operating properly. To determine whether your scanner is causing the interference, turn off your scanner. If the interference goes away, your scanner is causing it.
20-513.fm Page 6 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM CONTENTS Preparation ....................................................................................... 9 Power Sources ............................................................................ 9 Using Internal Batteries ........................................................ 9 Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries .................................. 11 Using Standard AC Power .................................................
20-513.fm Page 7 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Special Features ............................................................................. 36 Turning Memory Banks On and Off ........................................... 36 Locking Out Channels ............................................................... 36 Priority ....................................................................................... 36 Using the Keylock ......................................................................
20-513.fm Page 8 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM PREPARATION POWER SOURCES You can power your scanner from any of three sources: • Internal batteries (not supplied) • Standard AC power using an optional AC adapter • Vehicle battery power using an optional DC adapter Using Internal Batteries You can power your scanner using four AA batteries. For the longest operation and best performance, we recommend you use alkaline batteries (such as RadioShack Cat. No. 23-552).
20-513.fm Page 9 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Warning: Never set ALKALINE JACK NI-CD to NI-CD if you are installing non-rechargeable batteries. Non-rechargeable batteries can get hot or explode if you try to recharge them. 3. Install two batteries in the compartment and two in the cover as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside those locations. Cautions: • Use only fresh batteries of the required size and recommended type. • Always remove old or weak batteries.
20-513.fm Page 10 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries The scanner has a built-in circuit that lets you recharge nickel-cadmium batteries while they are in the scanner. To charge the batteries, set ALKALINE JACK NI-CD to NI-CD, install the nickel-cadmium batteries in the scanner, and connect an external AC or DC adapter to the scanner’s POWER jack (see “Using Standard AC Power” on Page 11 or “Using Vehicle Battery Power” on Page 12).
20-513.fm Page 11 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Using Standard AC Power You can power the scanner from a standard AC outlet using an optional AC adapter (such as Cat. No. 273-1665). Warning: Do not use an AC adapter’s polarized plug with an extension cord, receptacle, or other outlet unless the blades can be fully inserted to prevent blade exposure. Cautions: • The recommended AC adapter supplies 9 volts and delivers at least 300 milliamps.
20-513.fm Page 12 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Using Vehicle Battery Power To power the scanner from your vehicle's cigarette-lighter socket, you need a DC adapter, such as Cat. No. 270-1560. Cautions: • The DC adapter must be capable of delivering 9 volts and at least 300 milliamps, its center tip must be set to negative, and its barrel plug must correctly fit the scanner's POWER jack. The recommended adapter meets these specifications.
20-513.fm Page 13 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM When you finish using the DC adapter, disconnect it from the cigarettelighter socket, then disconnect it from your scanner. Note: If the scanner does not operate properly when you connect a DC adapter, unplug the adapter from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and other debris.
20-513.fm Page 14 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Connecting an Optional Antenna The scanner’s antenna jack makes it easy to use the scanner with a variety of antennas. Instead of either of the supplied antennas, you can attach 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.
20-513.fm Page 15 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM 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 1/ 8-inch mini-plug into your scanner’s jack. CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/ HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone or headphones with a 1/8-inch mini-plug (such as Cat. No. 33-178 or 20-210) into the jack on top of your scanner.
20-513.fm Page 16 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use an earphone or headphones. • Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended highvolume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss. • Set the volume to the lowest setting before you begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust the volume to a comfortable level. • Once you set the volume, do not increase it.
20-513.fm Page 17 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER Once you understand a few simple terms we use in this manual and familiarize yourself with your scanner’s features, you can put the scanner to work for you. You simply find the communications you want to receive, then set the scanner to scan them. A frequency is the tuning location of a station (expressed in kHz or MHz). To find active frequencies, you can use the search function.
20-513.fm Page 18 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM RACE — lets you store car numbers and frequencies in the scanner’s channels, add and delete frequencies from car numbers, display car numbers, and listen to the channel where a car number is stored. MAN — stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel number or frequency. PROG — stores frequencies into channels. BAND — lets you search service banks. SCAN — scans through stored channels. HOLD — holds a frequency search.
20-513.fm Page 19 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM 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. BANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 BATT.Lo K / L RACE PRI DA TA HOLD W X HYPER NO. MR N P CH SCAN MA N PG M L/ O S MHz SEARCH BANK — appears with numbers (1–10) to show which memory banks are turned on for scanning.
-513.fm Page 20 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM No. — appears when a car number is displayed MRN — appears with CH when you select the scanner’s marine service bank (see “Service Banks” on Page 21). P — appears when you listen to a priority channel. CH — digits that precede this indicator show which of the 100 channels the scanner is tuned to. MHz — digits that precede this indicator show which frequency the scanner is tuned to.
20-513.fm Page 21 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM UNDERSTANDING BANKS Memory Banks To make it easier to identify and select the channels you want to listen to, the PRO-74’s channels are divided into 10 banks of 10 channels each. Use each memory bank to group frequencies, such as the police department, fire department, ambulance services, or aircraft (see “Guide to the Action Bands” on Page 42). For example, the police department might use four frequencies, one for each side of town.
20-513.fm Page 22 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Name Typical Usage Frequency Range (in MHz) 2-Meter Ham 144.0000–148.0000 VHF Hi 148.0000–174.0000 FEd Federal Government 406.0000–420.0000 HAM 70-Centimeter Ham 420.0000–450.0000 UHF UHF 450.0000–470.0000 TV 470.0000–512.0000 800 MHz 806.0000–823.9375 851.0000–868.9375 896.1125–956.0000 HAM HI TV 800 Your scanner also has 7 preprogrammed weather frequencies.
20-513.fm Page 23 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM OPERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH Note: Make sure an antenna is connected to the scanner before you turn it on. 1. Turn SQUELCH fully counterclockwise. PR O-7 4 VO LUME SQUE LCH OFF 2. Turn VOLUME clockwise until it clicks and you hear a hissing sound. PRO-74 VO L UM E SQ UEL CH OFF 3. Turn SQUELCH clockwise, then leave it set to a point just after the hissing sound stops.
20-513.fm Page 24 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM STORING KNOWN FREQUENCIES INTO CHANNELS Good references for active frequencies are the RadioShack “Beyond Police Call,” “Aeronautical Frequency Directory,” and “Maritime Frequency Directory.” We update these directories every year, so be sure to get a current copy. Follow these steps to store a frequency into a channel. 1. Press MAN, enter the channel number where you want to store a frequency, then press PROG. The channel number appears. 2.
20-513.fm Page 25 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM • 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. • Your scanner automatically delays scanning for 2 seconds after a transmission ends before it proceeds to the next channel. 4. To program the next channel in sequence, press PROG and repeat Steps 2 and 3.
20-513.fm Page 26 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM To release hold and continue searching, press HOLD or hold down t or s for more than 1 second. Notes: • To step through the frequencies while HOLD is displayed, press t or s. • If you tune to a search skip frequency, L/O appears (see “Search Skip Memory” on Page 27). • To store a frequency into a channel while the frequency is paused or held, see “Storing Active Frequencies” on Page 27.
20-513.fm Page 27 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Notes: • To step through the frequencies while HOLD is displayed, press t or s. • If you tune to a search skip frequency, L/O appears (see “Search Skip Memory” on Page 27). • To store a frequency into a channel while the frequency is paused or held, see “Storing Active Frequencies.” Storing Active Frequencies To store an active frequency into a channel, press PROG while the frequency is paused or held. The lowest available channel number flashes.
20-513aPAGE29.fm Page 1 Monday, May 5, 2003 1:51 PM To skip a frequency, press S/S when the scanner stops on the frequency during a search. The scanner stores the frequency in memory and automatically resumes the search. RACE MA N PR OG 1-10 HOLD DA TA PRIORITY L-O UT H/S S/ S 11-20 SCA N 21-30 1 2 3 31-40 41-50 51-60 4 5 6 71-80 81-90 61-70 DEL To clear a single frequency from search skip memory so the scanner can stop on it during a search, follow these steps.
20-513.fm Page 29 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Note: You cannot use this procedure to select a car number. See “Viewing Frequencies Associated with a Car Number” on Page 33 to select a car number. To manually select a channel, press MAN, enter the channel number, then press MAN again. Or, if your scanner is scanning and stops at the desired channel, press MAN once. Pressing MAN additional times causes your scanner to step through the channels. To resume scanning, press SCAN.
20-513.fm Page 30 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM LISTENING TO WEATHER BROADCASTS The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has allocated frequencies for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Regulatory agencies in other countries have also allocated frequencies for use by their weather reporting authorities. Your local weather reporting authority broadcasts your local forecast and regional weather information on one or more of these frequencies.
20-513.fm Page 31 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM USING THE PRO-74 AT THE RACES The PRO-74 is specially designed to help you listen to communications at auto races. Drivers and their pit crews and corner watchers, pace car drivers, security officers, emergency personnel, track officials, and representatives of governing organizations such as NASCAR, SCCA, and NHRA all use radios to communicate with each other during a race.
20-513.fm Page 32 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Follow these steps to store a car number and frequency. 1. Press MAN then RACE. RACE and Car No?--- appears. 2. Enter the car number. If the number is one or two digits, enter the number, then press RACE. If the number is three digits, enter the number only. The car number and ---.--- appear. Notes: • If you add one or more leading zeros to a single-digit car number, your scanner recognizes them as different car numbers.
20-513.fm Page 33 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Viewing Frequencies Associated with a Car Number After you store a car number and associate frequencies with that number, you can view all frequencies associated with the number. 1. Press MAN then RACE. RACE and Car No?--- appears. 2. Enter the car number. If the number is one or two digits, enter the number, then press RACE. If the number is three digits, just enter the number. One of the frequencies associated with the car number appears. 3.
20-513.fm Page 34 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM FINDING WHAT CAR NUMBERS ARE IN WHAT CHANNELS If you are listening to a channel and want to know what car number you are hearing, simply press RACE twice. If a car number has been associated with this frequency, the car number and frequency appear. Press RACE twice to return to normal channel listening. To see what car numbers are stored, press MAN then RACE, then repeatedly press DATA . The car numbers (from lowest channel number to highest) show.
20-513.fm Page 35 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM SPECIAL FEATURES TURNING MEMORY BANKS ON AND OFF You can turn each memory bank on and off. When you turn off a bank, the scanner does not scan any of the 10 channels in that bank. While scanning, press the number key that corresponds to the bank you want to turn on or off. When BANK appears, the scanner scans all the channels within the displayed banks that are not locked out (see “Locking Out Channels”).
20-513.fm Page 36 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM The scanner automatically designates each bank's first channel as its priority channel. Follow these steps to select a different channel as the priority channel. 1. Press PROG. 2. Enter the channel number you want to select as the priority channel, then press PRIORITY. P appears to the right of the channel number.
20-513.fm Page 37 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM USING THE KEYLOCK Once you set up and store channels into your scanner, you can protect it from accidental changes by turning on the keylock feature. When locked, the only controls that operate are SCAN, MAN, KEYLOCK/ , VOLUME, and SQUELCH. To turn on the keylock, hold down KEYLOCK until K/L appears. To turn it off, hold down KEYLOCK until K/L disappears.
20-513.fm Page 38 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Notes: • You can use Hypersearch only in the 5 kHz step bands (29–54 MHz and 137–174 MHz. • Since the marine service bank is not in one of the 5 kHz step bands, you cannot use Hypersearch in the marine service bank. TURNING THE KEY TONE OFF/ON Your scanner comes set so each time you press a key, you hear a tone. To turn off the key tone, follow these steps. 1. Turn off the scanner. 2. While holding down L-OUT/S/S, turn on the scanner.
20-513.fm Page 39 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM SKIPPING DATA SIGNALS You can set the scanner so it skips nonmodulated or data signals (such as modem transmissions) during a search or scan. Note: Since data signals are not generally found in the air band, this feature does not work in the air band. To turn on the data skip feature, press DATA . DATA appears. To turn off the feature, press DATA again. DATA disappears.
20-513.fm Page 40 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanner is mainly “lineof-sight.” That means you usually cannot hear stations that are beyond the horizon. GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES National Weather Frequencies 162.400 162.425 162.450 162.475 162.500 162.525 162.550 Canadian Weather Frequencies 161.650 161.775 163.275 Note: The Canadian frequencies are not preprogrammed in this scanner, but you can manually search or store them.
20-513.fm Page 41 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Channel No. Frequency Ship Shore Frequency Channel No. Ship Shore 19 156.9500 20 157.0000 21 22 Channel No. Channel No. Frequency Ship Shore Frequency Ship Shore 156.9500 79 156.9750 156.9750 161.6000 80 157.0250 157.0250 157.0500 157.0500 81 157.0750 157.0750 157.1000 157.1000 82 157.1250 157.1250 23 157.1500 157.1500 83 157.1750 157.1750 24 157.2000 161.8000 84 157.2250 161.8250 25 157.2500 161.8500 85 157.
20-513.fm Page 42 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM To find the birdies in your particular scanner, begin by disconnecting the antenna and moving it away from the scanner. Make sure that no other nearby radios or TVs are turned on near the scanner. Use the search function to search every frequency range from its lowest to the highest frequency. Occasionally, the searching will stop as if it had found a signal, often without any sound. That is a birdie.
20-513.fm Page 43 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Primary Usage As a general rule, most of the radio activity is concentrated on the following frequencies: VHF Band Activities Government, Police, and Fire Emergency Services Railroad Frequencies 153.785–155.980 MHz 158.730–159.460 MHz 160.000–161.900 MHz UHF Band Activities Land-Mobile “Paired” Frequencies Base Stations Mobile Units Repeater Units Control Stations Frequencies 450.000–470.000 MHz 451.025–454.950 MHz 456.025–459.950 MHz 460.025–464.
20-513.fm Page 44 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM FIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fire Department HAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amateur (Ham) Radio GOVT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Federal Government GMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Mobile Radio GTR. . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-513.fm Page 45 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM 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 . . . . . . . .
20-513.fm Page 46 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-513.fm Page 47 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20-513.fm Page 48 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM TROUBLESHOOTING If you have problems, here are some suggestions that might help. If none do, take your scanner to your local RadioShack store for assistance. PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE REMEDY Keys do not work or display changes at random. Undetermined error. Reset the scanner (see “Resetting the Scanner” on Page 49). Scanner is on but will not scan. SQUELCH is not correctly adjusted. Adjust SQUELCH clockwise.
20-513.fm Page 49 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE REMEDY appears. PROBLEM The batteries are weak. POSSIBLE CAUSE Recharge rechargeable batteries, or replace nonREMEDY rechargeable batteries. Poor or no reception. Batteries are weak or dead. Check the batteries, or make sure the scanner is plugged into a working AC or DC outlet. Error appears. Frequency entered incorrectly. Re-enter the frequency correctly, including the decimal point.
20-513.fm Page 50 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM CARE AND MAINTENANCE Your RadioShack PRO-74 100-Channel VHF/UHF/Air/800 MHz Race 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 batteries of the required size and recommended type.
20-513.fm Page 51 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Coverage ............................... 29–54 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 108–136.975 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 137–174 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 406–512 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 806.0000–823.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 851.0000–868.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 896.1125–956.0000 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) Channels ........................................................................................
20-513.fm Page 52 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 2:39 PM Limited One-Year Warranty This product is warranted by RadioShack against manufacturing defects in material and workmanship under normal use for one (1) year from the date of purchase from RadioShack company-owned stores and authorized RadioShack franchisees and dealers.
