20-136 PRO-136 Desktop Radio Scanner Thank you for purchasing your 200 Channel Desktop Radio Scanner from RadioShack. Please read this user’s guide before installing, setting up and using your new scanner. What’s Included Scanner AC adapter Antenna User’s guide Preprogrammed frequency list Quick start guide www.radioshack.
Contents Scanner Setup ................................................................................ 4 Scanner Features .................................................................................................4 Connecting the Antenna......................................................................................6 Powering Your Scanner........................................................................................6 Installing Batteries.................................................
Contents Receiving NWR-SAME and Weather Alert Signals ....................................... 16 Turning On the Digital Weather Alert Feature .......................................... 16 Receiving Alerts in Standby Mode...............................................................17 Testing the Weather Alarm...........................................................................17 3URJUDPPLQJ $OHUWV IRU D 6SHFLÀF &RXQW\.................................................17 Programming FIPS ...............
Scanner Setup Scanner Setup Scanner Features Select a service band: MAR (Marine), FD/PD (Fire/Police), AIR (Aircraft), HAM, or FM. WX / Start a weather scan. Press and hold to activate Skywarn. • / CLR / DELAY Enter a decimal point. Clear an entry. Turn delay on or off. ENT (Enter) / PROGRAM Complete the entry of frequencies. Put the scanner in programming mode. SCAN / MAN Scan the stored channel frequencies. Go to manual mode. SRCH Start a fine tune search.
Scanner Setup PRI (Priority) / WX ALERT Turns the priority function on or off. Press to turn weather alert on and off. L/O Lockout selected channels or skip specified frequencies during a search. PSE (Pause) Stop and resume search or scan. 0-9 Input a number. Press to turn the backlight on for 15 seconds. Press and hold to turn the backlight on and off. POWER Press and hold to turn the scanner on or off. Alarm Switch Set to Off to disable alarm. Set to Radio to enable the radio alarm.
Scanner Setup Connecting the Antenna Attach the supplied antenna to the scanner by aligning the arrow on its base with the tab on the scanner’s BNC connector and then pressing into place. When using an external antenna, always connect with 50-ohm, RG-58, or RG-8 coaxial cable. If the antenna is over 50 feet from the scanner, use RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable. If your antenna’s cable does not have a BNC connector, your local RadioShack store carries a variety of BNC adapters.
Scanner Setup Battery Notes • Use fresh alkaline AA batteries. • Rechargeable batteries can be used, but battery life is shorter than with alkaline batteries. The scanner will not recharge batteries in the compartment. • Always remove old or weak batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals that destroy electronic circuits. • Do not mix old and new batteries, different types of batteries (standard, alkaline, or rechargeable), or rechargeable batteries of different capacities.
Scanner Setup Connecting Headphones For private listening, you can plug a mono earphone or headset into the Headphone Jack on the back of your scanner. This automatically disconnects the internal speaker. Note that the sound is not in stereo. Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these earphone or headphones guidelines: • Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended highvolume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss.
Scanner Setup Besides searching within a selected frequency range, you can also search your scanner’s service banks. Service banks are preset groups of frequencies categorized by the type of services that use those frequencies. The scanner is preprogrammed with all the frequencies allocated to the Marine, Aircraft, Police (Fire/Emergency), Ham and FM services. When you search and find a desired frequency, you can store it into a programmable memory location called a channel.
Scanner Setup 2. The hour digits flash. Press T or S or press the number keys to enter the hour. Then press ENT/PROGRAM to set. 3. The minutes digits flash. Press T or S or press the number keys to enter the minutes. Press ENT/PROGRAM to set. Note: When setting the clock minutes, the seconds digits are reset to 00 to enable accurate time adjustment. 4. AM/PM flashes. Press T or S to select AM or PM. Press ENT/PROGRAM to set. 5. To save your selection, slide the Clock Switch to Clock. 6.
Scanner Setup BANK 1 PGM DLY Example shows entering bank 1 channel 00. Note: If you entered an invalid bank or channel number, Error appears and the scanner beeps. Enter a valid bank or channel. 5. Use the number keys to enter the frequency, pressing •/CLR/DELAY for the decimal point. 6. Press ENT/PROGRAM to store the frequency into the channel. 7. To program the next channel in sequence, press S or T and repeat Steps 5 and 6.
Searching Searching Use the search function to find active frequencies. While doing a fine tune or service bank search, press •/CLR/DELAY to turn the 2-second delay on or off. Fine Tune You can search up or down from the currently displayed frequency using a fine tune search. Searching stops when a transmission is found and resumes after the transmission ends (searching resumes after two seconds if delay is on). 1. When the frequency you want to start from appears, press SRCH.
Searching Storing Frequencies Found During a Search To store frequencies you find in a fine tune or service bank search: 1. Press PSE at the frequency you want to store. 2. Press ENT/PROGRAM to enter programming mode. 3. The screen flashes, alternating between the smallest empty channel number in the current bank, 000.000, and the frequency you want to store. BANK0123456789 4. PGM If you want to change the bank, enter the bank number using the number keys.
Searching 3. Press L/O. L/O disappears. To clear all skipped frequencies at once: 1. While searching, press PSE. 2. Hold down L/O until the scanner beeps twice. Notes: • If you select more than 50 frequencies to skip, each new frequency replaces a frequency previously stored, beginning with the first stored frequency. • Press T or S to select a skipped frequency during pause. L/O appears when you select a skipped frequency.
Scanning Scanning Scanning Stored Channels Press SCAN/MAN to begin scanning your programmed frequencies. SCAN scrolls across the display and the scanner scans through all non-locked channels in the activated banks. Select any combination of banks to scan by pressing the corresponding number keys. The bank numbers appear at the top of the display. The bank number which is currently being scanned blinks. When the scanner finds a transmission, it stops on it.
Scanning To stop at a channel while scanning: 1. Press SCAN/MAN to stop scanning. 2. Press T or S to select the next or previous channel. 3. Press SCAN/MAN to resume scanning. Weather Scan To scan for weather transmissions: . WX appears. Change the scan direction by using T or S. 1. Press WX/ 2. To stop the scan, press PSE. PAUSE appears.
Scanning When the scanner receives a SAME-coded signal, ALERT flashes and the SAME alert level appears, alternating with the weather channel. The scanner will also output an alert signal to the external alert output jack. The scanner remains on the weather channel and the audio turns on so you can hear the weather broadcast. Receiving Alerts in Standby Mode The scanner can receive alerts even if it is in standby mode (power off).
Scanning PGM WX 3. Press T or S to select F0 to F14. If a FIPS code is not programmed, ------- appears. 4. Use the keypad to enter the FIPS code. 5. Press ENT/PROGRAM to store the FIPS code or press •/CLR/DELAY to clear inputted FIPS code. PGM WX 6. To set the scanner so it alerts you when you receive any FIPS code, press T or S to select All FIPS, then press ENT/PROGRAM. The scanner returns to Weather Scan Pause Mode. 7.
Scanning Note: Before using this feature, enter the local Skywarn frequency for your area into Bank 9, Channel 19. (See “Programming Frequencies into Channels.”) The scanner has 10 channels for Skywarn: Bank 9, Channels 10-19. Press T or S to select other Skywarn channels. Press SCAN/MAN to exit Skywarn. Note: If no frequencies are programmed in the Skywarn channels, No Prg appears and the scanner sounds an error tone. About Skywarn Skywarn is an organized group of trained weather observers.
Settings Settings Setting Delay Sometimes a radio user might pause before replying to a transmission. To avoid missing a reply on a specific channel, the scanner automatically programs a 2-second delay into any channel or frequency. Depending on the scanner operation, follow one of these steps to turn the delay on or off. • To turn off the 2-second delay, press •/CLR/DELAY while the scanner is monitoring a channel, scanning, or searching. DLY disappears.
Settings To remove the lockout from a channel, manually select the channel, then press L/O. L/O disappears. To unlock all channels in the selected banks, press SCAN/MAN to stop scanning, then hold down L/O until the scanner beeps twice. Setting Priority The priority feature lets you scan through the 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.
Advanced Programming Advanced Programming You can clone your scanner by transferring the programmed data to or from another PRO-136 scanner using a connecting cable. You can also upload or download programmed data from a PC through wired programming. Cloning Your Scanner You can clone all the frequencies in your PRO-136 to another PRO-136 or PRO-135 using an optional interface cable with 1/8-inch phone plugs on both ends. PC/IF Jack 1.
Advanced Programming CLONE and transfer progress are displayed on the slave unit. BANK0 1 2 3 PGM 5. When the data transfer is completed, donE appears on both units. If the transfer was not successful, Error appears. To clear the error, press •/CLR/ DELAY and go back to step 2. 6. After the clone operation is complete, remove the cable, turn both units off and then on again.
Additional Information Additional Information 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. 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.
Additional Information pick up transmissions that are not legal to listen to. Doing so could subject you to legal penalties. We encourage responsible, legal scanner use. Care Keep the scanner dry. If it gets wet, wipe it dry immediately. Use and store the scanner only in normal temperature environments. Handle the scanner carefully; do not drop it. Keep the scanner away from dust and dirt, and wipe it with a damp cloth occasionally to keep it looking new.
Additional Information AM .................................................................. 20 dB S/N at 60% modulation 25.0000-27.9950..................................................................................... 1.0µV 108.0000-136.9875................................................................................. 1.1µV 380.0000-399.9875................................................................................. 1.2µV WMF ............................................................
Additional Information Troubleshooting Problem Cause Solution Scanner is on but SQUELCH is not adjusted correctly. Adjust SQUELCH. will not scan. Only one channel or no channels are stored. Scanner won’t work at all. Store frequencies into more than one channel. The AC adapter is not connected. Be sure the adapter’s barrel plug is fully plugged into the DC 12V 400 mA jack. is flashing. Batteries are low. Replace batteries. shows (not flashing). Batteries are not installed. Install batteries.
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. For complete warranty details and exclusions, check with your local RadioShack store.
