Radio Shack 20-311A, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...Cat No 20 311A OWNER S MANUAL PRO 71 VHF UHF Air Handheld Scanner Please read before using this equipment...

Page 2: ...quencies for the scanner to skip during a limit or direct search to avoid unwanted frequencies Frequency Search scans through every available frequency Ten Channel Storage Banks let you store 10 chann...

Page 3: ...frequencies into memory for easy scanning We recommend you record your scanner s serial number here The number is on the back panel Serial Number ___________________________ Frequency Range MHz Trans...

Page 4: ...ner covers frequencies used by many different groups includ ing police and fire departments ambulance services government agen cies private companies amateur radio services military operations pager s...

Page 5: ...nt that scan ners be manufactured so as to not be easily modifiable to pick up those transmissions Do not open your scanner s case to make any modifica tions that could allow it to pick up transmissio...

Page 6: ...anner 16 A Look at the Keypad 16 A Look at the Display 17 Banks and Memories 19 Channel Storage Banks 19 Monitor Memories 19 Operation 20 Turning On the Scanner and Setting Squelch 20 Storing Frequenc...

Page 7: ...30 National Weather Frequencies 30 Canadian Weather Frequencies 30 Guide to the Action Bands 31 Band Allocation 32 Avoiding Image Frequencies 37 Frequency Conversion 37 Troubleshooting 38 Resetting th...

Page 8: ...tore Warning The scanner has a built in circuit that lets you recharge nickel cadmium batteries inside the battery compartment How ever you must never use this circuit when you have installed non rech...

Page 9: ...o use the scanner with batteries for a month or more or if you plan to use only an AC or DC adapter remove the batteries Batteries can leak chemicals that can destroy electronic parts Dispose of old b...

Page 10: ...eries If you try to recharge non rechargeable batter ies they become very hot and could explode Remove the plastic plug from the CHARGE jack before you use it then replace the plug when you finish USI...

Page 11: ...er that supplies 9 volts regulated and delivers at least 300 mA of DC automotive power Its center tip must be set to negative and its plug must fit the scanner s POWER jack Both of the recommended ada...

Page 12: ...ra life or alka line Non rechargeable batteries become hot and could explode if you try to recharge them It takes about 14 to 16 hours to recharge batteries that are fully dis charged You can operate...

Page 13: ...outdoor base antenna for example 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 u...

Page 14: ...evels Extended high volume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss 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 d...

Page 15: ...lace might provide more comfort able listening Plug the speaker cable s 1 8 inch 3 5 mm mini plug into your scanner s jack USING THE BELT CLIP You can attach the supplied belt clip to make the scanner...

Page 16: ...rticular channel MON CLR accesses the ten monitor memories clears an incorrect entry or enters the decimal point necessary when programming fre quencies WX E enter scans through the preprogrammed weat...

Page 17: ...to the right of MON indicating which monitor memory you are listening to BANK shows which channel storage banks are turned on for the scan mode See Banks and Memories on Page 19 KEYLOCK appears when y...

Page 18: ...appears during a limit search a direct search and a weather band search L appears instead of the channel number during a limit search d appears instead of the channel number during a direct search Hi...

Page 19: ...see Guide to the Action Bands on Page 31 For example the police might use four frequencies one for each area of town You could program the police frequencies starting with Chan nel 1 Bank 1 and then p...

Page 20: ...issing sound stops Note If you want to listen to a weak or distant station turn SQUELCH counterclockwise If reception is poor turn SQUELCH clockwise STORING FREQUENCIES Follow these steps to store fre...

Page 21: ...ogram the next channel in sequence repeat Steps 2 4 To listen to a frequency you have stored press MANUAL the channel number then MANUAL again SEARCHING FOR AND TEMPORARILY STORING ACTIVE FREQUENCIES...

Page 22: ...d frequency Error appears Enter a different frequency then repeat Step 3 4 Enter the upper limit of the frequency range 5 Press E then press LIMIT Lo and the lower limit frequency appear 6 Press to se...

Page 23: ...press MANUAL use the number keys to enter the channel number then press MANUAL again 2 Press or to search up or down from the selected frequency 3 When the scanner stops on a transmission press MON to...

Page 24: ...UENCY FROM A MONITOR MEMORY TO A CHANNEL Follow these steps to move a frequency stored in a monitor memory to a permanent channel 1 Press MANUAL MAN appears 2 Enter the number 1 100 for the channel wh...

Page 25: ...be periods of si lence or if you want to monitor a specific channel Follow these steps to manually select a channel 1 Press MANUAL 2 Enter the channel number 3 Press MANUAL again Or if the scanner is...

Page 26: ...OUT CHANNELS You can increase the effective scanning speed by locking out individual channels that have a continuous transmission such as a weather channel To lock out a channel manually select the c...

Page 27: ...bank is always active SEARCH SKIP MEMORY You can skip specified frequencies during a limit or direct search This lets you avoid unwanted frequencies or ones you have already stored in a channel You ca...

Page 28: ...is preset to select Channel 1 as the priority channel To program a different channel as the priority channel press PROGRAM the desired channel number then PRIORITY P appears beside the channel number...

Page 29: ...seven frequencies most commonly used by NOAA To hear your local forecast and regional weather information simply press WX E Your scanner begins scanning through the weather band and WX appears If the...

Page 30: ...FREQUENCIES Weather Frequencies These frequencies are not preprogrammed in this scanner but you can manually program them Ham Radio Frequencies Ham radio operators often broadcast emergency informati...

Page 31: ...turned on near the receiver Use the search function and scan every frequency range from its lowest frequency to the highest Occasionally the searching will stop as if it had found a signal often witho...

Page 32: ...51 473 the scanner ac cepts this as 151 475 BAND ALLOCATION To help decide which frequency ranges to scan use the following list ing of the typical services that use the frequencies your scanner re Ac...

Page 33: ...uard Marine telephone Shipboard Radio Private stations MARS Military Affiliate Radio System MED Emergency Medical Services MIL U S Military MOV Motion Picture Video Industry NEW New Mobile Narrow NEWS...

Page 34: ...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 Ama...

Page 35: ...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 Wireless Mikes 169 500 GO...

Page 36: ...60 650 462 175 BUS 462 1875 462 450 BUS IND 462 4625 462 525 IND OIL TELM UTIL 462 550 462 725 GMR 462 750 462 925 BUS 462 9375 463 1875 MED 463 200 467 925 BUS FM TV Audio Broadcast UHF Wide Band 470...

Page 37: ...uned to an image Occasionally you might get interference on a weak or distant channel from a strong broadcast 42 8 MHz below the tuned frequency This is rare and the image signal is usually cleared wh...

Page 38: ...n one channel Channels are locked out Remove the lockout Scanner is totally inoperative No power Check the batteries or make sure the AC adapter or DC adapter is con nected properly Recharge the recha...

Page 39: ...to power you might have to reset the scanner Caution This procedure clears all the information you have pro grammed into the scanner Before you reset the scanner try turning it off and on to see if i...

Page 40: ...rom dust and dirt which can cause premature wear of parts Handle the scanner gently and carefully Dropping it can damage circuit boards and cases and can cause the scanner to work improperly Use only...

Page 41: ...with 60 modulation for AM 3 kHz deviation for FM 29 54 MHz 0 4 V 108 136 975 MHz 2 0 V 137 174 MHz 0 6 V 406 512 MHz 0 5 V Spurious Rejection 40 84 MHz 37 dB 162 4 MHz 20 dB Selectivity 10 kHz 6 dB 1...

Page 42: ...Dimensions HWD 53 4 29 16 111 16 Inches 147 64 5 42 5 mm Weight 7 94 oz 225 g Specifications are typical individual units might vary Specifications are subject to change and improvement without notic...

Page 43: ...43 NOTES...

Page 44: ...of a product defect during the warranty period take the product and the RadioShack sales receipt as proof of purchase date to any RadioShack store Ra dioShack will at its option unless otherwise prov...