Radio Shack PRO-2050 Owner's Manual

Owner’s ManualCat. No. 20-430PRO-2050VHF/UHF/Air/800MHz300-Channel TrunkTracker Home ScannerPlease read before using this equipment.20-430.fm Page 1

10Cautions: • The supplied AC adapter supplies12 volts DC power and delivers500 milliamps. Its center tip is setto positive, and its plug properlyfits

11Note: Connecting an external speakerdisconnects the scanner’s internalspeaker.CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/HEADPHONESFor private listening, you can connec

12UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNEROnce you understand a few simple terms we use in this manual and familiarizeyourself with your scanner’s features, you can

13SCANScans through the stored channels.MANUALStops scanning and lets you directly enter a channelnumber or frequency.TRUNKSwitches between convention

14HOLD/s Holds on the current ID in the trunk tracking mode;sets the search direction and holds the frequencysearch.DATATurns the data signal skip fea

15 Shows which control/voice channels are currently(channel activity indicator) active.Appears when a priority channel is selected.SCANAppears when y

16UNDERSTANDING BANKSChannel Storage BanksTo make it easier to identify and selectthe channels you want to listen to,channels are divided into 10 bank

17OPERATIONTURNING ON THE SCANNER AND SETTING SQUELCH1. Turn SQUELCH and VOLUME fullycounterclockwise.2. Turn VOLUME back clockwise untilyou hear a hi

183. Press E to store the frequency intothe channel.Notes:• If you made a mistake in Step2, Error appears and thescanner beeps when you pressE. Simpl

19To select another service bank, re-peatedly press SVC until the scannerdisplays the name of the bank youwant to use.Notes: • To skip data signals (s

2FEATURESYour new RadioShack PRO-2050VHF/UHF/Air/800MHz 300-ChannelTrunkTracker Home Scanner is one ofa new generation of scanners de-signed to track

20quency into the channel. Thescanner stores the frequency.• s or t to stop searching so youcan listen to the transmission.HOLD appears.To release hol

21SPECIAL FEATURESDELAYMany agencies use a two-way radiosystem that might have a period of 2or more seconds between a query anda reply. To keep from m

22LOCKING OUT CHANNELS AND FREQUENCIESYou can scan existing channels orsearch frequencies faster by lockingout channels or frequencies that havea cont

23TURNING THE KEY TONE ON AND OFFTo turn the key tone off, turn off thescanner. Then, while holding downL/O/SKIP, turn on the scanner. OFbEEP appears.

24PRIORITYThe priority feature lets you scanthrough channels and still not miss im-portant or interesting calls on specificchannels. You can program o

25TYPES OF TRUNKING SYSTEMSYour trunk tracking scanner can moni-tor two basic types of systems — TypeI and Type II. Instead of selecting aspecific fre

26SETTING THE SCANNER TO THE TRUNK TRACKING MODEPress TRUNK to switch between thescanner’s conventional and trunktracking modes.SETTING SQUELCH FOR TH

272. Select the bank you want to storethe trunked system’s frequenciesin by pressing a number key. Thescanner automatically selects thefirst channel i

28Note: To see the bank currently inuse for about 5 seconds, pressDATA while in the trunk trackingmode.3. To return to conventional scan-ning, press T

29To lock out an ID, press L/O when theID appears.The ID is locked out, and the next ac-tive ID appears.Unlocking a Single ID1. Hold down L/O until yo

3Scan Delay — delays scanning forabout 2 seconds before moving to an-other channel in conventional mode,so you can hear more replies that aremade on t

30Monitoring IDsYou can use your scanner’s display tomonitor the frequencies in a trunkedsystem for activity. You cannot hearconversations in this mod

31SCAN LISTSWhen you program trunked frequen-cies into a bank (see “ProgrammingTrunked Frequencies” on Page 26),your scanner sets up 5 scan lists into

32Storing IDs into Scan Lists While SearchingFollow these steps to select a scan listlocation and store an ID during asearch.1. When your scanner stop

33To remove a scan list from activescanning, use the number keys to en-ter the scan list’s number. The scanlist indicator turns off, and the IDs intha

34S2 16 8 64 1S3 8 8 128 1Each ID in the block is unique. Theleft-most digit is the block number inthe ID. The next two digits identifywhich fleet is

35Block SizeCodeBlock SizeCode0S40S121S41—2S42S43S43S44S44S45S45S46S126S47—7S4E1P5 E1P6Block SizeCodeBlock SizeCode0S40S31S41S102S122S43—3S44 S4 4 S12

36Block SizeCodeBlock SizeCodeSelecting a Preset Fleet Map1. Press SCAN, then hold downTRUNK until the scanner beepstwice. BANK, TRUNK and thebank num

375. Repeatedly press s or t until USrappears.6. Press DATA. 7. Repeatedly press s or t to selectthe size code for the first block,then press E. The n

38Reception of the frequencies coveredby your scanner is mainly “line-of-sight.” That means you usually cannothear stations that are beyond the hori-z

39GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDSTypical Band UsageVHF BandLow Range 29.00–50.00 MHz6-Meter Amateur 50.00–54.00 MHzAircraft 108.00–136.00 MHzU.S. Government

4Your PRO-2050 scanner can receiveall of these bands:Note: See “Specifications” on Page 51for more information about the scan-ner’s frequency steps.FC

40Primary UsageAs a general rule, most of the radio ac-tivity is concentrated on the followingfrequencies:VHF BandUHF BandNote: Remote control station

41FIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fire DepartmentHAM . . . . . .

4235.020–35.980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BUS, PUB, IND, TELM36.000–36.230 . . . . . . . .

43157.530–157.725 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IND, TAXI157.740 . . . . . . .

44FM-TV Audio Broadcast, UHF Wide Band (470–512 MHz)(Channels 14 through 69 in 6 MHz steps)475.750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45FREQUENCY CONVERSIONThe tuning location of a station can be expressed in frequency (kHz or MHz) or inwavelength (meters). The following information

46TROUBLESHOOTINGIf your scanner is not working as it should, these suggestions might help you elimi-nate the problem. If the scanner still does not o

47Scanner will not track a trunked system.(continued)The data frequency is missing.Find the data frequency (see “Programming Trunked Frequencies” on P

48PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE REMEDYMissing replies to con-versations.(continued)The selected fleet map is incorrect.Try another preset fleet map or progra

49RESETTING THE SCANNERYou might need to reset the scanner if any of the following occur:• The scanner’s display locks up. • The scanner does not work

5SCANNING LEGALLYScanning is a fun and interesting hob-by. You can hear police and fire de-partments, ambulance services,government agencies, private

50CARE AND MAINTENANCEYour RadioShack PRO-2050 VHF/UHF/Air/800MHz 300-Channel TrunkTrackerHome Scanner is an example of superior design and craftsmans

51SPECIFICATIONSFrequency Coverage:10 Meter Amateur Radio ... 29.000–29.6950 MHz (in 5 kHz steps)VHF Lo ...

52Audio Power 1.1 W MaximumPower Requirements:AC Adapter 12 Volts DCDC Adapter 12 Volts DC (such asCat. No. 270-1533)Dimensions 23/4 × 81/16 × 711/1

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RadioShackA Division of Tandy CorporationFort Worth, Texas 76102UBZZ01273ZZ10A7 Printed in the PhilippinesLimited One-Year WarrantyThis product is war

6CONTENTSPreparation ... 8Connecting an Anten

7Trunk Tracking ... 26Types of Trunking Systems ...

8PREPARATIONThis scanner is designed primarily foruse in the home as a base station.You can place it on a desk, shelf, ortable.Your scanner’s front fe

9• The antenna should be as high aspossible on the vehicle or building.• The antenna and its cable shouldbe as far as possible from sourcesof electric