Radio Shack PRO-94 Owner's Manual
Radio Shack PRO-94 Owner's Manual

Radio Shack PRO-94 Owner's Manual

1000-channel handheld trunking scanner
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Owner's Manual
Cat. No. 20-524
PRO-94 1000-Channel
Handheld Trunking Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.

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Summary of Contents for Radio Shack PRO-94

  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual Cat. No. 20-524 PRO-94 1000-Channel Handheld Trunking Scanner Please read before using this equipment.
  • Page 2 The PRO-94 lets you select and monitor the data channel fre- quency sent with a 2-way radio transmission, so you can hear the call and response for that user and more easily “follow”...
  • Page 3 20 Channel-Storage Banks — you can store up to 50 channels in each of 10 different banks, in two separate groups, for a total of 1000 channels, so you can more easily identify calls. Five Scan Lists — you can store up to 50 trunking talk group IDs in each trunk scanning bank.
  • Page 4 10 frequencies or talk group IDs. Memory Backup — keeps the frequencies stored in memory for an extended time if the PRO-94 loses pow- Three Power Options — let you power the scanner using internal batteries, external AC power using an op- tional AC adapter/charger, or DC power using an op- tional DC cigarette-lighter power cable.
  • Page 5 Your scanner can receive these bands: Frequency Step Range (MHz) (kHz) Transmission 29–29.7 10-Meter Ham Band 29.7–50 VHF Lo Band 50–54 6-Meter Ham Band 108–136.9750 12.5 Aircraft Band 137–144 Military Land Mobile 144–148 2-Meter Ham Band 148–174 VHF Hi Band 216–224.9950 1-Meter Ham Band 406–420...
  • Page 6 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: •...
  • Page 7 This scanner is designed to prevent reception of illegal transmissions, in compliance with the law which re- quires that scanners be manufactured in such a way as to not be easily modifiable to pick up those transmis- sions. Do not open your scanner's case to make any modifications that could allow it to pick up transmis- sions that it is not legal to listen to.
  • Page 8: Table Of Contents

    CONTENTS Preparation ............... 10 Using Internal Batteries ..........10 Using Non-Rechargeable Batteries ....10 Using Rechargeable Batteries ......12 Using AC Power ............13 Using Vehicle Battery Power ........14 Connecting the Antenna ..........16 Connecting an Optional Antenna ....... 16 Connecting an Earphone/Headphone .......
  • Page 9 Trunking Operation ............41 Types of Trunking Systems ........41 Setting the Scanner to the Trunking Mode ....42 Setting Squelch for the Trunking Mode ...... 43 Storing Trunked Frequencies ........43 Scanning a Trunked Bank ..........46 Turning a Trunked Bank On or Off ......47 Skipping a Trunked Bank ...........
  • Page 10: Preparation

    PREPARATION 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 alkaline, lithi- um, or rechargeable (Ni-Cd, or Ni-MH) AA batteries (not supplied).
  • Page 11 3. Before you install alkaline or any other non- rechargeable batteries, use a pointed object such as a ballpoint pen to set ALKALINE JACK inside the compartment to NI-CD ALKALINE Warning: Set ALKALINE JACK NI-CD NI-CD for use only with nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd) or nickel Never metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries.
  • Page 12: Using Rechargeable Batteries

    When BATT .Lo flashes and the scanner beeps every 15 seconds, replace all four batteries. Caution: Always dispose of old batteries promptly and properly. Do not bury or burn them. Using Rechargeable Batteries You can also use four rechargeable batteries. Before you use nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride batter- ies, you must charge them .
  • Page 13: Using Ac Power

    RadioShack store, recycling collection centers, and mail-back programs USING AC POWER You can power the PRO-94 using an 9V, 300 mA AC ® adapter and a size H Adaptaplug (neither supplied).
  • Page 14: Using Vehicle Battery Power

    Follow these steps to use the PRO-94 on AC power. 1. Turn counterclockwise until it clicks VOLUME/OFF to make sure the power is turned off. 2. Insert the Adaptaplug into the adapter’s cord so it reads TIP – . Insert the Adaptaplug into the PRO- 94’s...
  • Page 15 • If batteries are installed, make sure the battery switch inside the battery compartment is set to the correct position (see “Using Internal Batteries” on Page 10). 1. Turn counterclockwise until it clicks VOLUME/OFF to make sure the power is turned off. 2.
  • Page 16: Connecting The Antenna

    CONNECTING THE ANTENNA To attach the supplied flexible antenna to the connector on the top of your scanner, align the slots around the antenna’s connector with the tabs on the scanner’s BNC connector. Then slide the antenna’s connector down over the scanner’s connector and rotate the an- tenna connector’s outer ring clockwise until it locks into place.
  • Page 17: Connecting An Earphone/Headphone

    CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/ HEADPHONE For private listening, you can plug an optional earphone or mono headphones into the jack on top of your scanner. This automatically disconnects the internal speaker. Listening Safely To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use an earphone or headphones.
  • Page 18: Connecting An Extension Speaker

    CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an optional extension speaker, posi- tioned in the right place, might provide more comfort- able listening. Plug the speaker cable’s -inch (3.5- mm) mini-plug into your scanner’s jack. Your local RadioShack store carries a selection of suitable speak- ers.
  • Page 19: About Your Scanner

    . Channels are grouped into channel-storage banks . The PRO-94 has 500 channels in channel-stor- age bank A and another 500 in channel-storage bank B. Each bank of 500 is divided into ten 50-channel sets.
  • Page 20: A Look At The Keypad

    A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD Your scanner’s keys might seem confusing at first, but this information should help you understand each key’s function and the pages where you will find additional in- formation about those functions. Function(s) Page(s) A/B HOLD Switches the bank groups;...
  • Page 21 Function(s) Page(s) L-OUT/S/S Lets you lock out selected chan- 30, 34, nels or skip specified frequencies during a search; lets you lock out a selected ID while trunking KEYLOCK/ Locks the keypad to prevent acci- dental program changes; turns on the display backlight for 15 sec- onds DELAY...
  • Page 22: A Look At The Display

    A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY The display has indicators that show the scanner’s cur- rent operating status. The display information helps you understand how your scanner operates. BANK A — appears with numbers (1–10). indicates the bank group. The numbers show which channel-storage banks are turned on for scanning.
  • Page 23 — appears when you select a delay. — appears when you manually select a channel you locked out. (keylock) — appears when you lock the keypad. Error — appears when you make an entry error. — appears during search modes, ID search mon- itor, program ID monitor, or when you select a monitor memory.
  • Page 24: Understanding Banks

    UNDERSTANDING BANKS Service Banks The scanner is preprogrammed with all the frequencies allocated to the weather, ham, marine, aircraft, and po- lice (fire/emergency) services. This helps you quickly find active frequencies instead of doing a limit search (see “Service Bank Search” on Page 29). Channel Storage Banks To make it easier to identify and select the channels you want to listen to, all the channels are divided into...
  • Page 25: Operation

    1. Turn fully counterclockwise. SQUELCH VOLUME SQUELCH 2. Turn clockwise until it clicks and you VOLUME/OFF hear a hissing sound. 3. If the PRO-94 is scanning, press (manual) to stop scanning, then turn clockwise until SQUELCH the hissing stops.
  • Page 26: Storing Known Frequencies Into Channels

    STORING KNOWN FREQUENCIES INTO CHANNELS You can locate and store specific frequencies into channels for later use. To assist you in locating a de- sired frequency from the scanner’s wide range, consid- er using a frequency guide. Good references for active frequencies are the RadioShack “Police Call Guide in- cluding Fire and Emergency Services,”...
  • Page 27: Searching For And Temporarily Storing Active Frequencies

    SEARCHING FOR AND TEMPORARILY STORING ACTIVE FREQUENCIES If you do not have a reference to frequencies in your ar- ea, use a limit, direct, or service search (except weather service search) to find a transmission. Also see “Guide to the Action Bands” on Page 64. Notes: While doing a limit, direct, or service bank search, press : •...
  • Page 28: Direct Search

    4. Enter the frequency that is the upper limit of the range you want to search (including the decimal point), then press again. E (SVC) 5. Press W to search from the upper to the lower limit, or V to search from the lower to the upper limit. 6.
  • Page 29: Service Bank Search

    • to store the displayed frequency into MON/CLR the current monitor memory. 5. To release the hold and continue searching, press or hold down W or V for at least 1 second. HOLD , simply press W or V Or, if you did not press HOLD to continue searching.
  • Page 30 To skip a frequency, press when the scanner (L-OUT) stops on the frequency during limit, direct, service search. The scanner stores the frequency in memory and au- tomatically resumes search. To clear a single frequency from skip memory so the scanner stops on it during a limit, direct, or service bank search: 1.
  • Page 31: Listening To The Monitor Memories

    LISTENING TO THE MONITOR MEMORIES To listen to the frequency stored in any one of the ten monitor memories, press , then the MON/CLR (•) number of the desired monitor memory (0 – 9), or re- peatedly press to step through the monitor MON/CLR (•) memories.
  • Page 32: Scanning The Stored Channels

    SCANNING THE STORED CHANNELS To begin scanning channels, press . The scanner SCAN scans through all non-locked channels in the activated banks. (See “Locking Out Channels” on Page 34 and “Turning Channel-Storage Banks On and Off” on Page 33). When the scanner finds a transmission, it stops on it.
  • Page 33: Special Features

    SPECIAL FEATURES DELAY Sometimes a user might pause before replying to a transmission. To avoid missing a reply on a specific channel, you can program a 2-second delay into any channel or frequency. The scanner continues to moni- tor the channel frequency for an additional 2 seconds after the transmission stops before resuming scanning or searching.
  • Page 34: Locking Out Channels

    While scanning, press the number key that corresponds to the bank you want to turn on or off. Numbers appear at the top of the display, showing the currently selected banks. The scanner scans all the channels within the displayed banks that are not locked out (see “Locking Out Chan- nels”).
  • Page 35 The scanner automatically designates each bank's first channel as its priority channel. Follow these steps to select a different channel in a bank as the priority chan- nel. 1. Press PROG 2. Enter the channel number you want to select as the priority channel, then press PRIORITY (H/S) appears to the right of the selected channel num-...
  • Page 36: Using The Keylock

    To turn on the display light for easy viewing at night, press .The display lights for 15 seconds. To turn off the light sooner, press again. CHANGING SEARCH SPEEDS The PRO-94 has two search speeds. Normal Search Hypersearch 100 steps/second 300 steps/second To switch between the normal and Hypersearch speeds...
  • Page 37: Turning The Keytone Off/On

    TURNING THE KEYTONE OFF/ON 1. Turn off the scanner. 2. While holding down turn on the scan- L-OUT/S/S, ner. OFF bEEP appears. To turn the key tone back on, repeat these steps. bEEP appears. TURNING THE BATTERY SAVE FUNCTION OFF/ON When the scanner is set to receive (monitor) a manually selected channel, and it is not actively scanning, using the battery save feature conserves energy.
  • Page 38: Skipping Data Signals

    (NOAA) began broadcasting alerts that include digitally encoded data. Specific Area Message Encod- ing (SAME) includes information which identifies the se- verity of the alert. The PRO-94 displays this data as codes corresponding to the levels of severity (L1, L2, and L3).
  • Page 39: Same Signal Detection Updating

    When the scanner receives a SAME coded signal, ALERT flashes and an associated “L” code (which indi- cates the severity of the alert) appears, as well. The scanner remains on the weather channel and the audio turns on so you can hear the weather broadcast. The scanner displays one of the following codes to indi- cate the alert level.
  • Page 40: Nwr-Same Alert Tone Test

    (and sometimes demonstration) sig- nals, which let anyone with a receiver (such as the PRO-94) verify that the equipment is working properly. To find out the specific test schedule in your area, con- tact your local NOAA or NWS office. Those offices are usually listed in the telephone book under US Govern- ment, Department of Commerce .
  • Page 41: Trunking Operation

    TRUNKING OPERATION The PRO-94 scanner tracks transmissions that use the Motorola Type I, Type II, hybrid, and, Ericsson EDACS analog trunking systems. Remember these important points when tracking transmissions: • Your scanner cannot scan trunked system and conventional frequencies at the same time.
  • Page 42: Setting The Scanner To The Trunking Mode

    The police department, fire department, utilities group, and city administration could each be a separate fleet. The police might decide to further divide its fleet into subfleets, such as dispatch, tactical operations, detec- tives, north, south, east, and west side patrols, and su- pervisors.
  • Page 43: Setting Squelch For The Trunking Mode

    SETTING SQUELCH FOR THE TRUNKING MODE Your scanner’s squelch setting is automatically adjust- ed during trunking, which means it is not necessary to manually adjust squelch while scanning trunked trans- missions. However, the squelch setting can affect how fast your scanner acquires the data channel, and, in some instances, can prevent your scanner from acquir- ing the data channel at all.
  • Page 44 • The PRO-94 can scan multiple trunking systems. if a system is inactive for 5 seconds, the PRO-94 starts scanning the next selected trunk bank.
  • Page 45 Notes: • If you enter an invalid frequency (outside the selected range), the scanner beeps, the channel number flashes and Error appears. If this • happens, press ) to clear the fre- MON/CLR quency, then repeat the entry. • For EDACS systems, you must enter the fre- quencies in logical channel number (LCN) order.
  • Page 46: Scanning A Trunked Bank

    SCANNING A TRUNKED BANK Once you have stored frequencies for a trunked sys- tem in one or more of the 20 available banks, and while the PRO-94 scans conventional (non-trunked) frequen- cies, follow these steps to switch to trunk scanning. 1. Press .
  • Page 47: Turning A Trunked Bank On Or Off

    covering the ID owner of each signal is half the fun of trunk scanning! Turning a Trunked Bank On or Off Press during trunk scanning. The selected DATA (ALT) trunked banks appear. Press the bank number ( – ), to turn the desired bank on or off.
  • Page 48: Identifying A Trunked Frequency

    Follow these steps to turn status bit ignore on or off. 1. Hold down until the current status bit ignore SCAN setting ( ) appears. 2. Press to select to select , then press E (SVC) Identifying a Trunked Frequency While ID scanning (looking for IDs within a trunked sys- tem) or performing an ID search, press W to see the current trunked frequency.
  • Page 49: Using Hold To Monitor An Active Talk Group Id

    Using HOLD to Monitor an Active Talk Group ID Follow these steps to stop scanning and keep the scan- ner tuned to a desired ID. HOLD 1. Press appears and the scanner HOLD (A/B) stays on the current ID. 2. If you want to listen to (and hold) a different ID, use the number keys to enter that ID.
  • Page 50: Locking Out Talk Group Ids

    Locking Out Talk Group IDs Many municipal and commercial services use trunk systems to transmit signals from such devices as water meter transmitters, door alarms, and traffic signals. Some signals are encrypted, as well, and most are not voice signals. Since all these are assigned IDs just like other users, you may want to lock out reception of these ID signals.
  • Page 51: Using Trunk Scanning Scan Delay

    Using Trunk Scanning Scan Delay Sometimes a user might pause before replying to a transmission. You can set the scanner to hold on an ID for 5 seconds to wait for a reply. That way, the scanner continues to monitor the ID for 5 seconds after the transmission stops before resuming scanning.
  • Page 52: Channel Activity Bars

    CHANNEL ACTIVITY BARS Your scanner displays up to 20 channel activity bars for the stored frequencies in a bank. These bars indicate the activity taking place on a trunked system. By ob- serving these bars, you can see how many frequencies are being used and generally monitor how much com- munication traffic occurs.
  • Page 53: Manually Storing Talk Group Ids In Talk Group Id Lists

    up to 10 IDs, for a total of 50 IDs for each trunk scan- ning bank. If you use all the banks as trunking banks, you can store 1000 IDs. Talk group ID lists help you to organize trunking system users into categories.
  • Page 54: Moving Talk Group Ids To Talk Group Id Lists

    Moving Talk Group IDs to Talk Group ID Lists 1. Press appears. 2. Select the ID scan list location where you want to store the IDs, then press appears. PROG 3. Press . A monitor ID appears. MON/CLR 4. Press .
  • Page 55: Priority Talk Group Id Scanning

    IDs” on Page 50. SCANNING TYPE I AND HYBRID TRUNKED SYSTEMS Your PRO-94 is preset to scan Type II system IDs. When you scan trunked frequencies, each Type II user ID you see appears as an even number without a dash (example 2160).
  • Page 56 Subfleet information is included with the frequency list for a Type I system. To enter the provided map, see “Programming a Fleet Map” on Page 60. Note: Review the content of website www.trunkscan- ner.com to locate suitable fleet map information. If you do not already know the size codes used, you will have to guess.
  • Page 57 E1P1 E1P2 E1P3 Size Size Size Block Code Block Code Block Code (S12) E1P4 E1P5 E1P6 Size Size Size Block Code Block Code Block Code (S12) (S12) (S12) (S12) E1P7 E1P8 E1P9 Size Size Size Block Code Block Code Block Code...
  • Page 58 E1P10 E1P11 E1P12 Size Size Size Block Code Block Code Block Code E1P13 E1P14 E1P15 Size Size Size Block Code Block Code Block Code (S12) (S12)
  • Page 59: Selecting A Preset Fleet Map

    E1P16 Size Block Code (S12) Selecting a Preset Fleet Map 1. Set the scanner for conventional scanning and press then to select the bank to PROG TRUNK store the fleet map. A previously programmed trunked frequency appears. 2. Press a number key to select the bank to store the fleet map.
  • Page 60: Programming A Fleet Map

    Programming a Fleet Map 1. Set the scanner for conventional scanning. Press , then press PROG TRUNK 2. Press the number key of the bank where you want to store the fleet map. 3. Repeatedly press V or W until appears, then press .
  • Page 61: Programming The Base And Offset Frequencies

    Programming the Base and Offset Frequencies To properly track Motorola VHF and UHF trunked sys- tems, you must program the applicable base and offset frequencies for each system. A list of these frequencies can be found at www.trunk- scanner.com and other similar frequency resources. 1.
  • Page 62: Turning On/Off The Motorola Disconnect Tone Detect Function

    Turning On/Off the Motorola Disconnect Tone Detect Function While trunking a Motorola system, your scanner auto- matically tunes to the data channel when it detects a disconnect tone (a code that tells the trunking system that the transmitter has finished sending) on the voice channel.
  • Page 63: A General Guide To Scanning

    A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING Your scanner’s reception is mainly “line-of-sight.” You usually cannot hear stations that are beyond the hori- zon. GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES National Weather Frequencies 162.400 162.475 162.525 162.425 162.500 162.550 162.450 Birdie Frequencies Every scanner has birdie frequencies. Birdies are sig- nals created by the scanner’s internal circuits.
  • Page 64: Guide To The Action Bands

    GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS Typical Band Usage VHF Band Low Range 29.00–50.00 MHz 6-Meter Amateur 50.00–54.00 MHz U.S. Government 137.00–144.00 MHz 2-Meter Amateur 144.00–148.00 MHz High Range 148.00–174.00 MHz 1-Meter Amateur 216.00–225.00 MHz UHF Band U.S. Government 406.00–420.00 MHz 70-cm Amateur 420.00–450.00 MHz Low Range...
  • Page 65: Band Allocation

    UHF Band Activities Frequencies Land-Mobile “Paired” 450.000–470.000 MHz Frequencies Base Stations 451.025–454.950 MHz Mobile Units 456.025–459.950 MHz Repeater Units 460.025–464.975 MHz Control Stations 465.025–469.975 MHz Note: Remote control stations and mobile units operate at 5 MHz higher than their associated base stations and relay repeater units.
  • Page 66 ROAD ........Road & Highway Maintenance RTV.........Radio/TV Remote Broadcast Pickup TAXI ..............Taxi Services TELB ............Mobile Telephone (Aircraft, Radio Common Carrier, Landline Companies) TELC............. Cordless Phones TELM ..........Telephone Maintenance TOW............... Tow Trucks TRAN ..........Transportation Services Trucks, Tow Trucks, Buses, Railroad, Other) TSB ..............
  • Page 67 152.0075 ................MED 152.030–152.240 ............TELB 152.270–152.480 ........... IND, TAXI, BUS 152.510–152.840 ............TELB 152.870–153.020 ............ IND, MOV 153.035–153.725 ..........IND, OIL, UTIL 153.740–154.445 ........... PUB, FIRE 154.490–154.570 ............. IND, BUS 154.585 ............Oil Spill Cleanup 154.600–154.625 ............. BUS 154.655–156.240 ......MED, ROAD, POL, PUB 156.255–157.425 ............
  • Page 68: Frequency Conversion

    462.9375–463.1875 ............MED 463.200–467.925 .............. BUS FM-TV Audio Broadcast, UHF Wide Band (470–512 MHz) (Channels 14 through 69 in 6 MHz steps) 475.750 ..............Channel 14 481.750 ..............Channel 15 487.750 ..............Channel 16 511.750 ..............Channel 20 Note: Some cities use the 470–512 MHz band for land/mobile service.
  • Page 69: Troubleshooting

    TROUBLESHOOTING If your PRO-94 is not working as it should, these sug- gestions might help you eliminate the problem. If the scanner still does not operate properly, take it to your local RadioShack store for assistance. Problem Possible Cause Remedy...
  • Page 70 Problem Possible Cause Remedy BATT. Lo The batteries are Recharge the flashes. weak. rechargeable bat- teries or replace the non-recharge- able batteries. Poor or no recep- Batteries are Check the batter- tion. weak or com- ies or make sure pletely dis- the AC adapter or charged.
  • Page 71 Problem Possible Cause Remedy Scanner is set to The fleet map Check the fleet receive Type I you have select- map and correct it trunked frequen- ed or entered if necessary (see cies, but does might be incor- “Scanning Type I not scan them.
  • Page 72: Resetting The Scanner

    Problem Possible Cause Remedy Channel activity The transmis- Scan for another bars are flashing sion might be a transmission. but no sound is private or tele- heard. phone intercon- nect call. The scanner does not scan these types of transmissions. The ID shown is Wait for the ID to not active.
  • Page 73: Care And Maintenance

    CARE AND MAINTENANCE Your RadioShack PRO-94 1000-Channel Handheld Trunking 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.
  • Page 74: Specifications

    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) 216–224.995 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) 406–512 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 806.0000–823.9375 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 851.0000–868.9875 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 896.1125–956.0000 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps) 1240.0000–1300.0000 MHz (in 12.5 kHz steps)
  • Page 75 Built-in Speaker ......1 Inches (36 mm) 8 Ohm Dynamic Type Maximum Current Drain ........180 mA Power Requirements: 4 AA Alkaline Batteries (6.0 VDC), or 4 AA Rechargeable Ni-Cd Batteries (4.8 VDC) or Optional AC Adapter or Optional DC Adapter Current Drain: Squelched............
  • Page 76 Limited One-Year Warranty This product is warranted by RadioShack against manufacturing de- fects 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. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack MAKES NO EXPRESS WAR- RANTIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR...

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