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Summary of Contents for Radio Shack Race Scanner
- Page 1 Owner’s Manual Cat. No. 20-513 PRO-74 100-Channel VHF/UHF/Air/800 MHz Race Scanner Please read before using this equipment.
- Page 2 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...
- Page 3 Hypersearch — lets you set the scanner to search at up to 300 steps per second, to help you quickly find interesting broadcasts. (The nor- mal 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 re- plies.
- Page 4 Resume Start — the scanner saves its settings when you turn the power off. This returns you to the function you were using if you acci- dentally 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.
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Page 5: Scanning Legally
FCC NOTICE Your scanner might cause radio or TV interference even when it is oper- ating properly. To determine whether your scanner is causing the interfer- ence, turn off your scanner. If the interference goes away, your scanner is causing it. Try the following methods to eliminate the interference: •... -
Page 6: Table Of Contents
Memory Banks ... 22 Service Banks ... 22 Operation ... 24 Turning On the Scanner and Setting Squelch ... 24 Storing Known Frequencies into Channels ... 25 Finding and Storing Active Frequencies ... 26 Searching the Service Banks ... 26 Searching from a Selected Frequency ... - Page 7 Guide to the Action Bands ... 43 Typical Band Usage ... 43 Primary Usage ... 44 Band Allocation ... 44 Frequency Conversion ... 48 Troubleshooting ... 49 Resetting the Scanner ... 50 Care and Maintenance ... 51 Specifications ... 52...
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Page 8: Preparation
• 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 bat- teries (such as RadioShack Cat. No. 23-552). - Page 9 (alkaline or rechargeable), or rechargeable batteries of different capacities. 4. Replace the cover. BATT .Lo flashes and the scanner beeps every 15 seconds, replace (alkaline) or recharge (rechargeable nickel-cadmium) the batteries. Caution: Always dispose of old batteries promptly and properly. Do not bury or burn them.
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Page 10: Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries
To charge the batteries, set KALINE JACK in the scanner, and connect an external AC or DC adapter to the scan- ner’s jack (see “Using Standard AC Power” on Page 11 or “Us- POWER ing Vehicle Battery Power”... -
Page 11: Using Standard Ac Power
Using Standard AC Power You can power the scanner from a standard AC outlet using an option- al 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. -
Page 12: Using Vehicle Battery Power
• To protect your vehicle's electrical system, always plug the adapter into the scanner before you plug it into your vehicle's cigarette- lighter socket. Always unplug the adapter from the vehicle's ciga- rette-lighter socket before you unplug it from the scanner. -
Page 13: Connecting An Antenna
When you finish using the DC adapter, disconnect it from the cigarette- lighter 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. -
Page 14: Connecting An Optional Antenna
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. -
Page 15: Connecting An Extension Speaker
CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/ HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone or headphones with a -inch mini-plug (such as Cat. No. 33-178 or 20-210) into the jack on top of your scanner. This automatically disconnects the internal speaker. -
Page 16: Listening Safely
ATTACHING THE BELT CLIP You can attach the supplied belt clip to make your scanner easier to use when you are on the go. Use a Phillips screwdriver and the two supplied screws to attach the belt clip to the scanner. -
Page 17: Understanding Your Scanner
, which is grouped with your other channels in a memory bank. You can then scan the memory banks to see if there is ac- tivity on the frequencies stored there. Each time the scanner finds an ac- tive frequency, it stays on that channel until the transmission ends. - Page 18 — lets you store car numbers and frequencies in the scanner’s RACE channels, add and delete frequencies from car numbers, display car numbers, and listen to the channel where a car number is stored. — stops scanning and lets you directly enter a channel number or frequency.
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Page 19: A Look At The Display
— appears when you set the scanner to scan the priority channels every 2 seconds. DATA —... - Page 20 — indicate the search direction. — appears during a service bank, direct, or weather search. SEARCH — appears during a direct search. — appears when you make an invalid entry. Error when you select the scanner’s marine service appears directly above the indicator when...
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Page 21: Understanding Banks
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”... - Page 22 ( Notes: • The frequencies in the scanner’s service banks are preset. You cannot change them. • “Band Allocation” on Page 43 lists frequency ranges and the broadcasters you are likely to hear on those frequencies.
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Page 23: Operation
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 2. Turn VOLUME sound. 3. Turn SQUELCH hissing sound stops. Notes: • If you have not stored frequencies into any channels, the scanner does not scan. -
Page 24: Storing Known Frequencies Into Channels
3. Press to store the frequency into the channel. Notes: • If you entered an inappropriate frequency in Step 2, appears and the scanner beeps three times. Simply repeat Steps 2 and 3. . The channel number appears. PROG to enter the frequency (includ- CLEAR/•... -
Page 25: Finding And Storing Active Frequencies
Steps 2 and 3. Note: If you previously stored a car number in a channel (see “Storing a Car Number and Frequency” on Page 31), the scanner clears the number when you store a new frequency into a channel. FINDING AND STORING ACTIVE... -
Page 26: Searching From A Selected Frequency
PRIORITY L-O UT S/ S K EYL OC K C L EA R 4. When the scanner stops on a transmission, quickly press either: • t or s to continue searching • to stop searching so you can listen to the transmission. -
Page 27: Storing Active Frequencies
• If you previously stored a car number and frequency in a channel (see “Storing a Car Number and Frequency” on Page 31), the scanner clears the number and frequency when you store a new frequency into that channel. • If there are no empty channels, the channel number changes to FULL appears. -
Page 28: Manually Selecting A Channel
Notes: • If you skip all the frequencies in the weather band, the scanner will not start searching. In this case, the scanner sounds three beeps. • If you program more than 20 frequencies to skip, each new fre- quency replaces one you already stored, starting from the first fre- quency you stored. -
Page 29: Scanning Channels
(See “Turning Memory Banks On and Off” and “Locking Out Channels” on Page 35). When the scanner finds a transmission, it stops on it. Two seconds af- ter the transmission ends, the scanner resumes scanning. -
Page 30: Listening To Weather Broadcasts
To hear your local forecast and regional weather information, simply press . Your scanner scans through the weather frequencies. Your scanner should stop within a few seconds on your local weather broad- cast. To manually tune to a specific preprogrammed weather frequency,... -
Page 31: Using The Pro-74 At The Races
“Scanning by Car Number” on Page 33. STORING A CAR NUMBER AND FREQUENCY You can store a car number and frequency in each of the scanner’s channels, and you can recall any frequencies associated with the car number by entering the number. You can store one car number in each channel (for up to 100 car numbers). -
Page 32: Adding Frequencies To A Car Number
The car number and Notes: • If you add one or more leading zeros to a single-digit car num- ber, your scanner recognizes them as different car numbers. For example, you can enter another car number, and • To clear the display, press 3. -
Page 33: Viewing Frequencies Associated With A Car Number
3. Hold down frequency disappears. SCANNING BY CAR NUMBER Once you store car numbers into channels, you can set the scanner so it displays the car numbers you assigned to the channels as it scans them. To scan by car number, repeatedly press... -
Page 34: Finding What Car Numbers Are In What Channels
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 twice. If a car number has been asso- RACE ciated with this frequency, the car number and frequency appear. Press twice to return to normal channel listening. -
Page 35: 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. - Page 36 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 chan- nel, then press number.
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Page 37: Using The Keylock
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 , and VOLUME SQUELCH To turn on the keylock, hold down... -
Page 38: Turning The Key Tone Off/On
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. -
Page 39: Skipping Data Signals
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. -
Page 40: A General Guide To Scanning
A GENERAL GUIDE TO SCANNING Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanner is mainly “line- of-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 Canadian Weather Frequencies 161.650... -
Page 41: Birdie Frequencies
If you program one of these frequencies, you hear only noise on that frequency. If the inter- ference is not severe, you might be able to turn cut out the birdie. The birdie frequencies (in MHz) found in this scanner are: 31.2000 171.2500... -
Page 42: Guide To The Action Bands
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. -
Page 43: Primary Usage
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- ceives. These frequencies are subject to change, and might vary from area to area. For a more complete listing, refer to the book “Beyond Police Call,”... - Page 44 FIRE ..........Fire Department HAM .
- Page 45 42.960–43.180 ..........IND 43.220–43.680 .
- Page 46 166.250 ......... . GOVT, RTV, FIRE 166.275–169.400 .
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Page 47: Frequency Conversion
Conventional Systems Band – Locally Assigned 851.0125–855.9875 ......... . .CSB Conventional/Trunked Systems Band –... -
Page 48: Troubleshooting
TROUBLESHOOTING If you have problems, here are some suggestions that might help. If none do, take your scanner to your local RadioShack store for as- sistance. PROBLEM Keys do not work or display changes at random. Scanner is on but will not scan. -
Page 49: Resetting The Scanner
Caution: This procedure clears all the information you have stored into the scanner (such as frequencies and car numbers). Before you reset the scanner, try turning it off and on to see if it begins working properly. Reset the scanner only when you are sure it is not working properly. -
Page 50: 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 fol- lowing suggestions will help you care for your scanner so you can en- joy it for years. Keep the scanner dry. If it gets wet, wipe it dry immedi- ately. -
Page 51: Specifications
SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Coverage ... 29–54 MHz (in 5 kHz steps) Channels ... 100 Sensitivity: (FM: 20 dB S/N at 3 kHz deviation) (AM: 20 dB S/N at 60% modulation) 29–54 MHz ... 0.5 V 108–136.975 MHz ... 1.5 V 137–174 MHz ... 0.4 V 406–512 MHz ... - Page 52 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. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack MAKES NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF MER- CHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THE WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES CON-...
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