RadioShack Pro 2045 Weather Alert Home Scanner Owners Manual

							11
Testing the Weather Alert
Follow these steps to test the weather
alert — to hear how it sounds and en-
sure that the circuitry is working.
Note: This test does not ensure that
your scanner will sound an alert when
the weather service transmits an
emergency signal (see “Weather
Alert” on Page 25). Proper operation
is affected by the strength of the
weather service’s signal.
1. Press 
WX.
2. When the scanner stops on a
weather channel, press 
ALERT.
ALERT appears on the display.
3. Press and hold 
PRIORITY for more
than 2 seconds until the scanner
sounds a loud alarm.
To turn off the alarm, press 
ALERT or
WX.
CONNECTING AN 
EARPHONE
For private listening, plug an earphone
or mono headphones’ 1/8-inch plug
into the   jack on the front of thescanner. This disconnects the internal
speaker.
Note: Your local RadioShack store
has a wide selection of earphones and
headphones.
Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these
guidelines when you use an earphone
or headphone.
• Do not listen at extremely high
volume levels. Extended high-vol-
ume listening can lead to perma-
nent hearing loss.
• Set the volume to the lowest set-
ting before you begin listening.
After you begin listening, adjust
the volume to a comfortable level.
• 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
discomfort might still damage your
hearing.
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							12
Traffic Safety
Do not wear an earphone or head-
phones while operating a motor vehi-
cle. This can create a traffic hazard
and can be illegal in some areas.
Even though some earphones and
headphones let you hear some out-
side sounds when listening at normal
volume levels, they still can present a
traffic hazard.
CONNECTING AN 
AMPLIFIED EXTENSION 
SPEAKER
In a noisy area, an amplified extension
speaker might provide more comfort-
able listening. Plug the speaker ca-
ble’s 
1/8-inch (3.5 mm) mini plug into
the scanner’s   jack. This discon-
nects the internal speaker.
Note: RadioShack stores sell an am-
plified communications extension
speaker.
INSTALLING AN 
OPTIONAL CTCSS 
TONE BOARD
The scanner’s CTCSS (Continuous
Tone Control Squelch System) feature
lets you choose to listen only to trans-
missions that transmit one of 38 stan-
dard CTCSS tones. To use CTCSS,
you must install an optional CTCSS
tone board (Cat. No. 20-0031).
Cautions:
• Make sure the scanner is off and
disconnect the power before you
install a CTCSS tone board.
• Discharge static electricity buildup
by touching a metal object before
you open the scanner.
1. Use a Phillips screwdriver to
remove the two side screws on
the scanner ’s top cover and three
screws on the bottom.
Caution: The scanner’s speaker
is attached to the top cover and
the circuit board. Use care when
you remove the top cover to not
damage the speaker or its con-
nector.
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2. Remove the scanner ’s top cover.
3. Gently plug the CTCSS board into
sockets 
J9 and J10 on the top of
the scanner ’s circuit board.
4. Replace the scanner’s top cover,
then replace the two side screws
and three bottom screws.
Note: For information about using
CTCSS, see “Using CTCSS” on
Page 30.
CTCSS BORDCTCSS Board
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							14
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCANNER
A LOOK AT THE KEYBOARD
A quick glance at this section should help you understand each key’s function(s).
VOLUME — rotate to turn the scanner
on or off and adjust the volume.
SQUELCH — rotate to adjust the
squelch.
AUTO — lets you automatically pro-
gram frequencies into banks; sets the
the scanner to scan banks from the
lowest to the highest frequency.
H/S-PRIORITY — sets and turns on
and off priority for a particular channel;
turns on and off Hypersearch.
REVIEW — lets you review locked-out
channels or search skip memory.
TRANSFER — transfers the contents
of a channel to an empty or desired
channel, or exchanges the contents of
two channels.
MODE — selects the modulation mode
(AM and FM) function.
DATA — turns on or off data skip.
AT T — turns on or off the attenuator to
let you limit reception to strong, local
transmitters.
ALERT — sets the scanner to the
weather alert mode.
COUNT — sets the scanner to display
the number of times the scanner de-
tected a transmission on a channel
since you turned the scanner on.
CTCSS — lets you use the optional
CTCSS mode if you installed a
CTCSS tone board.
WX — starts scanning the weather fre-
quencies.
LIMIT — starts a limit search.
CLEAR — clears an incorrect entry.
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							15
Number Keys — each key has a sin-
gle digit with a range of numbers print-
ed above it. The single digits are used
to enter the number of a channel or
frequency. The range of numbers (21–
40, for example) indicates the chan-
nels that make up a memory bank.
See “Understanding Channel-Storage
Banks” on Page 17.
• — enters a decimal point when you
set a frequency.
E — enters the frequency when you
program channels.
s and t — select the search direction.
SCAN — scans through programmed
channels.
MANUAL — stops scanning and lets
you directly enter a channel number.
PROGRAM — programs frequencies
into channels.
MONITOR — accesses the 10 monitor
memories. See “Moving a Frequency
from a Monitor Memory to a Channel”
on Page 23.
DELAY — programs a 2-second delay
for the selected channel and turns on
or off the delay during a limit or direct
search or weather scan.
LOCKOUT-S/S — lets you lock out a
selected channel, or skip a specified
frequency during a limit or direct
search.
FREQ/CHAN-LOCK — selects the rota-
ry tuner’s mode — frequency tuning,
channel tuning, or locked.
Rotary Tuner — turn to tune through
channels or frequencies. Turn the ro-
tary tuner faster to increase the tuning
speed.
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							16
A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY
The display has several indicators that show the scanner’s current operating mode.
A good look at the display will help you understand how your scanner operates.
MON — appears during a search or
when you listen to a monitor memory.
The number to the right of this shows
the current monitor memory number.
See “Listening to Monitor Memories”
on Page 23.
FREQ, CHAN, LOCK — shows the
rotary tuner’s current setting.
BANK — shows which channel-
storage banks are turned on. See “Un-
derstanding Channel-Storage Banks”
on Page 17.
HYPER — appears when you scan
channels or when the scanner is in the
Hypersearch mode during limit
search, direct search, and auto store.
AUTO — appears when the scanner is
in the auto store mode or when the
auto sort function is turned on.
COUNT — appears when you use the
scanner’s count feature.
CTCSS — 
appears when the CTCSS
feature is turned on.
DATA — appears when you turn on
the data skip feature.
FM/AM — shows the current modula-
tion mode; flashes when you override
the default mode.
P — appears when you listen to a pri-
ority channel.
CH — digits that precede this indicator
show which of the 200 channels the
scanner is tuned to.
ATT — appears when the attenuator
is turned on.
MHz — the large digits that precede
this indicator show which frequency
the scanner is tuned to.
SCAN — appears when you scan
channels.
MAN — appears when you manually
select a channel.
PGM — appears while you program
frequencies into the scanner’s chan-
nels.
PRI — appears when you set the
scanner to scan the selected priority
channels every 2 seconds.
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L/O — appears when you manually 
select a locked channel or a skipped
frequency.
DLY — appears when you program a
channel for a 2-second delay or when
you listen to a channel that has been
programmed with the delay feature.
Also, the indicator appears when you
turn on the delay feature during a limit
or direct search or weather scan.
WX — appears when the scanner is
searching the weather band frequen-
cies.
ALERT — appears when the scanner
is set to respond to a weather alert
tone.
s and t — indicate the search direc-
tion.
SEARCH — appears during a limit
search (
-L- also appears), direct fre-
quency search (
-d- also appears),
weather frequency search, auto store
mode, hold direct search (
-h- also
appears), and hold limit search (
-H-
also appears).
UNDERSTANDING 
CHANNEL-STORAGE 
BANKS
You can store up to 210 frequencies
into your scanner’s memory. You
store each frequency into either a
memory called a channel, or a tempo-
rary memory called a monitor. This
scanner has 200 channel memories
and 10 monitor memories.
Channel-Storage Banks
To make it easier to identify and select
the channels you want to listen to,
channels are divided into 10 channel-
storage banks of 20 channels each.
Use each channel-storage bank to
group frequencies, such as the police
department, the fire department, am-
bulance services, or aircraft (see
“Guide to the Action Bands” on
Page 34).
For example, the police department
might use four frequencies, one for
each side of town. You could program
the police frequencies starting with
Channel 1 (the first channel in Bank 1)
and then program fire department fre-
quencies starting with Channel 21 (the
first channel in Bank 2).
MONITOR MEMORIES
The scanner also has 10 monitor
memories. You can use these memo-
ries to temporarily store frequencies
while you decide whether or not to
save them into channels. This is
handy for quickly storing an active fre-
quency when you search through an
entire band. See “Searching For and
Temporarily Storing Active Frequen-
cies” on Page 19.
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OPERATION
TURNING ON THE 
SCANNER/SETTING 
VOLUME AND SQUELCH
1. Rotate VOLUME 1/4 turn clockwise
to turn on the scanner.
2. Rotate 
SQUELCH fully counter-
clockwise.
3. Slowly turn 
SQUELCH clockwise
until the hissing stops.
Note: To hear a weak or distant sta-
tion, turn 
SQUELCH counterclockwise.
You might hear hissing, but you will
not miss any transmissions. If you turn
SQUELCH too far counterclockwise,
the scanner does not search or scan.
USING THE ROTARY 
CONTROL
The rotary control has three modes
that you select using the 
FREQ/CHAN-
LOCK
 button. To select the control’s
mode, repeatedly press 
FREQ/CHAN-
LOCK
 until the scanner displays the
desired mode.
FREQ — the rotary control steps
through frequencies during a search.
CHAN — the rotary control steps
through the programmed channels.
LOCK — the rotary control does not
operate. Use this setting to help pre-
vent accidentally changing the chan-
nel or frequency.
STORING FREQUENCIES
You can store up to 200 frequencies
into your scanner’s channels. Good
frequency references are Ra-
dioShack’s “Police Call Guide includ-
ing Fire and Emergency Services,”
“Official Aeronautical Frequency Di-
rectory,” and “Maritime Frequency Di-
rectory.” These directories are
updated every year, so be sure to get
a current copy.
If you do not have a frequency refer-
ence for your area, you can use a limit
or direct search to find transmissions.
See “Searching For and Temporarily
Storing Active Frequencies” on
Page 19 or “Guide to the Action
Bands” on Page 34.
Follow these steps to manually store
frequencies.
1. Press 
PROGRAM. PGM appears
on the display.
2. Enter the number for the channel
where you want to store a fre-
quency.
Note: You can enter the channel
number using any of the following
methods:
• Use the number keys to enter
the channel number, then press
PROGRAM.
•Press 
PROGRAM to increment
the channel number one step at
a time.
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•Press FREQ/CHAN-LOCK until
the 
CHAN indicator appears.
Turn the rotary tuner to select
the desired channel.
3. Enter a frequency (including the
decimal point).
4. Press 
E to store the frequency.
Notes:
• If you made a mistake in Step
3, the scanner displays 
Error
and beeps three times. Press
CLEAR, then proceed again
from Step 3.
• Your scanner rounds frequen-
cies down to the next valid fre-
quency. For example, if you
enter 151.473, the scanner
accepts this as 151.470.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 to program
more channels.
SEARCHING FOR AND 
TEMPORARILY STORING 
ACTIVE FREQUENCIES
You can search for frequencies using
a limit or direct search, then tempo-
rarily store frequencies into monitor
memories.
Limit Search
A limit search lets you search for ac-
tive transmissions within a specified
range of frequencies.Note: You can use the scanner’s de-
lay feature during a limit search (see
“Delay” on Page 26).
Follow these steps to search for active
frequencies.
1. Press 
PROGRAM, then LIMIT. Lo
and a frequency appear on the
display.
2. Using the number keys, enter the
lowest frequency (including the
decimal point) you want to search,
then press 
E.
Notes:
• To use the rotary tuner to enter
the frequency, turn it clockwise
or counterclockwise until the
desired frequency appears,
then press 
E.
• If you enter an invalid fre-
quency, the scanner displays
Error. To correct this, simply
repeat the step.
3. Press 
LIMIT. Hi and a frequency
appear on the display.
4. Using the number keys or the
rotary tuner, enter the highest fre-
quency you want to search, then
press 
E.
5. Press 
s to search up from the
lower to the upper limit, or press 
t
to search down from the upper to
the lower limit. 
–L–, SEARCH,
and s or t appear, and the next
available monitor memory flashes
on the display.
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6. When the scanner finds a trans-
mission, you can:
• Store the displayed frequency
into the current monitor memory
— quickly press 
MONITOR.
• Lock out the frequency so the
scanner does not stop on it
again — press 
S/S. The scan-
ner resumes searching.
• Continue the search without
storing it or locking it out —
press 
s or t.
• Hold the scanner on the fre-
quency — press 
LIMIT or turn
the rotary tuner either way one
click. 
-H- appears.
Notes: 
• You can press 
s or t while the
scanner displays 
-H- to step
through the frequencies toward
the upper or lower limits.
• If you tune to a search skip fre-
quency, the scanner displays
L/O (see “Search Skip” on
Page 21).
• If you program all frequencies
within a limit search range as
search skip frequencies, the
scanner goes to the hold mode.
-H- appears on the display.
• During the limit search, you can
change the modulation (NFM or
AM). See “Changing the Modu-
lation Mode” on Page 28.
Press 
LIMIT again or press and
hold 
s or t for more than 1 second
to resume the limit search.
Direct Search
A direct search lets you specify a
starting frequency, then search for ac-
tive transmissions above or below the
specified frequency.
Note: You can use the delay feature
during a direct search (see “Delay”).
1. Press 
MANUAL.
2. Using the number keys, enter the
frequency (including the decimal
point) you want to start the search
from; or, enter the channel num-
ber containing the starting fre-
quency and press 
MANUAL or
PROGRAM to select the channel.
3. Press 
s to search up or t to search
down starting from the specified
frequency. 
-d-, SEARCH, and s
or t appear, and the next available
monitor memory flashes.
Note: If you enter an invalid fre-
quency, 
Error appears on the
display. To correct this, repeat
Steps 2 and 3.
4. When the scanner finds an active
frequency, you can do one of the
following:
• Store the frequency into the
current monitor memory —
quickly press 
MONITOR.
• Lock out the frequency so the
scanner does not stop on it
again — press 
S/S. The scan-
ner resumes searching.
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