RadioShack Pro 2049 Programmable Scanner Owners Manual

							Cat. No. 20-419
OWNER’S MANUAL
PRO-2049
90-Channel Direct Entry
Programmable Scanner
Please read before using this equipment.
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							2
FEATURES
Your RadioShack PRO-2049 90-
Channel Direct Entry Programmable
Scanner lets you in on all the action!
This scanner gives you direct access
to over 23,000 frequencies, including
those used by police and fire depart-
ments, ambulance and transportation
services, government agencies, and
amateur radio services. You can se-
lect up to 90 channels to scan and you
can change selections at any time. 
The scanner’s frequency bands let
you search specific, preset ranges of
frequencies quickly and easily.
Your scanner has all these special
features:
Weather Band Key
 — scans seven
preprogrammed weather channels to
keep you informed about current
weather conditions.
Three 30-Channel Storage Banks
 —
let you store 30 channels in each of
three banks to group channels so calls
are easier to identify.
Three Monitor Memories
 — let you
temporarily save three frequencies lo-
cated during a frequency search, so
you can decide if you want to move
them to permanent channel storage.
Priority Channels
 — let you set the
scanner to check up to three channels
every 2 seconds so you do not miss
important calls.Band Search
 — lets you quickly and
easily search preset frequency rang-
es, so you can find new and unlisted
broadcasts. 
Direct Search 
— 
lets you search for a
transmission starting from a specified
frequency.
Search Skip
 — lets you select up to
20 frequencies for the scanner to skip
during a search, so you can search
more efficiently.
Two-Second Channel Scan/Search
Delay
 — lets you set the scanner so it
delays scanning or searching for 2
seconds before moving to another
channel/frequency, so you can hear
more replies.
Lock-Out 
— keeps channels you se-
lect from being scanned, so you can
skip over busy channels such as
those with a continuous transmission.
Key Confirmation Tones
 — the
scanner sounds a tone when you per-
form an operation correctly and
sounds an error tone if you make an
error.
Memory Backup
 — keeps channel
frequencies stored in memory for 3
days or more during a power loss.
ã 1999 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
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External Speaker Jack 
— lets you
connect an external speaker, or an
earphone or headphones for private
listening.
External Antenna Terminal 
— lets
you connect an external antenna (not
supplied) for improved reception.
Your PRO-2049 scanner can receive
all of these frequencies:
• 29–54 MHz (10-Meter Amateur
Radio, VHF Lo, 6-Meter Amateur) 
• 108–136.975 MHz (Aircraft) 
• 137–174 MHz (Government, 2-
Meter Amateur Radio, VHF Hi) 
• 406–512 MHz (UHF Lo, 70-Centi-
meter Amateur Radio, Govern-
ment, UHF “T” Band) This table shows the preset frequency
steps your scanner uses for each fre-
quency range.
Note: 
The frequency steps are preset.
You cannot change them.
Your scanner can also receive these
preprogrammed weather channel fre-
quencies:
• 162.400 MHz
• 162.425 MHz
• 162.450 MHz
• 162.475 MHz
• 162.500 MHz
• 162.525 MHz
• 162.550 MHz
We recommend you record your scan-
ner’s serial number here. The number
is on the scanner’s bottom panel.
Serial Number _________________ 
Freq. Range 
(MHz)Freq. Step 
(kHz)
29.000
-54.000 5
108.000
-136.975 12.5
137.000
-144.000 5
144.000
-148.000 5
148.000
-174.000 5
406.000
-450.000 12.5
450.000
-470.000 12.5
470.000
-512.000 12.5
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FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might cause TV or radio
interference even when it is operating
properly. To determine whether your
scanner is causing the interference,
turn off your scanner. If the interfer-
ence goes away, your scanner is
causing it. Try to eliminate the interfer-
ence by:
• moving your scanner away from
the receiver
• connecting your scanner to an
outlet that is on a different electri-
cal circuit from the receiver
• contacting your local RadioShack
store for help
If you cannot eliminate the interfer-
ence, the FCC requires that you stop
using your scanner. 
SCANNING LEGALLY
Your scanner covers frequencies
used by many different groups includ-
ing police and fire departments, ambu-
lance services, government agencies,
private companies, amateur radio ser-
vices, military operations, pager ser-
vices, and wireline (telephone and
telegraph) service providers. It is legal
to listen to almost every transmission
your scanner can receive. However,
there are some transmissions you
should never intentionally listen to.
These include: • telephone conversations (cellular,
cordless, or other private   means
of telephone signal transmission) 
• pager transmissions 
• any scrambled or encrypted trans-
missions 
According to the Electronic Communi-
cations Privacy Act (ECPA), you are
subject to fines and possible imprison-
ment for intentionally listening to, us-
ing, or divulging the contents of such a
transmission unless you have the con-
sent of a party to the communication
(unless such activity is otherwise ille-
gal). 
This scanner has been designed to
prevent reception of illegal transmis-
sions. This is done to comply with the
legal requirement that scanners be
manufactured so 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 al-
low it to pick up transmissions that it is
not legal to listen to. Doing so could
subject you to legal penalties.
We encourage responsible, legal
scanner use.
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							5
CONTENTS
Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Removing the Display Protector  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Connecting an Antenna   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Connecting the Supplied Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Connecting an Outdoor Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Connecting Power  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
Connecting an External Speaker   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
Listening Safely  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
Understanding Your Scanner  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
A Look at the Front Panel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
A Look at the Display   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
Understanding Banks and Bands   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
Channel-Storage Banks   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
Monitor Memories  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
Frequency Bands   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
Turning On the Scanner/Setting Volume and Squelch   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
Resetting the Scanner   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
Manually Storing Frequencies Into Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
Searching For and Temporarily Storing Active Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
Band Search  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
Direct Search   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
Listening to Monitor Memories   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
Moving a Frequency from a Monitor Memory to a Channel   . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
Deleting a Frequency from a Channel   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
Scanning Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
Manually Selecting a Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
Special Features   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
Delay  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
Skipping Frequencies/Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
Removing Skip from Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
Removing Skip from Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
Priority  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
Listening to the Weather Band   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
Turning the Key Tone On or Off  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
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A General Guide to Scanning  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Ham Radio Frequencies   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
National Weather Frequencies   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Birdie Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
United States Broadcast Band   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Guide to the Action Bands  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Typical Band Usage   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Primary Usage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Band Allocation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Avoiding Image Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Frequency Conversion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Troubleshooting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Care and Maintenance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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PREPARATION 
This scanner is designed for use in the
home as a base station. You can
place it on any flat surface such as a
desk, shelf, or table.
REMOVING THE 
DISPLAY PROTECTOR
Your scanner’s display is protected
during shipment by a piece of film.
Peel off this film before you use the
scanner.
CONNECTING AN 
ANTENNA
Connecting the Supplied 
Antenna
You must install an antenna before
you can operate the scanner. 
The supplied telescoping antenna
helps your scanner receive strong lo-
cal signals. To install the antenna,
thread it clockwise into the hole on the
scanner’s top.The scanner’s sensitivity depends on
the antenna’s length and various envi-
ronmental conditions. For the best re-
ception of the transmissions you want
to hear, adjust the antenna’s length.
Connecting an Outdoor 
Antenna
Instead of the supplied antenna, you
can connect an outdoor base-station
antenna (not supplied) to your scan-
ner. Your local RadioShack store sells
a variety of antennas. Choose the one
that best meets your needs.
When deciding on a base-station an-
tenna and its location, consider these
points:
• The antenna should be as high as
possible on the house.
• The antenna and its cable should
be as far as possible from sources
of electrical noise (appliances,
other radios, etc.).
• The antenna should be ver tical for
the best performance.
Frequency Antenna Length
29–54 MHz Extend fully
108–174 MHz Collapse one
segment
406–512 MHz Collapse both
segments
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To connect an optional base-station
antenna, first remove the supplied an-
tenna from the scanner. Always use
50-ohm coaxial cable, such as RG-58
or RG-8, to connect the base-station
antenna. For lengths over 50 feet, use
RG-8 low-loss dielectric coaxial cable.
If the antenna cable’s connector does
not fit in the 
ANT. jack, you might also
need an antenna plug adapter such as
RadioShack Cat. No. 278-208. Your
local RadioShack store carries a wide
variety of coaxial antenna cable and
connectors.
Once you choose an antenna, follow
the mounting instructions supplied
with the antenna. Then route the an-
tenna’s cable to the scanner and con-
nect the cable to the 
ANT jack on the
back of the scanner.
Cautions:
• Do not run the cable over sharp
edges or moving parts that might
damage it.
• Do not run the cable next to power
cables or other antenna cables.
• Follow all cautions and warnings
included with your antenna.
CONNECTING POWER
The scanner’s supplied AC adapter
lets you power the scanner from a
standard AC outlet. To connect power
to the scanner, insert the AC adapter’s
barrel plug into the 
AC 10V jack on the
back of the scanner, then plug the AC
adapter into a standard AC outlet.
Warning: 
Do not use the AC adapt-
er’s polarized plug with an extension
cord receptacle unless the blades can
be fully inserted to prevent blade ex-
posure.
Cautions: 
You must use a Class 2 pow-
er source that supplies 10
volts AC and delivers at least
300 mA. Its plug must fit the scanners
AC 10V jack. The supplied adapter
meets these specifications. Using an
adapter that does not meet these
specifications could damage the scan-
ner or the adapter. 
P8
!
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							9
• Use only the supplied AC adapter
to power your scanner. Using
another adapter could damage
your scanner. A replacement
adapter is available by special
order through your local
RadioShack store.
• Be sure to connect the AC adapter
to the scanner before you connect
it to an AC outlet, and disconnect
the AC adapter from the AC outlet
before you disconnect it from the
scanner.
CONNECTING AN 
EXTERNAL SPEAKER
You can connect an optional external
speaker with a 1/8-inch (3.5-mm) plug
to the scanner. Use an 8-ohm external
speaker that can handle at least 2.5
watts of power. Your local Ra-
dioShack store sells scanner accesso-
ries, including external speakers.
Insert the speaker’s plug into the 
EXT.
SP. 
jack on the back of the scanner.Note: 
Plugging in an external speaker
disconnects the scanner’s internal
speaker.
CONNECTING AN 
EARPHONE/
HEADPHONES
You can connect an optional ear-
phone or pair of monaural head-
phones with a 
1/8-inch (3.5-mm) plug
to the scanner. Your local RadioShack
store sells a complete line of ear-
phones and headphones.
Insert the earphone’s or headphones’
plug into the 
EXT. SP. jack on the back
of the scanner.
Note: 
Plugging in an earphone or
headphones disconnects the scan-
ner’s internal speaker.
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Listening Safely
To protect your hearing, follow these
guidelines when you use an earphone
or headphones.
•Set 
OFF/VOLUME to the lowest
setting before you begin listening.
After you put on the earphone or
headphones, adjust 
OFF/VOLUME
to a comfortable level.
• Do not listen at extremely high
volume levels. Extended high-vol-
ume listening can lead to perma-
nent hearing loss.
• Once you set 
OFF/VOLUME, do
not increase it. Over time, your
ears adapt to the volume level, so
a volume level that does not cause
discomfor t might still damage your
hearing.
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