RadioShack Pro 91 Handheld Trunking Scanner Owners Manual

							Owner’s ManualCat. No. 20-521
PRO-91 150-Channel
Handheld Trunking Scanner
Please read before using this equipment. 
						

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FEATURES
Your RadioShack PRO-91 150-Channel Handheld
Trunking Scanner is one of a new generation of scan-
ners designed to track Motorola Type I and Type II
(such as Smartnet and Privacy Plus) and hybrid ana-
log trunking systems, which are extensively used in
many 800 MHz communication systems. 
Trunking communications systems let a large group of
2-way radio users (or even different groups of 2-way ra-
dio users) efficiently use a large range of frequencies.
Instead of selecting a specific frequency for a transmis-
sion, the user simply selects a talk group. The trunking
system automatically transmits the call on the first avail-
able frequency, and also sends (on a different frequen-
cy called a data channel) a code that uniquely identifies
that transmission.
Since the trunking system might send a call and its re-
sponse on different frequencies, it is difficult to listen to
trunked communications using a regular scanner. The
PRO-91 lets you select and monitor the data channel
frequency sent with a 2-way radio transmission, so you
can hear the call and response for that user and more
easily “follow” the conversation.
The scanner also lets you scan conventional transmis-
sions, and is preprogrammed with service banks for
convenience. By pressing a single button, you can
quickly search those frequencies most commonly
used by public service and other agencies without te-
dious and complicated programming.
This scanner gives you direct access to over 30,000 ex-
citing frequencies, including police and fire depart-
ments, ambulance services, and amateur radio
services, and you can change your selection at any
time. 
Your scanner also has these special features:
Triple-Conversion Circuitry 
— virtually eliminates
any interference from IF (intermediate frequency) im-
ages, so you hear only the selected frequency. 
© 1998 Tandy Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack is a registered trademark used by Tandy Corporation.
Hypersearch and Hyperscan are trademarks used by
 Tandy Corporation. 
						

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Five Channel-Storage Banks — you can store up to
30 channels in each of 5 different banks to group chan-
nels so you can more easily identify calls.
Five Scan Lists — you can store up to 50 trunking IDs
in each trunk tracking bank.
Two-Second Scan Delay — delays scanning for about
2 seconds before moving to another channel, so you
can hear more replies that are made on the same chan-
nel.
Lock-Out Function — lets you set your scanner to skip
over specified channels or frequencies when scanning
or searching, and skip over IDs when tracking trunked
systems.
Priority Channels — lets you program one channel in
each bank (5 in all) and then have the scanner check
that channel every 2 seconds while it scans the bank,
so you dont miss transmissions on those channels.
Five Service Banks — frequencies are preset in sepa-
rate police (fire/emergency), aircraft, ham, marine, and
weather banks, to make it easy to locate specific types
of calls.
Hypersearch — lets you set the scanner to search at
up to 300 steps per second. The normal search speed
is 100 steps per second.
Hyperscan — the scanner automatically scans up to
50 channels per second in frequency bands with 5 kHz
steps, to help you quickly find interesting broadcasts. 
Key Lock — lets you lock the scanners keys to help
prevent accidental changes to the scanners program-
ming.
Data Signal Skip — lets you set the scanner to skip
non-modulated or data signals (such as fax or modem
transmissions) during searches. This lets the scanner
avoid non-voice signals, making a search faster.
Manual Access — lets you directly access any channel.
Liquid-Crystal Display — makes it easy to view and
change programming information.
Display Backlight — makes the scanner easy to read
in low-light situations. 
						

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Flexible Antenna with BNC Connector — provides
excellent reception and is designed to help prevent an-
tenna breakage. Or, you can connect an external an-
tenna.
Monitor Memories — let you temporarily store up to 5
frequencies or IDs.
Memory Backup — keeps the frequencies stored in
memory for an extended time if the PRO-91 loses pow-
er.
Three Power Options — let you power the scanner
using internal batteries, external AC power using an
optional AC adapter/charger, or DC power using an op-
tional DC cigarette-lighter power cable.
Key Confirmation Tones — the scanner sounds a
tone when you perform an operation correctly, and an
error tone if you make an error.
Battery Save — saves battery power when the scan-
ner does not detect any transmissions for more than 5
seconds when a channel is manually selected.
Battery Low Alert — warns you when battery power
gets low.
Your scanner can receive these bands:
Frequency 
Range (MHz)Step
(kHz)Transmission
29–29.7 5 10-Meter Ham Band
29.7–50 5 VHF Lo
50–54 5 6-Meter Ham Band
108–136.9750 12.5 Aircraft
137–144 5 Military Land Mobile
144–148 5 2-Meter Ham Band
148–174 5 VHF Hi
406–420 12.5 Federal Government
420–450 12.5 70-cm Ham Band
450–470 12.5 UHF Standard Band
470–512 12.5 UHF “T” Band
806–956 12.5 Public Service
“800” Band, except
cellular band 
						

							5 We recommend you record your scanner’s serial num-
ber here. The number is on the back panel.
Serial Number: ___________________________ 
FCC NOTICE
Your scanner might cause radio or TV interference
even when it is operating properly. To determine wheth-
er your scanner is causing the interference, turn off
your scanner. If the interference goes away, your scan-
ner is causing it. Try the following methods to eliminate
the interference:
 Move your scanner away from the receiver 
 Connect your scanner to an outlet that is on a dif-
ferent electrical circuit from the receiver 
 Contact your local RadioShack store for help 
Note:
 Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires
a permit in some areas. Check the laws in your area.
SCANNING LEGALLY
Your scanner covers frequencies used by many differ-
ent groups including police and fire departments, ambu-
lance services, government agencies, private
companies, amateur radio services, military operations,
pager services, 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 transmis-
sion)
 Pager transmissions
 Any scrambled or encrypted transmissions
According to the Electronic Communications Privacy
Act (ECPA), you are subject to fines and possible im-
prisonment for intentionally listening to, using, or divulg-
ing the contents of such a transmission unless you
have the consent of a party to the communication (un-
less such activity is otherwise illegal).
This scanner is designed to prevent reception of illegal
transmissions, in compliance with the law which re- 
						

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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 scanners case to make any
modifications that could allow it to pick up transmis-
sions that it is not legal to listen to. Doing so could sub-
ject you to legal penalties.
We encourage responsible, legal scanner use.
CONTENTS
Preparation ............................................................  10
Power Sources .................................................  10
Using Internal Batteries  ............................  10
Charging Nickel-Cadmium Batteries  .........  12
Using AC Power  .......................................  13
Using Vehicle Battery Power  ....................  14
Connecting the Antenna  ..................................  16
Connecting an Optional Antenna  ..............  16
Connecting an Earphone/Headphones  ............  17
Listening Safely  ........................................  17
Traffic Safety  .............................................  17
Connecting an Extension Speaker ...................  18
Attaching the Belt Clip  ......................................  18
About Your Scanner ..............................................  19
A Look at the Keypad .......................................  20
A Look at the Display  .......................................  21
Understanding Banks .......................................  23
Service Banks  ...........................................  23
Channel Storage Banks  ............................  23
Monitor Memories  .....................................  24
Operation ...............................................................  25
Turning On the Scanner/Setting Squelch .........  25
Storing Known Frequencies into Channels  ......  26
Searching For and Temporarily Storing
       Active Frequencies  ...........................................  27
Limit Search  ..............................................  27
Direct Search  ............................................  28
Service Bank Search  ................................  29
Search Skip Memory  ................................  30
Listening to the Monitor Memories  ...................  31
Moving a Frequency From a Monitor Memory
       to a Channel  .....................................................  31
Scanning the Stored Channels  ........................  32
Manually Selecting a Channel  .........................  32 
						

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Special Features  ....................................................  34
Delay ................................................................  34
Turning Channel-Storage Banks On and Off  ...  34
Locking Out Channels  ......................................  35
Priority ..............................................................  35
Using the Keylock  ............................................  37
Using the Display Backlight ..............................  37
Changing Search Speeds  ................................  37
Turning the Key Tone Off/On  ............................  38
Turning the Battery Save Function Off/On  .......  38
Skipping Data Signals  ......................................  39
Trunk Tracking  .......................................................  40
Types of Trunking Systems  ..............................  40
Setting the Scanner to the
       Trunk Tracking Mode  ........................................  41
Setting Squelch for the Trunk Tracking Mode  ..  42
Storing Trunked Frequencies  ...........................  42
Scanning a Trunked Bank  ................................  44
Monitoring an Active ID  .............................  45
Temporarily Storing an ID into the
               Monitor ID Memory  ...................................  45
Locking Out IDs  ........................................  46
Unlocking a Single ID  ................................  46
Unlocking All IDs  .......................................  46
Using Trunk Tracking Scan Delay  .............  47
Monitoring IDs  ...........................................  47
Channel Activity Bars  .......................................  48
Scan Lists .........................................................  49
Manually Storing IDs into Scan Lists  ........  49
Moving IDs to Scan Lists  ..........................  50
Deleting a Stored ID ..................................  50
Scanning the Scan Lists  ...................................  51
Scanning Type I and Hybrid Trunked
       Systems  ............................................................  51
Selecting a Preset Fleet Map  ....................  55
Programming a Fleet Map  ........................  56
Programming a Hybrid System  .................  57
A General Guide to Scanning  ...............................  58
Guide to Frequencies  .......................................  58
National Weather Frequencies ..................  58
Canadian Weather Frequencies  ...............  58
Birdie Frequencies  ....................................  58
Guide to the Action Bands  ...............................  59
Typical Band Usage  ..................................  59
Primary Usage  ..........................................  59
Band Allocation  ................................................  60 
						

							8Frequency Conversion  63
Troubleshooting   64
Resetting the Scanner  .....................................  67
Care and Maintenance  ..........................................  68
Specifications ........................................................  69 
						

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PREPARATION
POWER SOURCES
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 AA batteries.
For the longest operation and best performance, we
recommend alkaline batteries (such as Cat. No. 23-
552).
You can also use four rechargeable nickel-cadmium
batteries (Cat. No. 23-125). Before you use nickel-cad-
mium batteries, you must charge them (see “Charging
Nickel-Cadmium Batteries” on Page 11).
Follow these steps to install batteries.
1. Turn 
VOLUME/OFF counterclockwise until it clicks
to make sure the power is turned off.
2. Slide up and hold the tab on the back of the scan-
ner, then pull up the battery compartment cover. 
						

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3. If you are installing alkaline batteries, use a
pointed object such as a pencil to set 
ALKALINE
 JACK   NI-CD 
inside the compartment to
ALKALINE. Or, if you are installing nickel-cadmium
batteries, set it to 
NI-CD.
Warning:
 Never set 
ALKALINE  JACK  NI-CD
to NI-CD if you are installing non-rechargeable bat-
teries. Non-rechargeable batteries can get hot or
explode if you try to recharge them.
4. Install two batteries in the compartment and two in
the cover as indicated by the polarity symbols (+
and –) marked inside those locations.
Cautions: 
 Use only fresh batteries of the required size and
recommended type.
 Always remove old or weak batteries. Batteries
can leak chemicals that destroy electronic cir-
cuits.
 Do not mix old and new batteries, different
types of batteries (standard, alkaline, or
rechargeable), or rechargeable batteries of dif-
ferent capacities.
5. Replace the cover.