PRO-29 60-Channel Direct Entry Programmable Scanner
(200-0509)                 Guide to Scanning          Faxback Doc. # 33548

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

    161.650*      161.775*       162.400         162.425

    162.440*      162.450        162.475         162.500

    162.525       162.550        163.275*

    *  Not preprogrammed in this scanner, but you can manually program
       them.

Ham Radio Frequencies

Ham radio operators often transmit emergency information when other means
of communication break down.

The following chart shows the frequencies this scanner receives that Hams
normally use:

       Wavelength (meters)        Frequency (MHz)

       10-meter                   28.000-29.700

       6-meter                    50.000-54.000

       2-meter                   144.000-148.000

       70-cm                     420.000-450.000

       33-cm                     902.000-928.000

NOTE:  Your scanner cannot receive some types of transmissions on these
       bands. 

Birdie Frequencies

Every scanner has birdie frequencies.  Birdies are signals created inside
the scanner's receiver.  These operating frequencies might interfere with
broadcasts on the same frequencies.  If you program one of these frequen-
cies, you hear only noise on that frequency.  If the interference is not
severe, you might be able to turn SQUELCH clockwise to cut out the birdie.

The birdie frequencies on this unit to watch for are:

      31.05

      41.40

      51.75

To find the birdies in your receiver, begin by disconnecting the antenna
and moving it away from the receiver.  Make sure that no other nearby
radio or TV sets are turned on near the receiver.  Use the search function
and scan every frequency range from its lowest frequency to the highest.
Occasionally, the searching will stop as if it had found a signal, often
without any sound.  That is a birdie.  Make a list of all the birdies in
your scanner for future reference.

GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS

Typical Band Usage

HF Band (3.00-30.0 MHz)

    10-meter Amateur........................................29-0029.70 MHz

    High Range.............................................29.70-29.90 MHz

VHF Band (30.00-300.0 MHz)

    Low Range..............................................30.00-50.00 MHz

    6-Meter Amateur........................................50.00-54.00 MHz

    Aircraft.............................................108.00-136.97 MHz

    U.S. Government......................................137.00-144.00 MHz

    2-Meter Amateur......................................144.00-148.00 MHz

    High Range...........................................148.00-174.00 MHz

UHF Band (300.00 MHz-3.0 GHz)

    U.S Government.......................................406.00-450.00 MHz

    0.6-Meter Amateur....................................420.00-450.00 MHz

    Low Range............................................450.00-470.00 MHz

    FM-TV Audio Broadcast, Wide Band.....................470.00-512.00 MHz

    Public Service.......................................806.00-823.93 MHz

    Conventional Systems.................................851.00-856.00 MHz

    Conventional/Trunked Systems.........................856.00-861.00 MHz

    Trunked Systems......................................861.00-866.00 MHz

    Public Safety........................................866.00-868.93 MHz

    High Range...........................................896.11-902.00 MHz

    33-Centimeter Amateur................................902.00-928.00 MHz

    Private Trunked......................................935.00-940.00 MHz

    General Trunked......................................940.00-941.00 MHz

    Fixed Services.......................................941.00-944.00 MHz

    Studio-to-Transmitter Broadcast Links................944.00-952.00 MHz

    Private Fixed Services Paging........................952.00-956.00 MHz

Primary Usage

As a general rule, most of the radio activity is concentrated on the
following frequencies.

VHF Band

    Activities                                                 Frequencies

    Government, Police, and Fire.......................153.785-155.980 MHz

    Emergency Services.................................158-730-159.460 MHz

    Railroad...........................................160.000-161.900 MHz

UHF Band

    Activities                                                 Frequencies

    Land-Mobile "Paired" Frequencies...................450.000-470.000 MHz

    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.

Specified Intervals

Frequencies in different bands are accessible only at specific intervals.

For example:

Band Type                                               Specified Interval

VHF, HAM, and Government.....................................5.0 kHz steps

All Others..................................................12.5 kHz steps

Aircraft....................................................25.0 kHz steps

Note:  Your scanner rounds the entered frequency to the nearest valid
       frequency.  For example, if you try to enter 151.473, the scanner
       accepts this as 151.475.

BAND ALLOCATION

To help decide which frequency ranges to scan, use the following listing
of the typical services that use the frequencies your scanner receives.
These frequencies are subject to change, and might vary from area to area.
For a more complete listing, refer to the "Police Call Radio Guide
including Fire and Emergency Services," available at your local Radio
Shack store.

Abbreviations                                                     Services

AIR...............................................................Aircraft

BIFC.....................................Boise (ID) Interagency Fire Cache

BUS...............................................................Business

CAP.......................................................Civil Air Patrol

CB...........................................................Citizens Band

CCA.........................................................Common Carrier

CSB...................................................Conventional Systems

CTSB..........................................Conventional/Trunked Systems

FIRE.......................................................Fire Department

HAM....................................................Amateur (Ham) Radio

GOVT....................................................Federal Government

GMR...................................................General Mobile Radio

GTR........................................................General Trunked

IND....................................................Industrial Services
                   (Manufacturing, Construction, Farming, Forest Products)

MAR.................................................Military Amateur Radio

MARI................................................Maritime Limited Coast
                                           (Coast Guard, Marine telephone,
                                        Shipboard Radio, Private stations)

MARS.......................................Military Affiliate Radio System

MED.............................................Emergency/Medical Services

MIL..........................................................U.S. Military

MOV..........................................Motion Picture/Video Industry

NEW......................................................New Mobile Narrow

NEWS.....................................Relay Press (Newspaper reporters)

OIL.................................................Oil/Petroleum Industry

POL......................................................Police Department

PUB........................................................Public Services
                   Public Safety, Local Government, Forestry Conservation)

PSB..........................................................Public Safety

PTR........................................................Private Trunked

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........................................................Trunked Systems

TVn..................................................FM-TV Audio Broadcast

USXX.................................................Government Classified

UTIL...............................................Power & Water Utilities

WTHR...............................................................Weather

High Frequency (HF) Hi - (3 MHz-30 MHz)

10-Meter Amateur Band - (28.0-29.7 MHz)
29.000-29.700..........................................................HAM

Very High Frequency (VHF)-(30 MHz-300 MHz)

Low Band-(29.7-50 MHz-in 5 kHz steps)

29.700 - 29.790........................................................IND

29.900-30.550....................................................GOVT, MIL

30.580-31.980......................................................IND.PUB

32.000-32.990....................................................GOVT, MIL

33.020-33.980................................................BUS. IND. PUB

34.010-34-990....................................................GOVT. MIL

35.020-35.980..........................................BUS, PUB, IND, TELM

36.000-36.230....................................................GOVT, MIL

36.250..................................................Oil Spill Clean up

36.270-36.990....................................................GOVT, MIL

37.020-37.980.....................................................PUB, IND

38.000-39.000....................................................GOVT, MIL

39.020-39.980..........................................................PUB

40.000-42.000..............................................GOVT, MIL, MARI

42.020-42.940..........................................................POL

42.960-43.180..........................................................IND

43.220-43.680...............................................TELM, IND, PUB

43.700-44.600.........................................................TRAN

44.620-46.580.....................................................POL, PUB

46.600-46.990....................................................GOVT,TELC

47.020-47.400..........................................................PUB

47.420..................................................American Red Cross

47.440-49.580.....................................................IND, PUB

49.610-49.990....................................................MIL, TELC

6-Meter Amateur Band-(50-54 MHz)

50.00-54.00............................................................HAM

Aircraft Band (108-136 MHz)

108.000-121.490........................................................AIR

121.500......................................................AIR Emergency

121.510-136.000........................................................AIR

U.S. Government Band (138-144 MHz)

137.000-144.000..................................................GOVT, MIL

2-Meter Amateur Band (144-148 MHz)

144.000-148.000........................................................HAM

VHF-Hi BAND (148-174 MHz)

148.050-150.345..............................................CAP, MARM MIL

150.775-150.790........................................................MED

150.815-150.965........................................................TOW

150.980.................................................Oil Spill Clean up

150.995-151.130.......................................................ROAD

151.145-151.475........................................................POL

151.490-151.955...................................................IND, BUS

151.985...............................................................TELM

152.0075...............................................................MED

152.030-152.240.......................................................TELB

152.270-152.465..................................................IND, TAXI

152.480................................................................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 Clean-Up

154.600-154.625........................................................BUS

154.655-156.240........................................MED, ROAD, POL, PUB

156.255................................................................OIL

156.275-157.425.......................................................MARI

157.450................................................................MED

157.470-157.515........................................................TOW

157.530-157.725...................................................IND.TAXI

157.740................................................................BUS

157.770-158.100.......................................................TELB

158.130-158.460..................................BUS, IND, OIL, TELM, UTIL

158.490-158.700.......................................................TELB

158.730-159.465.............................................POL, PUB, ROAD

159.480................................................................OIL

159.495-161.565.......................................................TRAN

161.580................................................................OIL

161.600-162.000..................................................MARI, RTV

162.0125-162.35............................................GOVT, MIL, USXX

162.400-162.550.......................................................WTHR

162.5625-162.6375..........................................GOVT, MIL, USXX

162.6625...............................................................MED

162.6875-163.225...........................................GOVT, MIL, USXX

163.250................................................................MED

163.275-166.225............................................GOVT, MIL, USXX

166.250....................................................GOVT, RTV, FIRE

166.275-169.400.................................................GOVT, BIFC

169.445.....................................................Wireless Mikes

169.500...............................................................GOVT

169.505.....................................................Wireless Mikes

169.55-169.9875............................................GOVT, MIL. USXX

170.000...............................................................BIFC

170.025-170.150............................................GOVT, RTV, FIRE

170.175-170.225.......................................................GOVT

170.245-170.305.............................................Wireless Mikes

170.350 170.400..................................................GOVT, MIL

170.425-170.450.......................................................BIFC

170.475................................................................PUB

170.4875-173.175.................................GOVT, PUB, Wireless Mikes

173.225-173.375............................................MOV, NEWS, UTIL

173.3875-173.5375......................................................MIL

173.5625-173-5875..................................MIL Medical/Crash Crews

17360-173.9875........................................................GOVT

U.S. Government Band (406-450 MHz)

406.125-419.975.................................................GOVT, USXX

70-cm Amateur Band (420-450 MHz)

420.000-450.000........................................................HAM

Low Band (450-470 MHz)

450.050-450.925........................................................RTV

451.025-452.025.......................................IND, OIL, TELM, UTIL

452.0375-453.00.................................IND, TAXI, TRAN, TOW, NEWS

453.0125-453.9875......................................................PUB

454.000................................................................OIL

454.025-454.975.......................................................TELB

455.050-455.925........................................................RTV

457.525-457.600........................................................BUS

458.025-458.175........................................................MED

460.0125-460.6375...........................................FIRE, POL, PUB

460.650-462.175........................................................BUS

462.1875-462.450..................................................BUS, IND

462.4625-462.525......................................IND, OIL, TELM, UTIL

462.550-462.725........................................................GMR

462.750-462.925........................................................BUS

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

512.000.........................................................Channel 20

Note:  Some cities use the 470-512 MHz band for land/mobile service.

Conventional Systems band-Locally Assigned

851.0125-855.9875......................................................CSB

Conventional/Trunked Systems Band-Locally Assigned

856.0125-860.9875.....................................................CTSB

Trunked Systems Band-Locally Assigned

861.0125-865.9875......................................................TSB

Public Safety Band-Locally

866.0125-868.9875......................................................PSB

Common Carrier

869-010-894.000........................................................CCA

Private Trunked

935.0125-939.9875......................................................PTR

General Trunked

940.0125-940.9875......................................................GTR

AVOIDING IMAGE FREQUENCIES

You might discover one of your regular stations on another frequency that
is not listed.  It might be what is know as an image frequency.  For
example, you might find a service that regularly uses a frequency of
453.075 also on 474.675.

To see if it is an image, do a little math.

474.675
-21.600
_______
453.075

Note the new frequency.

Double the intermediate frequency of 10.8 MHz (21.600) and subtract it
from the new frequency.

If the answer is the regular frequency, then you have tuned to an image.

Occasionally you might get interference on a weak or distant channel from
a strong broadcast 21.6 MHz below the tuned frequency. This is rate, and
the image signal is usually cleared whenever there is a broadcast on the
actual frequency.

FREQUENCY CONVERSION

The tuning location of a station can be expressed in frequency (kHz or MHz
or in wavelength (meters).  The following information can help you make
the necessary conversions.

    1 MHz (million) = 1,000 kHz (thousand)

To convert MHz to kHz, multiply by 1,000:

    9:62 MHz x 1000 = 9620 kHz

To convert from kHz to MHz, divide by 1,000.

    2780 kHz / 1000 = 2.780 MHz

To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of megahertz.

    300 / 7.1 MHz = 42.25 meters


(BR/EB 6/11/96)

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