PRO-2045 200-Channel Weather Alert Home Scanner
(200-0418) Scanning Guide Faxback Doc. # 33686
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.
During the summer months, you might be able to hear stations in the 30-50
MHz range located several hundred or even thousands of miles away. This is
because of summer atmospheric conditions. This type of reception is
unpredictable but often very interesting!
GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES
National Weather Service Frequencies
161.650 MHz 162.425 MHz 162.475 MHz 162.550 MHz
161.775 MHz 162.440 MHz 162.500 MHz 163.275 MHz
162.400 MHz 162.450 MHz 162.525 MHz
Ham Radio Frequencies
Ham radio operators often broadcast emergency information when other means
of communication break down.
The following chart shows the voice frequencies that you can monitor.
Wavelength Voice Frequency (MHz)
10-meter 29.000 29.700
6-meter 50.100 54.000
2-meter 144.100 148.000
1 1/4-meter 222.000 225.000
70-centimeter 420.000 450.000
33-centimeter 902.000 928.000
Birdie Frequencies
Birdies are frequencies your scanner uses when it operates. These operating
frequencies might interfere with broadcasts on the same frequencies. If you
tune one of these frequencies, 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. Here are this scanner's birdie
frequencies that you might want to watch for:
29.4900 114.6875 147.4550 405.6000
29.4950 117.9625 147.4600 416.0000
31.2000 124.5250 150.9100 417.1000
36.0450 127.8000 155.1050 456.9260
52.0000 131.0750 156.0000 469.5000
52.4300 134.3500 228.4625 813.4000
108.1375 135.2000 230.5625 820.1125
108.8125 137.6250 232.1000 940.9000
111.4125 140.9050 398.2375 993.5000
114.4000 144.1800
To find the birdies in any 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 search
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 (29.00-30.0 MHz)
10-Meter Amateur.......................................29.00-29.70 MHz
VHF Band (30.00-300.0 MHz)
Low Range..............................................29.70-50.00 MHz
6-Meter Amateur........................................50.00-54.00 MHz
Aircraft.............................................108.00-136.98 MHz
U.S. Government......................................137.00-144.00 MHz
2-Meter Amateur......................................144.00-148.00 MHz
High Range...........................................148.00-174.00 MHz
New Mobile Narrow Band...............................220.00-222.00 MHz
1 1/4 -Meter Amateur.................................222.00-225.00 MHz
Military Aircraft....................................225.00-287.80 MHz
UHF Band (300.00 MHz-3.0 GHz)
Military Aircraft....................................311.00-384.00 MHz
U.S. Government......................................406.00-450.00 MHz
70-Centimeter Amateur................................420.00-450.00 MHz
Low Range............................................450.00-470.00 MHz
Public Service.......................................806.00-823.98 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........................................866.00-869.00 MHz
High Range...........................................894.01-902.00 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.......................952.00-960.00 MHz
Aeronautical Navigation.............................960.00-1000.00 MHz
Primary Usage
As a general rule, most radio activity is concentrated on the following
frequencies:
VHF Band
Activities Frequencies (MHz)
Government, Police, and Fire...........................153.785-155.980
Emergency Services.....................................158.730-159.460
Railroad...............................................160.000-161.900
UHF Band
Land-Mobile Paired Frequencies.........................450.000-470.000
Base Stations..........................................451.025-454.950
Mobile Units...........................................456.025-459.950
Relay Repeater Units...................................460.025-464.975
Remote Control Stations................................465.025-469.975
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 (kHz)
VHF, HAM, and Government...........................................5.0
Aircraft..........................................................25.0
All Others........................................................12.5
NOTE: Your scanner automatically rounds the entered frequency down to the
closest valid frequency. For example, if you try to enter a
frequency of 151.473, your scanner accepts it as 151.470.
(BR/EB 6/20/96)
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