PRO-70 50 Channel Portable Scanner
(200-0310) General Guide to Scanning Faxback Doc. # 39173
Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanner is mainly
"line-of-sight." This 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 it.
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 Ham radio operators normally use:
Wavelength (meters) Frequency (MHz)
10-meter 29.000 - 29.700
6-meter 50.000 - 54.000
2-meter 144.000 - 148.000
70-cm 420.000 - 450.000
Note: Your scanner cannot receive AM 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
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.
The birdie frequencies on this unit to watch for are:
29.900 30.455 30.735 31.480
32.090 32.530 33.580 38.400
51.200 51.225 140.800 143.430
144.000 147.200 153.600 156.800
160.000 162.200 166.400
To find the birdies in your scanner, 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 scanner. Use the search function and scan
every frequency band 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 particular scanner for future reference.
GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS
United States Broadcast Bands
In the United States, there are several broadcast bands. The standard AM
and FM bands are probably the most well known. There are also four
television audio broadcast bands - the lower three transmit on the VHF band
and the fourth transmits on the UHF band.
Typical Band Usage
HF Band (3.00-30.0 MHz)
10-Meter Amateur..................................... 29.00-29.70 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
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)
Military Aircraft.................................. 380.00-384.00 MHz
U.S. Government.................................... 406.00-420.00 MHz
70-Centimeter Amateur.............................. 420.00-450.00 MHz
Low Range.......................................... 450.00-470.00 MHz
FM-TV Audio Broadcast,
Wide Band.......................................... 470.00-512.00 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
Relay Repeater Units 460.025-464.975 MHz
Remote 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:
Frequency Range(s) Specified Interval
29-54 and 137-144 MHz 5.0 kHz steps
380-512 12.5 kHz steps
Note: Your scanner automatically rounds the entered frequency down to the
closest valid frequency. For example, if you try to enter 151.473,
your scanner accepts this as 151.470.
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 complete listing, refer to Police Call Radio Guide Including Fire and
Emergency Services, available at your local RadioShack 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 and 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 and 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
37.070-37.980................................. 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
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, MAR, 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 Mics
169.500....................................... GOVT
169.505....................................... Wireless Mics
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 Mics
170.350-170.400............................... GOVT, MIL
170.425-170.450............................... BIFC
170.475....................................... PUB
170.4875-173.175.............................. GOVT, PUB, Wireless Mics
173.225-173.375............................... MOV, NEWS, UTIL
173.3875-173.5375............................. MIL
173.5625-173.5875............................. MIL Medical/Crash Crews
173.60-173.9875............................... GOVT
Ultra High Frequency (UHF) (300 MHz - 3 GHz)
Military Aircraft Band (319.1 - 383.9 MHz)
380.000-383.900............................... Coast Guard
U.S. Government Band (406 - 450 MHz)
406.125-419.975............................... GOVT, USXX
70-cm Amateur Band (420-0450 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 20 in 6 MHz steps)
475.750....................................... Channel 14
481.750....................................... Channel 15
487.750....................................... Channel 16
493.750....................................... Channel 17
499.750....................................... Channel 18
505.750....................................... Channel 19
512.000....................................... Channel 20
Note: Some cities use the 470-512 MHz band for land/mobile service.
AVOIDING IMAGE FREQUENCIES
You might discover one of your regular stations on another frequency that
is not listed. This might be what is known as an image frequency. For
example, your might find a service that regularly uses a frequency of
453.275 also on 474.675.
To see if it an image, do a little math.
Note the new frequency. 474.675
Double the intermediate frequency of 10.7 MHz (21.400)
and subtract it from the new frequency. -21.400
_______
If the answer is the regular frequency, then you have
tuned to an image. 453.275
Occasionally you might get interference on a weak or distant channel from
a strong broadcast 21.4 MHz below the tuned frequency. This is rare, 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 the number of MHz by 1,000:
30.62 MHz x 1000 = 30,620 kHz
To convert kHz to MHz, divide the number of kHz by 1,000:
127.800 kHz / 1000 = 127.8 MHz
To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz.
300 / 50 MHz = 6 meters
(km-04/25/1997)
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