PRO-2005
(200-0144) A General Guide To Scanning Faxback Doc. # 48730
Birdies
Birdies are the products of internally generated signals that make some
frequencies difficult or impossible to receive. 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 clock-
wise to cut out the birdie. The most common birdies to watch for are listed
below.
Birdie Frequencies:
44.360Mhz 208.000MHz 767.400MHz 953.250MHz 1232.600MHz
48.045 220.750 769.800 1015.000 1240.250
59.500 244.250 803.550 1017.500 1243.050
70.235 249.750 805.950 1026.000 1245.850
73.930 278.4375 815.600 1052.750 1248.650
76.770 279.1875 818.000 1088.875 1258.500
79.435 298.0625 822.250 1098.250 1260.000
79.800 298.8125 851.875 1104.250 1262.750
80.520 309.800 854.375 1109.750 1272.350
83.170 310.600 858.875 1112.500 1275.150
84.260 327.500 867.9375 1163.6875 1277.950
85.020 342.000 900.0625 1166.4375 1280.750
86.865 342.800 902.5625 1169.1875 1288.400
122.375 366.000 905.0625 1203.3125 1291.200
122.875 366.750 916.125 1206.0625 1294.400
130.9375 464.250 918.625 1208.8125 1296.800
144.135 465.250 921.125 1224.200
155.125 488.375 948.250 1227.000
203.500 501.4375 950.750 1229.800
Cross Modulation
When using an external antenna, a strong frequency close to the reception
frequency might cause cross modulation (like cross talk). Set the ATT
switch on the back panel to -10 dB to minimize cross modulation.
Reception Notes
Reception on the frequencies covered by your scanner is mainly "line of
sight". That means you usually cannot hear stations that are located beyond
the horizon.
During the summer months you may be able to hear stations in the 30-50 MHz
range located several hundred or even thousand of miles away. This is
because of summer atmospheric conditions. This type of reception is
unpredictable but often very interesting!
One very useful service is the National Weather Service's continuous
weather broadcasts. These broadcasts contain weather forecasts and data
for the area around the station, plus bulletins on any threatening weather
conditions. These stations use three frequencies: 162.40, 162.475, and
162.55 MHz. In most areas of the country, you can receive one of these
frequencies.
GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS
With the right frequencies programmed into your scanner, you can monitor
exciting events. With a little investigation, you can find active
frequencies in your community. We can give you some general pointers, and
you can take it from there. Please use caution and common sense when you
hear an emergency call. Never go to the scene of an emergency - it could
be the most dangerous thing you could ever do.
Find out if there is a local club that monitors your community's
frequencies. Perhaps a local electronics repair shop that works on
equipment similar to your scanner can give you channel frequencies used by
local radio services. A volunteer police or fire employee can also be a
good source for this information.
As a general rule on VHF, most activity concentrates between 153.785 and
155.98 MHz and then again from 153.73 to 159.46 MHz. Here you find local
government, police, fire and most such emergency services. If you are near
a railroad yard or major railroad tracks, look around 160.0 to 161.9 for
signals.
In some larger cities, there has been a move to the UHF bands for emergency
services. Here, most of the activity is in a spread of 453.025 - 453.95
MHz and again between 456.025 - 459.95 MHz.
In the UHF band, mobile units and control units associated with base and
repeater units occur in the overall spreads of 456.025 - 459.95 and
465.025-469.975. The repeater units operate 5 MHz lower (that is, 451.025
- 454.95 and 460.025 0 464.975 MHz) than the base units. This means that
if you find an active frequency inside one of these spreads, you can look
5MHz higher (or lower, as the case may be) to find that radio service.
A new technology is now available that allows the use of the 800 MHz band
for many services. Some public safety agencies use trunked radio,
introduced to business systems in 1979. With as many as twenty channels
available, the transmitter automatically selects an unused channel each
time it is activated. Several agencies can share such a system without
causing interference. This system can also be programmed to provide secure
communications for selected units, with unselected units unable to hear the
message.
Frequencies in different bands are accessible only at specific intervals.
However, the frequencies that you can store into your scanner's memory are
in 5 kHz, 12.5 kHz or 50 kHz steps. Your scanner automatically rounds the
entered frequency down to the nearest valid frequency. For example, if you
try to enter the frequency 151.473, your scanner accepts this entry as
151.470.
TYPICAL BAND USAGE
The following is a brief listing of the typical services using the
frequencies your Pro-2005 can receive. This listing can help you decide
which ranges you would like to scan. 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.
GUIDE TO FREQUENCIES
BA...........................................Remote Broadcast (Radio & TV)
CA..................................................General Mobile (Radio)
CAP.......................................................Civil Air Patrol
IB................................................................Business
IF.........................................................Forest Products
IM.................................................Motion Picture Industry
IP......................................................Petroleum Industry
IS........................Special Industrial (Construction, Farming, etc.)
IT...................................................Telephone Maintenance
IW...............................................Power and Water Utilities
IX...........................................................Manufacturers
IY.......................................Relay Press (newspaper reporters)
LA.......................................Automotive Emergency (tow trucks)
LJ..................................................Motor Carriers, Trucks
LR................................................................Railroad
LU...................................................Motor Carriers, Buses
LX....................................................................Taxi
MC...............................Maritime Limited Coast (private stations)
MG.......................................Maritime Government (Coast Guard)
MP................................Maritime Public Coast (marine telephone)
MS.......................................................Maritime Shipyard
PF....................................................................Fire
PH.....................................................Highway Maintenance
PL........................................................Local Government
PM........................................................Medical Services
PO...................................................Forestry Conservation
PP..................................................................Police
PS.......................................................Special Emergency
RA.............................................Mobile Telephone (Aircraft)
RC.................................Mobile Telephone (radio common carrier)
RT...................................Mobile Telephone (landline companies)
BIFC..........................................Boise Interagency Fire Cache
Government Agencies:
UAF..............................................................Air Force
UAR...................................................................Army
UBW............................International Boundary & Water Laboratories
UCE....................................Environmental Research Laboratories
UCF.............................................Maritime Fisheries Service
UCG............................................................Coast Guard
UCM................................................Maritime Administration
UCO...........................................................Ocean Survey
UCP................................................National Capitol Police
UCW...............................................National Weather Service
UCX.................................................Department of Commerce
UEP........................................Environmental Protection Agency
UER...................................................Department of Energy
UFA........................................Federal Aviation Administration
UFC......................................Federal Communications Commission
UGC..............................................Soil Conservation Service
UGF.........................................................Forest Service
UGS........................................General Services Administration
UGX..............................................Department of Agriculture
UHW................................Department of Health and Human Services
UIB........................................Bonneville Power Administration
UIF.................................Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife
UIG......................................................Geological Survey
UII...............................................Bureau of Indian Affairs
UIL..............................................Bureau of Land Management
UIM........................................................Bureau of Mines
UIP..................................................National Park Service
UIR..................................................Bureau of Reclamation
UIS......................................Southwestern Power Administration
UIX.............................................Department of the Interior
UNO.........................................................United Nations
UNS...................................................................NASA
UPO.........................................................Postal Service
USA................................................Federal Government Misc
USD.......................................................State Department
USN...................................................................Navy
UTC......................................................Bureau of Customs
UTM.....................................................Bureau of the Mint
UTR...........................................Department of Transportation
UTV.............................................Tennessee Valley Authority
UTX....................................................Treasury Department
UVA................................................Veterans Administration
UXX.............................................................Classified
30 - 50 MHz BAND
30.00 - 30.55..........................................USA,UAR,USN,UCG,UAF
30.58 - 31.98...............................................IS,IP,IB,LU,PO
32.00 - 32.99..................................USA,UAR,USN,UCG,UGX,UAF,UIR
33.02 - 33.98............................................PS,PH,IS,IB,IP,PF
34.01 - 34.99..........................UCG,UER,USA,UAR,UAF,USN,UGX,UIP,UIF
35.02 - 35.98............................................IB,IT,RC,RT,IS,PS
36.01 - 36.99...............UIX,UER,USA,UAR,USN,UTR,UCO,IP,UHW,UGF,UGX,UAF
37.02 - 37.98...............................................PP,PL,IQ,PH,PS
38.27 - 38.99..........................USA,USN,UGX,UGF,UAR,UAF,UIX,UTX,UVA
39.02 - 39.98........................................................PP,PL
40.01 - 41.99............UIA,UAR,IP,UAF,USA,UVA,UER,USN,UIF,UIR,UTV,UIM,IP
UIX,UEP,UCG,UIL BIFC,UHW,UTX
42.02 - 42.94...........................................................PP
42.96 - 43.68............................................IB,IS,IT,RC,RT,PS
43.70 - 44.60........................................................LU,LJ
44.62 - 46.58............................................PP,PO,PL,PH,PF,PS
46.61 - 46.99.................................USA,UIL,BIFC,UAF,UAR,UGX,UGF
47.02 - 49.58............................................PH,PS,IS,IW,IF,IP
49.61 - 49.99..............................UIL,UAR,UGC,UAF,UAR,UGX,UGF,USA
150 - 173 MHz BAND
150.775 - 151.985.....................................PM,LA,IF,PH,PO,IS,IB
152.0075- 152.840........................................PM,RC,LX,IF,IB,RT
152.870 - 153.725........................................IM,IS,IP,IX,IF,IW
153.740 - 156.240.....................................PL,PF,IS,IB,PP,PM,PH
156.255 - 157.450........................................IP,MC,MS,MG,MP,PM
157.470 - 158.700.........................LA,LX,IF,IS,IB,RT,IW,IP,IX,IT,RC
158.730 - 159.480...........................................PP,PL,PH,PO,IP
159.495 - 161.565....................................................LR,LJ
161.580 - 162.000..............................................IP,MC,BA,MP
162.025 - 173.9875.........................UIL,UAR,UGC,UAF,UAR,UGX,UGF,USA
406 - 512 MHz BAND
406.125 - 419.975...............................................Misc.Govt.
450.050 - 450.925.......................................................BA
451.000 - 451.700...........................................IW,IF,IP,IT,IX
451.725 - 452.175..............................................IS,IF,IP,LX
452.200 - 452.950..............................................LX,LJ,LR,LA
452.975 - 453.975........................................IY,PL,PH,PF,PO,PP
454.000 - 457.600........................................IP,RC,RT,RA,BA,IB
458.025 - 467.925...............................PM,PP,IB,IX,IF,IP,IT,IW,GM
482.000 - 508.9875.....................................Mixed Public Safety
Unlike the lower bands, frequencies in the 800 MHz band are not allocated
by the FCC to specific services such as Police, Fire, Ambulance, and so on.
In each area, the channels are licensed on a first-come, first served
basis. There are two categories for licensing: Public Safety and
Industrial. Systems using one to five channels might use trunked service,
but all systems with more than five channels must use a trunked service.
851.0125 - 855.9875...................................Conventional Systems
856.0125 - 860.9875................................Conventional or Trunked
861.0000 - 865.9875........................................Trunked Systems
866.0000 - 869.9999.....................................Reserved-Satellite
You might discover one of your regular stations on another frequency that
is not listed. It might be known as an "image." For example, you
suddenly find 453.2750 also on 474.8750. To see if it is an image, do a
little math. Double the intermediate frequency of 10.7 MHz and subtract
that number (21.4 MHz) from the new frequency. If the answer is the
regular frequency, you have tuned to an image. 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.
(07/13/98)
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