Pro-89 200-Channel VHF/Air/UHF 800 MHz Handheld Race Scanner
(200-0514) Scanning Guide Faxback Doc. # 60480
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:
1) 162.400 2) 162.425 3) 162.450 4) 162.475
5) 162.500 6) 162.525 7) 162.550
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 Frequency
(Meters) (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
Note: Your scanner cannot receive AM transmissions on these bands.
Birdie Frequencies
Every scanner has birdies frequencies - signals created inside the
scanner's receiver, which 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.
To find the birdies in your scanner:
Disconnect the antenna and move it away from the receiver. Make sure
that no other nearby radio or TV sets are turned on near the scanner.
Search in each 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.
The birdie frequencies (in MHz) to watch for on the PRO-89 are:
30.035 32.100 40.040 41.890
48.050 112.625 120.125 128.1375
136.1375 144.150 150.150 152.1505
160.165 166.200 171.550 384.400
392.4125 400.4125 416.4375 424.4375
429.050 432.450 440.4625 448.4625
464.4875 473.0375 480.500 488.500
496.5125 504.525 808.8375 816.850
822.950 849.8625 856.8875 864.900
897.9625 904.9375 912.950 920.9625
930.0375 944.050 953.000
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 (MHz)
VHF Band:
Low Range: .............................................. 29.00 - 50.00
6-Meter amateur: ........................................ 50.00 - 54.00
Aircraft: .............................................. 108.00 - 136.00
U.S. Government: ....................................... 137.00 - 144.00
2-Meter Amateur: ....................................... 144.00 - 148.00
High Range: ............................................ 148.00 - 174.00
UHF Bands:
Military Aircraft: ..................................... 380.00 - 384.00
U.S. Government: ....................................... 406.00 - 420.00
70-Centimeter Amateur: ................................. 420.00 - 450.00
Low Range: ............................................. 450.00 - 470.00
FM-TV Audio Broadcast, Wide Band: ...................... 470.00 - 512.00
800 Band Law Enforcement: .............................. 806.00 - 824.00
Conventional Systems: .................................. 851.00 - 856.00
Conventional/Trunked Systems: .......................... 856.00 - 861.00
Public Safety: ......................................... 866.00 - 869.00
Trunked Private/General: ............................... 894.00 - 960.00
Primary Usage
As a general rule, most of the radio activity is concentrated on the
following frequencies:
VHF Band:
Activities: Frequencies (MHz)
2-Meter Amateur Band: ................................ 144.000 - 148.000
Government, Police, and Fire: ........................ 153.785 - 155.980
Emergency Services: .................................. 158.730 - 159.460
Railroad: ............................................ 160.000 - 161.900
UHF Band:
Activities: Frequencies (MHz)
70-Centimeter Amateur Band: .......................... 420.000 - 450.000
FM Repeaters/Land-Mobile "Paired" Frequencies: ....... 450.000 - 470.000
Base Stations: ....................................... 451.025 - 454.950
Mobile Units: ........................................ 456.025 - 459.950
Repeater Units: ...................................... 460.025 - 464.975
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.
Band Allocation
To help decide which frequency ranges to search, 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", as well as "Beyond Police Call",
"Aeronautical Directory", "Nautical Directory" and "Now you're Talking"
texts 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 Govt., 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 Telephones
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
Other Abbreviations:
Services: Abbreviations:
Affiliate Radio System: ............................................. Mars
Amateur: ............................................................. Ham
Automobile Emergency: ......................................... Auto Emer.
Broadcast Remote: ................................................... BC.R
Bureau of Reclamation: ......................................... Bur.Recl.
Civil Air Patrol: .................................................... CAP
Department of Agriculture and Forestry: .................... Agr. And For.
Fire Department: .................................................... F.D.
Forest Products: ............................................... For.Prod.
Forestry Conservation: ........................................ Fors.Cons.
Government: ........................................................ Govt.
Highway Maintenance: ................................................ Hwy.
Land Transportation: ............................................ Land Tr.
Local Government: ................................................ L.Govt.
Manufacturers: ...................................................... Mfg.
Military: ............................................................ MIL
Mobile Telephone : .............................................. Mob.Tel.
Motion Picture: ................................................... Mot.P.
Motor Carrier: .............................................. Buses.Trucks
National Parks: ................................................. Nat.Park
Petroleum: .......................................................... Pet.
Police: ............................................................. P.D.
Power Utilities: ................................................... Power
Radio Paging: ....................................................... Page
Railroad: ........................................................... R.R.
Relay Press: ....................................................... Press
State Police: .................................................... St.P.D.
Special Emergency: .............................................. Sp.Emer.
Special Industry: ................................................ Sp.Ind.
Taxicab Radio: ...................................................... Taxi
Telephone Maintenance: ........................................ Tel.Maint.
U.S. Coastal and Geodetic Survey: ............................. U.S.C.G.S.
U.S. Navy: ........................................................... USN
U.S. Weather Bureau: ............................................ U.S.W.B.
ATTENTION: Your scanner may not be able to receive all frequencies and/or
modes of reception that are contained within this document. For
complete information of your scanner's capabilities, be sure to
read your owner's manual completely.
The following are the channels and frequencies of the Citizens Band:
1) 26.965 11) 27.085 21) 27.215 31) 27.315
2) 26.975 12) 27.105 22) 27.225 32) 27.325
3) 26.985 13) 27.115 23) 27.255 33) 27.335
4) 27.005 14) 27.125 24) 27.235 34) 27.345
5) 27.015 15) 27.135 25) 27.245 35) 27.355
6) 27.025 16) 27.155 26) 27.265 36) 27.365
7) 27.035 17) 27.165 27) 27.275 37) 27.375
8) 27.055 18) 27.175 28) 27.285 38) 27.385
9) 27.065 19) 27.185 29) 27.295 39) 27.395
10) 27.075 20) 27.205 30) 27.305 40) 27.405
Typical Band Usage
High Frequency (HF) Band (3.0 - 30.0 MHz):
10-Meter Amateur Band (Ham): ........................... 29.00 - 29.70 MHz
High Range: ............................................ 29.70 - 29.90 MHz
Very High Frequency (VHF) Band (30.00 - 300.0 MHz):
VHF 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
36.230 - 36.990: ........................... Oil Spill Clean-Up, 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
6-Meter Amateur Band (50 - 54 MHz)
50.00 -54.00: ........................................................ HAM
Aircraft Band (108 - 136.975 MHz)
108.000 - 121.490: ................................................... AIR
121.500: ................................................... AIR Emergency
121.510 - 136.975: ................................................... AIR
U.S. Government Band (137 - 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, MARS, MIL
150.775 - 150.790: ................................................... MED
150.815 - 150.980: ............................... TOW, Oil spill clean up
150.995 - 151.475: ............................................. ROAD, POL
151.490 - 151.955: .............................................. IND, BUS
151.985: ............................................................ TELM
152.0075: ............................................................ MED
152.030 - 152.240: .................................................. TELB
152.270 - 152.480: ........................................ IND, TAXI, 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 - 157.425: ............................................. OIL, 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 - 162.000: ........................................ OIL, 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 - 169.505: ................................... WIRELESS MICS, GOVT
169.55o - 169.9875: ...................................... GOVT, MIL, USXX
170.000 - 170.150: ................................. BIFC, 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 - 178.5375: ................................................. MIL
173.5625 - 173.5875: ............................. MIL Medical/Crash Crews
173.600 - 173.9875: ................................................. GOVT
Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Band (300.00 MHz - 3.0 GHz)
U.S. Government Band (406 - 420 MHz):
406.125 - 419.975: ............................................ GOVT, USXX
70-Centimeter 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 - 454.000: ............................................. PUB, 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 - 462.925: .............................................. GMR, 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
511.750: ...................................................... 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 System Band - Locally Assigned:
861.0125 - 865.9875: ................................................. TSB
Public Safety Band - Locally Assigned:
866.0125 - 868.9875: ................................................. PSB
33-Centimeter Amateur Band (902 - 928 MHz):
902.000 - 928.000: ................................................... HAM
Private Trunked Band:
935.0125 - 939.9875: ................................................. PTR
General Trunked Band:
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 known as an image frequency. For
example, you might find a service that regularly uses a frequency of
453.275 also on 474.675.
To see if it is 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, .......................... 453.275
Then you have tuned to an image.
Occasionally, you might get interference on a weak or distant channel from
a strong broadcast 21.4 MHz above or 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 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 from 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
A Note on Image Reception
Radios work by simple mathematics. For example, most tune to a frequency
by mixing that frequency with another (local oscillator) frequency which
is slightly different. This mixing process primarily gives us the two
original frequencies, their sum, and their difference. Well, the radio's
Intermediate Frequency (I.F.) filter normally passes either the sum or
difference frequency, and this is then processed into the sound we hear.
Because nothing is perfect, certain "harmonics" will also get through if
they are strong enough. For example, if a radio's I.F. is 10.7 MHz, we
might be able to tune to a frequency 21.4 MHz (2 x I.F.) above (or below,
depending on the radio's design) a strong signal and hear it! This is more
evident in a double-conversion radio than a triple-conversion radio,
because the triple-conversion radio's 1st intermediate frequency is quite
high. This causes the image to be so far off frequency that it is easy to
effectively filter it out.
So remember that just because a radio doesn't receive something which
another does is not necessarily an indication of a problem. The one radio
may simply not be "tricked" into picking up an image! This rejection of
undesired signals is one reason that a triple-conversion receiver costs
more than a similar dual-conversion model.
You might be interested in finding more out about radio. One good
location to start looking is your local public library. You might also
wish to contact the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League), as they are an
excellent source of informative texts on the subject.
(EB 7/14/00)
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