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I know this is a stupid question but i have a radioshack pro-97 scanner how do i use the trunking on it and is there any good softwhere i can buy to program it
Hey there's no such thing as stupid questions here. A lot of people don't understand trunking. The first thing is to figure out the trunked radio system (TRS) that you want to monitor. The scanner supports 3 different types: Motorola, EDACS & LTR. There are slight differences in how they are programmed.
I use WIN97 for my PRO-97s/etc and it is available here (
www.starrsoft.com). I forget if it is $25 or $30 but well worth it. You'll also need a serial cable. The PRO-97 can use the COM version or the USB version, but the COM version is no longer available new. Radio Shack sells the USB version (20-047) for $35, and you can find some online as well.
The software is very self-explanatory once you understand the scanner. The basics of programming a TRS is to figure out which bank you want to use, program the (control channel) frequencies, program the talkgroups and you're good to go.