A couple of suggestions.
First off, especially with an older scanner like the Pro 197, do a search on the forums to see if your question (or a similar one) has already been asked and answered. This will give you the quickest response and probably answer other related questions that you haven't though of to ask just yet.
Second, as others have said, go to the correct forum to ask your question. The correct forum may differ depending on your question. If it's a question specific to that model of a scanner (e.g. how do I make the multi-color LED show red for Fire calls and blue for PD calls), post on the forum that covers that model scanner (note that forum may be labeled as being for one of the versions of that scanner such as GRE or Whistler that manufactured that scanner for Radio Shack). If your question is more like "How do I program my local PD into my Pro-197", posting to the forum for your local area would be more appropriate. Note: please include specific information on your local PD with your question (best to include a link to the database page for that agency or the system that agency is on) so folks will know exactly what may be needed to answer your question.
Third, ask away, providing what ever information you can, based on your knowledge and experience. We understand that some folks are beginners and others are experts and expect questions to be stated using very basic language at times and very technical language at other times due to this wide range of knowledge and experience. Most folks are very happy to answer questions and help beginners get started in the hobby. As long as your question is in the right forum (or even close), you'll find folks to help. If a better forum exists that may provide better answers, others may suggest that you request your question be moved to that forum to provide a wider exposure and better answers. This isn't a big deal and happens all of the time. Simply press the "Report" link at the bottom left corner of the first post in the thread (your initial post) and fill out the form requesting a moderator move the post to the suggested form.
