Radio Shack Pro-2039

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Rick244824

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My uncle has just brought me a old scanner he wants me to program. I have already noticed that I can not use any software to program it, or it appears I can not surely. So now I am on to the manual options.

What is the easiest way to do this? I mean do I have to enter all the frequencies manually or will it scan for them?

Where can I get a list of frequencies that this scanner will take?

Where can I get a manual so I can see the procedure to manually program it?


Thank you in advance for any help you can provide me.

Rick
 

SCPD

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RICK 244824

Hi Rick: On your computer go to search & type in ( Mark's Scanners ) & then go down to " Mark's Scanners " click on that & look for your make of scanner & click on that . Hope this helps. jbxfire
 

rbm

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"What is the easiest way to do this? I mean do I have to enter all the frequencies manually or will it scan for them?"
Yes you do.

Although, if you refer to the manual at the link below, you can 'search' but that will not program the scanner.
You'll want to program in the frequencies you care about.

"Where can I get a list of frequencies that this scanner will take?"
At the top of this page, click on Databases and browse to your state and county.

The PRO-2039 covers the following bands:
30 -- 50 MHz (VHF Lo)
50 -- 54 MHz (6-Meter Ham Band)
108 -- 136.975 MHz (Aircraft)
137 -- 144 MHz (Government)
144 -- 148 MHz (2-Meter Ham Band)
148 -- 174 MHz (VHF Hi)
380 -- 450 MHz (Ham Radio and Government)
450 -- 470 MHz (UHF Lo)
470 -- 512 MHz (UHF TV)
806 -- 823.9375 MHz (UHF Hi)
851 -- 868.9375 MHz (UHF Hi)
896 -- 960 MHz (UHF Hi)

"Where can I get a manual so I can see the procedure to manually program it?"
At this link: ;)
RadioShack PRO-2039 Scanner (200-0462)

Rich

By the way, it will NOT do trunking or receive digital transmissions.
 

Rick244824

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Fantastic information rbm. I have successfully reset and initialized the scanner. Time to start to program it. Now I have a Pro-197 and of course I just plug it into my computer and program it. I have printed out my frequencies, however many of them are trunked. So how do I get those frequencies into the scanner, or can I?
 

rbm

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Oh the trunked systems, if they're not digital, you can just try programming in all of the frequencies and then lock out the Control Channel.

There two problems you'll see.
On some systems, the control channel rotates through several of the frequencies.
Also, on a busy system, you may hear fragments of various conversations interspersed with each other.
But, it's worth trying.

Rich
 

ka3jjz

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If you're relatively close to the Bay, you have a potentially very good scanner for maritime monitoring, with the right antenna.

You could even get a discriminator tap put in - there are a few folks that do this for a nominal fee, if you don't know of anyone locally - and run an AIS decoder.

What is AIS? Good question...

AIS - The RadioReference Wiki

Mike
 

ka3jjz

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Interestingly the 2039 is the European version of the 2038, according to Rigpix - so the VHF lo coverage is very different from what we have here in the States. In addition some of the frequency steps might be a bit off...

Again if you're close enough to water, you might have a front row seat for flights coming out of Pax River which you may be able to hear tuning the 118-136 Mhz band. We have a few frequencies in our database...

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

and don't forget to click on the WIKI button on the top right. Note that the freqs listed in the wiki are quite old, but some might still be good. In addition, it was common in radios of this age that you could not shift the mode independently of the frequency. In other words, if you try to program freqs in the 137-144 Mhz range, they might be defaulted to FM, instead of AM, and it can't be easily changed.

Hearing flights out of the ZDC ARTCC is also a possibility - use the Calvert Low frequency of 133.9 and Snow Hill Lo 132.55, both in AM mode. Also see about 119.275 which is (was?) BayWatch advisory check in for PAX

Mike
 
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Rick244824

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Thanks guys. Lots of great information there. I will review it all and get to work programming it. As far as the bay, I am close, very close. I can go 6 miles down the road and see Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.
 
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