PRO-46 (200-0305) A General Guide to Scanning Faxback Doc. # 3595 BIRDIES Birdies are frequencies your scanner uses when it operates. These operating frequencies might interfere with broadcasts on the same frequencies. If you program one of these frequencies, you hear only noise on that frequency. Birdie Frequencies 31.05 MHz 124.20 MHz 41.40 MHz 134.55 MHz 51.75 MHz 144.90 MHz 113.85 MHz 155.25 MHz RECEPTION NOTES Reception of the frequencies covered by your scanner is mainly "line of sight." That means you usually cannot hear stations that are beyond the horizon. During the summer months, you might be able to hear stations in the 30-50 MHz range located several hundred or even thousands of miles away. This is because of summer atmospheric conditions. This type of reception is unpredictable but often very interesting. A GUIDE TO THE ACTION BANDS With a little investigation, you can find the active frequencies in your community. We can give you some general pointers on finding these frequencies 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 very dangerous. 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 frequencies used by local services. A volunteer police department or fire department 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 between 153.73 and 159.46 MHz. Here you find local government, police, fire, and most other emergency services. If you are near major railroad tracks, listen between 160.0 and 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 between 453.025 and 453.95 MHz and between 456.025 and 459.95 MHz. In the UHF band, mobile units operate between 456.025 and 459.95 MHz and between 465.025 and 469.975 MHz. A repeater picks up the mobile units' transmissions on one frequency, then rebroadcasts (or repeats) the transmission 5 MHz lower, but at a higher power level, than the mobile units (that is, 451.025 - 454.95 MHz and 460.025 - 464.975 MHz.) This means that if you find an active frequency inside one of the mobile unit's frequency spreads, you can look 5 MHz lower to find the repeater frequency. A system called trunked radio lets several services use the same set of frequencies in the 800 MHz band without interference. Several frequencies are allocated to two or more services (like fire, police, and water departments). As each service transmits, a separate control signal activates other radios in the same service, so that only that service hears the transmission. The frequency is selected as soon as the unit begins to transmit, and could be any one of the allocated frequencies. 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, plug bulletins on any threatening weather conditions. These stations use three frequencies: 162.40, 162.475, or 162.55 MHz. In most areas of the country, you can receive on of these frequencies. TYPICAL BAND USAGE The following is a brief listing of the services typical of the bands received by your scanner. This listing can help you decide which ranges you would like to scan. 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. Costal and Geodetic Survey.............U.S.C.G.S. U.S. Navy..........................USN U.S. Weather Bureau...........U.S.W.B. 29-53 MHz 29.00 - 29.70....................10HAM 29.70 - 29.80...............For. Prod. 29.80 - 30.00....................Aero. 30.01 - 30.56....................Govt. 30.56 - 30.62.................Sp. Ind. 30.66 - 31.24...Ind.(Pet., For. Cons., Bus., For. Prod.) 31.26 - 31.98.....Sp. Ind., For. Cons. 32.00 - 33.00....................Govt. 33.02 - 33.16....Hwy., Sp. Emer., Bus. 33.18 - 33.38.....................Pet. 33.42 - 33.98.....................F.D. 34.00 - 35.00....................Govt. 35.02 - 35.18.....................Bus. 35.22 - 35.66.........Mob. Tel. & Page 35.70 - 35.72.....................Bus. 35.74 - 35.98..........Sp. Ind. & Bus. 36.00 - 37.00....................Govt. 37.02 - 37.44............P.D., L.Govt. 37.46 - 37.86....................Power 37.90 - 37.98.........Hwy. & Sp. Emer. 38.00 - 39.00....................Govt. 39.02 - 39.98...........P.D., L. Govt. 40.00 - 42.00....................Govt. 42.02 - 42.94.................St. P.D. 42.96 - 43.18..........Sp. Ind. & Bus. 43.22 - 43.68...........Mob. Tel. Page 43.70 - 44.60.............Trucks. Bus. 44.62 - 45.06.....St. P.D., For. Cons. 45.08 - 45.66.....................P.D. 45.68 - 46.04.....P.D. Hwy., Sp. Emer. 46.06 - 46.50.....................F.D. 46.52 - 46.58.................L. Govt. 46.60 - 47.00....................Govt. 47.02 - 47.40.................St. Hwy. 47.42........................Red Cross 47.44 - 47.68.......Sp. Ind. Sp. Emer. 47.70 - 48.54....................Power 48.56 - 49.58.........For. Prod., Pet. 49.60 - 50.00....................Govt. 50.00 - 54.00....6 Meter Amateur (Ham) Band 108 - 136.975 MHz BAND 108.000 - 118.000.......Air Navigation 118.000 - 136.975.............Aircraft 137 - 174 MHz BAND 137.000 - 144.000 ...............Govt. 144.000 - 148.000 HAM 148.010...........................MARS 148.155 - 148.250..................MIL 148.290 - 150.750..................USN 150.815 - 150.995.................Bus. 151.010 - 151.130..................HWY 151.145 - 151.475...........For. Cons. 151.505 - 151.595.............Sp. Ind. 151.625 - 151.955.................Bus. 151.985 - 152.240......Mob. Tel. (RCC) 152.270 - 152.450.................Taxi 152.480 - 152.840.......Mob. Tel. Page 152.870 - 153.020.....Sp. Ind. Mot. P. 153.050 - 153.440.....Pet., For. Prod. 153.470 - 153.710................Power 153.740 - 154.115.............L. Govt. 154.450 - 154.600.Sp. Ind., Pet., Bus. 154.655 - 155.145...P.D., L. Govt.,St. P.D. 155.160 - 155.400.......Sp. Emer. P.D. 155.415 - 156.030.......P.D., L. Govt. 156.045 - 156.240...........Hwy., P.D. 156.275 - 157.425...............Marine 157.456 - 157.500...........Auto Emer. 157.530 - 157.710.................Taxi 157.740 - 158.100......Mob. Tel., Page 158.130 - 158.460.Power,For.Prod.,Pet. 158.490 - 158.700......Mob. Tel. (RCC) 158.730 - 158.970.......P.D., L. Govt. 158.985 - 159.210............P.D. Hwy. 159.225 - 159.465...........For. Cons. 159.510 - 160.200...............Trucks 160.215 - 161.565.................R.R. 161.600 - 162.000...............Marine 162.026 - 162.175...........Bur. Recl. 162.400.......................U.S.W.B. 162.550.......................U.S.W.B. 163.125.................Indian Affairs 163.175.....................Bur. Recl. 163.275.......................U.S.W.B. 163.388 - 163.538..................MIL 163.825 - 163.975................Govt. 164.025 - 164.075...........U.S.C.G.S. 164.175 - 165.188..Bur. Recl. Nat. Pk. Govt., Agr. & For. 169.300.........................F.A.A. 169.450 - 169.725...........Ind., Data 170.150...................F.D., BC. R. 170.200 - 170.220...........U.S.C.G.S. 170.225 - 170.325.......Ind., Land Tr. 170.425 - 170.575...........For. Cons. 170.975 - 171.250.Govt. Ind., Land Tr. 171.388 - 172.725.....Bur. Recl., For. Cons., Ind., Dept. Ag. & For., Govt. 172.775......................Nat. Park 173.025.......................U.S.W.B. 173.075.....................U.S.C.G.S. 173.204.....Mot. P., Pet., Bur. Recl., Press Relay 406 - 512 MHz BAND 406.000 - 420.000................Govt. 420.000 - 450.000..................HAM 450.050 - 450.950...........Remote Br. 451.000 - 451.150................Util. 451.175 - 451.750....For. Prod., Pet., Power, Tel. Maint. 451.775 - 451.975.............Sp. Ind. 452.000 - 452.500..Taxi, Mot. Carrier, R.R. 452.525 - 452.600............Auto Club 452.625 - 452.975....Motor Carr., R.R. 453.000 - 453.975..L. Govt, P.D., F.D. 454.000 - 454.975............Mob. Tel. 455.000 - 455.975...........Remote Br. 456.000 - 458.975....P.D., F.D., Ind., Lan. Tr. 459.000 - 459.975......Domestic Public 460.000 - 460.625...........P.D., F.D. 460.650 - 462.175.................Bus. 462.200 - 462.450.................Taxi 462.750 - 462.975.................Bus. 463.000 - 463.175..............Medical 463.200 - 464.975.................Bus. 465.000 - 467.500....P.D., F.D., Ind., Land Tr. 467.750 - 467.925.................Bus. 467.7375 - 469.975...Pub. Safety Ind., Land Tr. TV Bands for Special Communications 470 - 476 T.V. Channel 14 476 - 482 T.V. Channel 15 482 - 488 T.V. Channel 16 488 - 494 T.V. Channel 17 494 - 500 T.V. Channel 18 500 - 506 T.V. Channel 19 506 - 512 T.V. Channel 20 6 MHz Segment is allocated for Channel 14 470.0125 - 470.2875...Domestic Public, (Base, Mob.) 470.3125 - 471.1375......Public Safety 471.1625 - 471.2875.....Reserve Pool A 471.3125 - 471.4125..Pwr., Tel. Maint. 471.4375 - 471.6375...........Sp. Ind. 471.6625 - 471.7875.....Reserve Pool B 471.8125 - 472.3375...............Bus. 472.3625 - 472.4375...............Taxi 472.4675 - 472.7875........R.R., Motor Carrier, Auto Emer. 472.8125 - 472.9875..Pet., For. Prod., Mfg. 473.0125 - 473.2875....Domestic Public 473.3125 - 474.1375......Public Safety 474.1625 - 474.2875.....Reserve Pool A 474.3125 - 474.4125..Pwr., Tel. Maint. 474.4375 - 474.6375..Spec.Ind.(Mobile) 474.6625 - 474.7875.....Reserve Pool B 474.8125 - 475.3375...............Bus. 475.3625 - 475.4375...............Taxi 475.4625 - 475.7875........R.R., Motor Carrier, Auto Emer. 475.8125 - 475.9876...Pet., For. Prod. Mfg. These frequencies are subject to change and might vary some from area to area. For a more complete listing, refer to Radio Shack "Police Call Radio guide Including Fire and Emergency Services" available at your local Radio Shack. You might discover one of your regular stations on a frequency that is not listed. this could be what is known as an image. For example, if you suddenly find you hear the same broadcats on 453.2750 as you hear on 474.9750, do a little math to see if it is an image. Take this unit's intermediate frequency of 10.7 MHz and double it. Then, subtract it 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 21.7 MHz (10.85 MHz x 2) below the tuned frequency. This is rare and the image signal is usually cleared whenever a broadcast on the actual frequency is in progress. (ALL-12/13/94)