Albrecht_AE-80H_user.pdf

OWNERS MANUAL AE80H 50-Channel Portable Scanner FEATURES Your new Albrecht AE80H 50-Channel Portable Scanner gives you direct access to over 34,000 exciting frequencies, including police and fire departments, ambulance services, and amateur radio services. You can select up to 50 channels to scan, and you can change your selection at any time. The secret to your scanners ability to scan so many frequencies is its custom-designed microprocessor a tiny, built-in computer. Your scanner has these special features: 10 Preprogrammed Search Bands let you search for transmissions within preset frequency ranges, so you can find interesting frequencies more quickly. 50 Channels let you store up to 50 of your favorite frequencies for easy recall and scanning. Duplicate Frequency Check automatically warns you if you try to store a frequency youve already stored, to help you use the scanners memory more efficiently. Monitor Memory lets you temporarily save a frequency located during a direct search, so you can move it to channel storage later. Channel Lockout keeps channels you select from being scanned. Memory Backup keeps the channel frequencies stored in memory for about 1 hour during a power loss. Two-Second Scan Delay delays scanning for 2 seconds before moving to another channel, so you can hear more replies. Key Lock lets you lock the keys to help prevent accidentally changing the scanners programming. Flexible Antenna with BNC Connector provides excellent reception. The BNC connector makes it easy to attach and remove the antenna or a variety of optional antennas. Liquid Crystal Display clearly displays how the scanner is set and makes it easy to change those settings. Three Power Options you can power the scanner from internal batteries (not supplied including non-rechargeable batteries, rechargeable batteries, or a rechargeable scanner battery pack) or external AC or DC power (using optional adapters). We recommend you record your scanners serial number here. This number is on the scanners back panel. Serial Number: _ Your AE80H scanner can receive all of these frequencies: 68-88 MHz (VHF-Lo) 137-174 MHz (2-Meter Amateur Radio, VHF Hi) 380-512 MHz (Military Aircraft, UHF Lo, 70-cm Amateur Radio, UHF T“ Band) 806-960 MHz (UHF Public Service, Trunked Services, UHF Hi, 33-cm Amateur Band (some countries) For a list of the frequency ranges in the ten preprogrammed search bands, see Search Bands“. PREPARATION POWER SOURCES You can power your scanner from any of four sources: . Internal batteries (not supplied) with the provided battery holder . A rechargeable scanner battery pack (not supplied) . Standard AC power (using an optional AC adapter) . Vehicle battery power (using an optional DC cigarette-lighter adapter) Notes: . The PWR jack lets you connect an external AC or DC adapter to operate the scanner. Connecting an adapter to PWR disconnects the internal batteries. You can use the PWR jack with either non- rechargeable or rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries installed. . The CHG jack lets you connect an external AC or DC adapter to operate the scanner. The internal batteries remain connected when you connect an adapter to CHG, and get recharged when you connect a charger. Warning: Never use the CHG jack with non-rechargeable batteries! If you try to recharge non- rechargeable batteries, they could get very hot and explode. Using Batteries You can power your scanner from six AA batteries. For the longest operation and best performance, we recommend alkaline batteries. You can also power the scanner using a rechargeable scanner battery pack or rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, and recharge it as you use the scanner. Caution: Do not mix old and new batteries, different types of batteries (standard, alkaline, or rechargeable), or rechargeable batteries of different capacities. Follow these steps to install batteries or a battery pack. 1. Press down on the battery compartment cover on the bottom of the scanner and slide the cover in the direction of the arrow to remove it. 2. Slide the battery holder out of the battery compartment. 3. If you are installing individual batteries, insert six AA batteries in the battery holder as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and -) marked on the battery holder. 4. Slide the battery holder or battery pack into the compartment. Caution: The battery holder or battery pack fits only one way inside the battery compartment. Do not force it. 5. Replace the cover. When battery power is low, BATT flashes and the scanner beeps about every 3 seconds. Immediately replace all six non-rechargeable batteries or recharge the rechargeable batteries or battery pack. Caution: Always dispose of old batteries promptly and properly. Do not bury or burn them. Using Standard AC Power To power the scanner from AC power, you need an AC adapter. Cautions: . You must use an AC adapter that supplies 9 volts and delivers at least 200 milliamps. Its center tip must be set to negative, and its barrel plug must correctly fit the scanners PWR/CHG jack. The recommended adapter meets these specifications. Using an adapter that does not meet these specifications could damage the scanner or the adapter. . When you finish using the AC adapter, disconnect it from the AC outlet first. Then disconnect it from the scanner. Plug the adapters barrel plug into the scanners PWR jack. Then plug the adapters power module into a standard AC outlet. Using Vehicle Battery Power To power the scanner from your vehicles cigarette-lighter socket, you need a DC adapter. Cautions: You must use a DC adapter that supplies 9 volts and delivers at least 200 milliamps. Its center tip must be set to negative, and its plug must correctly fit the scanners PWR/CHG jack. The recommended adapter meets these specifications. Using an adapter that does not meet these specifications could damage the scanner or the adapter. To protect your vehicles electrical system, always plug the adapter into the scanner before you plug it into your vehicles cigarette-lighter socket. Always unplug the adapter from the vehicles cigarette-lighter socket before you unplug it from the scanner. Plug the adapters barrel plug into the scanners PWR jack. Then plug the adapters power module into your vehicles cigarette-lighter socket. Notes: Mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires a permit in some areas. Check the laws in your area. If the scanner does not operate properly when you connect a DC adapter, unplug the adapter from the cigarette-lighter socket and clean the socket to remove ashes and other debris. Charging a Rechargeable Battery Pack/Rechargeable Batteries Your scanner has a built-in charging circuit that lets you charge a rechargeable battery pack or rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries while it is in the scanner. To charge it, simply connect an AC or DC adapter to the scanners CHG jack. It takes about 14-16 hours to recharge a battery pack (rechargeable batteries) that is fully discharged. You scan operate the scanner while recharging the battery pack (rechargeable batteries), but charging takes longer. Note: A rechargeable battery pack (rechargeable batteries) lasts longer if you let it fully discharge once a month. To do this, simply use the scanner until BATT flashes and the scanner beeps about every 3 seconds. Then fully charge it. Important! At the end of a rechargeable battery pack or batteries useful life, it must be recycled or disposed of properly. Contact your local, county, or state hazardous waste management authorities for information on recycling or disposal programs in your area. Some options that might be available are: municipal curb-side collection, drop-off boxes a retailers such as your local store, recycling collection centers, and mailback programs. CONNECTING THE ANTENNA Follow these steps to attach the supplied flexible antenna to your scanner. 1. Align the slots around the scanners connector with the tabs on the ANT jack. 2. Press the antenna down over the jack and turn the antennas base clockwise until it locks into place. Connecting an Optional Antenna The ANT jack on the top of the scanner makes it easy to use the scanner with a variety of antennas. Instead of the supplied antenna, you can attach a different one, such as an external mobile antenna or outdoor base station antenna. Follow the installation instructions supplied with the antenna, route the antenna cable to the scanner, then connect it to the ANT jack. Warning: Use extreme caution when installing or removing an outdoor base station antenna. If the antenna starts to fall, let it go! It could contact overhead power lines, if the antenna touches a power line, contact with the antenna, mast, cable or guy wires can cause electrocution and death! Call the power company to remove the antenna. Do not attempt to do so yourself. CONNECTING AN EARPHONE/HEADPHONES For private listening, you can plug an earphone or mono headphones with a 3.5 mm plug into the PHONE jack on top of your scanner. This disconnects the internal speaker. Caution: To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use an earphone or headphones: Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended high-volume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss. . Once you set the volume, do not increase it. Over time, your ears adapt to the volume level, so a volume level that does not cause discomfort might still damage your hearing. Warning: Do not use an earphone or headphones with your scanner when operating a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle, in or near traffic. Doing so can create a traffic hazard and could be illegal in some areas. CONNECTING AN EXTENSION SPEAKER In a noisy area, an extension speaker or an amplified speaker might provide more comfortable listening. Plug the speaker cables 3.5 mm plug into your scanners PHONE jack. USING THE BELT CLIP You can use the belt clip for hands-free carrying when you are on the go. Simply slide the belt clip over your belt or waistband. YOUR SCANNER A LOOK AT THE KEYPAD Your scanners keys might seem confusing at first but this information should help you understand each keys function. SCAN scans through the programmed channels. MANUAL stops scanning to let you directly enter a channel number. BAND selects a preprogrammed search band. MON accesses the monitor memory. LICHT turns on/off the displays backlight / or / - searches down or up from the currently displayed frequency, or selects the direction when you scan channels. (key symbol) locks/unlocks the keypad to prevent accidental entries. CLEAR clears an incorrect entry. PGM lets you program frequencies into channels. Number Keys use these keys to enter the numbers for a channel or frequency. DLY/. (delay/decimal point) programs a 2-second delay for the selected channel, or enters a decimal point (necessary when programming frequencies). L-OUT/E (lockout/enter) locks out channels so they will not be scanned, or enters frequencies into channels. A LOOK AT THE DISPLAY The display has indicators that show the scanners current operation. MAN appears when you manually select a channel. SCAN appears when you scan channels. MON appears when you listen to the monitor memory. BATT appears when battery power is low. L/O appears when you manually select a channel you locked out. SRCH appears during a band or direct frequency search. / or / - indicates the search or scan direction. DELAY appears when you program a 2-seconds delay for a channel. PGM appears while you program frequencies into the scanners channels. (key symbol) appears when you lock the keypad. ch appears after the digits (1-50) that show which channel the scanner is tuned to. -d appears during a direct frequency search. 000.000 the digits on the right of the display show which frequency the scanner is tuned to. Error appears when you make an entry error. dUPL (duplicate) appears when you try to store a frequency that is already stored in another channel. UNDERSTANDING BANDS/MONITOR MEMORY Search Bands Your scanner can tune over 34,000 different frequencies. Many of these frequencies are grouped within permanent memory locations called search bands. BandDisplayed Search Range (MHz)Description 068-78VHF Lo 178-88VHF-Lo 2137-144Aircraft/Air Shows, VHF 3144-1482-Meter Amateur Radio 4148-174VHF Hi 5380-420UHF Lo 6420-45070-Centimeter Amateur Radio 7450-512UHF Lo 8806-870UHF T“ Band 9870-960UHF Hi You can search these bands to quickly find active frequencies you might want to store into the scanners channels. For example, if you wanted to search for transmissions between amateur radio operators, you could search only the search bands where you are most likely to hear the transmissions (Bands 3, and 6). Note: The frequencies in the scanners search bands are preset. You cannot change them. Monitor Memory The scanner also has a monitor memory that you can use to temporarily store a frequency while you decide whether to save it into a channel. This is handy for quickly storing an active frequency when you are searching through an entire band using direct search. See Direct Search“. 0PERATION TURNING ON THE SCANNER/SETTING VOLUME AND SQUELCH Note: Make sure the scanners antenna is connected before you turn it on. 1. Turn SQUELCH fully counterclockwise. 2. Turn VOLUME clockwise until it clicks and you hear a hissing sound. 3. Turn SQUELCH clockwise until the hissing sound stops. Notes: . If the scanner picks up unwanted, partial, or very weak transmissions, turn SQUELCH clockwise to decrease the scanners sensitivity to these signals. If you want to listen to a weak or distant station, turn SQUELCH counterclockwise. . If SQUELCH is adjusted so you always hear a hissing sound, the scanner does not scan properly. . If you have not stored frequencies into any channels, the scanner does not scan. STORING ACTIVE FREQUENCIES You can manually store frequencies you already know into the scanners channels. You can also store frequencies you found using band search directly into channels. You can also store a frequency into a monitor memory then store it into a channel. If you do not have a reference to frequencies in your area, follow the steps in Band Search“ on Page ? or Direct Search“ to search for transmissions. Manually Storing Frequencies If you know a frequency you want to store, you can store it manually. 1. Press PGM. PGM appears. 2. Use the number keys to enter the channel number where you want to store the frequency (1-50), then press PGM again. Or, repeatedly press PGM until the desired channel number appears. 3. Use the number keys and DLY/. to enter the frequency (including the decimal point) you want to store into that channel. 4. Press E to store the frequency. Notes: If you entered an invalid frequency in Step 3, Error appears, the channel number flashes, and the scanner beeps three times after you press E. Simply repeat Steps 3 and 4. Your scanner automatically rounds th