Table of Contents About Your New SportCat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What is Scanning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What is Searching? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Types of Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Where to Obtain More Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Feature Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Controls and Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Charging the Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mounting the Flexible Antenna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Installing the Belt Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Using the Earphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Operation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Programming Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A. Programming By Manual Entry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 B. Programming With SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Bank Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 One-Key Direct Access Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Priority Scan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Locking Out Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Looking for "Locked Out" Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Sporting Event Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Weather Channel Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Using DATA Skip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Search Frequency Skip.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Sporting Event Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Replacing the Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Repairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Birdies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Proper Care of Your Scanner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Optional Accessories and Replacement Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 1 About Your New SportCat The SportCatTM is a brand new state-of-the-art information radio with automatic scanning capabilities. It can store frequencies such as sporting events, police, fire/emergency, and other communications into 10 banks of 10 channels each. And you can scan all 100 channels at super fast Turbo Scan speed. With the SportCat, you can do a fast search for active frequencies on all 12 preprogrammed bands. In the v.h.f. bands (29-54MHz and 137-174MHz) you can also use super fast Turbo Search. The SportCat also has Direct Channel Access for the first 10 channels. This provides quick and easy access to 10 different frequencies so you can keep up with the progress and control of sporting events. What is Scanning? Unlike standard AM or FM radio stations, most two-way communications (listed below) do not transmit continuously. The SportCat scans programmed channels at the rate of nearly 100 channels per second until it finds an active frequency. Scanning stops on an active frequency, and remains on that channel as long as the transmission continues. When the transmission ends, the scanning cycle resumes until another transmission is received. Or, you can select an optional Delay so the scanner stays on the channel for 2 more seconds after the transmission stops, waiting for another transmission, before resuming scanning. While the SportCat is scanning channels it is in "SCAN Mode". When you stop the scanning with , it is in "SCAN HOLD Mode". H What is Searching? The SportCat can search each of 12 preprogrammed bands to find active frequencies. This is different from scanning, because you can search for frequencies that have not been programmed into your SportCat. You can set the direction of searching as well as the speed. The Turbo Search feature, new for Uniden scanners, can search v.h.f. bands at up to 3 times the normal speed. 2 When the SportCat is searching for active frequencies, it is in "SEARCH Mode" or "TURBO SEARCH Mode". When you stop the search with , it is in "SEARCH HOLD Mode". H With both Turbo Scan and Turbo Search, your SportCat is truly a Twin Turbo Scanner. NOTE: The installation, possession, or use of this scanning radio in a motor vehicle may be prohibited, regulated, or require a permit in certain states, cities, and/or local jurisdiction. Your local law enforcement officials should be able to provide you with information regarding the laws in your community. Types of Communication You will be able to monitor communication such as: Automobile, Boat, and Marathon races Golf Tournaments Traffic information Police and fire department (including rescue and paramedics) » NOAA weather broadcasts (7 preprogrammed channels) » Land transportation, such as trucking firms, buses, taxis, tow trucks, and railroads » Marine and amateur radio. » Aircraft » Public Service 800 MHz band And many more in the following 12 Bands: Frequency Range 29.0-29.7 MHz 29.7-50.0 MHz 50.0-54.0 MHz 108-137 MHz 137-144 MHz 144-148 MHz 148-174 MHz 406-420 MHz 420-450 MHz 450-470 MHz 470-512 MHz 806-956 MHz Steps Mode Transmission 10 Meter Amateur Band VHF Low band 6 Meter Amateur Band Aircraft Band Military Land mobile 2 Meter Amateur Band VHF High Band Federal Govt. Land Mobile 70 cm Amateur Band UHF Standard Band UHF "T" Band Public Service "800" Band » » » » 5 kHz NFM 5 kHz NFM 5 kHz NFM 12.5 kHz AM 5 kHz NFM 5 kHz NFM 5 kHz NFM 12.5 kHz NFM 12.5 kHz NFM 12.5 kHz NFM 12.5 kHz NFM 12.5 kHz NFM Important!: The SportCat will not tune within the Cellular Telephone Band. 3 Where to Obtain More Information The Bearcat Radio Club and other similar hobby clubs have publications, information on computer bulletin boards, and even contests for the radio enthusiast. See the enclosed pamphlets for more information. Additional information is also available through your local library. Unpacking Carefully check the contents against this list: n n n n n n n n n n n n SportCat Twin Turbo Sports Scanner Rubber Antenna AC Adapter/Charger (AD-70U) Earphone Belt Clip Battery (BP-180) This Operating Guide Extra Memo Pads Frequency Directories Order Form and Betty Bearcat Club Information SportCat Frequency Guide Nickel-Cadmium Battery Disposal Notice Uniden 800 Help Line Notice If any items are missing or damaged, contact your place of purchase immediately. A Product Registration Form is stapled in the center of the Operating Guide. Remove the Form, complete and mail it. Please read this Operating Guide thoroughly before operating the scanner. 4 Feature Highlights x Twin Turbo Scan & Search --This lightning-fast technology enables the SportCat to scan nearly 100 channels per second. Search speed is selectable between 100 and 300 steps per second. (300 steps per second only in bands with 5 kHz steps.) Because the frequency coverage is so large (see previous section for band listing), very fast scanning and searching are essential. That is why we combined our latest technology -- Twin Turbo -- into the SportCat. x 100 Channels You can program each of these memory channels to store one frequency. Includes 12 Bands, with Aircraft and 800 MHz. 10 Banks of 10 channels each are useful for storing similar frequencies in order to maintain faster scanning cycles. Bank 1 should be reserved for sporting events to make the best use of the Direct Access Keys. The SportCat is designed specifically for sporting events. You can quickly go from one channel to the next with just a touch of a key to easily keeping track of the participants and officials during the event. x 12 Bands, 10 Banks x One-Key Direct Access Channels x 29 MHz - 956 MHz Indicates the range of frequencies that can be searched within the bands of your scanner. Note: The frequency coverage is not totally continuous from 29.0 MHz to 956 MHz. x 10 Priority Channels You can assign one Priority Channel in each Bank. Assigning priority channels allows you to keep track of activity on your most important channel(s) while monitoring other channels for transmissions. (Priority Channels are initially set in the first channel in each Bank.) Lets your scanner function as a weather information radio. Toggle through 10 Bands plus Aircraft and 800 MHz for easy searching. Allows the scanner to skip over unwanted data transmissions and reduces birdies. The stored channels are retained in memory for at least 3 days, and typically 14 days, when the Battery Pack is removed from the scanner. x Weather Channels x Preprogrammed Band Search x Unique Data Skip x Memory Backup 5 Controls and Indicators Top View Antenna Connector Earphone Jack Connect the rubber antenna to this BNC connector and turn clockwise until it locks. Plug the supplied earphone into this jack for private listening. When the earphone is connected, the internal speaker is disconnected. Note the warning on the Inside Front Cover and on page 11. Adjust this control to set the scan threshold and to eliminate the background rushing noise heard in the absence of an incoming signal. See the Operation Overview Section for adjustment procedures. Use this control to turn the scanner on or off, and to adjust the volume. SQUELCH Control ON-OFF/ VOLUME Control Front View (Refer to the foldout illustration inside the Back Cover) Complete explanations of the use of these keys are in the following Scanning and Searching Sections, beginning on page 1. LCD DISPLAY -- The liquid crystal display (LCD) shows the current channel and frequency. It also displays the mode, status, and bank indicators. A. Priority Channel Indicator -- P appears when the scanner stops on a Priority Channel. B. Scan Type Indicator -- Indicates BANK or DIRECT Scan operation. 6 C. D. Channel Number -- Indicates the current channel that the scanner is on. Memory Bank Numbers -- Each Memory Bank consists of 10 channels that you can select or deselect during scanning operation, using the numeric keypad. When you select a Bank, its number appears on the display. When you deselect a Bank, its number disappears from the display. When you press to stop scanning, only the Bank of the current channel appears. H E. Low Battery Indicator -- Appears on the display when the Battery Pack is low and needs recharging. Frequency Indicator -- 7-digits plus decimal indicate the frequency being received by the scanner. Mode Indicators -- (Only the active mode(s) are displayed during operation.) Indicates DATA SKIP activated during SEARCH. SCN SRCH PRI HOLD DLY L/O Indicates SCAN Mode. Indicates SEARCH Mode. Flashes when in TURBO SEARCH Mode. Indicates PRIORITY SCAN Mode. Indicates SCAN HOLD or SEARCH HOLD Mode. Indicates DELAY is activated. In SCAN Mode indicates the channel shown is "Locked Out". In SEARCH Mode, indicates the frequency shown is "Locked Out". Indicates WEATHER SCAN Mode. Indicates the keypad is locked. F. G. WX 2. DIRECT CHANNEL MEMO PAD -- Write the names of the events/activities you program into your One-Touch Direct Channels (Channels 1- 10). 3. NUMERIC KEYPAD -- Use these keys to program a channel for scanning. Also use to access a channel directly with . During SCAN Mode, use these keys to select or deselect any of the 10 memory banks. (Only the selected bank indicator(s) appear on the display.) k H Note: You cannot deactivate all 10 banks at the same time. 7 Key Bank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Channel 1 - 10 11 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 - 100 x y z { | } ~ 4. In SCAN or SEARCH Mode, press to stop scanning or searching. (HOLD appears on the display.) After you stop the scanner, press again to resume scanning or searching. GO TO -- Use the numeric keypad to enter a (GO TO) to channel number, and then press access that channel. to toggle between Direct Channel Access 5. Use and Bank Scanning. to toggle the Preprogrammed Search 6. Press Band. SRCH appears on the display. to start scanning all programmed channels 7. Press that are not locked out. (SCAN moves acr ...