Introduction

This section covers information on basic 2-way radio/radio scanner use, operation, and programming, as well as advanced radio topics such as repeater functionality and band types.

Basic scanner use and operation

Most scanners purchased anymore are quite simple to use... gone are the days of changing crystals to tune frequencies, manually entering frequencies just to get started, and receivers suceptible to even the most minor intermod and bleeding. Today's scanners have "one touch" buttons for finding active amateur, aircraft, fire, police, medical, marine, and weather frequencies. Inexpensive scanners can now follow conversations on most trunked radio systems, ensuring that when technology upgrades, you're not left without your information feed. Digital systems are making their way onto the scene, and digital-capable scanners are beginning to come to market and drop significantly in price.

So, what do all of those buttons on your shiny new scanner do?

Most scanner manufacturers have been good at keeping the functional use of their product the same, regardless of make or model. The most common buttons you'll see on a scanner include:

Button		Function
Scan/Man		Generally toggles between scanning the stored frequencies or sitting on one frequency.
Lockout or L/O		Keeps the frequency programmed, but prevents the scanner from checking that frequency when in SCAN mode.
Lock or Key		Locks the keypad so the frequencies or settings aren't modified by accidental keypresses.
Program or PGM		Allows you to set frequencies to be scanned/saved. Usually the PGM button is pressed, then the frequency is entered.
Tune		Allows the scanner to be tuned to a specific freqency via the Up/Down arrow buttons or numeric keypad.

As always, if you're unsure about a function on your piece of equipment, check the instruction manual. It won't hurt... too badly, anyway.

Basic 2-way use and operation

Now that you know how to listen to 2-way radio conversations (you did read that section above, right?), there's a good chance that you want to know more about the radios themselves.

2-way radios are generally fairly simple devices. A 2-way might be a handheld (portable) radio, a vehicle-mounted (mobile) radio, or a base station. The biggest difference between the three types is generally transmit power - mobiles and base stations will typically have a larger transmit power rating, as battery power/current is much more readily available than on a portable hand-talkie. The other major difference is simply, the antennas. You can only do so much with a portable antenna, and vehicle-mounted/mast-mounted antennas are generally going to have a higher vantage point with fewer obstructions and provide better coverage. The higher-power radios, and/or the radios with the better antenna setups will usually be clearer and more audible over longer distances than the portables.

So, what functions are available on most 2-way radios? Well, that all depends on the type of radio (frequency range) and brand. Just about every radio will have 3 basic functions: volume, squelch, and a PTT (push-to-talk) transmit button. Other functions include the ability to store and switch to multiple channels (so one agency or group can communicate with another), an emergency "man-down" button, fine tuning adjustments, and several other goodies.

Frequency bands

A 2-way radio is no good unless you have a frequency to transmit on. The FCC sets aside specific frequencies in specific areas, as well as blocks of frequencies for different agencies and services.

You may have heard the terms "VHF" and "UHF" thrown around before, and for someone just getting into radio, the differentiation between all of the bands can be confusing.

Trunked radio

This section coming soon.

Radio repeater functionality