Radio Shack PRO-2052 Dual Trunking Scanner Programming Howto

The PRO-2052 is RadioShack's* version of the Uniden BC235XLT.

[*RadioShack: You've got questions? We've got blank stares!]

There is a news group alt.radio.scanner.

There is also an active discussion group for the PRO-2052 at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pro2052owners/

The purpose of this page is to help owners of the PRO-2052 to write custom software to control the scanner with a computer. I started out getting it to work with Windows before shifting it over to Linux so the code is Windows centric. I assume Linux users will have an easier time converting from Windows code than Windows users would have converting from Linux.

RadioShack will sell you a cable and MS Windows software package from Pozilla Software, for 29.99 plus 4.50 S/H. Mine arrived in 9 days, minus the cable. A standard serial cable works just fine (straight through, not a null modem cable), and you can experiment with the commands and responses with HyperTerminal or any communications software that will let you make a direct connection to the serial port. You don't need a high powered computer either. A Tandy Z-80 Model 4 will work just fine, as will a Palm Pilot. The default connection is 9600/N/8/1 with no flow control, and the scanner sends a carriage return character to terminate any codes it sends. Your software should terminate any command to the scanner with an ASCII Carriage Return. (^M is 13 decimal, 0x0D hex. A line feed is ^J (10 decimal), 0x0A hex.) It helps to set the communications software to add a line feed to the scanner's responses so that each response is on a new line. After connecting the cable, turn on the computer and the scanner and then press and hold the Remote/Hold button on the scanner until you see "SFT" flashing on the right side of the LCD. You should now be communicating with the scanner. If it doesn't work, check all the normal stuff for whatever it was you overlooked. NOTE: You can change the scanner's default baud rate by holding down the Remote/Hold button while turning on the scanner.)

	OPEN "COM1:9600,N,8,1,CD0,CS0,DS0,OP0,RS,TB100,RB100" FOR RANDOM AS #1
	CLS
	PRINT "PRO2052 Scanner Program - Press any key to abort"
	PRINT #1, "MD" ' get mode from scanner
	FOR x = 1 TO 20000: NEXT x ' insert some delay. This for a 233 Mhz
	WHILE LOC(1) = 0: WEND  'WAIT FOR DATA
	r$ = INPUT$(LOC(1), #1) 'READ DATA
	IF MID$(r$, 1, 4) = "MD00" THEN PRINT "Scanning" ELSE PRINT "Manual": END

	DO
	WHILE LOC(1) = 0
	KB$ = INKEY$ ' STROBE KEYBOARD FOR KEYPRESS
	IF KB$ <> "" THEN CLOSE : PRINT "CLOSED": END
	WEND  'WAIT FOR DATA
       
	r$ = INPUT$(LOC(1), #1) 'READ DATA
	IF r$ = "+" THEN
	PRINT "RECEIVING"
	FOR x = 1 TO 10000: NEXT x
	PRINT #1, "MA" 'GET CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS
	FOR x = 1 TO 10000: NEXT x
	ELSEIF r$ = "-" THEN
	PRINT "Scanning"
	ELSE
	IF LEN(r$) > 1 THEN PRINT "CHAN "; MID$(r$, 3, 3); " Freq "; MID$(r$, 8, 4); "."; MID$(r$, 12, 4)
	END IF
	LOOP

Here's a tip for those trying to use Tcl/Tk to control the scanner (A good choice). Set the translation for MacIntosh. i.e. -translation cr. This will convert the cr that the scanner sends to a linefeed, and convert the linefeed that your program sends to the scanner to a carriage return. The scanner wants only a carriage return after the data. Anything else will cause an error. This will also work if you are using a Windows platform with Cygwin and Tcl/Tk

Everything else is obvious, especially if you have the owner's manual which lists the commands and responses. You can also download the pc/remote documentation from Radio Shack or dial their FAX retrieval system at (800) 323-6586 and get document # 58689. For other documentation on the scanner visit here or get FAX document 57915.

If you are a programmer, there is nothing else here that you need. What follows is just the same stuff that's either in the manual or the docs mentioned above.

The main reason I wrote my own software to control the scanner is to go beyond the functionality of the Pozilla program, and to do it with Linux. The Pozilla program is buggy, but it works and it's cute.

• I don't know how many times I heard something on the scanner and ran over to it only to see it resume scanning, leaving me with no clue as to what the last transmission was. Even if I reach the scanner in time, all I see is a frequency. The Pozilla program does allow me to add a text string with each frequency which it displays while the transmission is active, but there is no "last frequency received" line to extend the persistency of that information.
• I wanted to be able to actually "program" my scanner like I can program the lights in my house, or my furnace. If I want a weather report every hour on the hour for 2 minutes, I want to be able to program that.
• I wanted to be able to set a time-out to resume scanning if I get locked onto some long-winded HAM Radio Operator, or a steady carrier, etc.
• I wanted to load up the scanner with as close to 1000 frequencies that I can find and have software build a table of what "hits" I got and when. That way I can find out what frequencies are actually available in my area, and weed out the "dead wood" to find the 200 most active channels to load into my hand held. Pozilla only builds a list (not a count) for free scanning, not for those frequencies already loaded in channels.
• I wanted to control and monitor the scanner over the LAN so I don't have to be at the computer that's controlling the scanner. Using an inexpensive "wireless mike" set up I can also hear the audio wherever I am.
• I want to extend these ideas further to the WWW with streaming audio and.... well, you get the idea...

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	First created Apr 22, 2008 ~ Last revised March 23, 2010