tk92 - Experimental Software for
Radio Shack® PRO-92 and PRO-2067 Scanners

Overview

tk92 is open source software designed for Radio Shack® PRO-92 and PRO-2067 multi-system trunking scanners. Though it is chiefly intended for Linux, MacOS X, and BSD users, it will work on Microsoft Windows, too.

The current, experimental version of tk92 can:

Read a memory image from the receiver or a disk file. tk92 can read and write an SPG file created GRE's Scanner Data Manager, by Ken Plotkin's 92WARE and Don Starr's Win92 Windows software, and by Steve Falco's 92linux Linux command line software.
Using a graphical interface, display data from a memory image and let a user change various settings.
Sort memory channels by frequency or label.
Find duplicate frequencies in memory channels.
Import memory channel or talk group data from csv (comma-separated values) files.
Export memory channel or talk group data to csv files.
Write the results back to the radio.

I implemented tk92 in the Tcl/Tk scripting language which enables it to run on a variety of operating systems, including Linux, MacOS X, BSD, Windows, etc. The free Tcl/Tk interpreter software must be installed on your computer prior to using tk92.

tk92 is distributed free of charge, but it is neither shareware nor in the public domain. tk92 is a copyrighted work released under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation. tk92 is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

Memory Channel Files

tk92 can export memory channel data to a file. The memory channel data file is formated in csv (comma-separated values) format. The first line of the file is this heading:

Ch,MHz,Mode,PL,Delay,Lockout,Label

All the other lines will contain these fields:


Channel number (0 - 49, 100 - 149, 200 - 249, ...)
Frequency in MHz
Mode, case insensitive (optional: am, fm or nfm, pl,
	dl, mo, ed, lt)
PL or DPL code (optional: e.g., 141.3 or D054)
Delay (optional: D or d)
Lockout (optional: L or l)
Label (optional: 12 characters max.)

This is a sample memory data .csv file:

Ch,MHz,Mode,PL,Delay,Lockout,Label
0,162.4000,FM,,D,L,"Bob Parnass"
1,460.5250,PL,127.3,D,,"Kencom P1"
2,460.5750,PL,127.3,D,,"Kencom Fire1"
5,155.4750,,,D,,"ISPERN"
6,155.5800,DL,D114,D,,"Oswego PD"
7,145.1700,,,D,,"IHARC"
8,146.5200,FM,,D,,"HAM SIMPLEX"
11,155.4600,FM,,D,,"ISP HF4"
230,471.1375,PL,,D,,"Warrenville"
231,158.8500,PL,88.5,D,,"Wescom"
232,856.4625,PL,,D,,"WoodRidge"
300,868.5375,MO,,D,,"Aurora TR"
301,868.2000,MO,,D,,"Aurora TR"
302,868.1750,MO,,D,,"Aurora TR"
303,867.6250,MO,,D,,"Aurora TR"
304,867.2500,MO,,D,,"Aurora TR"
305,866.0625,MO,,D,,"Aurora TR"
306,453.9500,PL,151.4,D,,"FV Mall secy"
307,463.4000,DL,D054,D,,"FV Mall mnt"
	...

You can use a separate text editor or spreadsheet program to create, edit, and print memory channel files.

Talk Group Files

tk92 can export talk group data to a file. The talk group data file is formated in csv (comma-separated values) format. The first line of the file is this heading:

	Ch,ID,Label,Lockout

All the other lines will contain these fields:


Channel number (0 - 99, 100 - 199, ...)
Talk Group ID (LT, ED, and MO Type 2 talk
	group IDs are represented as a string of
	digits, e.g., 1872.
	MO Type 1 talk group IDs can be in either of
	two formats: BFFF-S or BFF-SS, where:
		B is the block number digit
		FF or FFF is the fleet number
		S or SS is the subfleet number)
	ED talk group IDs can be in either of
	two formats: decimal or AFS, e.g.,
	1338 or 10-072.)
Label (optional. 12 characters max.)
Lockout (optional. L or l)

This is a talk group .csv file:

Ch,ID,Label,Lockout
300,176,"Specl Events",
301,1616,"APD Tac",
302,1648,"APD 1 dispat",
303,1744,"APD 2",
304,1776,"APD Ops 1",
305,1808,"APD Ops 2",
306,1840,"APD SOG",
400,80,"NPD dispatch",
401,112,"NPD 2",
402,144,"NPD inquiry",
403,176,"NPD investig",

	...

You can use a separate text editor or spreadsheet program to create, edit, and print talk group files.

Computer Interface Adaptor

You will need a suitable TTL-to-RS232 level adaptor to connect the radio to your computer serial port. A direct cable connection won't work and could damage the radio and/or computer serial port hardware.

I use a miniature stereo-to-mono adaptor with an RT Systems CT29A cable, sold for the VR-500. RT Systems sales staff may be contacted at sales@cloningsoftware.com. (I am not affiliated with RT Systems).

tk92 is compatible with these cables:

original GRE 30-2290 cable,
Purple Computing PCL35M cloning cable (US Patent 5,504,864), available from the manufacturer and from BlackBag Software.
RT Systems CT-29A cable with a 3-to-2 pin adapter,
Bill Petrowsky's Simplified Op Amp cable,
Bill Petrowsky's 2-transistor cable,

and perhaps other cloning cables. Cables which are self-powered have a better chance of being compatible than those which draw power from serial port.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ken Plotkin and Bill Petrowsky who determined and published the PRO-92 and PRO-2067 memory image layout, with corrections from Don Starr. Bill suggested implementing preprogrammed fleet maps in Win92 and I incorporated them into tk92, as well. Steve Falco published the source code for his 92linux command line based software, written in the C language.

Thanks also to Greg Shepherd, Ryan Schave, Frank Monroe, Bill Petrowsky, and others for helping to test tk92.

tk92 is undergoing development. To download a beta test version, including source code, click on the appropriate link to the left.