Sutcliffe Technologies

Information on RDS in Australia
  • RDS receivers available in Australia
  • Stockiest of RDS Receivers in Australia
  • Stations transmitting RDS in Australia
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  • About RDS
  • Benefits to broadcasters
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    • About RDS
    RDS is data that is carried on a sub-carrier along side the audio information on a radio signal. Information about the station transmitting on that frequency as well as other information is sent on the RDS sub-carrier.
    RDS in the FM signal



     
     

    RDS main functions
    PS - Programme Service name:  An 8 character station name (e.g. TRIPLE J ) this normally appears on a RDS receiver instead of the frequency.

    PI - Program Identification Code: Used to identify what program is being transmitted, if the content was exactly the same you would set the PI the same, if it had totally different content or it had different localised content the PI would be different.

    PTY - Program Type: A code that indicates the type of programme being transmitted. This code is displayed as 8 or 16 characters from the list of programme types (e.g. ROCK M, NEWS , POP M). This can be used for searching for a particular programme type on an RDS receivers.

    AF - Alternative Frequency:  A list of frequencies on which the same programme / station transmits. If turned on in an RDS receiver the receiver will automatically change to the stronger frequency should the current signal strength drop below a threshold.
    (You could drive from Cains to Sydney without touching the radio dial if a national station set this up feature properly)

    MS - Music Speech: Indicates the if the programme is music or speech. In some RDS receivers the volume levels can be set up differently.

    TP - Traffic Programme: Indicates that the station provides traffic information.

    TA - Traffic Announcement: Indicates that the station is currently broadcasting traffic information. If turned on on a RDS receiver the CD or tape player may be interrupted to give the listener traffic information.

    RT - Radio Text: A string of either 32 or 64 characters that is usually scrolled across a receivers screen. This text could be the song and artist title, advertisements or any other information the station would like to transmit.

    CT - Clock Time and date: Time and date information that can be displayed or used by an RDS receiver to synchronise it.
     

    There are a variety of other features RDS offers including in-house applications, radio paging, transparent data channel (road sign control or other applications), Programme Identification, Programme Item Number, EON, Emergency Warning System.


     


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