The RDS book from Artech House Books (Boston/London) may be the right reference on RDS and RDS-TMC for you and your collaborators to be used.

• This book was published in 1999, but it has not lost its actuality yet at all. It still remains the reference on RDS.
• This book provides an easy access to information on RDS technology, specifications and implementations.
• The book is easy to undestand for engineers and managers and gives a good overview on the RDS technology used by now in over a 100 million radio receivers.
• Up to now the book has been very expensive: GBP 68. However, from now on and until 30 September 2001 you can buy the book directly from Artech House in London for only GBP 19.
• Have a look at a sample chapter from this book, Chapter 3: RDS Features Serving as Tuning Aids.

The authors, who are key figures in the development of RDS and RDS-TMC technology, use a step-by-step approach to overview the background, techniques, capabilities, and limits of these systems. This comprehensive guide references and explains the most up-to-date enhancements to RDS and RBDS (the US specification of RDS) as adopted by the official standardization bodies of CENELEC in Europe and the NRSC of NAB/EIA in the USA.

It also includes:

• The first comprehensive description of RDS-TMC and its implementation as pursued by the European Commission,

• A detailed discussion of solution-enhancing alternative radio data systems,

• RDS implementation information held by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the RDS Forum.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

Chapter 1 - RDS System and Applications Overview

This Chapter is conceived to give a good and detailed overview about RDS and its origins and does not require too much technical knowledge from the reader about mobile data communication techniques. It provides much of the necessary background that will help to better understand the details given about RDS and its implementation options in the remainder of this book.

Chapter 2 - Differences between RDS and RBDS

In this Chapter the small but subtle differences between the European RDS CENELEC standard and the North American RBDS NAB/EIA specification (a voluntary US industry standard) are explained. Through close collaboration between the RDS Forum and the US National Radio Systems Committee, both standards were to a high degree harmonized with the view to facilitate the manufacturing of receivers for both markets. Since receivers can detect automatically where they are operated, they can in principle configure themselves automatically. Therefore it is important that encoder/receiver designers and Data Service Providers clearly understand the subtle differences between RDS and RBDS.

Chapter 3 - RDS Features serving as Tuning aids

In this Chapter, RDS Features which help the tuning functionality of FM receivers are introduced. In this connotation, a feature in RDS is considered to be something which gives a distinctive functionality. Originally in the earliest versions of the specification, these tended to be defined into a single RDS group, such as RadioText which is described in Chapter 4 (although there are notable exceptions, such as PI described in this chapter). But, as the specification was enhanced, some features were defined which make use of more than one group to be transmitted (eg Radio Paging), which is described in Chapter 8 to obtain full functionality.

Chapter 4 - Radio programme-related RDS Features

RDS was originally designed with a strong view that it should provide features for the user to benefit from information related to broadcast programmes. In Chapter 3 it was noted that type 0A groups contain both tuning features and some programme related features. One of these programme-related features, Programme Type, was foreseen by the original developers to be significant for tuning purposes, so PTY information is conveyed in all RDS groups. But PTY did not become an early success for RDS, nevertheless it is being implemented by more broadcasters and receiver manufacturers alike, now that the capabilities offered are better understood and now that other features are also demanding dynamic control over the RDS encoders. More recently the possibilities of an additional feature, Programme Type Name, have been developed and added to the RDS specification. PTY can be used to help the programme selection process by a user and so too can the Programme Item Number feature. Other dynamic features to be discussed in this chapter are RadioText which has many uses giving both programme-related information and many other possibilities. Finally the support features DI / PTYI are described.

Chapter 5 - Additional information Features

This Chapter explores several possible optional RDS features originally developed to widen the information carrying ability of RDS. The original developers realised that once an RDS receiver was designed with an eight character display, then some additional features could be added very economically, such as the Clock Time feature. RDS is also ideally suited for carrying other features requiring very low data capacity needs, such as the In House and Emergency Warning Systems, which are intended for special closed user group purposes. However the most important additional information feature, added to the RDS Standard in 1992, is the Enhanced Other Networks feature, which has the amazing ability to keep an RDS receiver very fully informed about other transmissions and helps it to tune to them for services previously requested by the user.

Chapter 6 - Traffic information Services

The fundamental aspects of the TP feature, which is used as a key tuning feature, are explained fully in Chapter 3. In this Chapter the use of both Traffic Service flags used together, is explored. Then an improved application of the RDS Traffic service using the EON feature in conjunction with the TP and TA flags is described by using a driver scenario, to follow the circumstances of generating and transmitting all the RDS features from several radio stations, to make up an overall RDS Traffic service for the user.

Chapter 7 - Intelligent Transport Systems and RDS-TMC

Since the European Commission has chosen RDS-TMC as a priority technology to be introduced for the provision of traffic and travel information on the major roads within the European Union member states, those involved in transport telematics have given much attention to RDS. This Chapter explains the strategic and policy issues that surround RDS-TMC, the market trends for telematics equipment in general and RDS-TMC in particular. The resulting human-machine interface problems and safety aspects that this poses, are also covered.

Chapter 8 - Basic and Enhanced Radio Paging

This Chapter introduces the concept of FM Radio Paging. This technique offers the fastest way to provide a full paging communication coverage for a complete country or region or even only a metropolitan area. FM paging is growing fast because it is cost-effective and because it mostly uses an infrastructure already built for other communication purposes. FM Radio Paging puts the existing telephone system and FM broadcasting stations to more profitable use, providing a valuable service and generating revenue for the operator.

Chapter 9 - ODA - Open Data Applications

This Chapter describes the Open Data Applications (ODA) feature which was developed by the RDS Forum, to meet a Service Provider requirement: to use RDS for data services which would be developed after publication and during the relatively long life of the RDS and RBDS standards. A particular motivation was to facilitate the development of RDS-TMC (within the CEN standardisation processes) using ODA. But other uses have already emerged: some, where a Service Provider wishes to make the use public and others where the service details are kept private, perhaps because it will be offered as a subscribed service.

Chapter 10 - Differential GPS

Using RDS for differential GPS has become a reality in a large number of countries. However, although this issue has generated a relatively wide interest since the early nineties and implementation issues were widely discussed in the RDS Forum and also the US National Radio Systems Committee, due to diverse commercial interests no common standard has ever emerged. Ultimately, the new ODA feature was commonly identified as being most suitable to carry such a service.

Chapter 11 - RDS Encoder Communication Protocols and the UECP

This Chapter explains the need for a communication protocol to be used between broadcaster (studios) or data Service Provider and RDS encoders. The EBU has developed a standard for this protocol which is commonly called the UECP (Universal Encoder Communication Protocol). It is recommended to use it, especially when RDS is implemented within a network of several transmitters and also when data need to be assembled from various data Service Providers. The concept and data format of this protocol are also described in some detail.

Chapter 12 - RDS Demodulators and Decoders

In this Chapter the functionality of a radio-data decoder and the micro-computer which controls the PLL tuner, is explained. Existing ICs from various manufacturers for the RDS decoder are mentioned. Then, the implementation of RDS in the three main categories of consumer receivers, i.e. car radios, home hi-fi and portable radios is discussed. Some known plug-in cards with an RDS radio for PCs are briefly presented and the Chapter closes with a section about professional software RDS data monitors and data analysers for PCs and lap-tops in particular.

Chapter 13 - Outlook: RDS and other broadcast data systems for radio

This Chapter reviews other radio data systems that are already used for data transmissions in the allocated frequency bands for terrestrial or satellite radio. The possibilities offered by these systems are compared with RDS where ever this is possible. A forecast is made about the market impact from the present point of view for all these systems. The following systems are being reviewed: AMDS and Digital Radio Mondial for AM broadcasting and its replacement by a new digital broadcast system, the high speed data systems DARC/SWIFT, HSDS and STIC for FM broadcasting, Digital Radio (Eureka 147 - DAB), ADR, DSR, DVB and WorldSpace.

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Scott Wright is a Member of the RDS Forum and the Chairman of the NRSC Subcommittee that standardised RBDS for North America. The name RBDS is used only for the North American standard to distinguish it clearly from the European CENELEC RDS standard which is since very recent integral part of the RBDS standard. Products conforming to the RBDS standard will carry the RDS logo as in Europe and the consumer will encounter only RDS products. Scott Wright was instrumental in establishing these facts.

This being said, we have here a book from a competent leader in the RDS technology. Scott Wright is also a designer of Delco RDS car radio products, used by of car makers worldwide. With this book he wants to break the ice at the side of the American FM broadcasters that have so far been reluctant in using RDS (only 700 FM stations out of 5000 have so far implemented RDS in the USA) since there have been so far only very few commercial RDS products on the American market, inspite of the fact that in Europe there are now already over 50 million RDS radios sold.