RDS Radio functions
The RDS (Radio Data System) is a digital information system created by the European Broadcast Union (EBU).
This system
The three main RDS functions are described below:
AF/REG (Alternate Frequency)
When this mode is enabled by pressing and holding the MO/ST•AF button, the radio will continuously monitor the signal strength of the broadcast you are listening to and if it finds the same network broadcast on a different frequency which is stronger, it will automatically switch to the stronger signal.
Regional mode setting
In the SELECT menu (see page 11 in this manual) you can choose to turn on or off the REG (regional mode) subfunction within AF mode. The default mode is OFF.
Although the AF button can sense if one station on a network is stronger than another, it will not confirm that the actual program being broadcast is the same unless you turn ON the REG mode.
TA (Traffic Announcement) Many FM stations offer traffic announcements in addition to their regular programming.
If you enable the TA function by pressing the TA button, when this station broadcasts a traffic advisory, the radio’s RDS tuner will automatically interrupt the regular program and play the alert. When the alert is finished, normal play of the broadcast will resume.
The TA function will also interrupt CD and MP3 playback temporarily if the EON feature has been enabled (see below).
There are some other settings for TA behavior that you can change. See the SELECT instructions on page 11 for more information.
RDS EON function setting
The RDS EON system extends the functionality of the TA sensing to a wider range of traffic announcements from both local and national sources. It also allows the unit to interrupt disc playback with these announcements. In addition, it will play these announcements (at normal listening level) even if the audio has been muted.
(To set this level, see instructions on page 11 for setting
To enable the EON function, press and hold the SCAN button. Press again to disable it.
With EON enabled, when a traffic announcement is broadcast, the radio will switch automatically to TA mode, and “TP” (Traffic Program) will be displayed.
PTY (Program type)
A number of RDS stations can be selected by the type of program they broadcast, i.e. news, sport or classical music.
Press and hold the PTY button to cause the tuner to switch to RDS PTY type tuning. If at any time you wish to return to normal tuning mode, press and hold again.
When you have entered PTY mode, the display will show “PTY” indicating that the mode is enabled, and the name of the first program type, “NEWS.”
To view other PTY categories, use the UP/DOWN buttons (a list of these categories is shown on the next page). To select the category, highlight it and press SELECT. If there is no station found in that category, the display will show “NONE PTY” and the radio will return to normal mode.
MR1640W User’s Manual - page 16
