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Section III
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
AND INITIAL ENCODER SETUP
NOTE:
It is important to pre-program the 730 Encoder before it
is placed in the air chain. Programming loads your station-
specific data into non-volatile memory within the 730 Encoder
itself. Default register settings and messages are programmed-
in at the factory as part of the final checkout process. Al-
though benign in nature and intent, factory defaults could
prove a source of confusion or embarrassment if put on-air in
lieu of settings and messages appropriate to the installation.
Section II has already described RDS data setup using the front-
panel jog wheel.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE 730 ENCODER
ASCII
Commands
Outside of its use with European radio networks or with third-
party data consolidators, the 730 Encoder will probably be ad-
dressed with ASCII commands. The 730 may be addressed
through the front-panel USB port, by an RS-232 serial link, or it
may be connected to a network: either a Local Area Network
(LAN) or the Internet. Any port may be used to program the
encoder if this has not already been done using the jog wheel
as described in Section II. 730 Encoder software serves all con-
nection options with an intuitive data-entry screen and self-
guiding Help.
Scrolling song titles require interconnection with station auto-
mation or, in special cases, directly with the data port of a sa-
tellite receiver. Some RDS applications require continuous, on-
line access to the RDS encoder by third-party service providers.
The 730 Encoder offers these capabilities as it can be directly
addressed through its serial or network ports by simple ASCII
commands.
UECP
Operation
The Universal Encoder Communications Protocol (UECP) was
developed during initial RDS implementation as a ‘harmonized’
means of linking encoders in European radio network applica-
tions. It is identified by the European RDS Subcommittee as
document SPB 490.
UECP does not enable additional RDS features; it is simply a dif-
ferent means of communicating with the encoder that uses
hexadecimal (hex) code rather than ASCII commands.
UECP operation is available on serial and network ports and is
most easily set using the 730 Encoder software (see Page 38). It
is also possible to toggle ports between UECP and ASCII opera-
