OPERATION
41
Tuner Operation
RDS Operation
The AVR 4500 is equipped with RDS (Radio Data
System), which brings a wide range of
information to FM radio. Now in use in many
countries, RDS is a system for transmitting station
call signs or network information, a description
of station program type, text messages about the
station or specifics of a musical selection, and
the correct time.
As more FM stations become equipped with RDS
capabilities, the AVR 4500 will serve as an easy-
to-use center for both information and
entertainment. This section will help you take
maximum advantage of the RDS system.
RDS Tuning
When an FM station is tuned in and it contains
RDS data, the
RDS Indicator
AE
will illumi-
nate, after some time also the indicators for all
other RDS services received (see below), and the
AVR 4500 will automatically display the station’s
call sign or other program service in the
Main
Information Display
Y
.
RDS Display Options
The RDS system is capable of transmitting a
wide variety of information in addition to the ini-
tial station call sign that appears when a station
is first tuned. In normal RDS operation the dis-
play will indicate the station name, broadcast
network or call letters. Pressing the
RDS
button
^
enables you to cycle through the various
data types in the following sequence:
• The station’s call letters (with some private
stations other information too).
• The station’s frequency.
• The Program Type (PTY) as shown in the list
below. The
PTY Indicator
AD
will illuminate
when this data is being received.
NOTE:
Many stations do not transmit a specific
PTY. The display will show
NONE
, when such a
station is selected and PTY is active.
• A “text” message (Radiotext, RT) containing
special information from the broadcast station.
Note that this message may scroll across the
display to permit messages longer than the eight
positions in the display. Depending on signal
quality, it may take up to 30 seconds for the text
message to appear; in that time, the word
TEXT
will flash in the Information Display when
RT is selected. The
RT Indicator
AB
will
illuminate when text data is being received and
ready to be displayed.
• The current time of day (CT). Note that it may
take up to two minutes for the time to appear, in
that time the word
TIME
will flash in the
information display when CT is selected. The
CT
Indicator
AC
will illuminate when time
data is being received. Please note that the
accuracy of the time data is dependent on the
radio station, not the AVR 4500.
Some RDS stations may not include some of
these additional features. If the data required for
the selected mode is not being transmitted, the
Main Information Display
Y
will show a
NO TYPE
,
NO TEXT
or
NO TIME
message after the individual time out.
In any FM mode the RDS function requires a
strong enough signal for proper operation. If you
receive a partial message, or any of the
RDS,
PTY, CT
or
RT Indicators
AE AD AC AB
going on and off, try slowly adjusting the
antenna or tune to another stronger RDS
station.
Program Search (PTY)
An important feature of RDS is its capability of
encoding broadcasts with Program Type (PTY)
codes that indicate the type of material being
broadcast. The following list shows the
abbreviations used to indicate each PTY, along
with an explanation of the PTY:
• (
RDS ONLY
)
• (
TRAFFIC
)
•
NEWS
: News
•
AFFAIRS
: Current Affairs
•
INFO
: Infomation
•
SPORT
: Sports
•
EDUCATE
: Educational
•
DRAMA
: Drama
•
CULTURE
: Culture
•
SCIENCE
: Sciencek
•
VARIED
: Varied Speech Programs
•
POPM
: Popular Music
•
ROCKM
: Rock Music
•
M.O.R.M.
: Middle-of-the-Road Music
•
LIGHTM
: Classical Music
•
CLASSICS
: Serious Classical Music
•
OTHERM
: Other Music
•
WEATHER
: Weather Information
•
FINANCE
: Financial Programs
•
CHILDREN
: Children’s Programs
•
SOCIAL A
: Social Affairs Programs
•
RELIGION
: Religious Broadcasts
•
PHONE IN
: Phone-In Programs
•
TRAVEL
: Travel and Touring
•
LEISURE
: Leisure and Hobby
•
JAZZ
: Jazz Music
•
COUNTRY
: Country Music
•
NATIONAL
: National Music
•
OLDIES
: Oldies Music
•
FOLK M
: Folk Music
•
DOCUMENT
: Documentary Programs
•
TEST
: Emergency Test
•
ALARM
: Emergency Broadcast Information
You may search for a specific Program Type (PTY)
by following these steps:
1. Press the
RDS
button
^
until the cur-
rent PTY is shown in the
Main Information
Display
Y
.
2. While the PTY is shown, press the
Preset
Up/Down
button
#
!
or hold them pressed
to scroll through the list of available PTY types,
as shown above starting with the PTY currently
received. To simply search for the next station
transmitting any RDS data, use the
Preset
Up/Down
button
#
!
until
RDS ONLY
appears in the display.
3. Press any of the
Tuning Up/Down
buttons
)
K
, the tuner begins to scan the FM band
upwards or downwards for the first station that
has RDS data that matches the desired selec-
tion, and acceptable signal strength for quality
reception.
4. While the
PTY Indicator
AD
flashes in the
display, the tuner will make up to one complete
scan of the entire FM band for the next station
that matches the desired PTY type and has
acceptable reception quality. If no such station is
found, the display will read
NONE
for some
seconds and the tuner will return to the last FM
station in use before the search.
NOTE:
Some stations transmit constant traffic
information. To identify as traffic station, they
transmit a specific traffic code constantly, which
causes the
TA Indicator
AA
to light in the dis-
play. These stations can be found by selecting
TRAFFIC
, the option in front of
NEWS
in
the list. The AVR 4500 RDS will find the next
appropriate station, even if it is not broadcasting
traffic information when the search is made.
