PCS Electronics
www.pcs-electronics.com
RDS MAX V1.0
RDS MAX v1.0 is a high quality and cost effective way to add RDS capability to your transmitter. It has been designed especially to
complement the PCI MAX and other FM transmitters from PCS Electronics. Our main guideline was to have an option of transmitting
MP3 IDtag with the radio text. This unit will allow for dynamic PS, TA, AF, RT, DI, PTY, TP, PI and possibly CT (still evaluated).
Simple assembling procedure, high quality components and printed circuit board assure 24/7 operation for years.
Features:
MPX input: 6K
MPX output: 75 ohms
Supply voltage: 12V-16V/100mA DC
Input connector: RCA
Output connector: RCA
Output level:
RDS pilot: 57KHz, PLL locked to stereo pilot
RDS groups supported: 0A, 2A
Functions: PS, AF, RT, TA, DI, PTY, TP, PI
Galvanic separation with the PC, eliminates ground loops (brum)
PC data connection: RS232
Automatic switch from internal pilot to stereo synchronized pilot
Fig. 1; RDS MAX v1.0 without the enclosure
THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING RDS MAX V1.0!
We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do and remember to tell your friends about it. If you discovered a bug and perhaps even found a
solution or have an idea for improvement of this product, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Please feel free to send us your comments to [email protected]. For tech support please send email to
support@pcs-
electronics.com
From all of us we wish you happy broadcasting!
Now go get that soldering iron :-)
PCS Electronics
www.pcs-electronics.com
BEFORE YOU START
Here is what you need to use RDS MAX V1.0
-
Soldering iron;
25-35 watt soldering iron. Weller and ERSA make excellent soldering tools. Radio Shack stuff is horrible, but will do if
that’s your only option. This may not be needed with some configurations (enclosed).
-
FM exciter (a transmitter);
You will need a transmitter that will transmit the RDS signal. It has been designed specifically for the MAX
family of transmitters, but can be used with any FM exciter.
Finally, if you know nothing or little about electronics, I selected a few books that I find extremely useful and often read. The links to them
are on our homepage. I suggest you start with ARRL HANDBOOK, the holy bible of amateur radio and electronics in general. It is an
extremely valuable resource for every broadcaster.
USING THE RDS MAX v1.0
Step 1: Unwrapping the package
Clean-up that desk and carefully unwrap the package. Depending on the configuration of the purchased RDS encoder you will either find just
the PCB with the CD or the encoder mounted into an enclosure with encoder and cable. Sometimes we don’t send the CD since some
countries have strict regulations pertaining to import of CDs (Mexico is a good example of this). If this is the case, you are advised to
download your driver from our website.
Quickly check the PCB for any defects inflicted by the shipping. If all checks out fine, proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Connecting to the transmitter, PC and stereo encoder
This is the most difficult part of the job. Still, with little patience, good instructions and steady hand it should be a breeze with most users. If
you’re stuck at some point, don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions. Note that we have a Forum on our website; you can post your
questions there also. Let’s look at the typical scenarios with RDS MAX v1.0.
