Replying to what I have read in response to my posting,..

I too noticed when I played with the Sangean WR-2 that B105 uses the Station
ID function of RDS, but that is about it. It seems a pity that it isn't
more widely promoted and implemented, but when most car radios don't have
the functionality to decode RDS, why should stations do anything more than
broadcast a station ID? I just think it is a radio resource whose time has
come, and it is a pity that it is not more widely used in creative ways.

I also have a Sangean ATS606 that I bought in Singapore in the 90s. Still
goes well enough. The more recent (and more expensive) models do include
RDS functions, and of course they tune up to 1710 Khz on AM.

I have been searching high and low for receivers that tune to the Extended
AM band, and it is very hard to find any that go all the way, and harder
still to find one that will tune to 1710 Khz in 9 KHz steps. JVC tuners
seem to go all the way up more often than most, and many Sony car radios
have a switch that will allow tuning in 10Khz steps. Portables with HF
tuning functionality normally will, and it seems the car stereos installed
by the manufacturer are often quite robust systems which seem to tune to
1710 (my radio in my Toyota Echo does), while the over the counter models
generally don't. For portables, you just have to go hunting at various
electonic shops for a model that will tune all the way - some do some don't.
Radio Brisvaani is a station I have tuned to many times (my wife is
Pakistani) and for this reason, among others, I want to tune all the way up
the AM dial. Being a narrowcast specialist, having convenient access to the
entire AM and FM band is important.

I haven't tried tuning to radio with a set-top box - that's also
interesting. But I have found a few DVD 5.1 sound amplifiers which include
a nice tuner that can tune across the whole AM and FM radio spectrum.

Someone needs to tell the gov't regulator ACMA to encourage manufacturers to
supply the market with devices that uses clever technological addtions (RDS)
and cover the higher frequencies on the AM band. If people could tune to
these Extended AM stations on their regular everyday radios, then operators
with NAS licences might start using their assets to provide interesting
services, and thereby enhance diversity in the marketplace. Radio Brisvaani
is a shining example of what can be done with a little effort, but any
Indian or Fijian who want to tune in more often than not has to go and buy a
new radio from DSE! We won't talk about World Audio!

Phil
"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message
...
The Philestine wrote:
The unit was a Sangean WR-2 which was designed for table-top usage in the
home. It is a robust device, that includes PLL tuning, memory present,
external AMand FM antenna connections. What was most novel about the unit
was it's inclusion of RDS - Radio Data System - for stations in the FM
band. I had never heard of RDS before, and was fascinated to learn about
this intriguing option which provides analogue (and Digital) radio
signals with a complementary data stream which will display text
information about the station your listening to on a digital display dial
for radios.

Don't feel too alone; RDS is not widely deployed in the USA either. I'd
say maybe 10% of American FM stations use it, and well under 1% of
receivers. It does make DXing a LOT easier, as here we have a scheme to
map a specific transmitter directly to a code transmitted in the RDS
stream. (though one major broadcaster has stopped observing that mapping)

AMSS is totally unheardof here. American stations have used a similar
modulation scheme in the past for closed-circuit signaling, for example to
remotely shut down consumers' water heaters during peak load periods. I
haven't heard anything about such use in a LONG time. I would suppose
AMSS would be mutually incompatible with AM stereo, not that that would be
a big problem with AM stereo pretty much obsolete.

designed for Analogue AM radio, although AM digital radio, such as is
available in Europe on the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) system, appears
to have AMSS and RDS functions as standard.

I'm sure Europe's Eureka 147 system (used on VHF/UHF) also has data
functions. In both cases it's not technically RDS but serves a similar
purpose.

Here in the States, we have (unfortunately) a digital radio system called
"IBOC", alternately "HD Radio". It contains provisions for "Program
Associated Data" which is the digital equivalent of AMSS/RDS. A limited
amount of data is available for MW IBOC stations - so far all I've seen is
display of the station name. (call letters)

Ironically, while only maybe 1% of analog receivers sold in the US can
receive the RDS transmissions of analog stations, in my experience 100% of
the new IBOC receivers can!

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com