Thanks for the help,

It seems that I will have to look for a second hand Conrad RDS
manager, o build some RDS decoder myself. I expected something
already available comercially so that I could concentrate my efforts
on the analysis software. I have some experience controlling Yaesu,
Icom and Kenwood radios via CAT (RS-232) interface, so I expected to
find some receiver that also could deliver the RDS data in a similar
way.

The only device I have found that fits my requirements is a
professional receiver that can be controlled via USB, but its price
(999 GBP) is too high for my amateur budget. Just for your
information, in case you want to have a look to it, the URL is
http://tinyurl.com/3x5el

By the way, I'm in Balearic Islands.

73. Gabriel - EA6VQ
www.vhfdx.net





Doug Smith W9WI wrote in message ...
R J Carpenter wrote:
One partial solution is the "RDS Manager" sold by the German electronics
(etc) retailer Conrad. They also are mail-order - but refuse to sell in the
...
I suspect that a dozen or more units were privately imported into the USA. I
personally know of two, and have heard of a third.

I have one.

You didn't say whether you are in North America or Europe. RDS is
widespread in Europe, but rare in the USA. There is, however, renewed
interest in R(B)DS on the part of US broadcasters.

This is an important point. Of 30 stations strong enough to deliver RDS
at my location, only six actually have the encoder.

====

You're going to have to go with a communications receiver for the radio;
I don't know of any consumer FM radios that are PC-controllable.

If you're comfortable with hardware modification you could provide
external contact closures to tune a consumer radio up & down the band
one step at a time.