BMW RDS PTY B.S.-HELP!

[Sgeirk]

I get this complaint from BMW owners:

When a BMW's PTY button is pressed twice while IN RDS mode...and you switch to our FREQ, it switches automatically to one of our sister stations.

Anyone seen this, anyone able to help? We have an older RDS unit and it's only BMW owners.

Thanks!

 

[NoTimeForSleep]

Are you sending an Alternate Frequency entry out of your RDS maybe?

 

[davideduardo]

Are you sending an Alternate Frequency entry out of your RDS maybe?

I can do that on 98.3 / 103.9 in LA in my BMW (sorry, I did not "by(sic)" and American car) and get the other to appear... this is because our RDS is set to flip between them as they are a simulcast. RDS was invented in Europe mostly just to do this... most radio in Europe is networed on many channels around a country. And that is where the superior BMW comes from.

 

[littlejohn]

Go into your RDS encoder and remove everything from the alternate frequency list (AFO).

 

[boiseengineer]

On the Inovonics 712 had to do a "factory reset" to clear all the weird frequencies out of the AFO. They didn't show in the RS232 PC setup software, only when you looked at what it was putting out with the 510 Decoder.

 

[Sgeirk]

It IS an Inovonics 712. How do you suggest we get around this issue, then? We're about to serial into the unit tomorrow.

 

[littlejohn]

First check the firmware. The current ver is 1.0.4, if you have an earlier ver, call Inovonics and get the current chip. The ones they sent me had 1.0.4 written on the chip in laundry marker. Then, (at least on the ones we have) all the AF's will appear in the setup screen. Delete them and it ought to quit telling people's radios 'where to go'.
Assuming you're in the US, you should also set the box for "RDBS' not "RDS'. I believe that setting is in the firmware.

 

[tomservo]

I have a cell phone whose FM radio has RDS + AF - it's kind of neat. Seems like it would be a great thing for all those two station multicasts out there, and translators. Miss public radio uses it for the statewide network. Too bad it isn't used more often.

Once when leaving Toronto I had my car stereo on a CHR station that used AF; when the signal weakened it flipped to a different freq -- different format but with the same slogan!