IEC 62106-9:2021
(Main)Radio Data System (RDS) - VHF/FM sound broadcasting in the frequency range from 64,0 MHz to 108,0 MHz - Part 9: RBDS - RDS variant used in North America
Radio Data System (RDS) - VHF/FM sound broadcasting in the frequency range from 64,0 MHz to 108,0 MHz - Part 9: RBDS - RDS variant used in North America
IEC 62106-9:2021 specifies the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS), which is an RDS-compatible variant used in countries of North America. RBDS was first standardized by the U.S. National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) in 1993 and subsequently revised in 1998, 2004, 2005 and 2011 . With the publication of this edition of IEC 62106, the RDS and RBDS standards are now harmonized into a single document. The frequency range of operation (64,0 MHz to 108,0 MHz as indicated by the title of this document) varies according to regional regulatory authority. The U.S. range is 88 MHz to 108 MHz, as set by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
General Information
Relations
Standards Content (Sample)
IEC 62106-9 ®
Edition 1.0 2021-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Radio data system (RDS) –VHF/FM sound broadcasting in the frequency range
from 64,0 MHz to 108,0 MHz –
Part 9: RBDS – RDS variant used in North America
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
your local IEC member National Committee for further information.
IEC Central Office Tel.: +41 22 919 02 11
3, rue de Varembé info@iec.ch
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.
IEC publications search - webstore.iec.ch/advsearchform IEC online collection - oc.iec.ch
The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a Discover our powerful search engine and read freely all the
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical publications previews. With a subscription you will always have
committee, …). It also gives information on projects, replaced access to up to date content tailored to your needs.
and withdrawn publications.
Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished
The world's leading online dictionary on electrotechnology,
Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published
containing more than 22 000 terminological entries in English
details all new publications released. Available online and once
and French, with equivalent terms in 18 additional languages.
a month by email.
Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary
(IEV) online.
IEC Customer Service Centre - webstore.iec.ch/csc
If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or need
further assistance, please contact the Customer Service
Centre: sales@iec.ch.
IEC 62106-9 ®
Edition 1.0 2021-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Radio data system (RDS) –VHF/FM sound broadcasting in the frequency range
from 64,0 MHz to 108,0 MHz –
Part 9: RBDS – RDS variant used in North America
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.060.01; 33.160.20; 33.170 ISBN 978-2-8322-9785-8
– 2 – IEC 62106-9:2021 © IEC 2021
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 6
3.1 Terms and definitions . 6
3.2 Abbreviated terms . 7
4 Coding of information . 7
4.1 General . 7
4.2 Exceptions . 7
4.2.1 PI coding . 7
4.2.2 PTY coding . 7
4.2.3 PS . 7
Annex A (normative) PI coding for North America . 8
A.1 General . 8
A.2 Call letter conversion . 8
A.2.1 Conversion method to be used . 8
A.2.2 Examples of assigning PI codes from call letters . 12
A.3 Application: receiver functionality to PI code assignments . 13
A.4 Optional – modifying PI code for use with traffic information systems . 14
A.5 PI codes for FM translators . 14
Annex B (normative) PTY coding . 16
Bibliography . 19
Table A.1 – Letter to decimal value conversion . 8
Table A.2 – PI code possibilities . 10
Table A.3 – Nationally/regionally-linked radio stations code . 11
Table A.4 – 3-letter only call signs . 12
Table A.5 – Receiver checking method for PI 0x1 nibble 1 substitution . 14
Table B.1 – Programme type codes and corresponding terms for display . 16
Table B.2 – Definition of the terms used to denote programme type – PTY . 17
Table B.3 – PTY code descriptions and abbreviations in Spanish . 18
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
RADIO DATA SYSTEM (RDS) –
VHF/FM SOUND BROADCASTING IN THE FREQUENCY
RANGE FROM 64,0 MHz TO 108,0 MHz –
Part 9: RBDS –
RDS variant used in North America
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”). Their
preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with
may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising
with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely with the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence between
any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of patent
rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 62106-9 has been prepared by technical area 1: Terminals for audio,
video and data services and contents, of IEC technical committee 100: Audio, video and
multimedia systems and equipment.
This first edition, together with IEC 62106-1, IEC 62106-2, IEC 62106-3, IEC 62106-4,
IEC 62106-5, IEC 62106-6 and IEC 62106-10, cancels and replaces IEC 62106:2015, and
constitutes a technical revision.
IEC 62106-9 cancels and replaces US NRSC-4-B, National Radio Systems Committee – United
States RBDS standard, published in 2011.
– 4 – IEC 62106-9:2021 © IEC 2021
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
100/3399/CDV 100/3553/RVC
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
A list of all parts in the IEC 62106 series, published under the general title Radio data system
(RDS) – VHF/FM sound broadcasting in the frequency range from 64,0 MHz to 108,0 MHz, can
be found on the IEC website.
The language used for the development of this International Standard is English.
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/standardsdev/publications.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
INTRODUCTION
Since the mid-1980s, a fascinating development has taken place. Most of the multimedia
applications and standards have been created or redefined significantly. Hardware has become
extremely powerful with dedicated software and middleware. In the mid-1980s, Internet as well
as its protocols did not exist. Navigation systems became affordable in the late 1990s, and a
full range of attractive smartphones now exist. The computing power of all these new products
is comparable with that of the mainframe installations in that era.
Listener expectations have grown faster than the technology. Visual experience is now very
important, like the Internet look and feel. Scrolling text or delivering just audio is nowadays
perceived as insufficient for FM radio, specifically for smartphone users. New types of radio
receivers with added value features are therefore required. RDS has so far proven to be very
successful.
FM radio with RDS is an analogue-digital hybrid system, which is still a valid data transmission
technology and only the applications need adaptation. Now the time has come to solve the only
disadvantage, the lack of sufficient data capacity. With RDS2, the need to increase the data
capacity can be fulfilled.
RDS was introduced in the early 1980s. During the introductory phase in Europe, the car
industry became very involved and that was the start of an extremely successful roll-out. Shortly
afterwards, RDS (RBDS) was launched in the USA. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
The RDS Forum has investigated a solution to the issue of limited data capacity. For RDS2,
both sidebands around the RDS 57 kHz subcarrier can be repeated a few times, up to three,
centred on additional subcarriers higher up in the FM multiplex whike still remaining compatible
with the ITU Recommendations.
The core elements of RDS2 are the additional subcarriers, which will enable a significant
increase of RDS data capacity to be achieved and then only new additional data applications
will have to be created, using the RDS-ODA feature, which has been part of the RDS standard
IEC 62106 for many years.
In order to update IEC 62106:2015 to the specifications of RDS2, the original document has
been restructured as follows:
Part 1: RDS system: Modul
...
Questions, Comments and Discussion
Ask us and Technical Secretary will try to provide an answer. You can facilitate discussion about the standard in here.