AVR 4550 (serv.man14) - Harman Kardon Audio User Guide / Operation Manual. Page 40

40 TUNER OPERATION

The AVR 4550 is equipped with RDS (Radio Data
System), which brings a wide range of informa-
tion to FM radio. Now in use in many countries,
RDS is a system for transmitting station call signs
or network information, a description of station
program type, text messages about the station or
specifics of a musical selection, and the correct
time.

As more FM stations become equipped with RDS
capabilities, the AVR 4550 will serve as an easy-
to-use center for both information and entertain-
ment. This section will help you take maximum
advantage of the RDS system.

RDS Tuning
When an FM station is tuned in and it contains
RDS data, the RDS Indicator G will illuminate,
after some time also the indicators for all other
RDS services received (see below), and the 
AVR 4550 will automatically display the station’s
call sign or other program service in the Main
Information Display ˜.

RDS Display Options
The RDS system is capable of transmitting a
wide variety of information in addition to the
initial station call sign that appears when a
station is first tuned. In normal RDS operation
the display will indicate the station name,
broadcast network or call letters. Pressing the
RDS button ^

! enables you to cycle

through the various data types in the following
sequence:

• The station’s call letters (with some private
stations other information too).

• The station’s frequency.

• The Program Type (PTY) as shown in the list
below. The PTY Indicator P will illuminate
when this data is being received.

NOTE: Many stations do not transmit a specific
PTY. The display will show 

NONE

, when such a

station is selected and PTY is active.

• A “text” message (Radiotext, RT) containing
special information from the broadcast station.
Note that this message may scroll across the
display to permit messages longer than the eight
positions in the display. Depending on signal
quality, it may take up to 30 seconds for the text
message to appear; in that time, the word

TEXT

will flash in the Information Display

when RT is selected. The RT Indicator R will
illuminate when text data is being received and
ready to be displayed.

• The current time of day (CT). Note that it may
take up to two minutes for the time to appear,
in that time the word 

TIME

will flash in the

information display when CT is selected. The

C T

Indicator O will illuminate when time

data is being received. Please note that the
accuracy of the time data is dependent on the
radio station, not the AVR 4550.

Some RDS stations may not include some of
these additional features. If the data required
for the selected mode is not being transmitted,
the Main Information Display ˜ will show
a 

N O TYPE

,

N O TEXT

or 

N O TIME

message after the individual time out.

In any FM mode the RDS function requires a
strong enough signal for proper operation. If
you receive a partial message, or any of the
RDS, PTY, CT or RT Indicators Q P O N
going on and off, try slowly adjusting the
antenna or tune to another stronger 
RDS station.

Program Search (PTY)
An important feature of RDS is its capability of
encoding broadcasts with Program Type (PTY)
codes that indicate the type of material being
broadcast. The following list shows the
abbreviations used to indicate each PTY, along
with an explanation of the PTY:

• (RDS ONLY)

• (TRAFFIC)

• NEWS: News

• AFFAIRS: Current Affairs

• INFO: Infomation

• SPORT: Sports

• EDUCATE: Educational

• DRAMA: Drama

• CULTURE: Culture

• SCIENCE: Sciencek

• VARIED: Varied Speech Programs

• POPM: Popular Music

• ROCKM: Rock Music

• M.O.R.M.: Middle-of-the-Road Music

• LIGHTM: Classical Music

• CLASSICS: Serious Classical Music

• OTHERM: Other Music

• WEATHER: Weather Information

• FINANCE: Financial Programs

• CHILDREN: Children’s Programs

• SOCIAL A: Social Affairs Programs

• RELIGION: Religious Broadcasts

• PHONE IN: Phone-In Programs

• TRAVEL: Travel and Touring

• LEISURE: Leisure and Hobby

• JAZZ: Jazz Music

• COUNTRY: Country Music

• NATIONAL: National Music

• OLDIES: Oldies Music

• FOLK M: Folk Music

• DOCUMENT: Documentary Programs

• TEST: Emergency Test

• ALARM: Emergency Broadcast Information

You may search for a specific Program Type (PTY)
by following these steps:

1. Press the RDS button ^

! until the 

current PTY is shown in the Main Information
Display ˜.

2. While the PTY is shown, press the Preset
Up/Down button #

" or hold them pressed

to scroll through the list of available PTY types,
as shown above starting with the PTY currently
received. To simply search for the next station
transmitting any RDS data, use the Preset
Up/Down button #

" until 

RDS ONLY

appears in the display.

3. Press any of the Tuning Up/Down buttons
)

K, the tuner begins to scan the FM band

upwards or downwards for the first station that
has RDS data that matches the desired 
selection, and acceptable signal strength for
quality reception.

4. While the PTY Indicator P flashes in the
display, the tuner will make up to one complete
scan of the entire FM band for the next station
that matches the desired PTY type and has
acceptable reception quality. If no such station
is found, the display will read 

NONE

for some

seconds and the tuner will return to the last FM
station in use before the search.

NOTE: Some stations transmit constant traffic
information. To identify as traffic station, they
transmit a specific traffic code constantly, which
causes the TA Indicator M to light in the 
display. These stations can be found by selecting

TRAFFIC

, the option in front of 

NEWS

in

the list. The AVR 4550 RDS will find the next
appropriate station, even if it is not broadcasting
traffic information when the search is made.