RDS (Radio Data System)
It is a standard for transmitting additional information along with FM radio broadcasts.
RDS enhances the functionality of FM radios by providing metadata and improving user experience.
Features of RDS include:
- AF (Alternative Frequency) for seamless signal switching.
- TA (Traffic Announcement) for traffic updates.
- PTY (Program Type) to categorize stations (e.g., news, music, sports).
- PS (Program Service Name) to display the station name.
Radio car adapter
Using a radio car adapter is a simple way to reproduce personal music on a car that doesn’t have an aux-in port.
This plug into the standard lighter port and can connect to a device like a phone through bluetooth or cable.
They emit a radio signal at a selected frequency that the car radio can pick up and reproduce.
Possible problems
Since this simple devices only broadcast data without implementing RDS (Radio Data System), some of the automatic features could result in unexpected behavior.
AF seems to act like it’s not receiving a signal, changing to a different bandwith, it’s a good idea to disable it.