PROCEDURE

RBDS ENCODERS CONFIGURATION (FOR

2WCOM C02 MODEL)

Submitted by

Spectrum Engineering
Transmission
1400 René Lévesque Blvd. East,
Montréal, QC H2L 2M2

Date: January 2nd, 2018

Original Current
Procedure by: Procedure by :

Charles Rousseau, Eng. Pierre-Alexandre Nolet, Eng.

Senior Engineer Engineer
Transmission – Spectrum Transmission – Transmission
Engineering Engineering
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PROCEDURE – RBDS ENCODERS CONFIGURATION (FOR 2WCOM C02 MODEL)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 3
2 REQUIRED EQUIPMENT ..................................................................................................... 3
3 RBDS C02 ENCODER.......................................................................................................... 3
3.1 Connection to the encoder using serial port ...................................................................... 4
3.2 Connecting to the encoder using TCP/IP .......................................................................... 4
3.3 Changing the encoder’s configuration ............................................................................... 6
3.4 Adjusting the level of the RBDS carrier ........................................................................... 12
3.5 Backing up the encoder’s configuration .......................................................................... 12
3.6 How to load a previous configuration file to a new encoder: ........................................... 12
4 CONNECTING TO THE TRANSMITTER ........................................................................... 13
5 CHECKING AND ADJUSTING THE INSERTION AND PHASE LEVELS .......................... 14
6 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 15
APPENDIX 1 – CONFIGURATION OF A STATIC IP ADDRESS IN WINDOWS 7 .................... 16
APPENDIX 2 – UPDATING THE ENCODER ............................................................................. 19
Firmware .................................................................................................................................. 19
Net_PC update ........................................................................................................................ 19

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1 INTRODUCTION

RBDS is a communication protocol standard for embedding a small amount of digital

information in an FM channel using a 57 kHz subcarrier. The RBDS signal contains information
such as the name of the artist and the title of the song being aired. It also connects several
stations on the same service; RBDS radios will automatically change frequency whenever a
listener moves between two stations broadcasting the same content.

This procedure describes how to install a specific model of RBDS encoder, the C02 by
2WCOM. The procedure was originally created for ICI Musique service, but it has been updated
to be applicable all of CBC/Radio-Canada services.

Your encoder will receive the RBDS data using either:

1) Multicast, using a receive only 4.5m C-Band Satellite dish
2) TCP/IP, if the site has a connection to CBC’s LAN

This procedure works for both case 1) and case 2). However, if you are at a site where the feed
is off air, there is no need for an RBDS encoder. We can simply decode the RBDS signal
coming from the mother station and rebroadcast it on the repeater’s frequency. There is no
procedure for this particular case at the moment, but if you contact me (Pierre-
[email protected]), I will help you set up the rebroadcaster correctly.

Also, please note that this procedure was completed when the Cisco D9850 was the standard
C-Band satellite receiver across the country. When the IDC receivers are implemented, the
procedure might need to be updated again.

2 REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

• RBDS encoder (C02 model)

• 3 Ethernet cables, 2 long enough to connect the 9850 and encoder to the switch and a
third for your PC
• USB-to-serial converter (may be required to talk to the switch or the encoders)
• IP address for the C02, its multicast address and the Satellite receiver IP address
• 2Wcom A20 receiver (if possible)
• A replacement battery for EM and R2 encoders, if applicable

3 RBDS C02 ENCODER

This section is to show you both methods that are available to connect your computer to the
encoder; you can do that either by serial port or by TCP/IP.

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3.1 CONNECTION TO THE ENCODER USING SERIAL PORT

1- Make sure you have the latest version of Arcos Config installed on your computer; the
current latest version is 2.25. You can download it here :
http://download.2wcom.com/software/C0x/ARCOS Config V2.25.zip
2- In the left-hand section, under the Encoder List tab, there is a default transmission site
called Default COM, and underneath there is a default encoder called Default – COM.
To configure the means of communication, just right-click the encoder and go into the
properties.

3- There are two possible connection types: TCP/IP and serial port.
4- Start by connecting to the encoder through a serial port by plugging the serial cable into
the front of the encoder. You need to know which COM port your computer is using. The
default communications settings are correct.
5- TEST the connection.

6- When the connection is tested, close that window and simply double-click on the little
encoder RDS icon on the left-hand part of Arcos Config.

3.2 CONNECTING TO THE ENCODER USING TCP/IP

Note: As of March 2016, there is a new process for assigning IP addresses to equipment in
transmissions sites. When a tech requires a new IP address, they will email the NAC providing a
list of the equipment needing IP addresses; including the site and service it is linked to. The
NAC will generate a ticket and assign the request to the application team. The application team

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will then select the IP address for the equipment, update the spreadsheet and provide the IP
information to the tech.

1- The encoder’s TCP/IP address is available on LIVELINK:

https://livelink.cbcrc.ca/livelink/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=23977588&objAction=browse.
If it is not there, call the NAC and they will assign an address to the encoder.
2- On the encoder, press the shuttle wheel to access the sub-menu and turn the wheel to
get to the INTERFACE menu. Configure the encoder’s TCP/IP address from this
location. Port 1 should be set at 15 000, this port is used to communicate with the
encoder, it’s the configuration port. The AS port should be set at 6 666, this port will
receive the dynamic metadata, which is the information concerning the artist and the
song on-air.
3- Set the mask at 255.255.255.0.
4- The gateway should be the address of the satellite receiver. Once again, to get the
address, go to the same place in the same Excel file as in step 1 above.
5- In order to make these changes on the TCP/IP setting saved, just quit the menu where
you are by selecting the small arrow.
6- Change the TCP/IP setting of YOUR computer in the same subnet than the encoder (the
first tree byte should be the same xxx.xxx.xxx.250). Just like it is describe in the TCP/IP
procedure, the last byte of the service computer is always between 250 and 253. If you
are using Windows 7 and you don’t know how to set a static IP address, refer to
APPENDIX 1 – CONFIGURATION OF A STATIC IP ADDRESS IN WINDOWS 7.
7- Open Arcos Config in the same menu as for serial communication, right-click the
encoder/properties and choose TCP/IP as the means of communication.
8- Enter the encoder’s IP address in the window. Set the communication port to 15,000.
9- Test the connection by clicking ‘ping.’
10- When the connection is tested, close that window and simply double-click on the little
encoder RDS icon next to the corresponding IP address on the left-hand part of Arcos
Config.
11- NOTE: In TCP/IP, your computer has to be in the same SUBNET as the equipment you
want to communicate with, it means that the 3 first bytes (xxx.xxx.xxx.???) of the IP
addresses has to be the same on your computer and on the encoder. To change your
IP address on your computer, double-click on the little computer icon close to the hour
and date on the botton right part of your screen, a window will open, click on properties:

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Then, on the general tab, scroll down until you see TCP/IP and double-click on it. In
normal operation, it will be set at ‘Obtain an IP address automatically’…change that to
‘Use the following’ and then, set your IP and your Mask. No need to enter a gateway.

3.3 CHANGING THE ENCODER’S CONFIGURATION

1- Open Arcos Config. In the left section, right click on ‘Default Network’ and add a new
location. Enter the name of the principal city covered by the transmitter. Right click on
this new location and add an encoder and enter the site name like ‘Mt Seymour’ or ‘CN
Tower’ etc.

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2- Connect to the encoder through Arcos Config using TCP/IP by double clicking on the
encoder you just added.
3- Once connected, in the ‘General’ tab, make sure ‘Generate RDS signal’ is checked.

4- In the left-hand section, choose Dataset 1, and under the ‘General’ tab and enter the
following group to send: 0A, 0A, 0A, 2A, see picture below. Don’t forget to click SEND
every time you make a change.

5- Under the RadioText tab, the upper section shows the text that is automatically
transmitted; if there is anything there, select and deletes it. Don’t forget to click SEND
every time you make a change.

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6- (Addition version 5) In the “ScrollingPS” tab :

a. Check the « Activate ScrollingPS » option.
b. Check the « Smart » mode.
c. Check « Separate Text » as the text source.
d. Define the update interval to 5000 milliseconds.
e. Select 8 characters to display.
f. Type the ScrollingPS according to the table below :

Scrolling PS Name
Radio Network Service
(New)
CBC Radio One CBC Radio 1
CBC Radio Two CBC Radio 2
ICI Radio-Canada Première ICI R-C Première
ICI Musique ICI Musique

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7- In the left-hand section, select PSN 17 in the Dataset 1 sub-menu.

8- Enter the PI code according to the following table:

Radio Network Service PI Code

CBC Radio One B202

CBC Radio Two B203
ICI Radio-Canada Première B204
ICI Radio-Canada Musique B205
CBC (reserved) B_06
CBC (reserved) B_07
CBC (reserved) B_08
CBC (reserved) B_09

9- Enter the PS Name and PTY according to the following table:

Radio Network Service PS Name PTY (Program Type)

CBC Radio One Radio 1 4 – Talk*
CBC Radio Two Radio 2 Multiple
ICI Radio-Canada Première ICI PREM 2 – Information*
ICI Radio-Canada Musique ICI MUS 22 – Public*

10- *Note: For Radio 1: Set the PTY to “4 – Talk”. It will be written “4 - Sports” in the
Arcos Config menu. This is because the C02 encoders are European and the
standard in Europe (RDS) differs slightly from the American standard (RBDS).
However, American receivers will interpret the PTY Code “4” as “Talk” radio. This

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is also applies to ICI Musique, you will see “22 – Travel” in the encoder menu, but
the American receivers will display “Public”.

11- In the PTYN, enter SRC for French Services and CBC for English services.
12- In the DI section, check Stereo for a stereo service, and in the MS section, check Music
for a music service or else check Speech.
13- For the AF list, you need to list the frequencies of all stations of the same service in the
vicinity of the station you are configuring. Using this list, compatible radios can
automatically change frequency. You need to program the AF list using the B method. If
the alternate frequency have slightly different programs (ex: a regional morning show),
then check “Regional” when adding it.

14- In the left-hand section, click the name of your encoder (at the top next to the RDS
symbol) and select the ‘Automation’ tab.

15- Configure the format and the RadioText Automation as above. Click ‘Send.’

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16- Next, enter the encoder at the correct multicast address. The multicast address begins
with 238.10.11.??. To obtain the last byte of the address, refer to the following location
on Livelink:
https://livelink.cbcrc.ca/livelink/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=23977588&objAction=browse
Open the document ‘#6 Multicast addresses for CBC Transmission.xlsx.’
17- Choose the right network. For example, Toronto Radio One would be R1ETR and the
multicast address is 238.10.11.121.
18- Go to the ‘Hardware Setup’ tab at the bottom, go into the ‘Multicast’ tab and add the
network’s multicast address. Click ‘Send.’ The encoder is now ready to receive the
TCP/IP packets that belong to it.
19- If you are connected to the encoder using a serial port, you need to configure the TCP/IP
setting now. The encoder’s TCP/IP address is available on LIVELINK:
https://livelink.cbcrc.ca/livelink/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=23977588&objAction=browse.
The subnet mask is: 255.255.255.0, and the gateway should be the first 3 bytes of the IP
address of your encoder, and the last byte is 254.

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3.4 ADJUSTING THE LEVEL OF THE RBDS CARRIER

1- You can do this either using the shuttle wheel in front of the encoder (Coder/Level) or
through Arcos Config under the Hardware setup/RDS setting tab.
2- The injection level should be at 3%. The level corresponding to 3% depends on the
transmitter; you’ll have to do the calculation.
3- If you have an A20 decoder, you can verify the actual injection levels very easily. If not,
you can adjust it using the “Deviation adjustment of the RBDS subcarrier” procedure that
is availaible in livelink:
https://livelink.cbcrc.ca/livelink/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=23977588&objAction=browse

3.5 BACKING UP THE ENCODER’S CONFIGURATION

1- Connect to the encoder through a serial port.
2- Once you are connected to the encoder, click ‘Load all data.’ This will download the
encoder’s entire configuration to the computer, which will take around a minute. While
the data is downloading, ‘Load all data’ will appear at the top of the window and there
will be two small spinning arrows, as shown in the figure below.
3- When the process is finished, the ‘Save’ button will become available. Simply back up
the configuration somewhere on your computer. You will need it later as any update will
delete the configuration.

3.6 HOW TO LOAD A PREVIOUS CONFIGURATION FILE TO A NEW ENCODER:

1- Check that the encoder’s IP address is still good on the front panel menu under
Interface/TCP/IP.
2- Run Arcos Config, choose ‘File’ from the ‘Data Source’ area, click the ‘Load from file’
button and search for the backup you made previously in point 2.3 above.
3- Once you have done so, click ‘Send’ and the transfer should start automatically.
4- Check that the communication ports are at 15,000 for port 1 and 6,666 for the AS port.
5- The mask is still at 255.255.255.0

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4 CONNECTING TO THE TRANSMITTER

1- First of all, for encoders on a stereo service, you need to connect the pilot to the RBDS
encoder’s pilot input. This is usually very simple since there should be a BNC output on
the Orban audio processor already configured with the pilot. If it is for a mono service,
there is no pilot, so no cable will be connected in the pilot input of the encoder. However,
the encoder will generate its own pilot and it will still work.
2- When you insert that signal in the MPX1 input of the encoder, the ‘Pilot’ light in front of
the encoder should shut off.
3- Once you have properly adjusted the level of the RBDS carrier, you can plug the RDS
output 1 into the transmitter’s SCA input.
Note: If possible, connect the RDS output 2 in the SCA input of your backup
transmitter.
4- For the TCP/IP connection, as shown in the figure below, install the two switches (only
one will be used since there is a main and a backup) in a rack and connect them through
an Ethernet cable first to the 9850 receiver and then to the C02 encoder.
**Important: You only need to connect one 9850 receiver of each “language” into
the switch, one for the French and one for the English. The RBDS metadata is
regrouped under one PID for the French, and one PID for the English. So if you
already have a 9850 receiver for ICI Musique connected to the switch, do not
connect ICI Premiere receiver to the switch too. If you do that, the same multicast
packets will comes from each paths and it will creates conflicts within the switch.
5- Once EVERYTHING is done, wait a few minutes. You should see the artist and song title
appear on the front of the device.
6- Just a little trick, to be sure that you have a good connection, always try to ping your
equipment through the switch, this will show you if you’re able to communicate with your
equipment or not. To do that, open Arcos config (or a Dos window in in Start/Run/cmd
and use ‘ping command) then right click on the encoder, go in the property and choose
the ping option.

Ethernet Cable Ethernet Cable

Main Switch
Receiver D9850 C02 RBDS Encoder

Backup Switch

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5 CHECKING AND ADJUSTING THE INSERTION AND PHASE LEVELS

1- Ideally, you should have an A20 2Wcom receiver. If not, you can skip this step, but make
sure to review your injection level calculation.
2- In your training folder files, go in the A20 decoder and install the software.
3- You have to connect an FM antenna or any RF feed to the RF input of the decoder. You
can take an RF sample at the output of the Tx from a directional coupler but take care to
NOT burn the input of the decoder with a really high power coupler.
4- The menu on the front of the A20 is very similar to the one of the C02. Connect to the
A20 in the same way as you would to the C02. You can use a TCP/IP connection or a
serial cable connection. Right-click the A20 symbol and then click ‘Properties.’

5- This time, to connect, use the ‘Connect’ button at the bottom left of the page.
6- Once you are connected, turn the large shuttle wheel to select your frequency.
7- Go into the ‘Status’ tab in the right-hand section.

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8- As shown in the figure above, you can now measure several settings of an FM carrier
and its RBDS sub-carrier. The two settings that concern you here are the RDS Level and
the RDS Phase.
9- Both settings can be adjusted through the menu on the front of the RBDS encoder under
CODER and Level or CODER and Phase. The level should be adjusted so that it gives
an insertion level of 3%, and the phase should be adjusted so that the phase read by the
demodulator is as close to 0 as possible.
10- You can also check that the data have actually been received by going into the RDS
Data tab and selecting ‘Start RBDS decoder’. The window below will appear.
11- In the RadioText box, you can see the data sent by the automated RadioText.

6 CONCLUSION

That’s it for the procedure. I advise you to go back to point 3.5 above to back up the final
configuration of your encoder. That way, in case of breakage or replacement, you can update
the encoder and insert the proper configuration.

Please send the following information to Pierre-Alexandre Nolet after an installation.

1. Serial number of the encoder

2. Serial numbers of the switch installed

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APPENDIX 1 – CONFIGURATION OF A STATIC IP ADDRESS IN WINDOWS 7

1) Go to Start Menu and do a search for “Network Connections”. From the results, select “View network
connections”

2) Another window will appear with all network adapters available on your computer. We are looking for an Ethernet
connection that will be probably named “Local Area Connection”. Right click on the corresponding icon, then
select Properties.

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3) The adapter properties will appear in a new window. Select “Internet Protocol Version 4
(TCP/IPv4)” and then click on Properties.

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4) Select “Use the following IP address”, and fill manually the IP address, Subnet mask and Default gateway fields.
Click OK. You are now using a static IP address.

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APPENDIX 2 – UPDATING THE ENCODER

You might need to update the encoder firmware or network card. If you are installing an encoder
as part of a project, the firmware should be up to date.

FIRMWARE
1- Make sure you have the latest version of Arcos Config installed on your computer; the
current latest version is 2.25.
2- Connect through the serial port, check that the connection between the computer and
encoder works properly and press ‘Test connection’ in the connection setup window.
3- Close Arcos Config!!!
4- Install the new firmware version 3.36 by running C0X_DSP_V_3.36.exe. Configure your
connection using the same settings as the one you just tested.
5- The firmware should install.

NET_PC UPDATE
1- Connect using TCP/IP. Please note that any Ethernet cable will work and you no longer
need to connect using a crossover. Test your connection by doing a ‘ping.’
2- Update the Net PC in exactly the same way as the firmware by running the NetUpdater
program. The latest version is 4.13. Under the Net PC C02 folder, run the NetUpdater by
following the instructions.

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