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DAB radio will change the way that people listen to radio over the next few years. You
will probably not be aware that digital radio will become mandatory in the future as the
terrestrial radio frequencies which you currently listen to will be re allocated for other
uses such as emergency services. This means that today you are one of the pioneers
using this technology, however in a short space of time everybody will benet from
clear digital radio.
Digital radio offers an abundance of new digital only stations and improved sound
quality. There are no frequencies to remember so the CDAB7-AUTO can be tuned
by searching through station names. The audio quality of DAB is near that of a CD
with virtually no interference and no retuning. DAB is also enhanced with DLS (Digital
Label Segment), this is data transmitted by the station which may include information
about the station, program or song (see page 9).
The BBC was the pioneer of digital radio, beginning transmissions in September
1995. Digital One, the national commercial radio multiplex operator, began
broadcasting in November 1999. There has been a growth in the number of digital
radio stations throughout the UK and both the BBC and Digital One are committed
to extending their coverage. Digital One currently covers 80% of the UK population,
soon to increase to 85%, and the BBC covers 65% with the aim of increasing
coverage to 90%
DAB reception is not currently available nationally, there are some areas not
fully serviced or suffer weak signals. Enter a post code into the UK Digital
Radio website http://www.ukdigitalradio.com for a list of stations you should
be able to receive in the post code area. The unit may pick up stations not
listed however they may be weak and suffer signal drop-out.
Your CDAB7-AUTO will receive DAB programs broadcast on Band 3 digital radio
(174-240MHz). There are a total of 41 channels within this range numbered 5A to 13F,
the number of channels you can receive will be dependant on your location and signal
strength. The UK has been allocated seven multiplexes by the Radio Authority - in the
spectrum 217.5-230.0 MHz, which are numbered 11B to 12D.
A multiplex is a broadcaster such as BBC National DAB or Digital One who will
provide a host of different stations within their multiplex. If we consider the BBC as an
example, the following diagram shows how the BBC multiplex may work.
Below the main multiplex provider (in this case ‘BBC National DAB’) will be a number
of primary stations. These are labelled with the station name (e.g Radio 2) rather than
the frequency. This allows you to tune the CDAB7-AUTO by station name, which is
easier than trying to recall frequencies.
Sometimes a secondary service station may
be provided by the broadcaster, for instance
this is sometimes used when an alternative
commentary is provided on a sporting match
or event. These secondary service stations
are not permanent and may not always be
used for broadcast. When a secondary station
is available below the primary station, a ‘>’
symbol will be displayed after the primary
station name. A secondary station can
be recognise by the ‘>’ symbol before the
secondary station name .
WHATSISDAB?
