2wcom manufacture a range of RDS encoders. These can be controlled via serial commands to set RDS RadioText dynamically, via automation systems or external scripts. This can be used to display time-specific data such as song and show information.
Update September 2017: I’ve build MetaRadio to make it easy to interface your playout system with any RDS Encoder.
This article shows you the main serial commands used to manipulate this functionality. I’ve also provided sample Python code which implements these commands.
2wcom RDS Encoder Serial Commands
These commands are valid for the 2wcom C02DSP, C03DSP, and C04DSP models of RDS Encoders.
Connections to the system can be made via RS232. All commands are in ASCII. A new line or carriage return signifies the end of a command. To try it out, use PuTTY on Windows.
Information contained here is based on the information found in the official manual.
| TITLE | Sets the title for the currently playing song e.g. “TITLE=This is Living” |
| ARTIST | Sets the artist for the currently playing song e.g. “ARTIST=Young and Free” |
| DURATION | Sets the duration for which the current dynamic data is valid, before reverting back to standard values.There are three possible formats: Syntax 1: “DURATION=00:01:30” (hours/minutes/seconds) Syntax 2: “DURATION=01:30” (minutes/seconds) Syntax 3: “DURATION=90” (seconds only) |
| STRINGn | Sets the value for one of three possible text strings e.g. “STRING1=You‟re listening to”, “STRING2= by “, and “STRING3= on Hitz Radio” |
| FORMAT_RT | Sets the format of the dynamic RadioText e.g. “FORMAT_RT=STRING1+TITLE+STRING2+ARTIST+STRING3” will turn into: “You’re listening to All over my head by Gene Davies on Hitz Radio’ |
| FORMAT_DYNPS | Sets the format of the dynamic Scrolling PS Syntax: “FORMAT_RT=STRING1+TITLE+STRING2+ARTIST+STRING3” will turn into: “You’re listening to All over my head by Gene Davies on Hitz Radio” |
| AUTO_RT | Enable/Disable automatic dynamic RT generation when one of the FORMAT_RT components change “AUTO_RT=Y” to enable or “AUTO_RT=N” to disable |
| AUTO_DYNPS | Enable/Disable automatic dynamic Scrolling PS generation when one of the FORMAT_DYNPS components change “AUTO_DYNPS=Y” to enable or “AUTO_DYNPS=N” to disable |
| DYNPS | Sets the value of the dynamic Scrolling PS data (up to 160 characters). Already existing separate text for Scrolling PS will be overwritten. e.g. “DYNPS=Hitz Station is now offering free music downloads” |
| DYNRT | Sets the value of the dynamic RadioText data, up to 64 characters are possible. Already existing dynamic data will be overwritten. e.g. “DYNRT=Hitz Station is now offering free music downloads” |
2wcom Example RDS Commands
Here is an example command set to set the RDS RadioText data to a song and have it automatically clear after 120 seconds:
The title and artist are set at the end so all other settings are ready before the RadioText is displayed. When the song finishes (expiry set via DURATION command), it will go back to the default text (usually set in the 2wcom software).
2wcom RDS Commands via Python
The same commands can be implemented with the following Python function: