Tag Archives: Digital Radio Mondiale

New Silicon Labs automotive radio tuners support DRM and built on “SDR-friendly technology”

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who shared this latest press release from Silicon Labs. This is certainly a major upgrade to the Silicon Labs line of tuners/DSP chips. Native Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) support will, no doubt, meet the needs of car manufactures in countries (like India) that have adopted DRM rather than HD radio and DAB/DAB+. Of course, perhaps this might lead to an affordable DRM portable in the future:

Silicon Labs enhances Si479xx automotive tuner family with software-defined radio (SDR) technology.

(Source: Silicon Labs)

AUSTIN, Texas, July 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leading provider of automotive radio solutions, has introduced new hybrid software-defined radio (SDR) tuners, expanding its portfolio to meet the growing need of automotive radio manufacturers to support all global digital radio standards with a common platform. The new Si479x7 devices are Silicon Labs’ first automotive radio tuners supporting the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) standard. The Si479x7 tuners are an extension of Silicon Labs’ popular family of Global Eagle and Dual Eagle AM/FM receivers and digital radio tuners, providing the same outstanding field performance, pin and package compatibility between single and dual tuners, and bill of materials (BOM) cost advantages.

In addition to introducing new DRM-capable tuners, Silicon Labs is enhancing its Si4790x/1x/2x/5x/6x automotive tuners with unique “SDR-friendly” technology, effectively transforming these devices into hybrid SDR tuners. Silicon Labs’ hybrid SDR technology includes advanced DSP-based automotive features such as Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC), Digital Automatic Gain Control (AGC), Digital Radio Fast Detect and Dynamic Zero-IF (ZIF) I/Q. These features enable automotive radio manufacturers to support global digital radio standards with a common radio hardware and software design. This added flexibility helps OEM and Tier 1 customers reduce design, qualification, sourcing and inventory costs while avoiding the complexity and inefficiency of supporting multiple automotive radio platforms.

“Silicon Labs’ automotive tuners with hybrid SDR capabilities deliver the highest integration and reception performance and the lowest BOM cost of any automotive SDR tuners in mass production today,” said Juan Revilla, General Manager of Broadcast Products at Silicon Labs. “Our tuners with advanced digital radio features enable radio manufacturers to develop a single platform to demodulate and decode worldwide digital radio standards, greatly simplifying car radio designs and reducing system cost. A single digital radio platform can be achieved either with an SDR-based design approach or by using a tuner-plus-coprocessor design.”

Silicon Labs’ automotive tuner portfolio includes highly integrated single and dual device options with best-in-class AM/FM receiver performance. The portfolio supports all broadcast radio bands including AM, FM, Long Wave, Short Wave, Weather Band, HD Radio, DAB (Band III) and DRM. The tuners are built on Silicon Labs’ industry-leading RF CMOS technology, delivering outstanding automotive receiver performance. The tuners’ proven mixed-signal, low-IF RF CMOS design provides excellent sensitivity in weak signal environments and superb selectivity and intermodulation immunity in strong signal environments.

Russia to test DRM over FM

Starwaves chip could make DRM radios cheaper and easier to manufacture

2 Replies

Starwaves Decoder (Source: DRM Newsletter)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

This month’s DRM Newsletter from the Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium has announced that a chip has been developed and introduced to make DRM receiver manufacturing easier and cheaper. It’s to be made available soon in a module with a header connector for developers, radio manufacturers and radio experimenters. This might be the tipping point for the development of high-quality, low-cost multiband DRM-capable receivers!

(Source: DRM newsletter)

At the MBT conference, the Consortium representatives had a chance to update participants with the latest DRM developments across the world showing DRM in action and new receiver solutions.

On May 23, at the meeting, a new DRM module (W102) with integrated hard coded baseband decoder was launched by Starwaves. The module will be suitable for applications such as consumer radios or aftermarket automotive solutions. The module contains a high-quality tuner frontend and audio DAC as well as a digital input for external audio sources e.g. from an external MCU to provide Bluetooth or USB audio. It measures only 40x40mm and covers all bands from LW, MW, SW to the FM Band (64-108 MHz) in DRM and analogue radio. All data services such as Journaline or MOT Slide Shows can be extracted from the data stream for further processing in the target device. The module will be available for order in the 3rd quarter of 2019.

DRM Participates IN MBT Hungary Conference and New DRM Module Unveiled

Inntot Technologies focuses on SDR based DRM+ Receivers

1 Reply

(Image Source: @YogendraPal9)

(Source: Inc42)

[…]Inntot Technologies provides software-enabled IP solutions for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM for AM and FM band, a set of digital audio broadcasting guidelines) enabled receivers, DAB/DAB+ (digital audio broadcasting) enabled receivers and ISDB-T (A technical standard for digital TV broadcast) Digital Television paving way to digital radio transmission.

Though the transmission side in India is almost ready, next-generation digital radio receivers are expensive (can go upto INR 14K), which is posing as a hurdle in the common man from benefiting from the features offered by digital radio.

[…]Inntot Technologies is facilitating software-defined radio (SDR) based DRM+ Receiver solution, wherein the software can be embedded directly to the fixed receivers, automotive/in-car radios, smartphones, as well as USB dongles.

[…]Inntot solution is different from using a separate hardware demodulator which adds to the overall cost of the digital radio receiver.

Inntot’s software solution can also help OEMs, radio receiver manufacturers, and semiconductor chip manufacturers in:

Doing away with the recurring cost of the demodulator chip, which, in turn, will reduce the bills of material (BoM) cost — ideal for a high-volume market like India

Easy portability on platforms like Android

Reusable, fully standard, and specifications-compliant complete stack and no external dependency on any vendor

System integration and field testing

[…]Inntot is not the only company looking to offer cost-effective DRM receivers. Launched in 1993, the New Delhi-based OEM manufacturer Communications System Inc., has also put up its digital radio for sale on online websites like Amazon, and IndiaMart.

As of May 2018, the company has put up a notice for being in production for the second batch of digital radio receivers. However, despite tracking for weeks, its status remains ‘currently unavailable’ on Amazon, while we were not able to place an order from Indiamart.[…]

Read this full article at Inc42.

Encompass DRM tests from Woofferton March 26 and 27

The DRM Handbook Revision 4

Chairman of DRM Consortium looks at the current state of shortwave

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(Source: Radio World via Maichael Black)

Note that the excerpt below is only a portion of the full article. Read the full piece at Radio World.

Does Shortwave Have a Future?

by RUXANDRA OBREJA

When is the last time you heard a shortwave radio transmission? And why should you put up with possible crackly audio and some interference when we have now internet, satellites, FM and all forms of digital radio?

[…]Shortwave is just short of a miracle, actually. When it is beamed at an angle, it hits the ionosphere. A mirror around the Earth and then it falls like a ball at great distances, beyond the horizon. Thus these transmissions reach listeners over large areas, continents and beyond. Two or three high-power transmitters can potentially cover the entire world.

Shortwave is used not just by international radio stations or radio amateurs but is also essential for aviation, marine, diplomatic and emergency purposes. Shortwave signals are not restricted or controlled by the receiving countries and, as frequencies change in winter and summer, they need to be coordinated internationally.

[…]Digital Radio Mondiale was originally invented to offer medium (AM) and large coverage (HF) and the advantages of the good audio quality and extra multimedia services that can take shortwave into the 21st century. Maybe DRM was ahead of its time. The phasing in of digital broadcasts internationally was not in tandem with the production and sale of receivers, which remains a regional and national business. Since its birth DRM has proven that it is a suitable option for shortwave offering an good digital quality of audio and even short live video at great distance without fading and crackly sound.

Now, at last, there are DRM receivers capable of receiving shortwave, there are broadcasts and interested broadcasters. Quietly and surely shortwave is being re-examined and appreciated for the quality of broadcasts and its potential as a “crisis radio” too. It can become crucial in emergencies when local and regional radio stations, satellite and internet may be off the air due to damage. Broadband is getting cheaper but is limited, 5G will come but not just yet, digital shortwave is here.[…]

Click here to read the full article at Radio World.