magic P232 Communication Interface Device Dependent Minimum Firmware User Guide

June 11, 2024
MAGIC

magic P232 Communication Interface Device Dependent Minimum Firmware

magic-P232-Communication-Interface-Device-Dependent-Minimum-Firmware-
product

Product Information

The product is an RDS encoder that supports various communication interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, and Serial/USB. It comes in different device models including P164, P132, P232, P232U, and P332. The RDS encoder supports different communication protocols including ASCII, UECP, and XCMD. The device also supports RDS Spy and Direct virtual port support. The device requires a minimum firmware version of 2.1f or later. The P232 encoder is widely used in various FM equipment and can be identified by 44-pin `46K80′ integrated circuit and 16.000 MHz crystal on the device’s board.

Product Usage Instructions

To Add New RDS Encoder

  1. Double-click on Add new connection icon.
  2. In the Connection Kind field, select RDS Encoder.magic-P232-Communication-Interface-Device-Dependent-Minimum-Firmware-fig- \(2\)
  3. Select the Device Model.
  4. Configure the connection parameters.
  5. Confirm by Add button.

To Activate the Application

The Activation is a simple and automated process of getting access to all functions and features associated with the RDS encoder. The Activation is completely free of charge and it’s supported by all RDS encoders and communication protocols with the exception of Demo encoder and those marked with the icon. The Activation is permanent in the context of the installation and it’s valid for all connections. Users who purchased the Full license also got all benefits of the Activated license. For most of the RDS encoders the Magic RDS 4 is completely free and the Full license is not required.

To Add New RDS Encoder

  1. Double-click on Add new connection icon.
  2. In the Connection Kind field, select RDS Encoder.
  3. Select the Device Model.
  4. Configure the connection parameters.
  5. Confirm by Add button

To Activate the Application

Activation is a simple and automated process of getting access to all functions and features associated with the RDS encoder.
The Activation is completely free of charge and it’s supported by all RDS encoders and communication protocols with the exception of Demo encoder and those marked with the icon.

  1. Make sure the connection is set up as bidirectional.
  2. Perform any bidirectional operation with the RDS encoder, for example, RDS Content – Program – Read:
  3. Check the status in Help – License Managermagic-P232-Communication-Interface-Device-Dependent-Minimum-Firmware-fig- \(4\)
  4. The Activation is permanent in the context of the installation and it’s valid for all connections.

Note:
Users who purchased the Full license also got all benefits of the Activated license. For most of the RDS encoders the Magic RDS 4 is completely free and the Full license is not required.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: P164

Communication interface Ethernet, USB
Minimum firmware version required 2.2b *)
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP, XCMD
Default communication protocol ASCII, XCMD
RDS Spy support Yes ü
Data Sets 6 **)
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

Notes:

  • Option ‘ Encapsulate All Outgoing Data to UECP’ requires firmware version 2.2c or later.
  • From firmware version 2.2c. In previous versions the number of supported Data Sets is 2.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: P132

Communication interface Ethernet, USB
Minimum firmware version required 2.1f *)
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP, XCMD
Default communication protocol ASCII, XCMD
RDS Spy support Yes ü
Data Sets 6 **)
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

Notes:

  • Option ‘Encapsulate All Outgoing Data to UECP’ requires firmware version 2.2c or later.
  • From firmware version 2.2c. In previous versions the number of supported Data Sets is 2

RDS Encoder / Device Model: P232

Communication interface Device dependent
Minimum firmware version required 2.1f *)
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP, XCMD
Default communication protocol ASCII, XCMD
RDS Spy support Yes ü
Data Sets 6 **)
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

The P232 encoder is widely used in various FM equipments. It can be identified by 44-pin ‘46K80’ integrated circuit and 16.000 MHz crystal on the device’s board

Notes:

  • Option ‘Encapsulate All Outgoing Data to UECP’ requires firmware version 2.2c or later.
  • From firmware version 2.2c. In previous versions the number of supported Data Sets is 2

RDS Encoder / Device Model: P232U

Communication interface Serial / USB
Minimum firmware version required 2.1f *)
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP, XCMD
Default communication protocol ASCII, XCMD
RDS Spy support Yes ü
Data Sets 6 **)
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

Notes:

  • Option ‘Encapsulate All Outgoing Data to UECP’ requires firmware version 2.2c or later.
  • From firmware version 2.2c. In previous versions the number of supported Data Sets is 2.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: P332

Communication interface Ethernet, Serial
Minimum firmware version required 2.1f *)
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP, XCMD
Default communication protocol ASCII, XCMD
RDS Spy support Yes ü
Data Sets 6 **)
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

Notes:

  • Option ‘Encapsulate All Outgoing Data to UECP’ requires firmware version 2.2c or later.
  • From firmware version 2.2c. In previous versions the number of supported Data Sets is 2.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: PIRA32

Communication interface Device dependent
Minimum firmware version required 1.6a
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP
Default communication protocol ASCII
RDS Spy support No
Data Sets 2
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

The PIRA32 encoder is widely used in various FM equipments. It can be identified by 28-pin ‘18F25…’ integrated circuit and 4.332 MHz crystal on the device’s board.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: Readbest

Communication interface Device dependent
Free use (supports Activation) Yes ü (ASCII protocol)
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP Ñ
Default communication protocol ASCII
RDS Spy support Yes (from firmware version 1.5)
Data Sets Device dependent
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

The Readbest encoder is a C-based software library which is implemented in several FM broadcasting devices, like BW TX V3.
Change log from version 1.4 to version 1.5 (please request the latest firmware from your vendor):

  • real-time output monitoring by RDS Spy via any communication port
  • UECP MEC 13, 14 now automatically inserts filler if required
  • UECP MEC 24 @ buffer config 0x00 is now ignored if the group is not included in the group sequence
  • UECP MEC 0A now toggles RT type bit according to the specification
  • UECP MEC 0A now clears entire RT prior to filing by new text
  • UECP MEC 17 now works also with DSN parameter set to 0
  • UECP MEC 18 now returns sequence counter as well
  • UECP MEC 34 fixed
  • unwanted sequence counter reset fixed
  • EON variant code 13 now includes TA

Notes:
For this device model, the option ‘Encapsulate All Outgoing Data to UECP’ is not applicable to ASCII commands which have no UECP equivalent.

RDS Encoder / Device Model : Demo Encoder

Communication interface TCP/IP (localhost only)
Free use Yes ü
Communication protocol support ASCII, UECP
Default communication protocol ASCII
RDS Spy support Yes
Data Sets 4
Direct virtual port support Yes ü

The Demo Encoder is not a physical device. Rather than this, it establishes a connection to the embedded software emulator of real FM broadcast encoder. The emulation is based on the Readbest encoder. User may visualize output data by clicking on the RDS Spy button.
For further details about how to configure the remote Demo Encoder, please follow the document readbest.pdf (READBEST RDS Encoder), section Annexes / Demo Encoder.

RDS Encoder / Device Model : Remote Bridge

Communication interface Ethernet, Serial
Free use Yes ü
Transfer protocol Internal Magic RDS 4 protocol (ASCII compatible)
Output communication protocol Target device dependent
RDS Spy support N/A
Data Sets N/A
Direct virtual port support Yes ü
  • The Remote Bridge is not a physical device. Rather than this, it forwards data using unidirectional communication mode to another (remote) Magic RDS 4 application for the purpose of data distribution to remote RDS encoder(s). The Remote Bridge does not need a specific RDS encoder model, i.e. it can send data to a network of different models.
  • Typically, the Remote Bridge connects to a Virtual port of a Bridge established in the remote Magic RDS 4 application.
  • For further details about how to configure the remote Magic RDS 4 application, please follow the document m4vp.pdf (Bridges and Virtual Ports), section Remote Bridge

To Buy the Full License of the Application

The Full licence brings an unlimited access to all functions and features of the application:
The Full license is necessary for RDS encoders or communication protocols whose are marked by the icon. It is also required for functions and features which are not associated with particular RDS encoder model (for example plain text export or web publishing on local server).
Before buying the Full license, the application is still fully functional in the trial mode except some text services which may contain ads.

Purchasing the Full license is simple and typically takes no more than a few minutes

  1. In the Magic RDS 4 main menu, select Help – License Manager.
  2. Click on the Get Full version button to purchase the license online.
  3. If you’re a new user, continue using the option Get new User ID. Follow the instructions in the web browser to pay and generate your User ID and License key.
  4. Finally, go again to the Help – License Manager. Fill your License key and click on Apply button:magic-P232-Communication-Interface-Device-Dependent-Minimum-Firmware-fig- \(5\)
  5. The license is life-time and includes all future updates. Keep your User ID for future use.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: MRDS1322

Communication interface Device dependent
Free use (supports Activation) No, requires full version
Communication protocol Binary
RDS Spy support No
Data Sets 1
Direct virtual port support No

These encoders are embedded in various FM equipments as a basic RDS encoder solution. So far, they have been used with Tiny RDS application. The Magic RDS 4 now gives access to most of advanced RDS features also to users of the MicroRDS / MRDS1322 encoders

  • Common or independent control of up to 128 encoders
  • Direct support of connection over Ethernet
  • Radiotext Plus (RT+) and real-time (CT) transmission
  • External text sources with powerful text processing tools
  • Task scheduler, Text conditions, SNMP, ASCII terminal emulator, encoder backup/restore
  • Connection bridges with virtual ports and communication protocol translation (for example from UECP)

The MRDS1322 encoder can be identified by 20-pin ‘13K22’ integrated circuit and 4.332 MHz crystal on the device’s board.

RDS Encoder / Device Model: Generic UECP

Communication interface Device dependent
Free use (supports Activation) No, requires full version
Communication protocol UECP
RDS Spy support No
Data Sets Device dependent
Direct virtual port support No

This option applies to all RDS encoders which support a substantial part of the UECP (SPB 490) specification. The Magic RDS 4 now gives access to advanced RDS functions, including features which are not contained in the original UECP document:

  • Common or independent control of up to 128 encoders
  • Radiotext Plus (RT+) software extension
  • Dynamic PS software extension
  • External text sources with powerful text processing tools
  • Task scheduler, Text conditions, SNMP, ASCII terminal emulator
  • Connection bridges with virtual ports

RDS Encoder / Device Model: Lite ASCII

Communication interface Device dependent
Free use (supports Activation) No, requires full version
Communication protocol Basic set of ASCII commands
RDS Spy support No
Data Sets 1
Direct virtual port support No

These encoders are available either stand-alone or embedded in various FM equipment as a basic RDS encoder solution. The Magic RDS 4 now gives access to some advanced RDS features also to users of the ‘Lite ASCII’ encoders

  • Common or independent control of up to 128 encoders
  • Radio text Plus (RT+), if supported by the encoder
  • External text sources with powerful text processing tools
  • Task scheduler, Text conditions, SNMP, ASCII terminal emulator
  • Connection bridges with virtual ports and communication protocol translation

The ‘Lite ASCII’ encoder can be identified by its communication protocol (see the original device manual):

  • The ‘Lite ASCII’ encoder uses specific command set including TEXT, DPS, DPSS, PARSE
  • Any command entry is confirmed by ‘OK’ or ‘NO’ sequence

RDS Encoder / Device Model: User Defined 1

Communication interface Device or application dependent
Free use (supports Activation) No, requires full version
Communication protocol User-defined ASCII commands
RDS Spy support N/A
Data Sets N/A
Direct virtual port support No
  • This model represents a general-purpose text data (“now playing”) output to any device or application which accepts ASCII text format or HTTP query (URL) format. The target may be a physical device as well as a streaming server application like Shoutcast etc.
  • This model selection is intended especially for use with the External text tool (“now playing” etc.). Static content cannot be edited by this way. After selecting of this model, the user can define optional prefixes and Suffix for Radiotext and Dynamic PS.
  • To define the Prefix and Suffix, go to Device Setup – Special. To find the correct Prefix and Suffix, please follow your device or target application documentation.
  • Further URL format options are available for HTTP query method. For this method, the Prefix and Suffix fields are usually blank.

Example:
If the following prefix is defined for Radiotext: RT= resulting output string will be: RT=The text from the External text source here

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