RDS System Warns Of Nuclear Danger

Flensburg, Malmö / Germany, Sweden, August 2002. Swedish citizens living near a nuclear power station mav owe their future safety to RDS transmissions. Radio Data System (RDS) technology, generally used to provide a simple text identification of radio stations or to switch reception to a traffic news bulletin, is now being tapped as a waming system for the 15,000 households in the area around the Barsebäck power station nearMalmö.

The special receivers were designed and built by 2wcom GmbH of Flensburg in northern Germany. Jens-Peter Polleit, sales and marketing manager at 2wcom, said its RDS Early Warning Receivers look like normal radios. The receiver has two tuners, explained Polleit. "One is a normal FM radio/alarm-clock, and the other is only for the PTY31 emergency signal, as defined by the RDS protocol"

When something happens at the power station, an RDS signal is broadcast on local radio stations, the receiver emits an 80 dB waroing tone and instructions appear on the display. Listeners may be told, for example, to tune on the radio for more detailed infonnation.

The RDS tuner is equipped with a rechargeable battery, so that it will work even during power outages. and it is designed to reach everyone, even if the family is gathered around the television or in bed.

In the past, Räddningsverket. the Swedish civil defense authority. which ordered the new receivers, had to contact every family individually by telephone. By year-end, however, when all the receivere have been delivered, one button will warn everyone in the area at once in the event of an emergency.

This is a new use for RDS and a new development for 2wcom, which also designs and manufactures RDS encoders and decoders used by broadcasters at their transmitters.

The company has developed solutions many communications tasks. such as keeping track of a large U.S. truck fleet, but this is the first time it has developed receivers for end-users.

Polleit said 2wcom is in negotiations with a number of potential customers who are interested in the system, including the Swedish authorities who want to extend the project to cover other nuclear plants and chemical factories.