Technical Issues for Expats: Understanding Electrics, Phones, TVs and more ...

British FM transmitters now carry a service known as RDS, or the Radio Data System.  This provides station information which is shown in the display of suitably equipped radios, allows the set to interrupt a broadcast and switch to another station when a news flash or travel bulletin is announced, and even provides for the radio to automatically tune to another frequency on the same network when driving across country.    This system is a purely European specification,  so it won't be available on American radios.

Major pedantry alert...

RDS is a standard in North America also, using the same modulation standard, though certain components of the RDS data are different.

The main visible difference is that the PTY codes are in most cases different between the continents, so an American RDS radio will display Radio 1 as playing Country.

It's mostly academic, though, because there have been three notable attempts to transmit side-channel information alongside regular terrestrial radio in North America since FM Stereo: AM Stereo (which failed to see significant adoption), RDS (which has rarely been implemented outside of higher-end GM car stereos), and Hybrid Digital ("HD") radio which is well on its way to being judged a total failure.  The odds that anybody would bring over an RDS radio are slim (Cadillac imports would probably account for most of the cases, which gives you an idea of how slim we're talking about).

In recent years, we've also seen the rise of DAB, or Digital Audio Broadcasting, which carries additional stations.  Again, the technical standard for DAB is totally different to anything used in America, so you will not be able to receive it on an American radio.     DAB is still very much in its introductory stages, and although the price of receivers has fallen considerably, it has still not been adopted widely.

Canada allows the use of DAB, with DAB broadcasts available in a few major cities.  It looks likely, though, that Canada will end up adopting the USA's Hybrid Digital system if that technology proves not to be a failure.  So there's a very slim chance that an American from Detroit (with the Windsor, Ontario DAB transmitter just across the river) would have a DAB radio.

Major pedantry alert...

RDS is a standard in North America also, using the same modulation standard, though certain components of the RDS data are different.

Nothing wrong with being pedantic when it comes to technical matters.      

I hadn't realized that RDS had been adopted in North America, albeit with slightly different parameters.   While we're talking about additional information being transmitted alongside the regular broadcast material, don't forget the SCA channel on its 67kHz subcarrier either.    I don't know if it's still being used in the U.S. even..... ? 

The chances of anyone bringing an SCA-equipped receiver over from the U.S. are probably extremely slim, but the SCA function would be of no use here as Britain never adopted it.  In fact at one point it wasn't definite that we would use the Zenith/G.E. 38kHz subcarrier system for stereo broadcasts, but by the time the authorities got around to making a decision it was established in the U.S., so we adopted it too. 

Oh, and welcome to the forum! 

SCA is mostly used nowadays for station telemetry. Muzak was the other major user of SCA (transmitting scrambled audio for use as background/on-hold music to authorised leased descramblers) and have since converted to leasing bandwidth on Dish Network's (direct to home TV broadcasting) satellites.  I would suspect that the New York OTB betting parlors receive race results via other means nowadays (and those parlors are likely to close within the next few months anyway).  It is also used to send data (traffic conditions, gas prices, movie times, weather, etc.) to satnav systems (the satellite radio provider(s) also provide similar services through their spectrum).

Oooh, Paul has a challenger for 'Geek of the Week'!

(and I mean that as a compliment!)

 

Vicky

Oooh, Paul has a challenger for 'Geek of the Week'!

(and I mean that as a compliment!)

 

Vicky

Pretty much exactly what I was thinking! 

The more the merrier!   It's always good to get some more brains in on technical subjects, as if one of you overlooks a particular point (or, dare I say it, makes a goof!) then somebody else will probably think of it.   

SCA is mostly used nowadays for station telemetry. Muzak was the other major user of SCA (transmitting scrambled audio for use as background/on-hold music to authorised leased descramblers) and have since converted to leasing bandwidth on Dish Network's (direct to home TV broadcasting) satellites. 

Thanks.  I had a feeling that with the wide -- and cheap -- availability of satellite links these days SCA could well have been falling out of use.

Wow, Paul!  I wish I had seen this thread while I was still in the UK!  We moved to the States recently, and brought our lamps with us here.  Do you think they'll be ok with just a (step-down) converter?  Since the hz shouldn't be burning up any of our switches as they could if we were taking US lamps to the UK?  Do I have that correct? 

PS - Your info is amazing; I think you once also helped me with UK license plate questions too.  It's all much appreciated and I've loved both the history lessons and just the weeding through all of the technical/practical issues met while living overseas.  Thanks so much!

(I'm also happy to see that other people have affections for their lamps!!!  )

We moved to the States recently, and brought our lamps with us here.  Do you think they'll be ok with just a (step-down) converter? 

Do you mean you have kept the British 240V lamps in them?   That would be a step-up converter to change the 120V supply to 240V.  That will be fine, since the frequency (50 vs. 60Hz) is of no importance to a simple filament lamp.

Great to hear!  Yes, we brought the UK 240v lamps over; so I do mean step up, don't I!
Thanks again for the lesson. 

Also, when purchasing a converter for the lamps, what kind of wattage should I be looking for on it --- 200, 300, 500w?  It's not as simple as the wattage of the lightbulbs, is it? (Oooh, I just realized I may not be able to find the lightbulbs here.  Hmmm, either import or switch out the wiring of the lamp all together?)

Do you mean you have kept the British 240V lamps in them?   That would be a step-up converter to change the 120V supply to 240V.  That will be fine, since the frequency (50 vs. 60Hz) is of no importance to a simple filament lamp.

Also, when purchasing a converter for the lamps, what kind of wattage should I be looking for on it --- 200, 300, 500w?  It's not as simple as the wattage of the lightbulbs, is it?

Yes it as simple as that. Add up the total wattage of the bulbs and make sure the transformer's rating is the same or bigger.

The choice of transformer starts to get more complicated when things like large motors are involved, but as contrex says, for regular filament lamps it really is that simple. 

Oooh, I just realized I may not be able to find the lightbulbs here. 

I was wondering if you'd taken a supply with you, or if they were perhaps lamps with ES (Edison Screw) fittings.    240V double-contact Bayonet Cap lamps aren't the sort of thing you're going to find easily at your local convenience store in the U.S.

I would add that even if operated within their designed rating, these transformers can get quite warm, so it is a good idea to pay attention to where you are going to place it. Ideally in a place where there is a reasonable movement of air, and not, if possible, on a carpet, which the heat can discolour, and which won't help the cooling much. For these reasons, personally I would add up the total bulb wattage and get the next highest rated transformer, rather than one which will only just do the job. Also I would unplug it when the lamps are not being used, rather than just turning the lamps off.

Thanks to both of you for making this hook up that much easier.  I'm going to see about the bulbs; I can't remember what kind it took (and the lamps are still in one of the many moving boxes we have).  Cheers.   

240V double-contact Bayonet Cap lamps aren't the sort of thing you're going to find easily at your local convenience store in the U.S.

Paul - If the lamp does take the edison screw type, can I simply buy the ES bulbs available here, or do I have to, because we're stepping up the voltage, specifically find bulbs suitable to a 240v current?  Not sure whether that current only affects the lamp or the bulbs too.   

The bulb needs to be rated for whatever voltage you are feeding into the lamp.  So if you are running from a transformer which provides 240 volts, you need 240V bulbs.

However, you could use 120V bulbs by removing the existing U.K. plug from the lamp flex and fitting an American plug instead so that you can connect the lamp directly to a 120V wall outlet.   You can always use wiring and accessories rated for 240V on a lower voltage safely. 

For any given power a lower voltage means a higher current, so a 60-watt 120-Volt lamp will take twice as much current as a 60-watt 240-volt lamp, but at normal sub-100W bulb ratings used in table lamps, the current will still be under 1 amp at 120V, well within the ratings of the U.K. accessories.