According to a report in The Guardian’s Technology Blog, chip-maker Frontier Silicon is demonstrating a software upgrade that would allow radio displays to simplify tuning of FM and DAB stations.
With the right chip and software set, the receiver first scans for available DAB services and then FM services; the resulting lists of stations are then integrated and sorted into an alphabetical list by name. Instead of tuning by dial position, the listener would select stations by name without having to know which are DAB and which are FM.
The system is at a “proof of concept” stage and some issues remain to be resolved, including making sure that stations transmit their names in a consistent manner.
