Transmission scheme of high-capacity FM multiplex broadcasting system

Abstract

FM multiplex broadcasting is a system for providing additional text and graphics, while maintaining compatibility with existing stereo sound broadcasting. The digital signals are multiplexed in a higher frequency band than baseband FM stereo signals. This paper describes a modulation method and an error correction method for a new high-capacity FM multiplex broadcasting system called DARC (Data Radio Channel), which has a bit rate of 16 kbit/s. Simulation results show that stereo sound signals interfere with a multiplexing signal under multipath conditions. LMSK (level controlled MSK) is proposed as a modulation scheme to ensure good transmission quality. It is shown that an error correction scheme using a product code of (272190) codes has a good performance for mobile reception. Field tests on the DARC for mobile reception are conducted in the service area of the NHK Tokyo FM station. These show that the correct reception rate can be obtained at more than 80% when transmitting information of 6 kbytes.