Lesson plan

Programme identification

Programme Identification (PI) is a service provided by radio stations transmitting Radio Data System (RDS) data as part of the FM radio broadcast. The PI code allows the radio to identify the station across different broadcast relay stations. This in turn allows listeners to stay tuned to a network whilst travelling across the service area of multiple transmitters. The PI code is a 4-digit hexadecimal (16-bit) number. For example BBC Radio 1 has PI code C201 . (The number itself is usually not displayed on radio receivers.) PI codes are not globally unique; ranges are assigned per-country, and are re-used in countries beyond FM radio range of each other. For example, the first digit "C" as used in the BBC PI code example is used by the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Croatia, and Malta. They can be made globally unique by combining them with an ECC (extended country code). PI codes are also used in Digital Audio Broadcasting as Station ID, and by the RadioDNS standard.

Back to article

Article summary

Programme Identification (PI) is a service provided by radio stations transmitting Radio Data System (RDS) data as part of the FM radio broadcast. The PI code allows the radio to identify the station across different broadcast relay stations. This in turn allows listeners to stay tuned to a network whilst travelling across the service area of multiple transmitters. The PI code is a 4-digit hexadecimal (16-bit) number. For example BBC Radio 1 has PI code C201 . (The number itself is usually not displayed on radio receivers.) PI codes are not globally unique; ranges are assigned per-country, and are re-used in countries beyond FM radio range of each other. For example, the first digit "C" as used in the BBC PI code example is used by the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Croatia, and Malta. They can be made globally unique by combining them with an ECC (extended country code). PI codes are also used in Digital Audio Broadcasting as Station ID, and by the RadioDNS standard.

Key claims

No claims recorded.

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.