RDS on US 211's
After changing to the Euro setting using the 357 "trick", the Nav voice changes to a British accent as we discussed in the other thread. I can't see any other changes as it is hard to change back and forth.
I did discover a big difference in the radio settings. I now have RDS that gives the song playing, the artist, sometimes the weather forecast, etc.
The Euro softkey menu on the audio screen is:
Presets
TA (?? it turns on but nothing happens that I can see)
FM/AM (different than US setting)
Scan
Setting (see below)
The "setting" key brings up a choice of
RDS Standard
RDS with Local
RDS Off
TP Volume (Don't know what this does..there is a volume adjustment)
I was really surprised as I had thought that we could not get RDS on the US Command unit.
Anyone else found this?
RDS "Dynamic" services:
Traffic Announcement (TA): This is the active side of TP capability. TA even allows you to program tuners to constantly monitor TP stations and tune them in automatically if a special announcement is being made -- even if you’re already listening to another broadcast, a cassette, or a CD at the time! This guarantees up-to-the-minute information to make your trip easier.
After changing to the Euro setting using the 357 "trick", the Nav voice changes to a British accent as we discussed in the other thread. I can't see any other changes as it is hard to change back and forth.
I did discover a big difference in the radio settings. I now have RDS that gives the song playing, the artist, sometimes the weather forecast, etc.
The Euro softkey menu on the audio screen is:
Presets
TA (?? it turns on but nothing happens that I can see)
FM/AM (different than US setting)
Scan
Setting (see below)
The "setting" key brings up a choice of
RDS Standard
RDS with Local
RDS Off
TP Volume (Don't know what this does..there is a volume adjustment)
I was really surprised as I had thought that we could not get RDS on the US Command unit.
Anyone else found this?
Thanks so much,
Jay
also, does anyone know how to work TA?
saff, you need to be under the radio, and press 3 5 7 at the same time. then under the menu go to w211_ECE or whatever. then turn the radio off for 3 minz i believe. when you turn it back on, there should be a TA button on the main screen, and a little strenth bar, like phones have at the bottom right. to get to rds, go to setting like etenn mentioned and click rds with local. GL
Thanks a lot etenn!!
Thanks so much,
Jay
If you can get your unit changed over the to European setting you will have the Brit voice.
If you want the RDS (shows what song is playing and the artist)..follow the original post on this thread.
If it is not clear...I will try to clear it up.
I still have to find and try the Maybach setting.
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Sounds like Bmms, Saffron and myself are the only ones using it...or maybe the only ones interested.
Of course, with satellite radio, who needs RDS.

-s-
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But out of the maybe 10 times I've tried to get in to the mode, I have only successfully done it twice, once to change it, and another to change it back.
Have radio on, having the car engine on doesnt matter. just for a precaution, go to "fm." Then press the numbers 3, 5, and 7, all that the same time, hold these three buttons until the menu comes up, it shouldnt take more than 2 seconds. a menu will come up with 6 or 7 options for your NAV choice. it will be selected on w211_US. select w211_ECE(this is the only other W211 option) then press exit. it will take you back to the radio screen. nothing will have changed. then turn the radio off. wait 5 minutes(this is where the change will occur. Turn radio back on. the color, and mostly all the buttons will be the same. some soft keys will be different, like "TA", and on the botom right of your screen you will see a phone strength bar. to get to RDS you will need to press the setting softkey. select RDS with local. press exit, and RDS should be on, remember it doesnt work on every station, so you will need to go through stations to make sure its working. there are many more options you can play with, and many options dont work, like you cannot scan stations with the arrow buttons.
DownSides-
This will change some options like i said, and i havent been through everything, butwhat i noticed was the scan thing like i said before, i also dont believe your "serv" button works. though those options under than button can be found somewhere else. also, map button doesnt work, im sure it works in nav, but w/o nav turned on, i dont believe you can view the map. under NAV, some options have changed, your layout for NAV has changed, and there is no home button anymore, so you need to go to memory to select home. i am not sure if this is correct, but i dont believe there are POI's, only a hotel feature. one good thing about this nav system is that you can search by a zip code. this is great because sometimes if i am looking for somones house, i am not sure what city the nav is called.
hopefully all of this jabber has made sense. i am not sure on somethings above because i did this yesterday, so i remembered whatever i could. Hopefully it will work for most of us, depending on the year i guess. I dont think 05's work though. GL. i will post pics of the way to get to the euro version.
FYI. Turning RDS off will enable navigating the radio stations with the arrow keys (I have this issue with my Euro COMMAND). Also, with RDS on the steering wheel controls are reversed (up-arrow DECREASES the frequency, and down-arrow INCREASES).
FYI. Turning RDS off will enable navigating the radio stations with the arrow keys (I have this issue with my Euro COMMAND). Also, with RDS on the steering wheel controls are reversed (up-arrow DECREASES the frequency, and down-arrow INCREASES).
hey, thanks for the tips. its also cool how the mfd shows the rds on the screen in the radio menu. thanks again.
I just realized, my COMAND unit was replaced under warranty for a defect. Maybe somehow its a different version?
sucks. one of my biggest gripes was RDS. MBUSA is wayyyy to corporate changing all of this stuff time to go back to basics- common sense approach..
no luck.. even tried 159, and other permutations..
no luck.. even tried 159, and other permutations..damn, sorry man, maybe your version is more updated than the 03's. the rds feature is cool, but i dont know if its such a big deal. its cool to have, but one thing i noticed was that if the signal from the station isnt perfect, i dont think it will pick up on the rds
i might be wrong, since i havent used it much, but thats what it looked like, maybe someone else can clear that up.
Not all stations broadcast an RDS signal, so you will not always get RDS Info.
Here, in the Washington, DC area (USA), the only station I have found that broadcasts full RDS is 97.1 (easy listening / soft rock -- barf!!); a few of the other stations broadcast station info (ie. HOT 100.5), but not song titles.
In any case, it'll depend on what's available in your area.
Personally, I rarely listen to the radio.. RDS is a novelty that my "ball-and-chain" enjoys (she's in to that mushy stuff [but aren't they all!]). Me? Hook me up with a non-stop, Vocal-Trance mix and I'm good to go.. too bad you can't get that on the radio over here (RAP seems to prevail..
)....if I could just get a live feed from DigitallyImported.Com to my COMMAND unit.. ah.. heaven..






