Sonifex PC-FM6-32 User manual

Manufacturers of audio & video
products for radio & TV broadcasters
PC-FM6-32
FM PCle Radio Capture
Card (6 to 32 Channels)
HANDBOOK

PC-FM6-32 Handbook
Made in the UK by
This handbook is for use with the following product:
PC-FM6-32 FM PCle Radio Capture Card (6 to 32 Channels)
Stock Code: 30-403
©Sonifex Ltd, 2014
All Rights Reserved
Revision 1.01, December 2014
Sonifex Ltd, 61, Station Road, Irthlingborough,
Northants, NN9 5QE, England.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]o.uk
Website: http://www.sonifex.co.uk
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of the vendor. Sonifex Ltd shall not be liable for any loss or damage
whatsoever arising from the use of information or any error contained in this manual.
No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, information storage and retrieval systems, for any
purpose other than the purchaser’s personal use, without the express written permission of Sonifex
Ltd. Unless otherwise noted, all names of companies, products and persons contained herein are part
of a completely fictitious adaptation and are designed solely to document the use of Sonifex product.
Contents
Product Warranty - 2 Year Extended ii
Sonifex Warranty & Liability Terms & Conditions ii
1. Definitions ii
2. Warranty ii
Unpacking Your Product iv
Repairs & Returns iv
CE Declaration of Conformity v
WEEE Directive vi
RoHS Directive vi
Atmosphere vi
Electromagnetic Compatibility vi
Introduction 1
System Requirements 1
Specifications 2
Installation 2
Antenna 2
Configuration 3
Increasing the Number of Stations 4
Mono Recording Bug 4
Setting Station Frequencies 4
Radcap Connect 5
Recording 6
RDS Decoding 6
Support 6
Technical Specification For PC-FM6-32 7
Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32 8
Figures
Fig 1-1: FM Spectrum Screen 3
Fig 1-2: FM Radcap 3 Properties Screen 3
Fig 1-3: FM Radcap Monitor Screen 5

Warranty Registration
Sonifex Limited y61 Station Road yIrthlingborough yNorthamptonshire yNN9 5QE yUnited Kingdom
Tel: [phone] yFax: [phone] yEmail: [email protected]o.uk yInternet: www.sonifex.co.uk
As standard, Sonifex products are supplied with a 1 year back to base warranty.
If you register the product online, you can increase your product warranty to
2 years and we can also keep you informed of any product design
improvements or modifications.
To register your product, please go online to www.sonifex.co.uk/register
Register Online for an
Extended 2 Year Warranty

ii
Warranty
Product Warranty - 2 Year Extended
As standard, Sonifex products are supplied with a 1 year back to base
warranty. In order to register the date of purchase and so that we can keep
you informed of any product design improvements or modifications, it is
important to complete the warranty registration online. Additionally, if you
register the product on the Sonifex website within 30 days of purchase, you
can increase your product warranty to 2 years. Go to the Sonifex website at:
http://www.sonifex.co.uk/technical/register/index.asp to apply for your 2
year warranty.
Note: For your own records the product serial number is recorded on the
CE certification page of this handbook.
Sonifex Warranty & Liability Terms & Conditions
1. Definitions
‘the Company’ means Sonifex Ltd and where relevant includes companies
within the same group of companies as Sonifex Limited.
‘the Goods’ means the goods or any part thereof supplied by the Company
and where relevant includes: work carried out by the Company on items
supplied by the Purchaser; services supplied by the Company; and software
supplied by the Company.
‘the Purchaser’ means the person or organisation who buys or has agreed
to buy the Goods.
‘the Price’ means the Price of the Goods and any other charges incurred by
the Company in the supply of the Goods.
‘the Warranty Term’ is the length of the product warranty which is usually
12 months from the date of despatch; except when the product has been
registered at the Sonifex website when the Warranty Term is 24 months
from the date of despatch.
‘the Contract’ means the quotation, these Conditions of Sale and any
other document incorporated in a contract between the Company and the
Purchaser.
This is the entire Contract between the parties relating to the subject
matter hereof and may not be changed or terminated except in writing in
accordance with the provisions of this Contract. A reference to the consent,
acknowledgement, authority or agreement of the Company means in
writing and only by a director of the Company.
2. Warranty
a. The Company agrees to repair or (at its discretion) replace Goods
which are found to be defective (fair wear and tear excepted) and
which are returned to the Company within the Warranty Term
provided that each of the following are satisfied:
i. notification of any defect is given to the Company immediately
upon its becoming apparent to the Purchaser;
ii. the Goods have only been operated under normal operating
conditions and have only been subject to normal use (and
in particular the Goods must have been correctly connected
and must not have been subject to high voltage or to ionising
radiation and must not have been used contrary to the
Company’s technical recommendations);
iii. the Goods are returned to the Company’s premises at the
Purchaser’s expense;
iv. any Goods or parts of Goods replaced shall become the
property of the Company;
v. no work whatsoever (other than normal and proper
maintenance) has been carried out to the Goods or any part of
the Goods without the Company’s prior written consent;

iii
Warranty
vi. the defect has not arisen from a design made, furnished or
specified by the Purchaser;
vii. the Goods have been assembled or incorporated into other
goods only in accordance with any instructions issued by the
Company;
viii. the defect has not arisen from a design modified by the
Purchaser;
ix. the defect has not arisen from an item manufactured by
a person other than the Company. In respect of any item
manufactured by a person other than the Company, the
Purchaser shall only be entitled to the benefit of any warranty or
guarantee provided by such manufacturer to the Company.
b. In respect of computer software supplied by the Company the
Company does not warrant that the use of the software will be
uninterrupted or error free.
c. The Company accepts liability:
(i) for death or personal injury to the extent that it results from the
negligence of the Company, its employees (whilst in the course
of their employment) or its agents (in the course of the agency);
(ii) for any breach by the Company of any statutory undertaking as
to title, quiet possession and freedom from encumbrance.
c. Subject to conditions (a) and (c) from the time of despatch of
the Goods from the Company’s premises the Purchaser shall be
responsible for any defect in the Goods or loss, damage, nuisance
or interference whatsoever consequential economic or otherwise or
wastage of material resulting from or caused by or to the Goods. In
particular the Company shall not be liable for any loss of profits or
other economic losses. The Company accordingly excludes all liability
for the same.
e. At the request and expense of the Purchaser the Company will test
the Goods to ascertain performance levels and provide a report of
the results of that test. The report will be accurate at the time of the
test, to the best of the belief and knowledge of the Company, and the
Company accepts no liability in respect of its accuracy beyond that
set out in Condition (a).
f. Subject to Condition (e) no representation, condition, warranty or
other term, express or implied (by statute or otherwise) is given by
the Company that the Goods are of any particular quality or standard
or will enable the Purchaser to attain any particular performance
or result, or will be suitable for any particular purpose or use
under specific conditions or will provide any particular capacity,
notwithstanding that the requirement for such performance, result or
capacity or that such particular purpose or conditions may have been
known (or ought to have been known) to the Company, its employees
or agents.
g. (i) To the extent that the Company is held legally liable to the
Purchaser for any single breach of contract, tort, representation
or other act or default, the Company’s liability for the same
shall not exceed the price of the Goods.
(ii) The restriction of liability in Condition (g)(i) shall not apply to
any liability accepted by the Seller in Condition (c).
h. Where the Goods are sold under a consumer transaction (as defined
by the Consumer Transactions (Restrictions on Statements) Order
1976) the statutory rights of the Purchaser are not affected by these
Conditions of Sale.

iv
Warranty
Unpacking Your Product
Each product is shipped in protective packaging and should be inspected
for damage before use. If there is any transit damage take pictures of the
product packaging and notify the carrier immediately with all the relevant
details of the shipment. Packing materials should be kept for inspection and
also for if the product needs to be returned.
The product is shipped with the following equipment so please check to
ensure that you have all of the items below. If anything is missing, please
contact the supplier of your equipment immediately.
Item Quantity
Product Unit 1
Handbook 1
Driver CD 1
Repairs & Returns
Please contact Sonifex or your supplier if you have any problems with your
Sonifex product. Email [e-mail] for the repair/
upgrade/returns procedure, or for support & questions regarding the
product operation.

v
CE Certification
61 Station Road • Irthlingborough • Northants
NN9 5QE • United Kingdom • www.sonifex.co.uk
T: [phone] • F: [phone]
Registered Office • 61 Station Road • Irthlingborough • Registered in England 1717864 • VAT Reg No. GB 119 85 32 52
CE Declaration of Conformity and
Approval Information
Product:
Serial No:
This document certifies that the Sonifex product that you have purchased is
compliant with CE specifications. If you would like further information on
compliance of all Sonifex products, please check the website at the address
above where full information is available.
Sonifex Limited hereby certify that the following product with serial
number shown has been designed and manufactured in accordance with
the following specifications:
EMC: EN 55103-1: 1997 Electromagnetic Compatibility.
Limits of disturbance for audio apparatus for professional use
For use in environments 1 to 4.
EN 55103-2: 1997 Electromagnetic Compatibility.
Limits of disturbance for audio apparatus for professional use
For use in environments 1 to 4.
Safety: EN 60950: 1992 Safety of Information Technology Equipment
Including Electrical Business Equipment.
Hybrid BS6301, BS7002, BS415, CTR21,
Approvals: R&TTE directive (1999/5/EC)
The Reference Technical Justification File for this product is available at
Sonifex Ltd.
Authorised By:
Name: Chris Stills
Position: Technical Director
Date of Issue: 01 October 2014
Signature:

vi
Safety & Installation
Atmosphere
The units should be installed in an area that is not subject to excessive
temperature variation (<0°C, >50°C), moisture, dust or vibration.
Electromagnetic Compatibility
Warning: This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product
may cause radio interference in which case the user may be required to
take adequate measures.
This product complies with the relevant tested clauses of AS/NZS CISPR
22:2009 +A1:2010 and AS/NZS CISPR 13:2012.
This product complies with the relevant tested clauses of EN55022:2010,
EN55013:2013, EN55024:2010, EN61000-3-2:2009 and EN61000-3-3:2013.
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in
which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own
expense.
WEEE Directive
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
Directive was agreed on 13 February 2003, along with the
related Directive 2002/95/EC on Restrictions of the use of
certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic
equipment (RoHS). The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive
(WEEE) aims to minimise the impacts of electrical and electronic equipment
on the environment during their life times and when they become waste.
All products manufactured by Sonifex Ltd have the WEEE directive label
placed on the case. Sonifex Ltd will be happy to give you information about
local organisations that can reprocess the product when it reaches its “end
of use”, or alternatively all products that have reached “end of use” can be
returned to Sonifex and will be reprocessed correctly free of charge.
RoHS Directive
The RoHS directive limits the use of certain hazardous
substances currently used in EEE manufacture, including
lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and
halide-containing compounds PBB (polybrominated biphenyl) and PBDE
(polybrominated diphenyl ether). Elimination of these substances will result
in more environmentally friendly recycling of electronic equipment.
Sonifex Ltd practices lead-free (LF) manufacturing processes and does not
use any of the hazardous substances identified in the European Union’s
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. The manufacturing
processes include the assembly of purchased components from various
sources. Product is offered as RoHS compliant, or LF, only after sufficient
evidence is received from the component manufacturers that their
components are RoHS compliant. Sonifex Ltd relies solely on the distributor,
or manufacturer, of the components for identification of RoHS compliance.
Thus whilst every effort is made to ensure compliance, Sonifex Ltd makes
no warranty, or certification, or declaration of compliance concerning said
components.

1
Introduction 1
Introduction
The FM Radcap PCIe is a radio capture card designed for simultaneous
recording of multiple radio stations. The frequency of each station is set in
software and its audio appears as a standard Windows audio input device.
RDS decoding is also supported.
The card uses a high-speed A/D converter to digitise the entire FM band,
with up to 32 individual tuners. The Radcap achieves exceptionally
low audio distortion through the use of linear phase filtering and
mathematically precise FM demodulation and stereo decoding. FM
demodulation and stereo decoding is done in FPGA fabric, while RDS
decoding, if enabled, is performed in the driver using the host CPU’s SSE-2
instruction set. This division of labour between the FPGA and driver allows
greatest flexibility in catering for future baseband technologies while
minimising the CPU overhead of the card.
A WDM driver for Windows XP (SP2 or later), Server 2003, Vista, Server
2008, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Windows 8 and Server 2012 is supplied
as well as software for setting the tuner frequencies and monitoring the
received audio. A programming API and DLL for software control and
monitoring are also supplied.
The card can be configured to operate in stereo, mono or paired mono (two
mono stations combined on a 2-channel audio stream) modes. Multiple
cards can be used in a single PC, subject to available CPU bandwidth. The
audio de-emphasis may also be set to either 50us or 75us. In Australia, New
Zealand and Europe 50us is used, while in the USA and Canada 75us is used.
A utility called FMSpectrum is supplied. This displays the RF spectrum from
85MHz to 111MHz, using data from the card’s front-end 256-point FFT and
may be useful in selecting the best location for the antenna or resolving
interference problems.
The card is factory-configured for 6 (PC-FM6), 12, 18, 24 or 32 (PC-FM32)
stations, but needs licensing on your PC hardware. It may be expanded in
the field for an additional charge.
System Requirements
Platform: Windows XP SP2 or later (32-bit or 64-bit
versions)
Bus: PCI Express v1.1 (single lane)
Processor: 1GHz Pentium 4 or better (6 stations)
2.5GHz Pentium 4 or better (32 stations)
Memory: 256MB minimum (1GB for Windows Vista /
Windows 7 / Server 2008 /Server 2008-R2, 2GB
for Windows 8 / Server 2012)
Other: Sound card or motherboard sound port for
monitoring

2
1 Installation
Specifications
No. of stations: 6, 12, 18, 24 or 32 (factory-configured but needs
licensing on your PC hardware. End-user
expandable)
Tuning range: 87.5MHz to 108.5MHz in 25kHz steps
Sensitivity: 10uV for 40dB S/N (mono)
Maximum input: 150mV RMS
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Audio bandwidth: 15kHz
De-emphasis: Configurable as 50us or 75us
Audio distortion: < 0.01%
Audio sampling rates: 48kHz native rate (other rates supported
automatically through the Windows sampling
rate converter)
Installation
The FM Radcap PCIe card uses static-sensitive components. Observe the
usual precautions against static electricity when handling the card and do
not touch the edge connector contacts.
The FPGA and regulators generate a significant amount of heat, especially
when configured for a large number of stations. If possible, the cards should
be mounted vertically, or alternatively placed where there is forced air flow
over both sides of the card. Avoid placing the card close to other sources of
heat (such as a high-performance video card).
Ensure that Windows XP (with SP2) or a later platform is installed on the PC.
The FM Radcap PCIe card cannot be used on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or
versions of XP prior to SP2. It is recommended that the latest Service Pack
and security updates be installed.
Switch off the PC and unplug the power lead. Insert the card into any vacant
PCI Express slot. While this is a single-lane card, it can be used in multi-lane
sockets as the PCIe protocol automatically negotiates the lane width.
Restart the PC and allow Windows to boot up.
Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008 - Windows will report that
new hardware has been found and the New Hardware wizard will start.
Insert the driver CD supplied with the card and proceed through the wizard.
Allow Windows to search for the driver – do NOT specify a driver location
or file name.
Windows 8, 7, Server 2012, Server 2008-R2 – Windows no longer searches
removable media for drivers. Open Device Manager, where the PC-
FM6-32 card will be shown under ‘Other Devices’ as a Multimedia Audio
Controller. Right-click on it, select Update Driver Software, then click on
Browse my computer for driver software and click on the Browse button to
navigate to the driver’s location. Click on Next to install the driver.
Windows may warn that the driver being installed has not been certified
by Microsoft, which is true. Click on Continue to complete the installation.
The drivers are digitally signed by Innes Corporation as required by 64-bit
Windows Vista and later systems.
Antenna
The FM Radcap requires an external antenna to receive the stations. The
type of antenna needed depends on the signal levels in the area in which it
is being used. A splitter may be used to feed a single antenna into multiple
cards, but a masthead amplifier may then be needed to compensate for
the splitter losses. If using an amplifier, take care not to overdrive the cards
as performance will be severely degraded. The minimum gain needed to
provide good reception on the weakest station being monitored should be
used, and in some applications one or more directional antennas may be
required.
While the card has an input protection diode, we strongly recommend
fitting an external lightning suppressor to minimise the risk of damage to
the card.

3
Configuration 1
Fig 1-1: FM Spectrum Screen
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connector is used (the mismatch loss is negligible at these frequencies).
Adapters to suit other common connector types are readily available from
electronics retailers.
A utility called FMSpectrum is supplied on the driver CD/download. This
displays the RF spectrum from 85MHz to 111MHz, using data from the
card’s front-end 256-point FFT, and may be useful in selecting the best
location for the antenna or resolving interference problems. The scales are
10dB per division vertically and 2MHz per division horizontally.
Configuration
To change the configuration, open Device Manager, expand the Sound,
video and game controllers section, right-click on FM Radcap 3 and select
Properties. The available options are under the Configuration tab.
Note that, due to a limitation in the current driver, the Hardware ID will
not display if any applications are using the Radcap API. Please close any
Radcap-related programs before changing the settings.
Fig 1-2: FM Radcap 3 Properties Screen

4
1 Increasing No. of Stations
Increasing the Number of Stations
The FM Radcap PCIe is factory-configured for 6, 12, 18, 24 or 32 stations but
needs licensing on your PC hardware. For an additional charge, the number of
stations can be increased in the field by entering the appropriate expansion
key on this page. Contact Sonifex to obtain an expansion key, quoting the
card’s Hardware ID and the number of stations you require.
The number of stations can also be reduced if the full capabilities of the card
are not required. This can be used to reduce the processing overhead if, for
example, only twenty-six stations are needed on a thirty-two station card.
The number of stations specified must be even, with odd numbers being
rounded up.
The card can be configured to operate in stereo, mono or paired-mono
modes. Paired-mono mode combines two stations together as the left and
right sides of a two-channel audio stream. Which mode is best will depend
on the application software being used.
The audio de-emphasis may also be set to either 50us or 75us. In Australia,
New Zealand & Europe 50us is used, while in the USA & Canada it is 75us.
RDS decoding can be enabled, but be aware that this adds some host CPU
overhead.
Once the configuration has changed it may take up to a minute for Windows
to reconfigure itself – be patient, it hasn’t crashed! If multiple cards are
installed in the PC, each card can be configured independently (for example
one card could be set to stereo while the other is set to mono or paired-
mono).
Windows XP and Server 2003 limit the total number of audio input devices
to 32. Please be aware of this limit, particularly if there are other audio input
devices present in the PC. Paired-mono mode can be useful to work around
this limit in some cases, as it halves the number of audio input devices
needed to represent the card. There is no device limit in Windows Vista,
Windows 7, Windows 8, Server 2008, Server 2008-R2 or Server 2012.
Mono Recording Bug (Windows Vista, 7, 8, Server
2008, 2008-R2, 2012)
When making a mono recording from any stereo input, the audio engine on
these versions of Windows will provide only the left channel rather than the
expected left-plus-right mix. To circumvent this, set any stations to mono
mode (using the Tuner application or the Radcap API), or alternatively
configure the whole card as Mono.
Setting Station Frequencies
A utility program called Tuner is supplied on the driver disc/download.
This can be used to set the frequency of each station and also to monitor
each station through the PC’s standard sound card or motherboard sound
port. Note that this application can also be used with the AM Radcap and
the older-style two-channel FM Radcap cards, replacing the AmTune and
FMTune applications previously supplied. A minimum screen resolution of
1024x768 is recommended for use with this application.
To run the program, insert the driver CD, or go to the download directory
and run \AM & FM Radcap\Tuner.exe. To set the frequency of a station,
click on the Set button for that station, type in the frequency (in MHz) and
click on OK. For FM stations, it is also possible to force mono reception or
additionally reduce the audio bandwidth.
To monitor a station, click on the Monitor button for that station. Note that
there is a delay of about one second in the audio heard via this monitor,
due to the audio buffering used. Stereo reception is indicated by a blue
backlight in the stereo indicator (this is inoperative when the card is
configured as mono or paired-mono).
If RDS decoding is enabled, the RDS indicator will light when the decoder
is locked, and the transmitted Program Service Name will be displayed on
the surrounding box. When the station being monitored is broadcasting
Radiotext, the text is shown at the top of the main window, along with the
transmitted date/time information if this is available.

5
Configuration 1
The Tuner application also provides relative signal strength indicator bars
on each station, which may be useful when orientating antennas. Note
however that due to hardware limitations, this function is not available with
the older 2-channel FM Radcap cards.
The frequencies set are stored in the Windows Registry by the driver and
are automatically restored whenever the PC is started. It is not necessary to
rerun Tuner or to leave it running once the frequencies are set.
Alternatively, if you write your own software, there is a DLL supplied on
the driver disc that can be used for setting and retrieving the station
frequencies. Refer to Appendix A for details. This DLL (Radcap.dll) is
compatible with the AM Radcap and older-style two-channel, six-channel
and twenty-four channel FM Radcap
cards as well, and should be used in
place of the earlier versions supplied with
those cards.
Radcap Connect
Radcap Connect is an application that
allows the stations on AM and/or FM
Radcap cards to be routed to multiple
audio output devices. The number of
stations that can be simultaneously
played is limited only by the number of
audio output devices present on the PC.
Radcap Connect is included on the driver
CD/download. To install this application,
insert the CD and run \AM & FM
Radcap\Radcap Connect\setup.exe.
Windows 7 and 8 provide similar
functionality with their Listen option
under the Recording device properties,
allowing each station to be monitored on
a designated audio output device.
Fig 1-3: FM Radcap Monitor Screen

6
1 Recording
Recording
Any application that records from standard wave input devices can be used
to record the audio streams from the FM Radcap PCIe.
Make sure the recording software you are using allows you to select the
audio input devices. The Radcap virtual devices have names such as “FM
Radcap Ch. 1” and “FM Radcap Ch. 2” (or “FM Radcap Ch. 1/2” if stations
are paired).
A recording level control, mute control and peak meter are provided for
each station (or pair of stations) through the devices’ mixer ports (peak
meters are not supported under Windows 2000, and are only accessible
through the mixer API on Windows Vista if the application is set to XP-
compatible mode – new applications written for Windows Vista should use
the Core Audio APIs to access the peak meters).
If recording a large number of channels using any form of audio
compression, be sure to allow sufficient processing power to both capture
the audio and compress it. The Performance Monitor in Windows’ Task
Manager can provide a useful guide to CPU loading.
RDS Decoding
RDS decoding can be enabled in the driver configuration, and the
received information is available through the Radcap API. Refer to the API
description in Appendix A for details.
Be aware that enabling RDS decoding significantly increases the Radcap’s
CPU loading.
Support
For all support matters, go to www.sonifex.co.uk and click on Technical
Support, then Software Downloads. Software and driver updates will be
made available from time to time and will be placed on this website.

7
Technical Specification 2
Operating Systems Supported
Platform: Windows XP (SP2 or later), Server 2003, Vista,
Server 2008, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2,
Windows 8 and Server 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit
versions)
Processor: 2.5GHz Pentium 4 or better
Memory: 256 MB minimum (1GB for Vista Windows 7
Server 2008, 2GB for Windows 8/Server 2012)
Bus: Single lane PCI Express v1.1
Other: Sound card or motherboard sound port
for monitoring
Specification
Tuning Range: 87.5MHz to 108.5MHz in 25kHz steps
Sensitivity: 10uV for 40dB S/N
Maximum Input: 150mV RMS
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De-emphasis: Configurable as 50us or 75us
Audio Distortion: <0.01%
Audio Sampling Rate: 48kHz (all other rates automatically supported
via Windows sampling rate converter)
Number of Stations: 6, 12, 18, 24 or 32 (factory-configured but needs
licensing on your PC hardware. End-user
expandable)
RDS Decoding: Optionally enabled in driver configuration
Equipment Type
PC-FM6 Radcap FM 6 - 6 channel FM PCIe Radio
Capture Card
PC-FM12 Radcap FM 12 - 12 channel FM PCIe Radio
Capture Card
PC-FM18 Radcap FM 18 - 18 channel FM PCIe Radio
Capture Card
PC-FM24 Radcap FM 24 - 24 channel FM PCIe Radio
Capture Card
PC-FM32 Radcap FM 32 - 32 channel FM PCIe Radio
Capture Card
PC-FMUP6 Radcap FM 6 Channel Upgrade
PC-FMUP8 Radcap FM 8 Channel Upgrade
Physical Specification
Dimensions (Raw): 14cm (L) x 12.5cm (H) x 2cm (D)
5.5” (L) x 4.9” (H) x 0.8” (D)
Dimensions (Boxed): 27cm (L) x 22.5cm (H) x 6cm (D)
10.6” (L) x 8.9” (H) x 2.4” (D)
Weight: Nett: 0.10kg Gross: 0.20kg
Nett: 0.2lbs Gross: 0.4lbs
Technical Specification For PC-FM6-32

3 Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32
8
On the driver CD under \AM & FM Radcap\lib you will find Radcap.dll,
Radcap.exp, Radcap.lib and Radcap.h, which can be used to read and set
the frequency of each station and to read the received signal strength
indicator, stereo indicator, FM deviation, pilot level and RDS transmissions
where available. The DLL exports the following functions:
enum RadcapTunerType { RadcapAM, RadcapFM };
UINT __stdcall RadcapStationCount (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuners.
Return value
The return value is the number of stations available.
Comments
This function will fail if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.
BOOL __stdcall RadcapGetID (
UINT DeviceID,
enum RadcapTunerType*pType,
int *pTunerID,
BOOL *pPaired);
Parameters
DeviceID
waveIn device ID
pType
Pointer to RadcapTunerType variable to receive the returned
device type
pTunerID
Pointer to int variable to receive the returned Tuner ID number
pPaired
Pointer to BOOL variable to receive the returned tuner
configuration
Return value
If the function succeeds the return value is TRUE.
If the function fails, the return value is FALSE. To get extended error
information, call GetLastError ().
Comments
This function takes the Device ID number of a waveIn audio stream
and returns the tuner type, identifier and configuration information
for the corresponding tuner. If the audio stream does not correspond to
a Radcap tuner the function returns FALSE.
UINT __stdcall RadcapGetFrequency (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Return values
If the function succeeds the return value is the frequency in kilohertz.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error
information, call GetLastError ().
Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32

9
Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32 3
Comments
This function will fail if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.
BOOL __stdcall RadcapSetFrequency (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID,
UINT Kilohertz);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be set, beginning at zero for the first station.
Kilohertz
The frequency (in kilohertz) that the station is to be set to. For AM,
this must lie between 500 and 1700, and for FM this must lie
between 87500 and 108500.
Return values
If the function succeeds the return value is TRUE.
If the function fails, the return value is FALSE. To get extended error
information, call GetLastError ().
Comments
This function will fail if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.
UINT __stdcall RadcapGetRSSI (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Return values
If the function succeeds the return value is the received signal strength
indicator.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error
information, call GetLastError ().
Comments
The received signal strength indicator is not available on the original
2-channel FM Radcap cards. This function will succeed with those cards
but will always return 0.
The received signal strength indicator is a relative indication only and
should not be taken as an absolute measurement of signal strength.
This function will fail if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.
BOOL __stdcall RadcapGetStereo (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.

3 Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32
10
Return values
The return value is TRUE if the station is being received in stereo.
Comments
The stereo indicator is only available on the FM Radcap cards, and then
only if the card is configured for stereo reception. This function will fail
if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.
UINT __stdcall RadcapGetDeviation (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Return value
The return value is the peak FM deviation in Hertz of the station being
tuned, or zero if this information is unavailable.
Comments
The deviation is only available on the FM Radcap cards. This function
will fail if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running. The peak
detector of the specified channel is reset to zero each time this
function is called.
UINT __stdcall RadcapGetPilotLevel (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Return value
The return value is the deviation in Hertz of the 19kHz pilot tone, or
zero if this information is unavailable.
Comments
The pilot level is only available on the FM Radcap cards, and then only
if the card is configured for stereo reception. This function will fail if the
monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.
UINT __stdcall RadcapGetMonoOverrideLevel (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Return value
The return value is the current mono override level, or zero if this is
not supported by the hardware. See RadcapSetMonoOverrideLevel for
a description of possible values.
Comments
The mono override level is only available on the FM Radcap cards. This
function will fail if the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running.

11
Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32 3
BOOL __stdcall RadcapSetMonoOverrideLevel (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID,
UINT Level);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be set, beginning at zero for the first station.
Level
This parameter can take the following values:
0 : no override action
1 : the specified channel is forced to mono reception
2 : the specified channel is forced to mono reception with narrow
audio bandwidth
Return values
If the function succeeds the return value is TRUE.
If the function fails, the return value is FALSE. To get extended error
information, call GetLastError ().
Comments
This function is only available on the FM Radcap cards and will fail if
the monitor program (Tuner.exe) is running. It provides the ability to set
individual channels to mono and optionally reduce their audio
bandwidth.
The following functions provide access to RDS transmissions carried by
some FM stations.
BOOL __stdcall RadcapRDSPresent (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Return value
The return value is TRUE if RDS is present on the received signal,
otherwise FALSE.
Comments
RDS decoding is only available on the FM Radcap cards, and only when
RDS is enabled in the driver configuration.
BOOL __stdcall RadcapRDSGetProgramInformation (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID,
RDSProgramInformation *pInfo);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
pInfo
Pointer to an RDSProgramInformation structure into which the
information is written.
Return value
The return value TRUE if the function succeeds, otherwise it is FALSE.
To obtain extended error information, call GetLastError ().

3 Appendix A – Programming the PC-FM6-32
12
Comments
This function can fail with ERROR_DEVICE_NOT_READY if the RDS signal
is not being received or the Program Service Name is in the process of
being changed.
The RDSProgramInformation structure is defined as follows:
typedef struct {
unsigned ProgramIdentificationCode;
unsigned ProgramTypeCode;
unsigned Music;
unsigned Traffic;
unsigned Decoder;
char ProgramServiceName[9];
} RDSProgramInformation;
ProgramIdentificationCode : See RDS specification NRSC-4-A Annex D.
ProgramTypeCode : See RDS specification NRSC-4-A Annex F.
Music : 0 = Speech, 1 = Music
Traffic : 0 = This program does not carry traffic announcements
1 = This program contains EON information about another program
that carries traffic announcements
2 = This program carries traffic announcements but none are being
broadcast at present
3 = A traffic announcement is being broadcast on this program at
present
Decoder : Bit 0 set = Stereo, cleared = Monaural
Bit 1 set = Artificial head, cleared = Not artificial head
Bit 2 set = Compressed, cleared = Uncompressed
Bit 3 set = PTY code dynamically switched, cleared = PTY code
static
ProgramServiceName : Null-terminated string identifying the program
BOOL __stdcall RadcapRDSGetRadiotext (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID,
char *Buffer,
size_t BufferSize);
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.
TunerID
Index of the station to be read, beginning at zero for the first
station.
Buffer
Pointer to an array of at least 65 chars into which the function
writes the Radiotext as a null-terminated string.
BufferSize
Size in bytes of Buffer.
Return value
The return value TRUE if the function succeeds, otherwise it is FALSE.
To obtain extended error information, call GetLastError ().
Comments
This function can return an empty string if updated text is only partially
received or if no Radiotext is being broadcast.
BOOL __stdcall RadcapRDSGetLocalDateTime (
enum RadcapTunerType Mode,
int TunerID,
SYSTEMTIME *pLocalTime );
Parameters
Mode
Specifies AM or FM tuner.