BER-optimal selection of peak frequency deviation for RDS2

RDS2 is a newly proposed enhancement of the radio data system (RDS) for frequency modulation (FM) broadcasting, aiming at increasing the data rate. This Letter investigates the BER of the data streams of RDS2. Specifically, the authors propose a selection criterion for the peak frequency deviations of the individual data streams, based on a minimax-BER approach. They also theoretically verify that symbol shifting reduces the peak deviation of the RDS2 data signal by an amount of 25%. Simulation results confirm their theoretical findings.