Sound for Generations ROBERTS RD-55 FM RDS/DAB Digital Portable Radio with SD/USB/One touch record Please read this manual before use
Contents Controls ........................................................................... 2-5 Using an SD Memory card with your radio ........................23 Battery operation .................................................................6 Recording a radio program - DAB only .............................23 Mains operation ...................................................................7 SD card format ..................................................................24 Operation modes ..
Controls 1 3 2 12 4 11 5 10 6 9 7 1 8 1. Speakers 5. Band button 2. LCD display 6. Auto tune button 9. Preset 4/Stop button 3. On/Off button 7. Advanced information button 11. Preset 2/Rewind button 4. Low battery indicator 8. Preset 5/Play/pause button 12. Preset 1 button 10.
Controls (rear) 13 14 13. Telescopic aerial 14.
Controls Left hand side Right hand side 20 15 16 17 18 21 19 15. Sound switch 19. DC input socket 16. Auxiliary in socket 20. Tuning/Record control 17 Line out socket 21. Volume control 18.
Controls (Top) 24 22 22. SD card slot 23. USB socket 24.
Battery operation 1. Remove the Battery cover on the rear of the unit by pushing the catch downwards. Open the battery door. 2. Insert six LR14 (C size) batteries into the spaces in the compartment. Take care to ensure all batteries are inserted with the correct polarity as shown on the rear of your radio. Close the battery door. 3. When the battery drops below a certain level the low battery indicator will light.
Using the AC adaptor Your radio is supplied with a Mains Adaptor. 1. Place your radio on a flat surface. 2. Insert the adaptor plug into the DC socket located on the left hand end of your radio. 3. Plug the adaptor into a standard 13 amp mains socket outlet. Whenever the adaptor is used, the batteries are automatically disconnected. The AC adaptor should be disconnected from the mains supply and the radio when not in use.
Operation modes Your radio has 4 operation modes, DAB, FM, Playlist mode and Auxiliary input. 1. Press the Band button to change the operation mode between DAB, FM, Playlist and Auxiliary input mode. 1 • DAB mode is used for listening to Digital Radio broadcasts and for recording programmes to a memory card. • FM mode is used for listening to FM radio broadcasts. • Playlist mode is used to play back digitally recorded programmes and for listening to MP2 and MP3 files.
Operating your radio - DAB 1. Carefully extend the telescopic aerial. 2. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio. The display will show "Roberts" for a few seconds. 3. If this is the first time the radio is used a quick scan of UK Band III DAB channels will be carried out. The display will show "Now tuning". If the radio has been used before the last used station will be selected. 4.
Selecting a station - DAB 1. The top line of the display shows the name of the station currently selected. 2 2. Rotate the Tuning/Record control to scroll through the list of available stations. Stop rotating the tuning control when you find the station that you wish to hear. 3. Press and release the Tuning/Record control to select the station. The display may show "Now tuning" while your radio finds the new station. 3 4. Adjust the Volume control to the required setting.
Presetting stations There are 5 memory presets on each radio band DAB and FM. 1. Press the On/Off button to switch on the radio. 2. 1 3 Tune to the required station as previously described. 3. Press and hold down the required Preset button until the display shows e.g. "Preset 1 saved". The station will be saved under the chosen preset button. Repeat this procedure for the remaining presets. 4. Stations stored in preset memories may be overwritten by following the above procedure.
Finding new stations - DAB As time passes new stations may become available. To find new stations proceed as follows:- 1 1. Press and release the Auto Tune button, the display will show "Quick scan". Your radio will perform a scan of the UK DAB frequencies. As new stations are found the station counter on the right-hand side of the display will increase and stations will be added to the list. 2.
Operating your radio - Search tuning FM 1. Fully extend the telescopic aerial for FM reception. 2 2. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio. The display will show "Roberts" for a few seconds. 3. Press the Band button to select the FM band. 3 4. Press and immediately release the Auto tune button, your radio will scan in an upwards direction (low frequency to high frequency) and stop automatically when it finds a station of sufficient strength. 5. After a few seconds the display will update.
Manual tuning - FM 1. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio. 1 2. Press the Band button to select the FM band. Fully extend the telescopic aerial for FM reception. 3. Rotate the Tuning/Record control to tune to a station. The frequency will change in steps of 50 kHz on FM. 2 4. When the waveband end is reached the radio will recommence tuning from the opposite waveband end. 5. Set the Volume control to the desired settings. 3 6. To switch off your radio press the On/Off button.
Additional features DAB and FM Secondary services - DAB 1. Certain radio stations have one or more secondary services associated with them. If a station has a secondary service associated with it the display will show ">>" next to the station name on the station list. The secondary service will then appear immediately after the primary service when you rotate the tuning control clockwise. 2. Press and release the Tuning/Record control to select the station.
Display modes - DAB a Your radio has eight display modes:1. Press the Advanced Info button to cycle through the various modes. 1 b a. Scrolling text Displays scrolling text messages such as artist/track name, phone in number, etc. b. Programme type Displays type of station being listened to e.g. Pop, Classic, News, etc. c. Multiplex name Displays name of multiplex to which current station belongs. d. Time and date Displays current time and date. e.
Display modes - FM Your radio has four display modes:The Radio Data System (RDS) is a system in which inaudible digital information is transmitted in addition to the normal FM radio programme. RDS offers several useful features. The following are available on your radio:1. Press the Advanced Info button to cycle through the various modes. 17 a. Frequency Displays the frequency of the station being listened to. b.
Using your radio's Pauseplus feature - DAB How many times has your favourite radio station been interrupted by that phone call from a double glazing firm or someone selling that must have item? Sound familiar? Now with a single press of the Tuning/Record control you can put your favourite station on hold while you answer that important call.
Pauseplus Rewind and fastforward - DAB 1. Rotate the Tuning/Record control or press and hold the Fastforward or Rewind buttons to scroll to the item you wish to listen. 1 feature the top line of display 2. When using your radio's automatically switches to show the time that you are delayed.
Dynamic Range Control (DRC) settings DRC can make quieter sounds easier to hear when your radio is used in a noisy environment. 2 1. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio. 2. Press and hold in the Advanced info button until display shows “Station order.” 3 3. Rotate the Tuning/Record control until the display shows "DRC value". 4. Press and release the Tuning/Record control to enter adjustment mode. 5. Rotate the Tuning/Record control to select required DRC setting (default is 0) .
Station order setup - DAB Your radio has 3 station order settings from which you can choose. The station order settings are, favourite station, alphanumeric and active station. 1 Note: Your radio default station order is alphanumeric. 1. Press and hold in the Advanced info button until "Station order" appears on the display. Press and release the Tuning control. 2. Rotate the Tuning/Record control to choose between favourite station, alphanumeric and active station.
Prune stations Some DAB services may stop broadcasting or you may not be able to receive a station. Prune stations will delete the DAB stations from your station list that can no longer be received. 1 1. Press and hold in the Advanced info button until "Station order" appears on the display. Press and release the Tuning/Record control. 2. Rotate the Tuning/Record control until "Prune stations" appears on the display. Press and release the Tuning/Record control to select.
Using an SD memory card with your radio An SD card can be used in your radio for recording, playing back previously recorded radio programs, or playing back MP2 and MP3 files transferred from a PC. Depending on the radio station a 128MB SD card will give typically 2- 4 hours of recording time. If you are using a new SD card ensure that it is formatted correctly. Many different brands and capacities of SD card are available. Your RD55 has been tested with the most popular cards up to 1 GB.
3. Press the Stop button to stop recording. The recording will be saved on your SD card. 4. The recording showing the track details will be added to your playlist. (see page 26) 3 If your radio is not recording correctly check the following: - The card is the correct format (reformat as described below). - The card has enough recording space available. (page 25) - The card has not become corrupted (possibly by removing the card during recording). Reformat the card if necessary.
3. Press and release the Tuning/Record control. 4. Rotate the Tuning/Record control until "Memory Card Format" appears on the display. 3,4 5. Press and release the Tuning/Record control "Continue format No" will appear on the display. To select yes rotate the Tuning/Record control until "Yes" appears on the display. 6. Press and release the Tuning/Record control and "Formatting please wait" will appear on the display. Your sd card will be formatted and the display will show "formatted".
File playback The playlist mode displays the files on the current memory card. The display will show the current file details. 2 1. Ensure your SD card is inserted correctly. 2. Press the Band button until the Play list mode is selected. "Finding tracks" will be displayed then the current recording or track on your SD card will show on the display. 3 3. You can scroll through the list using the Tuning/Record control or the Fastforward/Rewind buttons. 3 3 To play files 1. Press the Play/Pause button. 2.
Fast forward files 1. Press the Fast Forward button to skip to the next track until all files have been played. 1 2. Whilst a track is playing rotate Tuning/Record control the until the desired part of the track is reached. Rewind files 1. Press the Rewind button to skip back a track until all files have been played. 1 2. Whilst a track is playing rotate Tuning/Record control until the desired part of the track is reached. Stop playing files 1.
Delete files 1. In DAB mode press and hold in the Advanced info button and rotate the Tuning/Record control until "Memory Card" is shown on display. 1 If in FM or Playlist mode simply press and hold the Advanced info button and "Memory Card" will show on the display. 2. Press and release the Tuning/Record control. 1,2 3. Rotate the Tuning/Record control until "Delete track" appears on the display. 4.
USB connection Your radio has a USB connection to connect your PC. The usb can be used to copy files to and from your SD card and also for any software updates available. When the USB connection is used to link your radio to your PC the SD card should appear as a removable disk drive. MP2 and MP3 files are held in a folder called "RADIO". 1 If your PC already has an SD card reader, you will find that file transfer is faster when using this than when using the USB connection to your radio.
3. Press and release the Tuning/Record control. 4. Rotate the Tuning/Record control until "USB File Copy" appears on the display. 5. Press and release the Tuning/Record control to allow files to be copied between your PC and your SD card. 3,4 6. Use windows explorer (or equivalent software) to copy the files as needed. Remember, the RD55 radio records files into and plays files from the "RADIO" folder on the SD card. 7. When you have finished copying files press and release the Tuning/Record control.
FM Stereo/Mono 1. If a station being received is weak some hiss may be audible. To reduce the hiss press and release in the Tuning/Record control until the display shows "Audio mode : Mono" your radio will switch to mono mode. 1 2. To return to stereo mode press and release the Tuning/Record control until the display shows "Audio mode : Auto", your radio will switch to stereo mode. 2 Software version The software display cannot be altered and is just for your reference. 1.
Signal strength display - DAB 1. Press and release the Advanced info button until the lower line of the display shows the signal strength. 1 2. Position your radio and carefully angle the telescopic aerial for best reception using the signal strength display as a guide. Move your radio around and position to give maximum number of black rectangles on signal strength display. The clear unfilled rectangle indicates minimum signal level required for satisfactory reception.
System reset If your radio fails to operate correctly, or some digits on the display are missing or incomplete carry out the following procedure. 2 1. Switch on your radio. 2. Press and hold in the Advanced info button until "Station order" appears on the display. 3. Rotate the Tuning/Record control until the display shows "Factory reset". 3 4. Press in and release the Tuning/Record control, the display will show "Press SELECT to confirm reset . . .". 5. Press the Tuning/Record control to confirm.
Auxiliary in socket 1. Connect a stereo or mono audio source (ie CD Walkman, iPod, MP3 player) to the Auxiliary in socket. 2 2. Press the Band button to select AUX band. "AUX IN" will show on the display. 3. Adjust the Volume control for comfortable listening. Line out socket A 3.5mm Line out socket located on the left hand end of your radio is provided for connecting the audio signal to an external amplifier. Inserting a line out audio cable will not mute the internal loudspeaker.
News/Music sound switch For all normal listening it is recommended to use the News/Music switch in the music position. The alternative News position is intended to emphasise speech when there is significant background noise or music in the program content. It is not recommended for normal listening. Display backlight 1. When your radio is powered by the AC adaptor the display backlight will be switched on when the radio is in use. 2.
General • Do not allow this radio to be exposed to water, steam or sand. Do not leave your radio where excessive heat could cause damage such as in a parked car where the heat from the sun can build up even though the outside temperature may not seem too high. Your radio should not be exposed to dripping or splashing and that no objects filled with liquids, such as vases, shall be placed on the radio.
Specifications Circuit features Loudspeaker 2 x 89mm 8ohms Output Power 2 x 1 Watt Battery Life Headphone socket 3.5mm dia Approx. 20 hours, listening for 4 hours a day at normal volume using alkaline cells. Aux in socket 3.5mm dia Line out 3.5mm dia Frequency Coverage Aerial System Power Requirements AC adaptor AC 230 volts, 50Hz Batteries 6 x LR14 (C size) only DAB 174.928 - 239.200MHz FM 87.
Guarantee This instrument is guaranteed for twelve months from the date of delivery to the original owner against failure due to faulty workmanship or component breakdown, subject to the procedure stated below. Should any component or part fail during this guarantee period it will be repaired or replaced free of charge. The guarantee does not cover: 1. Damage resulting from incorrect use. 2. Consequential damage. 3. Receivers with removed or defaced serial numbers. N.B.
ROBERTS RADIO TECHNICAL SERVICES 97-99 Worton Road Isleworth Middlesex TW7 6EG Technical Helpline :- 020 8758 0338 (Mon-Fri during office hours) Website: http://www.robertsradio.co.
