Announcements

Announcements can be very helpful, but make it easy for drivers to cancel them quickly.

When an announcement starts

When an announcement is signalled:

Interrupt the current listening session, regardless of the source
Switch the audio source to the radio station
If the driver has configured a preferred announcement volume (see User Configurable Options), set the volume to it
Show a clear visual indication that an announcement is in progress, including the type of announcement and a cancel action

When an announcement ends

When the announcement ends, or the driver presses cancel:

Return to the previous audio source and volume level
Clear the announcement indication from the display

Never obscure the text or visual information with the announcement indicator or cancel button. This is especially important during Alarm (Emergency) Announcements, where critical information may be displayed as text or visuals.

Announcement scope

Only respond to announcements for the currently selected radio station. Responding to announcements from other stations will cause the same announcement to trigger multiple times in quick succession, for example the same traffic information from several stations within a few minutes.

FM and DAB announcements

If a radio station signals that it will provide DAB announcements (using FIG0/18), disregard announcement events for the same station on FM. This prevents “double triggering”, where the receiver would first trigger an announcement from FM and then almost immediately trigger the same announcement from DAB.

The guidelines recommend that radio stations send all announcements in parallel across FM and DAB, so that announcement functionality works consistently on both.

DAB emergency announcements

The Alarm Flag (Al) indicates when an Alarm (Emergency) Announcement should interrupt all radio stations on the currently tuned ensemble. In this case, the currently tuned station may be interrupted by the alarm announcement.