Re: Radios, RDS and Blaupunkt

[ScharfR@aol.com]

An interesting point of information is that the new (as of model year 1996 in
the US) Audi Delta radio is identical between the US and German versions.  It
is also identical between Bose and non-Bose loudspeaker systems.  That's
right; one part and one part number.  If you have a US spec car in Germany,
you already have the right radio, just the wrong connectors on the back.

The radio is capable of receiving the US or German frequency bandwidths and
tuning increments.  It is enabled to be a US or German radio by the pin
configuration of the block connectors on the back.  Plug it in to a German
car's wire harness connectors and it will receive the full German frequency
range in the 0.1 mhz steps.  Plug in a US car's connectors and it behaves
like a US radio.  Same with Bose and non-Bose; the wire harness connectors
enable the correct speaker outputs.

If you have a US spec car in Germany, it should be no big trick to fiddle
with the connectors and fool the radio into thinking it is operating in a
German car.  No need to open the radio.  But you will need the special flat
radio stealing tools, since it is retained by a new type of clips in the
dash.

The RDS function will work just as you expect it to in Germany.  In the US it
is a very seldom encountered feature.  Most major cities have one or two
sattions with RDS capability, but it is more a novelty than a useful feature.