radio instructions

This is information about the Live Channel 11 and Channel 12 streaming audio on this site. This audio stream is for personal enjoyment only and must not be used for operational purposes.

Techy stuff. I normally stream the audio in a 56kbs stereo channel. Many stations speak quietly or a long way from the microphone - notably the lady operators at VTS. This results in very low deviation. Also it sounds like VTS is using a noise gate to reduce background noise - this of course introduces distortion if the operator speaks quietly of away from the microphone. Because of this I compress the audio by up to 12db before streaming to try and keep the audio level more constant so some of the transmissions may sound louder than if you were receiving directly on your own receiver.

Southampton VTS reporting procedure

a) All vessels in excess of 20 metres in length, bound to or from or passing through the Port of Southampton, vessels bound to or from or passing through the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth and vessels bound to or from anchorages or other locations in the Solent are required to communicate by VHF with Southampton VTS.

b) All vessels in excess of 20 metres LOA entering the East Solent are required to report to Southampton VTS on VHF Channel 12 when 10 miles from Nab Tower.When leaving the East Solent vessels are required to report to Southampton VTS Channel 12 when passing latitude 50 degrees 40 minutes North giving their position as a distance East or West of Nab Tower.

c) Vessels proceeding to an anchorage for shelter in the Solent or for subsequent berthing, must report to Southampton VTS when anchored, together with their approximate position.Whilst at anchor vessels must maintain a listening watch on VHF Channel 12.

d) Vessels leaving a sheltered anchorage must also report, at least 30 minutes before getting underway, and must advise Southampton VTS of their intended destination and route.

e) Vessels outbound from the Port of Southampton should establish communications at least 30 minutes prior to leaving berth and obtain permission from Southampton VTS before letting go.

f) Vessels clearing Portsmouth Harbour should establish communications with Southampton VTS when passing Southsea War Memorial.

Windows Media Player

If your Media Player has an MP3 codec it will play it OK. On the Media Player, if you right click ‘Now Playing’. Click on ‘Show Enhancements’ (there should be a tick there), and click ‘Graphic Equaliser’. You can now adjust the relative level of the two radio channels by sliding the ‘Balance’ slider.

I know this sounds silly but DON’T FORGET TO TURN YOUR SOUND UP because many people have it turned down all the time for some reason. At the moment the system is set up for 20 concurrent users. If you are the 21st person you will just have to wait until one of the current users logs out. The servers are in New York so it is a long round trip. There is up to a 30 second delay between the actual transmission time and what you hear. As I have just got this going it might need a few tweaks and it may disappear for a minute or two or may hear some crackles and pops from time to time.

When you use it I ask that when you have finished listening or leave your computer unattended for long periods that you close the media player so other people can log on. You can check the number of people listening by clicking on the Server Status button. It has been reported by some people that they cannot hear anything at work because the company’s computer security restrictions do not allow streaming audio. Occasionally I may replace channel 11 with another channel if there is anything interesting going on.

To save space on your desktop you can select the compact mode while viewing the site.

You will receive an error message like this one if all the user slots are in use.

Are you having difficulty hearing the live radio.

Because everyone’s computer seems to be set up differently, some people have reported that they cannot hear the radio. This may be due to a number of reasons but you can try these things.

If you have trouble with Windows Media Player - Copy this URL: http://66.45.246.178:8002 Open Windows Media Player. Press keys ‘Ctrl U’. Paste what you copied into the box and press OK. You can then hear the radio without even going to my site. Just open WMP at any time. Press keys ‘Ctrl U’, then click OK - you will find it will remember the URL you pasted in. You can even set a direct radio link to your desktop. When the Media Player is running, click File > Save now playing list as. and save it to your desktop as any name you like.

You can always try another media player if you have no luck with WMP. I have tested the live radio on Windows Media Player, VLC Player, Foobar, Winamp, and Real Player.

Firefox does not recognise streaming radio links unless unless you install the ‘Mediaplay connectivity addon’ Click here to download.