Fort Lauderdale's annual Boat Parade of Lights down the New River and up the Intracoastal Waterway shoves off at 18:00 tonight, Saturday, 12 December, 2009.
I have set up this special secondary feed off my mixer board to stream public safety and support traffic related to the boat parade from the FtL trunked sytem. Sometimes it can be quite entertaining.
Listen to the feed in WinAmp, VLC, iTunes, Windows Media Player, and probably others. It is an mp3 stream at 16kbps so it should not burden your dial-up or mobile link too much.
The listen link is:
http://colostreaming.com:8000/botemixer2.m3u
If clicking doesn't tell your computer to do the Right Thing, then copy and paste the link into your player--that always works.
2009-12-12
ScannerCast ROCKS!
ScannerCast is the perfect encoder utility for anyone wanting to stream scanner audio to the Internet. It is written by Peter, K1PGV and does exactly what a scanner feed needs.
First, if you plan to (or already) stream through RadioReference.com then once your feed is configured there, ScannerCast can automatically pull down your feed parameters and set it up locally for you.
If you send up your own wild feed through a Shoutcast or Icecast server the standard fields allow you to name the feed and create a fixed tag.
If you want to send your scanner's channel name to the feed, it does that directly off your computer's serial port, no hassle. ScannerCast currently knows how to parse data from Uniden 396T and 996T scanners as well as GRE PSR-500 and PSR-600 (which are OEM to Radio Shack as PRO-106 and PRO-197 lines).
In a pinch ScannerCast can act as the audio server itself, sending out packets directly from your own computer to as many listeners as tune in up to the limit that you configure in the software.
You must install MicroSoft .NET Framework versions 2, 3, or 3.5 to perform the behind-the-scenes work for ScannerCast, but this is used by many other packages as well these days.
The audio encoding is fixed at 16 kilobits/second bit rate and 22.050 KHz sample rate. This is an uncommon combination for music streams, the purpose for which most stream encoders are designed, but it's fine for communications-quality audio.
If you want to employ introductory and fallback messages in your feed, the recordings must match the format of the stream. I have found that the DOS command line utility LAME.EXE converts just about any audio file format to anything, so look for that.
Oh, the best part about ScannerCast is that it is FREE! No cost to set up your own scanner feed with this encoder.
First, if you plan to (or already) stream through RadioReference.com then once your feed is configured there, ScannerCast can automatically pull down your feed parameters and set it up locally for you.
If you send up your own wild feed through a Shoutcast or Icecast server the standard fields allow you to name the feed and create a fixed tag.
If you want to send your scanner's channel name to the feed, it does that directly off your computer's serial port, no hassle. ScannerCast currently knows how to parse data from Uniden 396T and 996T scanners as well as GRE PSR-500 and PSR-600 (which are OEM to Radio Shack as PRO-106 and PRO-197 lines).
In a pinch ScannerCast can act as the audio server itself, sending out packets directly from your own computer to as many listeners as tune in up to the limit that you configure in the software.
You must install MicroSoft .NET Framework versions 2, 3, or 3.5 to perform the behind-the-scenes work for ScannerCast, but this is used by many other packages as well these days.
The audio encoding is fixed at 16 kilobits/second bit rate and 22.050 KHz sample rate. This is an uncommon combination for music streams, the purpose for which most stream encoders are designed, but it's fine for communications-quality audio.
If you want to employ introductory and fallback messages in your feed, the recordings must match the format of the stream. I have found that the DOS command line utility LAME.EXE converts just about any audio file format to anything, so look for that.
Oh, the best part about ScannerCast is that it is FREE! No cost to set up your own scanner feed with this encoder.
Icecast ROCKS!
I have wrestled Icecast version 2.3.2 onto the linux box that hosts my feed(s) and really like how much better it is for me and my listeners.
If the feed is not streaming when you hit it, it plays you the fallback message instead of just bombing out. It also has less latency between when the live audio gets encoded and when it trickles out your speaker, which is important for live scanner feeds like this.
The format of the feed link is different: instead of each feed having its own i.p. port number, it has a memorable name after the fixed port number. So the feed link will always be colostreaming.com:8000/ with the 'mount point' as the feed name after it.
My long-time Fort Lauderdale scanner feed will be /botemixer and my mobile feed on long road trips will be /botemobile . This makes it much easier to remember and to figure out what the feed might be from the name of the mount point.
In the coming weeks, probably after New Years, I will cut over all my feeds to Icecast. They will still stream in mp3 format so you can continue to use WinAmp, VLC, iTunes, or Windows Media Player to listen. I will announce here in writing and in spoken word on each feed in preparation for the cutover.
If the feed is not streaming when you hit it, it plays you the fallback message instead of just bombing out. It also has less latency between when the live audio gets encoded and when it trickles out your speaker, which is important for live scanner feeds like this.
The format of the feed link is different: instead of each feed having its own i.p. port number, it has a memorable name after the fixed port number. So the feed link will always be colostreaming.com:8000/ with the 'mount point' as the feed name after it.
My long-time Fort Lauderdale scanner feed will be /botemixer and my mobile feed on long road trips will be /botemobile . This makes it much easier to remember and to figure out what the feed might be from the name of the mount point.
In the coming weeks, probably after New Years, I will cut over all my feeds to Icecast. They will still stream in mp3 format so you can continue to use WinAmp, VLC, iTunes, or Windows Media Player to listen. I will announce here in writing and in spoken word on each feed in preparation for the cutover.
2009-11-12
McLean Relay Station gone
The McLean Relay Station is offline, likely permanently. An extended power failure depleted the UPS battery and it did not come back on when power was restored.
While investigating the streams available from Linsday Blanton's RadioReference site, I discovered one each for Fairfax County, MWAA, and Arlington County, all of which were covered by my feed.
So, because it is redundant, has poor scanner receive signal, and is loathed by the site host (dear old Dad) I am pulling it out of service on my next visit.
We thank you for your support.
While investigating the streams available from Linsday Blanton's RadioReference site, I discovered one each for Fairfax County, MWAA, and Arlington County, all of which were covered by my feed.
So, because it is redundant, has poor scanner receive signal, and is loathed by the site host (dear old Dad) I am pulling it out of service on my next visit.
We thank you for your support.
2009-09-01
Bote's Boca Box gone
As promised, Bote's Boca Box streaming Boca Raton, Delray, and Boynton public safety is gone.
It might resurface in a different location if I can find one of interest.
It might resurface in a different location if I can find one of interest.
2009-07-31
Reliable DSL(?)
At the risk of jinxing things, after two weeks it looks like the new DSL circuit is actually reliable!
A thunderstorm rumbled through yesterday and...nothing happened. I couldn't believe it!
I'll keep a weather eye on it, but Bote's Mixer Board should now be solid with Fort Lauderdale area fire radio scanner traffic.
We thank you for your support.
A thunderstorm rumbled through yesterday and...nothing happened. I couldn't believe it!
I'll keep a weather eye on it, but Bote's Mixer Board should now be solid with Fort Lauderdale area fire radio scanner traffic.
We thank you for your support.
2009-07-22
Bote's Mixer Board online
Bote's Mixer Board is back online on the new DSL circuit.
We shall see how long it takes until *THIS* one fails. I see some thunderboomies on the RADAR advancing into Georgia so we might know within 24 hours or so.
Enjoy!
We shall see how long it takes until *THIS* one fails. I see some thunderboomies on the RADAR advancing into Georgia so we might know within 24 hours or so.
Enjoy!
Bote's Mixer Board outage
Bote's Mixer Board serving up Fort Lauderdale area public safety shenanigans is down today and tomorrow because BellSouth DSL is a bunch of incompetent nincompoops.
Because my unreliable DSL line is so unreliable, I put in an order to move it to the other phone pair coming into my place. So they dutifully executed the disconnect order on the old circuit, but there is nothing whatsoever on the new line. No hiss, no battery, no dial tone, no nuttin.
They are rolling a truck tomorrow (Wednesday) between 8 and 4:30 so we shall see if they can get one damned pair of wires to connect between my place and their central office.
Sorry for the outage.
Because my unreliable DSL line is so unreliable, I put in an order to move it to the other phone pair coming into my place. So they dutifully executed the disconnect order on the old circuit, but there is nothing whatsoever on the new line. No hiss, no battery, no dial tone, no nuttin.
They are rolling a truck tomorrow (Wednesday) between 8 and 4:30 so we shall see if they can get one damned pair of wires to connect between my place and their central office.
Sorry for the outage.
2009-06-22
McLean Relay Station testing
I have been testing the rejuvenated McLean Relay Station for the last few days, so far so good computer-wise. The scanner simply will not provide reliable reception here, whether on the tower-mounted antenna nor with the back-of-set antenna sitting in a window. This is still a Bermuda Triangle for RF, unfortunately.
The MRS was catapulted back into the spotlight with coverage of the horrific Metro train wreck in northeast D.C. this evening. It maxed out at 10 listeners for quite some time. I only wish the radio coverage were solid, but the voice frequently breaks up. If I can stick a better 800 MHz antenna on it I will, but that is doubtful.
I put a business-grade router on it, so it should work after I turn my back on it to return home. But with computers you never know.
My thoughts go out to those affected by this train wreck.
The systems that will normally be scanned on the McLean Relay Station include Arlington County fire, MWAA (Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority) fire, Fairfax County fire, and Fairfax County police district 3 (McLean, natch). Special events and incidents might require me to deviate from this list, such as this evening.
Enjoy.
The MRS was catapulted back into the spotlight with coverage of the horrific Metro train wreck in northeast D.C. this evening. It maxed out at 10 listeners for quite some time. I only wish the radio coverage were solid, but the voice frequently breaks up. If I can stick a better 800 MHz antenna on it I will, but that is doubtful.
I put a business-grade router on it, so it should work after I turn my back on it to return home. But with computers you never know.
My thoughts go out to those affected by this train wreck.
The systems that will normally be scanned on the McLean Relay Station include Arlington County fire, MWAA (Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority) fire, Fairfax County fire, and Fairfax County police district 3 (McLean, natch). Special events and incidents might require me to deviate from this list, such as this evening.
Enjoy.
2009-06-12
FtL PD 72 hour test
Fort Lauderdale police are performing an experiment for 72 hours starting at 06:00 this morning (Friday morning). They have eliminated the district 2 central dispatcher and have split the city into two halves, north and south. The dividing line is supposed to be Sunrise Blvd.
So if you hear 100, 200, and 300 series units mixing together, that might explain why.
So if you hear 100, 200, and 300 series units mixing together, that might explain why.
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