LiveATC Discussion Forums

Hey guys,

I know dave talked about this a while back but it has been a few months now and new apps for a jailbroken iPhone are coming out every day.  Anybody figure out how to stream the live atc on an iPhone??

Apps for a hacked iPhone are not nearly as interesting as those that will be available for unhacked iPhones.  I don't have exact figures but I believe most users do not hack their iPhones.

We continue to keep an eye out for streaming media players to emerge.

If none emerge when apps become widely available, we'll likely write one or have it written for LiveATC.  No guarantees.  :-)

Dave

The biggest thing I can say about this is that you'd have at least a month to wait. If there isn't a media program yet, the means to make one will be out by next month (June). It is already known that Steve Jobs is rolling out the iPhone SDK in June, while rumours abound about 3G iPhones. my getting an iPhone  or waiting is based on the announcement he's making at the huge convention going on the 1st week of June. So there is definitely something coming out, let alone the means for us to write one ourselves. So the only unfortunate thing I can say is to be patient...

BL.

I'm tied in pretty tightly with the Mac community (I'm a long-time Mac user) and have a copy of the iPhone SDK.  The real issue is Apple beginning iPhone app distribution via the App store - which should happen in the next few months.  But they have vowed to not have "...porn, privacy-breaching tools, bandwidth-hogging apps, and anything illegal as an example of the restrictions."  So not sure if they would view this as bandwidth-hogging (16kb/s isn't even close) but there is a gate that apps will have to go through to get out there.  And there could be lengthy delays in getting out via the App Store.

So we'll see - gotta believe there will be some streaming media apps.

Dave

I have been able to stream LiveATC to my iPhone.....here is how I do it:

1)   Use Orb 2.0 (www.orb.com - free!)

2)  Configure a "favorite channel" under the Internet Radio option by clicking "Add Custom"

3)  Enter the name you want for the specific ATC Feed....(e.g. "SFO Tower")

4)  Enter the .M3U URL for the Path field  (e.g.  http://d.live.atc.net/ksfo_twr.m3u)

5)  Save

6)  Log into your org setup...select the favorite....boom, you are on. 

Unfortunately would have to create favorites for every feed you like...but at least it works.  This is nothing compared to what will come I am sure when native iPhone apps can tap live audio themselves.

BTW...many iPhone users leverage Orb to access things like live stream from Satellite radio accounts.

Hope this works for you,

--Scott

One additional piece of information I found out (the hard way).....Orb will need to be running on a machine at all times in order for this to work.  The Orb client on your machine is the medium needed to connect to the stream. 

-Jalto

Nice work JALTO...I can't imagine it will be too long before the iPhone can do native streams directly from the source.  There will be a flood of new apps very soon.

Dave

Seems like a lot of work to get it to work.

I think I'll wait a while and see what Friday brings with the new OS release.

There is also a program (which I purchased recently) from the App Store on the iPhone, called "Tuner". It's a streaming radio program, with about 500 pre-selected streams, and the ability to add any others that you want. The problem I found, though, is that there is no stream information (like the title), so when I bookmark an ATC stream, it is listed in my bookmarks as "Untitled Station." I've tried about 5 feeds, and they all work (although sometimes you have to try to reconnect before it works.) However, in my Bookmarks section, there's 5 streams that are all titled "Untitled Station."  :-(

That's really my only complaint about the program. Of course, the fact it's not free, might turn some people off (it's $4.99.)

The program's page on the iTunes store can be seen at:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284205617&mt=8

i was wondering about the tuner application when i saw it on the apps store on my iphone, if it would work with liveatc. but i didn't want to part cash to find out :)

but now that you've confirmed that it works i think i may just give it a go, even if it means having to live with 'untitled station' as the feed name.

anybody out there know of an developer that can create an app for liveatc?  :wink:

Sunburn:

The thing is, there should be a way for the people who are creating/hosting the streams, to add a name to it.

For example, I tried manually adding the following music stream to the Tuner app (it's BassDrive, one of the  techno stations under the "Radio" section on iTunes):
http://pri.kts-af.net/redir/index.pls?esid=4badfc8b23ebc134849b21db32ab951a&url_no=1&client_id=7&uid=68efed4d03ec7e45fd3978262c107180&clicksrc=xml

After I finished putting in all that text and pressed Enter, I bookmarked it, and found that in my list of Bookmarks, it says "Bassdrive - Music Beyond..." instead of "Untitled Station."

So, if the people hosting the streams add the appropriate info to the streams, it would probably solve this problem. However, I know that there's probably some reason why this wasn't done (either technical limitations, lack of time to rename all the streams, etc.)

I think our strategy right now is to make the site and feed list more iPhone-friendly and depend on external streaming players to play the feeds.  Maintaining an iPhone app is a bit more than we want to bite off right now.  I know several iPhone developers if we decide to go that way.

Dave

All the feeds have the title and description filled in.  Unless the feeder intentionally took them out.  I believe the likely issue is that the player you're testing does not read the title from the ICY stream, but I have to look into it when I have time.

I have the iPhone development environment and simulator, so I should be able to reproduce the issue and see what's going on.

Dave

So I finally downloaded the Tuner application and I can confirm that the LiveATC streams work perfectly on the iPhone. Even if you're not in a 3G, EDGE or Wifi area, Standard GPRS will do just fine.

You have to bookmark the streams, but by going to 'Search' and then 'Open', entering the Title of your choosing (for example 'LiveATC.net KJFK Tower') and then entering the .m3u URL:  http://audio.liveatc.net:8012/kjfk_twr it'll open and start playing.

Finally, I can listen to streams anywhere, anytime, any place.  :-D

Does Tuner work on an iPod Touch?

Yes, Tuner will work on an iPod Touch....but of course only on Wifi.

I concur about Tuner...it is officially awesome and gives you full access to LiveATC streams.  My complex, Orb-oriented config to get Live ATC on my iPhone is history.  I highly recommend Nullriver's Tuner app.

Only word of caution....you will really need to have an iPhone 3G to access any of the high bandwidth Internet radio stuff.  But as stated before Tuner works great over EDGE for any of the Liveatc.net streams.

You should start using the new URL format:

http://d.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr

Better yet, for mobile clients use: http://alt.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr - it has less latency and is more static since it doesn't go through the load balancer.  So bookmarks will be a little more reliable since you are always hitting one server and not being redirected.

The http://audio.liveatc.net:8012/kjfk_twr wil stop working at some point.

Dave

Very nice!
I had heard good things about Tuner. I work right next to Guidance helicopter school at Prescott Love Field in Arizona and wanted a way to hear some friends flying around or just see what's going on during my breaks.

It seems to work very well and the current Metar being displayed on the screen is a nice touch. Thanks everyone for the short how to's.

thanks for the tip dave! i'll update my bookmarks.
i was wondering about the alternative URL, but i thought i'd play it safe and go by what's already playing on my itunes :)

EDIT: you don't have to manually input the title name of the feed, just the URL address. Tuner will automatically get the name of the feed. Also, once it's opened and started playing be sure to add it as a bookmark by selecting the bookmark symbol on the top right of the player and hitting save. Or else you'll have to keep on manually inputting the address each time you want to listen to the feed.

Thanks for mentioning Tuner!

I just got my iPhone and was looking to see what apps I could use for listening to the feeds! Quick question.. How much of a hit does the battery take if you listen to a feed for about 4 - 5 hours?

BL.

From a full charge my phone has been on standby for 4hrs 43mins, with 2hrs 21 mins usage.
In that time i've been listening to LiveATC on 3G and Wifi, took a 15 min phone call and sent a number of texts. My battery is currently half full.

One tip: When listening to LiveATC streams on the tuner, turn off the 3G and Location services (if you have it) and listen via Wifi or EDGE/GPRS. This will increase your battery life significantly.

I don't know if there's any differences in battery consumption between listening via EDGE/GPRS and Wifi.

.mark

I can't announce a release date yet, but I am planning an iPhone version of a LiveATC client that will have location-based services.  If your location can be determined you will be presented with a list of feeds close to you.  It's still in the planning stages but I'd love to hear about features you think might be useful to you. 

Dave

 :?
Just an update on my use of Nullriver's Tuner app for the iPhone...

As per my previous post the setup of liveatc.net streams worked great on my original iPhone (EDGE version).  I was using the URLs Dave recommended (e.g. SFO Tower - http://alt.liveatc.net/ksfo_twr) and all was great when these were saved as bookmarks.

As it turned out my iPhone 3G came in today (ordered at my local AT&T store) and when I moved everything over to that phone Tuner stopped working for liveATC - I get "unrecognized stream type text/html" errors whether I specify the exact URL above or try to reference the M3U stream type.

I am waiting to hear back from Nullriver but not sure if there is a 3G problem or a new version of Tuner problem.  If somebody else has this working on the 3G and can say how they got it to work...I am all ears...

UPDATE 8/7:  Turns out its working for some feeds (KDAY, YPPH) but not others (SFO, JFK).  Don't know why...still researching

UPDATE #2:  Looks like its working....it might have been user error on URLs....anyway...better

--Scott

scott:

i had the same problem, but for me it turned out that my iphone had automatically connected to a t-mobile wifi connection that was requiring money... so my iphone was thinking it was connected to the internet, when in fact it would only show the registration page. i just turned off the wifi and connected via 3G and the streams worked great.

you could try restarting your phone. i've found that most of the problems found on my iphone 3G can be fixed by a simple reboot.

also, have you tried re-installing the app? hold down the icon until it starts to wobble, press the x button next to it and confirm delete. you can then go back to the app store download page and re-download it for free with the same user-id you used to purchase the app first time round.

but it sounds like you've got it working anyways. :)

dave:

that's awesome! an dedicated liveatc app would be a pretty handy. one request is possibly to have an visual equalizer when the stream is being played.
why i suggested this is because with all mobile devices the chances of a connection being dropped are fairly high, especially on the move. plus with ATC containing a lot of dead air, it would be easy to determine between dead air and a dropped connection with an visual eq. even with the dead air, there's always a slight sound of constant static which will make the eq wave a little. :)

While we're on the subject of the iPhone here, I'll throw up a little something I've been working on..

Not much, but here's a list of apps for the phone that would help a pilot or increase one's enjoyment of the feeds here. DISCLAIMER: I have not tried these (yet), but am posting them as I see them. This may be broken out into its own thread.

http://tinyurl.com/5u2vwz

Something to go along with Dave's setup for the feeds with the most inclement weather.

http://tinyurl.com/6m5tny

With this, you can retrieve the METARs, TAFs, and weather charts for airportsi n the US, as well as has access to sectionals and airports near your location.

http://tinyurl.com/6xdcpu

Portable logbook for pilots who want the convenience of logging your flights while on the go.

And obviously,

http://tinyurl.com/6nrqq6

Tuner. Nothing more needs to be said about that one. ;)

Enjoy!

BL.

I download that app Saturday - It worked for one day, now every time I select it from the main page, the app pops up for a few seconds then disappears.

Anyone else have that problem? 

Which app? Tuner, or the others I mentioned (I didn't put the names on them; I'll edit my post in a bit to add them).

BL.

The tuner.   I am trying it again - I will post an update Tuesday.

By the way - point the iPhone browser to aviation.mobi   it is good (and free!)

Edit - UPdate - I deleted it from the phone and resync'd it and it is working fine.  I have been using it about a week.

Thanks

Jim

Works great in my office, I only get 1 to 2 bars on EDGE!
Thanks for the great tip!!

Nate

Here's another good app, guys, especially for you pilots who carry your iPhone with you on a flight, or just want info on the airport:

http://wh83.fltplan.com/iPhone.htm

It's a free app, and is available at the App store. From their description:


Updated weekly, It's free, no WiFi/Internet access needed, and has all the airports for the US, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas (for when you want to get out to Nassau for that MaiTai you've been craving! ;) )

I've tried it, and it looks good. Oh.. Did I mention it's free? :)

Enjoy.

EDIT: I just also noticed that it contains the numbers for all major US/Canadian airlines. Also, it's free! :P

BL.

I know there has been some mention that people around here are using unhacked iphones..

But for those of us in other countries that just couldnt wait for the iphone 3g to come we have had to rely on unlocking/jailbreaking our phones so we could use them...

If anybody has an older 2G model and they would like to learn how to unlock/jailbreak it so they can upgrade from 1.1.4 to 2.0.x versions send me a pm. 

I wont post the info here in case that goes against forum rules and I also dont want to hijack a thread.

But I am in Canada with an iPhone 2G and have successfully re-unlocked/jailbroken it and upgraded from 1.1.4 to 2.0.2 (currently) so that I can have access to the app store.

One more app coming on the way, and I think it looks promising...

http://www.benkazez.com/flight-tracker/

BL.

Im only putting this out there for information purposes but a lot of the apps in the apps store have now been hacked. 

I believe in getting paid for your work but this might be a good way to try out the apps before you pay the money.

Tuner has been hacked and I have it up and running on my iPhone.  I wanted to test for a bit to see how much bandwidth I would use on 2g edge before I bought the app.

Looks good so Ill buy it from the apps store and support the developer!

And if you are a pilot iPhone user, check this out:

http://www.ljd-tech.com/copilot

CoPilot has been out on the Palm platform for some time and I have been a very happy customer of this handy tool.
No other connection with CoPilot.

thanks for that dave!  im definitely going to pick that up.

I have a question for you though on Tuner.  the network usage stats on my iphone dont keep accurate records.  How much data are we talking an hour? per minute? sent/received? 

2g iphone on edge!

16kb/sec x 3600 sec/hour = 57,600 kb/hour x byte/8 bits = 7200 kB/hour = 7.2 MB/hour = .0072 GB/hour

I don't know what kind of plan you have since they differ from country to country.  If you are serious about this, a flat-rate plan usually makes the most sense.  I use Verizon here in the U.S. on my Palm Treo - they used to call it an unlimited data plan but now explicitly state the real limit (5GB/month).  For audio streaming alone that would mean 694 hours of listening - almost the whole month, 24 hours per day.  Not something anyone would do.  I think I rarely come even close to using a few hundred MB.  Most of my use is email, web, some ATC listening to check new feeds, etc.

We stay with the 16kb/s bit rate to be compatible with the widest range of clients and frailest network connections (dial-up, EDGE, slow DSL, etc.).  Higher bit rates do not bring appreciably better quality for plain voice communications, but do limit the max number of connections since we reach a limit almost twice as fast as with 16kb/s (next standard bit rate is 24kb/s).

perfect thanks!!!

Im up in Canada with a pretty unimpressive Rogers 300mb/month for 30 bucks.  Its sad really..

Luckily most of the time I am connected via wifi.

Surely one of the more oppressive plans I have seen.  :-(   Rogers needs to get with the program - wireless adoption will always be slowed by carriers like Rogers.  But that's a topic for another day, and a different forum.

well its also partly my fault..

i have the 2g iphone so the only plan i could get was the $30/300mb. because its an unlocked non rogers iphone

If you buy an actual iphone 3g from rogers you would get $30/6gb.  (only if you sign up before aug 31st though)

you're right though. .many forums dedicated to the high cost of rogers.

Anyone have any luck connecting to liveatc streams on T-Mobile's Tzones ($5.99/mo) plan? I'm using the Tuner app w/ an unlocked 2g iPhone (2.0.2 firmware) and it only works when I'm on wifi. It gives me "Stream connection timed out!" when I'm on Edge (Tzones).   :-(  I've tried all the variations of URL's mentioned and no luck.. (ex: alt.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr, d.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr, audio.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr) Maybe it's a limitation with Tzones??  :cry:  AOL Radio does work though..

Some good news for folks who want to listen to ATC feeds on iPhone for free without jailbreaking.....

A new app called "FStream" just became available yesterday.  The app is free. It permits the input of arbitrary urls (including m3u urls).

I have entered in all my local ATC feeds and works like a charm!

Excellent.  I use FStream on the Mac (from the same author) and it is simple and works great.
Thanks for the tip - I'll add it to the iPhone FAQ entry.

Dave

Thanks for finding this! I've thrown it on my iPhone and it works great! The only drawback that I saw (which someone mentioned in the app's review) is that so far, it only works over WiFi. Other than that, it works wonderfully! Good find.

BL.

Excellent app, thanks for the tip !! And it work also on a 3G network on my iPhone.


René.

If you were talking to a two year old how would you tell them to set up a steam to listen via FStream?

Thanks for the help
MB

If you were talking to a two year old how would you tell them to set up a steam to listen via FStream?

Can be a little confusing at first. Try this -
In FStream, click on the Favorites button. Then click on the Edit button. Click on the green + button to add a new webradio stream.
Now - Give the ATC feed you want a Name - like ATC SFO for the San Fran tower. In the URL box, enter this - http://d.liveatc.net/ksfo_twr
That's it, don't worry about the other two boxes. Now hit the Save button (very important).
Now click on the Play button and you should see your ATC SFO heading. Click on it and enjoy!

using Fstream on an iphone 3G I find that
http://alt.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr
doesn't work - it disconnects from the feed after a couple of seconds.

However, this one works ok:
http://d.liveatc.net/kjfk_twr

tried it with other airports - same result.
tired it with both 3G and wifi - same result.

any ideas? thanks

They both seem to work with mine for FStream, though I've been using Internet Radiobox more than FStream. It's free, so give that one a try as well.

BL.

Hi,

Im having trouble installing the APP...im in The Netherlands and it says "Your account is only valid for purchase in the Itunes Store The Netherlands"
Not sure what to do with this! Any ideas??

cheers
 Nick

Sounds like the app isn't available in The Netherlands. Some apps do have restrictions in different countries.
Try downloading it on itunes. If this doesn't work, you can try a paid apps like Wunderground or Tuner. I'm not sure of any other 'free' apps that support mp3 streaming.

Or you can hold out in anticipation for the LiveATC app that's just arond the corner. I'm sure Dave will keep us informed about that. :)

worked like a charm :D thnx mate!

cheers

 I have been able to stream JFK tower on my ipod touch on the tuner app, but tried to add other airport streams on the tuner app. every time i try the link with other airports i get an error that says stream not valid. Is there another type of link  i should be entering on the tuner app? (e.g. KIAD tower) How can i get that stream on my ipod. 
 
           Thank You