I found a new
program for the group to use for audio and
text chat.
The program is called Teamspeak,
some of you may be familiar with
it.The advantages of this new system
are...
1) fm quality audio
2) low cpu usage
3) works while using other audio devices at the same time
4) supports text and audio chat
5) very stable program
6) Its free
7) quick to set up and connect
8) variable bitrate codecs can be adjusted to support all internet speed
connections
9) password protected high security
Feature List
Optimal bandwidth usage achieved with several codecs
Local addressbook allows you to connect quickly
to your favourite servers
Webserver list allows find TeamSpeak servers
without their IP
Flexible permission system, allowing you
to configure your server the way you want it
Channel and subchannel creation
One server-instance can run multiple virtual
servers --> no hassle with administration and easier administration
Remote webadmin / telnet access to server-instance
as well as to every single virtual server
TeamSpeak is designed to work well with FireWalls
and routers
Passworded servers and channels
Completely configurable keybindings, e. g.
joining specified channels, muting microphone, etc.
Whisper functions so you can talk to inidividuals,
groups of persons or other channels without other people hearing
you.
Auto voice normalizing (no more adjusting
your mic manually)
Supports Gamevoice hardware
Windows/Linux server
Windows/Linux client
Event driven sound notifications (which can
be configured individually)
Text messaging in the client (for those complicated
URL's or IP's) and clickable links
IRC-like admin functions for your server
(like serveradmin, channel admin, operators)
Channel moderation, which is useful for large
channels
Kicking / Banning people
Seemingless MySQL integration, allowing you
to do sophisticated things with your server database
Server-Database stored as sqlite file and
hereby easily accessible
Has minimalistic requirements of cpu and
ram
Servers with a fast internet connection can
easily handle thousand users and more
Commercial users can integrate their own
banner which is clickable in their customers' clients
IMPORTANT NOTE: After
you install Teamspeak please set the microphone to push to
talk before you log onto any server. You do this by clicking
on settings then sound input and output settings then click
on push to talk under voice send method then click on set and
select the key or mouse button you wish to use to talk on the
microphone.
Please note: When using this chat
room please dont sign in then leave as soon as you see no one in
the room.If everyone does this, there will never be anyone to talk
to. One of the unique things about this software is that it works
while using other programs. Simply place the Teamspeak into your
task bar and listen for the announcement new player then you will
know someone has joined the chat room.
Selecting the servers in the Radio Scanner Voice
Network
Currently there are six choices of servers.
First Server Main Server
Tampa Bay Radio Page server
For full software instructions
visit my main server below. After connecting
to the server click on click here for
instructions in the panel to the rt you
will see the instructions.
Main server click
here (NOTE:When
you click the link to the left it will automatically
launch the Teamspeak program and place you
in the correct server and channel no password
is required)Dont log onto the server as a
registered user until you register your
nick with the server. This main server
is the Tampa Bay Radio Page Server.
Only use this server if above
servers don't connect
Backup
server click here
Clicking on the above link connects you
to the correct backup server however
it will not launch you into the correct
room
you will see the room scanner in the program
channel list click on the scanner room
then it will connect you.If you dont see
the scanner
room in the list then follow the instructions
below.The channel password is scanner.
Instructions of how to log
onto the fifth (Backup Server)
After you log onto the backup server server
follow the instructions below....
Scroll down the page on the window to the left look for the room scanner
click on it with your mouse it will ask you for the password which is scanner
in lower case
click on ok your now on the channel.
Click on the settings tab then on sound input /output settings and adjust
your mic your done
enjoy
If the channel scanner dosnt exist in the channels menue follow the instructions
below
Click on channels from the programs toolbar then click on create channel
In the name box type scanner in lower case
In the password box type scanner in lower case.
Click on create channel your done, then set up your audio as above.
This system is very versatile in that it is fully configurable check it out
it is much superior to all the previous programs I have suggested in the
past.
The system is now up and running join me for a chat right now if you can.
TeamSpeak automatically detects what recording
devices your computer has. They are listed
in the Settings --> Options
-->Sound Devices under Device. Here you can choose your preferred
device. Try by trial and error what works best for you (e.g. I
found out that my headset and soundcard recording worked better
than my usb webcam recording) Note that if there are only 2 options
there (one being the "primary driver....") it doesn't
matter which one you choose.
In this window you can also see what kind
of recording you are using. There are two kinds of recording: Wave
and Direct Sound. The first one generally delivers the best sound
quality and the latter the lowest latency. When switching between
those two it is sometimes needed to restart TeamSpeak (when you get
an error message) in order to get it working properly.
DirectSound has a slider which controls the
sampling buffer size. When it is to the utter
left one has the lowest latency (one can hear eachother with the
least amount of timelag).
When the slider is to the utter right you
will have the same quality as Wave recording. When people on your
server complain you are just
sending "noise" but you can hear them fine, you are probably
using DirectSound. Try sliding the slider
to the middle or right position. Most of the times this seems to
solve this problem (this
problem occurs because not all soundcards
all capable of sampling really short bits of sound, with the slider
in the middle or right
those samples are a bit bigger and hence
solve the problem). Note: Windows XP users are generally better off
using wave recording. W98
users should use DirectSound.
Voice activation and push to talk Help
In Teamspeak 2.0 there are 2 ways to communicate
with your friends. The first choice is
called push to talk. This means that you have to press and hold
a certain button if you want
to talk to others. The other way is by
voice activation. This means that Teamspeak will automatically
transmit to your friends when
the program "hears" you talk.
Let's go and have a look how to configure your choice of transmitting.
In teamspeak go to the settings tab and choose sound input/output
settings. Here you see you can choose between the 2 voice send methods.
If you choose push to talk, select it and press the set button to
bind a key.The key you have chosen will now appear onscreen. To transmit
you have to press this button. If you want to use a different button
press clear and do it again. If you choose voice activation select
that option. Below that option you will see a bar voice activation
level which you have to configure for optimal sound. If you slide
the bar to the far left Teamspeak will transmit as soon as you make
the slightest sound, even if you whisper, chances are you will be
transmitting to your friends all the time while you don't even know
it. If you slide the bar to the far right you have to scream before
Teamspeak will actually transmit. Finding the sweet spot, is a question
of getting online with a friend and asking him if he can still hear
you. Remember: left means that Teamspeak will transmit the slightest
sound, right means teamspeak will only tranmit louder sounds.
Registering with a server Help
Sometimes it is possible to register yourself
with a server. The advantages of registering are numerous, for
example the different privileges you acquired will be remembered.
In most public servers you are able to register
yourself (it depends on the server setup), if the server is moderated
it all depends on the way the server is moderated. You can register
yourself by pressing the self tab and selecting register with server
(if it is greyed out you need to contact the server admin). You proceed
by choosing a username and password. Now you have registered yourself
to the server, to take advantage of registering you will have to
connect to teamspeak with your username and password. When you just
started Teamspeak and want to connect to a server window you normally
have entered a server address and a nickname. When you want to enter
the server as a registered member (you must have registered before)
you have to fill in your login name and password, make sure you have
selected the option registered right above the login name. You can
now connect as a registered member.
