1. Sign In: Go to IamResponding.com via a web browser and log in with an Administrator account.
2. Access Member Profiles: Navigate to the Administrative Functions menu and select the member profile you wish to edit.
3. Adjust Permissions: Locate the Live Audio Configuration Permission setting and toggle it to Yes.
4. Save Changes: Click Update at the bottom of the profile to save the new settings.

 

Live Audio is an additional feature.

Please have your agency administrator contact our sales team at IaR-salesteam@rapidsos.com for details on the cost of adding it to your existing IaR subscription.

Please include the following in your email:

• Full Name
• Agency Name
• State/Province

 

This document describes the steps needed to begin using IamResponding’s new live audio feature. These steps include:

1. Creating a new live audio channel using the IamResponding Administrative Functions page
2. Generate an API key that will be used by the Live Audio client software
3. Installing the IamResponding Live Audio client software on a PC that is connected to a radio or scanner
4. Configuring the Live Audio software
5. Using the IamResponding mobile app to listen to Live Audio
6. Using the IamResponding web Dashboard to listen to Live Audio

1 - Create A Live Audio Channel

Step 1 In the IamResponding Administrative Functions page, navigate to the Live Audio=> Live Audio Channels page.

Step 2 Click “Add New” to add a new Live Audio channel.

Step 3 Fill in the required fields and then click “Save Changes”.   Name - This is the name of the Live Audio channel that will be displayed in the IamResponding mobile app. For example - “Jefferson Fire Dispatch” Description - An optional description of the channel Channel Type - “Frequency” for conventional radio systems or “TalkGroup” for trunked radio systems Frequency or Talkgroup ID - the radio frequency (in MHz) or the talkgroup ID (in decimal format) being streamed. Radio System Name - If a trunked radio system, enter the name of the system. If conventional, enter the county name or other system name as appropriate. Latitude/Longitude - The lat/lon of where the receiver / Live Audio PC is located. Note: - Fields such as Description, Radio System Name, and Lat/Lon will be used to facilitate sharing Live Audio channels with other nearby IamResponding agencies (optional).

 

2 - Generate a Live Audio API key

Step 1 In the IamResponding Administrative Functions page, navigate to the Live Audio=> API Key Management page.

Step 2 Click the Add New button to create an API key

Step 3 Enter a description for the API key and then click the Generate API Key button. Each instance of the IaR-Live Audio software should use a different API key. Use this description to differentiate them. For example "Fire Station" or "Dispatch Center". In most cases only one API key will be needed.

Step 4 Copy the API key to a safe location.  The API key will need to be entered into the IaR-Live Audio software.  This is the only time that the API key will be visible.  If you lose the API key after this screen, you will need to generate a new one.

 

3 - Installing the IaR-Live Audio Client Software

The steps below show how to install the IaR-Live Audio software on a Windows computer.  For advanced users who prefer to use a Raspberry Pi single board computer, Please see links to SD Card Disk

For Respberry Pi  users please click the following link for next steps.
IaR Raspberry Pi Image Installation

For Windows users please proceed with the next steps.

 

Step 1 Download the IaR-Live Audio software ZIP file:

Download Here

Step 2 Use the “Extract all” function to extract the contents of the ZIP file into a folder.

Step 3 In the unzipped/extract folder, locate IaR-Stream.exe and double click on it to start the application.

Step 4 If you are prompted to give IaR-Stream network access, click “Allow”.

Step 5 The IaR-Stream application should now be running. You can now open its configuration window in a browser by clicking on the IaR-Stream icon in the system tray.

Step 8 The configuration GUI should now open, or you can access by clicking on the system tray icon again.

 

4 - IaR-Live Audio configuration

After clicking the IaR icon in the system try to open the configuration screen, paste your Live Audio API key into the Global Settings area and click “Save Settings”. The program will then retrieve the list of Live Audio channels associated with that API key.

To add a new Live Audio channel for IaR-Stream to send audio to, click the “Add Channel” button:

 

The IaR-Live Audio application can ingest audio in several ways.

1. Radio or scanner audio output connected to a computer sound card input (typical)
2. Audio over IP (UDP-RTP) from Mindshare console/gateway networks (advanced)
3. Audio over IP (UDP-RTP) from JPS gateways (advanced)
4. Audio over IP (UDP) from trunk-recorder software (advanced)

The sections below show how to configure the software for each of these options.

Using Sound Card Audio

Audio Connection

IaR-Live Audio receives audio from a radio or scanner that is connected to a sound card of the PC that it is running on. The radio or scanner’s line level audio output should be connected to the microphone input of the sound card.

Tips:

• Make sure Automatic Gain Control (AGC) is turned off for your sound card's microphone or line input.  In Windows, go to Settings => System => Sound => More sound settings => Recording Tab => your input device => Custom => AGC 
  • 
• If audio from a fire station radio is being used, a constant-level audio output from the radio’s accessory connector should be used. The audio level should not change when the volume control is moved.
• For analog radio systems, de-emphasized audio should be used instead of “flat” audio, if possible.
• If noise or hum is present in the audio, a ground loop isolation transformer may help remove these artifacts

USB Data Connection (Optional - supported scanners only)

If a supported Uniden Scanner (SDS100/200 or others that use the same USB data protocol) is used, an optional USB data connection between the scanner and the PC can be added in addition to the audio connection. IaR-Live Audio can use this USB data feed to add metadata to the Live Audio feed:

• Unit ID (on P25 radio systems)
• Channel name (if the scanner is set to “Scan” mode and not held on a single channel)

When a USB data connection is used, it is highly recommended to use a ground loop isolation transformer in the audio line (see above) to prevent hum and noise in the audio.

 

IaR-Live Audio Configuration

General Channel Settings

IaR Live Audio Channel: Select the Live Audio channel that you want to send audio to from the dropdown. The channels available here will match the channels that you have added in the IamResponding Administrative Functions screen.

Audio Input Device: Select the sound card input that is connected to the radio or scanner from the dropdown menu.

Source ID: Specify the text that will be displayed in the IaR mobile app when audio is being received. For example: “Station 2 desk radio”.

Send to IaR Mode: If only an audio connection is being used between the radio/scanner and the PC, select “VOX”. If using a supported Uniden scanner with a USB data connection, select “Uniden”.

 

VOX Settings

Voice Operated Transmission (VOX) operation sends data to IamResponding only when audio is present to reduce the amount of data used by mobile connections.  Data will be sent whenever the audio level at the sound card input exceeds a threshold value. 

IaR-Stream includes an Auto Threshold feature that should work for most users and is turned on by default.


Some users may wish to set the VOX threshold value manually by unchecking the "Auto Threshold" control and manually adjusting the VOX Audio Squelch Level slider.  

TX Audio Level below VOX Audio Squelch Level - no audio will be sent

TX Audio Level above VOX Audio Squelch Level - audio will be sent

 

VOX Silence Time: The number of seconds of silence in the input audio that the program will wait for before ending a transmission on the Live Audio channel.

VOX Audio Squelch Level: Adjust this slider so that the “TX Audio Level” from the attached radio or scanner (as indicated by the audio level bar display above the slider) is below the slider point when there is no radio traffic present and above the slider point when there is radio traffic present. IaR-Live Audio will begin sending audio to the Live Audio channel when the audio exceeds this level and will continue to stream audio until the audio level falls back below this level for the “VOX Silence Time”.

 

Uniden Settings

 

Port: The serial/COM port that the Uniden scanner USB connection is using. Setting to AUTO will query every available port until a Uniden scanner is found.

Baud Rate: Baud rate of the data connection with the scanner.

Send Department Name: When selected, the “Department Name” from the Uniden scanner will be sent as metadata when transmitting audio. Note that the value sent is dependent on the programming of the scanner. Usually this is not needed.

Send Channel Name: When selected, the “Channel Name” from the Uniden scanner will be sent as metadata when transmitting audio. Note that the value sent is dependent on the programming of the scanner. Usually only needed if the scanner is in “Scan” mode monitoring multiple radio channels.

Send UID: When selected, the Unit ID from the Uniden scanner will be sent as metadata when transmitting audio. Usually only helpful on P25 radio systems where Unit ID is present in the radio transmissions that are sent over the air. Note: The Uniden SDS100/200 do not support older analog PTTID protocols like MDC1200.

UDP RTP Audio

IaR-Stream can ingest digital network audio via the UDP RTP protocol.  This can be used with equipment from Mindshare, JPS, Avtec, and others.  Currently only RTP payload type 0 (8 kHz PCM u-Law) is supported. If you need support for additional payload times please contact IaR support.  

Mindshare UDP Audio

Note: IamResponding does not provide support for Mindshare equipment or its configuration. The steps below show how to configure the IaR-Live Audio software with an existing Mindshare network.  Information from that network’s administrator will be needed to complete these steps. 

Network Configuration

In most cases the Mindshare UDP network is not connected directly to the public-facing internet.  To send audio from an internal Mindshare network to IamResponding, the computer that is running the IaR-Live Audio software will need two network interfaces (network cards) - one that connects to the Mindshare network and one that connects to the internet. 

IaR-Live Audio Configuration

To add a new Live Audio channel for IaR-Live Audio to send audio to, click the “Add Channel” button.

 

 

Channel Settings

IaR Live Audio Channel: Select the Live Audio channel that you want to send audio to from the dropdown.  The channels available here will match the channels that you have added in the IamResponding Administrative Functions screen.  

Audio Input Device: Select ‘RTP via UDP’

Default Source ID: Specify the default that will be displayed in the IaR mobile app when audio is being received when no unit ID is available from the over-the-air data.  For example: “Station 2 desk radio”.

Radio Channels to Stream to This Live Audio Channel

Use the “Add Radio Channel” button to select which radio channel(s) should be sent to this Live Audio channel.

Multiple radio channels can be fed to a single Live Audio channel in a “scanning” mode, if desired.  When multiple radio channels are sent to a single Live Audio channel, a scan mode of “scan” or “priority scan” may be selected.  

Each radio channel requires the following parameters:

Channel Name: A human-readable name for the channel that will be displayed in the IamResponding app when audio from this channel is being transmitted.

Radio Port: The UDP port where audio from the radio connected to the Mindshare network for this radio channel is available.

Console Port: The UDP port where audio from the consoled connected to the Mindshare network for this radio channel is available.

Multicast Group: Optional UDP multicast group to join for this channel.  If left blank, UDP traffic must be sent to the IP address of the machine running IaR-Live Audio.

Bind Address:   Optional address to bind the UDP socket to.  Allows selection of a specific network interface to use.

Scan Mode:  Only available when sending more than one radio channel to a single Live Audio channel.  When “scan” is selected, if traffic is present on more than one radio channel at the same time, whichever channel was active first will be streamed.  When “priority scan” is selected, radio channels that are higher on the list will preempt traffic from channels lower on the list.

 

JPS Gateway RTP Audio

Audio from JPS Z-Series gateways can be sent to IaR-Stream version 0.3.3 or newer.

Note: IamResponding does not provide support for JPS equipment or its configuration. The steps below show how to configure the IaR-Live Audio software with an existing JPS RSP-Z2 gateway.  

A Recorder resource will be used to send RTP audio to the IaR-Stream client software, which will then send audio to the LiveAudio channel.  This requires that the IaR-Stream client software is running on a computer with a fixed IP address that the gateway can send to. 

JPS Gateway Configuration

In the Settings => General screen of the GPS gateway, adjust the "Number of Recorders" option to add a recorder to use with IamResponding Live Audio.



In the Settings => Resources screen of the JPS gateway, configure the Recorder to send RTP audio to IaR-Stream by configuring the Remote Address field to point to the computer that IaR-Stream is running on and the port that it is listening on (listening port can be configured in IaR-Stream).  

 

Attach the Recorder to the Net that you want to send audio from:

Activate the recorder by clicking on the “record” symbol so that it turns red:

IaR-Live Audio Configuration

To add a new Live Audio channel for IaR-Live Audio to send audio to, click the “Add Channel” button.

 

Channel Settings

IaR Live Audio Channel: Select the Live Audio channel that you want to send audio to from the dropdown.  The channels available here will match the channels that you have added in the IamResponding Administrative Functions screen.  

Audio Input Device: Select ‘RTP via UDP’

Default Source ID: Specify the default that will be displayed in the IaR mobile app when audio is being received.  For example: “Station 2 desk radio”.

Radio Channels to Stream to This Live Audio Channel

Use the “Add Radio Channel” button to select which radio channel(s) should be sent to this Live Audio channel.

Multiple radio channels can be fed to a single Live Audio channel in a “scanning” mode, if desired.  When multiple radio channels are sent to a single Live Audio channel, a scan mode of “scan” or “priority scan” may be selected.  

Each radio channel requires the following parameters:

Channel Name: A human-readable name for the channel that will be displayed in the IamResponding app when audio from this channel is being transmitted.

Radio Port: Set the Radio Port to match the port that was configured in the “Remote Address” field of the JPS gateway.

Console Port: Leave Blank

Multicast Group: Leave Blank

Bind Address:   Optional address to bind the UDP socket to.  Allows selection of a specific network interface to use.

Scan Mode:  Only available when sending more than one radio channel to a single Live Audio channel.  When “scan” is selected, if traffic is present on more than one radio channel at the same time, whichever channel was active first will be streamed.  When “priority scan” is selected, radio channels that are higher on the list will preempt traffic from channels lower on the list.

trunk-recorder UDP Audio

trunk-recorder is an open source software program that runs on Linux and interfaces with software defined radio (SDR) receivers to monitor analog and P25 trunked and conventional radio systems.  It can be used along with IaR-Stream to feed multiple P25 talkgroups to one or more Live Audio channels with a single low-cost receiver.  

 

Note:  IamResponding does not provide support for trunk-recorder or its configuration.  The steps below show how to configure the IaR-Stream software with an existing trunk-recorder installation.  Deploying trunk-recorder is considered an advanced topic that requires some knowledge of both Linux and radio systems.  trunk-recorder is preinstalled to run as a service (trunk-recorder.service) on the IamResponding Raspberry Pi image.  

trunk-recorder configuration file

The simplestream plugin of trunk-recorder is used to send audio to IaR-Stream.  The plugin should be configured to send all talkgroups to IaR-Stream by setting the parameters in the trunk-recorder config.json file as shown below.  More details on the trunk-recoder configuration file and the simplestream plugin can be found here.  

"plugins": [

    {

        "name": "simplestream",

        "library": "libsimplestream.so",

        "streams": [

            {

                "TGID": 0,

                "address": "127.0.0.1",

                "port": 9124,

                "sendJSON": true,

                "sendCallStart": true,

                "sendCallEnd": true,

                "shortName": "TrunkedSystem"

            }

        ]

    }

]

TGID - Setting this to 0 will send audio from all talkgroups to IaR-Stream.  This is necessary if more than one talkgroup will be used for Live Audio channels sent by IaR-Stream.  If only a single talkgroup will by used by IaR-Stream, the decimal value of that talkgroup may be specified here instead of 0 to reduce processing load.

address - In most cases trunk-recorder and IaR-Stream will be running on the same computer, in which case ‘127.0.0.01’ or ‘localhost’ should be used here.  If IaR-Stream is running on a different computer than trunk-recorder, specify the IP address of the IaR-Stream computer here.

port - This should match the UDP port specified in the IaR-Stream configuration GUI

sendJSON, sendCallStart, sendCallEnd - must all be set to true

shortName - must be set to match the shortName of the system from the larger trunk-recorder configuration file

IaR-Stream Configuration

To add a new Live Audio channel for IaR-Stream to send audio to, click the “Add Channel” button.

IaR Live Audio Channel: Select the Live Audio channel that you want to send audio to from the dropdown.  The channels available here will match the channels that you have added in the IamResponding Administrative Functions screen.  

Audio Input Device: Select ‘trunk-recorder simplestream via UDP’

UDP Port: Specify the UDP port that will be used to receive data from trunk-recorder.  This must match the port specified in the simplestream plugin configuration in trunk-recorder’s config.json file.  

Talkgroups to Stream to This Live Audio Channel

Use the “Add Talkgroup” button to select which talkgroup(s) should be sent to this Live Audio channel.

Multiple talkgroups can be fed to a single Live Audio channel in a “scanning” mode, if desired.  When multiple radio channels are sent to a single Live Audio channel, a scan mode of “scan” or “priority scan” may be selected.  

Scan Mode:  Only available when sending more than one radio channel to a single Live Audio channel.  When “scan” is selected, if traffic is present on more than one radio channel at the same time, whichever channel was active first will be streamed.  When “priority scan” is selected, radio channels that are higher on the list will preempt traffic from channels lower on the list.  

Default Source ID: Specify the default that will be displayed in the IaR mobile app when audio is being received when no unit ID is available from the over-the-air data.  For example: “Station 2 desk radio”.

 

5 - Listening to Live Audio in the IamResponding Mobile App

 

Important: Before a user can access Live Audio channels, they must subscribe to those channels in their IamResponding member profile. This setting is currently only accessible via the IamResponding website, not via the mobile apps.

 

Live Audio channels can be accessed from the IamResponding app’s main menu or via the Live Audio “waveform” shortcut button from other screens. Once a Live Audio channel is connected, it will continue to remain connected and play in the background even if the IamResponding app is closed.

6 - Listening to Live Audio using the IamResponding web Dashboard

Important: Before a user can access Live Audio channels, they must subscribe to those channels in their IamResponding member profile. This setting is currently only accessible via the IamResponding website, not via the mobile apps.

 

1 - To add Live Audio to your IamResponding web dashboard, click the settings icon at the top of the page and then click "Edit My Display":

2 - Click the "Add tiles" button on the right:

3 - Click on the "Live Audio" tile selection and then click "Done"

 

4 - A radio icon will now be present at the top of the screen:

 

5 - Click on the radio icon to show the available channels and turn them on or off.  Click on the radio icon again to hide the controls (channels that are connected will continue to play audio even when the controls are hidden).

 

6 - If you'd like to have the channel controls permanently visible as a "Tile" on your Dashboard, use the Live Audio Tile settings to turn on the "Display Live Audio Tile" selection: