Hello Captains.I would like to share with you my first flight experience on vatsim.I chose the flight from EDDF to LHBP with the Queen.The reason why i chose this route because i had full atc coverage from Munchen ground to Budapest ground.First of all it was a fantastic experience to fly with live atc, to get instruction from living people. it was really "as real as it gets." The Controllers were very kind and showed big tolerance towards me. I had to ask them many times to repeat the instructions because i couldnt understand them well because of the big distortion from them (like when your mic is very close to your mouth).My question to the experienced vatsimmers would be do you also get this distortion?What can i do to make it a bit understandable?Should i buy headphones? Because right now the sound was on my home cinema system and got a separate mic. Finally i would like to say a big big thank you to all the Controllers who had assisted me during my flight.Laszlo Meszaros

Hi LaszloI get the same issue sometimes and thats where I request the ATC to send me the instructions via text - solves everything. I listen to LiveATC all the time and note that the controllers speak quite quickly however the pilots already know what to expect and so tend to breeze through it (however the 'read back instructions' is quite important for this exact purpose).After a while you'll get the hang of it and will sort of already know what instructions you'll get.

HiThanks for replying.I did asked them to instruct me via text after i couldnt understand the second repeat, but it is much better through voice.

Hi Laszlo,I found from past experience on vatsim that its best to get a good quality headset as i had the same problem. I have the ATC talking into headset and FS sounds on speaker. This setup makes it alot easier to hear ATC.I use 2 different headsets:

• Saitek Pro flight headset
• Logitech H530 headset USB connection

Conor

Hi Laszlo,I found from past experience on vatsim that its best to get a good quality headset as i had the same problem. I have the ATC talking into headset and FS sounds on speaker. This setup makes it alot easier to hear ATC.I use 2 different headsets:

• Saitek Pro flight headset
• Logitech H530 headset USB connection

Conor

Thats a good idea, but as far as i know i would need a separate sound card to run the atc in the headphes and the sim in the speakers. Is that true? Can i do this with my integrated soundcard?

Try and get a headset. It will make it much more understandable in the end. For the controller, it will help cut down on the workload because typing commands takes several times longer than speaking them. Every time I've been over to Europe they're very busy, and adding in typing on top of that makes it even harder. Granted, for those who use Euroscope (one of the controller clients), they can speak commands and it will type them, through speech recognition, but it is still a hassle if you have several other things to pay attention to.Controllers must provide the same services to text pilots as the do to voice pilots, but it's significantly more difficult to control text over voice, despite the aids available. With headsets being as cheap as they are, I'm surprised to see text pilots so often, but I understand some have other reasons not to use voice.It's also worth getting used to working with ATC without the accents and oddities of other control systems (US pilots starting out should start out in the US - for both reasons of accents and getting used to the home ATC system).

Totally agree.Even i dont have time to write the instructions, i can image how much time do the controllers have...I have a headphone but couldnt set up to get only the atc from the headphone thats why i switched to the speakers.

As an audio engineer, overdriven/distorted gain stages drive me nuts. You can tell other people when they sound distorted when flying online. What I did to ensure the quality of my communications was to record myself speaking with my headset using the Windows built-in sound recorder. I played it back and continued repeating this process while adjusting microphone input gain until I got the most volume without distortion. It is important as well to ensure that your microphone is properly positioned as well. If the mic boom reaches your mouth, I suggest placing it about 1-2 inches from your lips. If your headset has a mic that is positioned somewhere near the side of your face, I recommend pointing it towards the corner of your mouth.

Hi u dont need seperate sound card to have fs on speakers and atc on ur head set. just go to ur sound option in ur fsx option and select the option in there for speakers and head set as i have done quite simple to do.

I find that I used to get better audio using FSInn instead of sqwakbox at the time.I haven't been on vatsim for a long time now but I do remember that made a big difference!Ciao,David Di Domizio

Thank you guys for inputs I'll will try to set up it properly later tonight.

Maybe this can help too:- don't boost your microphone.- select only mike for input device (see the recording properties)- don't use the max volume for input level rather 80-90 %- use push to talk option- keep mike away from mouth likethen record with fe. windows sound recorder and playbackAlso ask controller "how do u read"In most cases changing this will significantly improve the understanding of the voice

Also ask controller "how do u read"

Please only do this if the frequency isn't jammed. The last thing I need to hear when it's insanely busy is "DC Center [sic], radio check." From there, I have to at least acknowledge you, and at that point, I might as well give you a response. A big part of ATC is timing. Delays because the frequency was tied up for a radio check, or worse, poor phraseology can totally ruin a controller's flow.That being said, I'm more than happy to give you feedback on your transmission quality, but please be mindful of how much work I'm doing at that moment. The best people to dog, to be honest, are tower and ground. You're going to be talking to them first anyway, and they don't have a ton of timed calls, as would a radar controller (DEP/APP, Center).

Thanks guys. The problem is not with my mic. I checked it with Windows sound recorder and it was totally clear and also the controllers understood me well. The problem was that i could barely understand the controllers because the distortion was on their side, of course im a newbie on vatsim but as a private pilot i almost know what instructions will i get. I'll try tonight fsinn maybe i get a better sound with it. I red on vatsim that it is slightly difficult to install and setup. Is it really more difficult?

It is more difficult to set up. Some say it is clearer for transmissions. If you're having a hard time hearing the controllers, it's either their own settings or your sound settings. Is the sound going to your headset, or to your speakers? If it's going to your speakers, mixed in with your flight sim sounds, you're not going to improve things by switching pilot clients (from SB to FSInn). It may also be your connection, or the controller's connection.