Internet Radio & Broadcastify with Alexa!
Not quite amateur radio but so cool I had to post how to do it
With the Radio Browser skill for Alexa you can create a personalized station list from a database of over 27,000 Internet radio stations. And, you can create a station manually with a custom URL such as an audio stream from Broadcastify. Now Internet radio and Broadcastify can be heard on all your Alexa devices!
Here’s how to do it:
1.) Enable the “Radio Browser” Alexa skill
Open the Alexa app on your phone and go to Settings.
Under Settings, click on Skills & Games and search for Radio Browser. But don’t get discouraged by the 17,293 results returned. Look carefully at the first item in the list which should be “Radio Browser” in small text. Click on that to Enable it and chose what devices to activate it on.
2.) Access the default Radio Browser station list
The Alexa Radio Browser skill contains a default list of 100 Internet radio stations.
Open a web browser to access the Radio Browser station list: https://esp8266-server.de/alexa/RadioBrowser/en/
First look at the default radio browser station list at the bottom, as when you add stations it will overwrite this default list starting at number 1. (I took a screen shot of it as there are some good streaming stations I may want to listen to in the future)
Get the password from Alexa to edit your radio station list by saying “Alexa ask radio browser for password”
(For first time access you may have to tell Alexa to “Start Radio Browser”. It will begin playing station 1 but just say “Alexa stop” to end it.
Use the password from Alexa in the link above to login in (after you click on “Accept technically necessary cookies” to enable password field).
** Optional **
From here you can browse the Radio Browser database of 27,000 Internet radio stations and include any of interest in your default list by clicking on the + sign at the right of each entry (as you do it will start replacing entries in your default list starting at number 1).
Click “Back to Homepage” and click on “Edit favorites list”.
3.) Add the desired streaming stations from Broadcastify to the Radio Browser station list
As described in the Broadcastify link (https://broadcastify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5372550425499), in a separate browser tab go to Broadcastify.com and select the audio stream of interest. Look carefully at the URL and make note of the stream number at the end.
Back on the Radio Browser configuration page (under “Edit favorites list”) click on “Add URL” on the top menu.
Enter the station number to use, the station name you want displayed and the URL of the audio stream (see example below).
But don’t use the URL from the Broadcastify web page! Instead use the URL below but substitute your desired audio stream number at the end!
(i.e.: https://broadcastify.cdnstream1.com/12174 for Monroe County Fire Talk Groups
Or https://broadcastify.cdnstream1.com/18467 for Monroe County Fire Ops Groups 5, 8 & 9)
Note: When restarted, Radio Browser will begin playing station 1. Otherwise it will resume the last station played.
Click on “Add” and verify that it was entered properly in the station list at the desired number.
Repeat “Add URL” to add any additional Broadcastify stations to the Radio Browser list.
(Note: You can create additional stations using Broadcastify audio streams for other locations like like NYFD, Los Angeles Fire, Airports or Railroads!
https://broadcastify.cdnstream1.com/9358 NYFD Fire Channels
https://broasdastify.cdnstream1.com/21022 Los Angeles Fire Channels
https://broasdastify.cdnstream1.com/909 Chicago Fire Channels
4.) Listen, enjoy and thank the developer!
Then either say “Alexa restart” to begin at station 1, or say “Alexa tell radio browser number XX” to start receiving a specific station (or once playing you can also say “Alexa next” or “Alexa previous” to skip through the stations)
If you like it please leave a positive review on the Amazon skill web page for Radio Browser.
The developer (Michael Dworkin) has been very responsive in fixing bugs so please let him know we appreciate all his hard work! https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Dworkin-Radio-Browser/dp/B09MQ7LFCT/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Alexa Radio Browser commands:
Launch: Alexa start radio browser (or) Alexa radio browser (or) Alexa open radio browser
Switch to station 1: Alexa restart (or) Alexa start again (or) Alexa tell radio browser number (or station) 1
Go to next station: Alexa next (or) Alexa previous (for lower station)
Go to any station: Alexa tell radio browser number XX (or) Alexa ask radio browser for number (or station) XX
Don’t use the word “channel”, the Radio Browser skill only understands the word “station” or “number”
Notes:
Substitute the “wake word” for your device if it has been changed from Alexa (I.e.: Echo, Amazon, or Ziggy)
The earlier bug in displaying station descriptions for manually created stations has been fixed! Thanks Michael!
Also – DON”T tell Alexa to “disable” the skill. That will delete your entire station list!!
Example of manually created station using Broadcastify audio stream:
