Listening to BBC Sounds in the garden.

[RogerS]

My wife is a keen gardener and would like to be able to browse BBC Sounds to find programmes to Listen Again. Does such a beast exist? I don't think so-called Internet radios will do this as my understanding is they only stream live internet radio stations.

TIA

[Malc2098]

I download Tons Blackburn Sounds of the 60s and Johnnie Walker Sounds of the seventies so I can listen in the workshop as I've never had a good signal in there.

(254.85 KiB)

Just press the 'download' button.

The go to 'my sound's to find it and play it.

(198.12 KiB)

[Andyp]

Smart speaker Roger providing you’ve got wifi in the garden. We've a couple of amazon devices in the house an Echo and a Dot Cordless are available for taking outside. Just ask Alexa to play whatever you programme via BBC sounds you want.

[RogerS]

I download Tons Blackburn Sounds of the 60s and Johnnie Walker Sounds of the seventies so I can listen in the workshop as I've never had a good signal in there.

IMG_3863FE1006F8-1.jpeg

Just press the 'download' button.

The go to 'my sound's to find it and play it.

IMG_9359.PNG

Downloading wouldn't work with my Missus.

[RogerS]

Smart speaker Roger providing you’ve got wifi in the garden. We've a couple of amazon devices in the house an Echo and a Dot Cordless are available for taking outside. Just ask Alexa to play whatever you programme via BBC sounds you want.

Possibly but how good is Alexa at retrieving a specific episode, say, of Sliced Bread? Do you have to be exact ?

[Andyp]

Not good. It will play the most recent episode or you can ask it to play the first. Once listening you can ask to play previous or next episode and it will remember which episode you were listening to for the next time.

[RogerS]

Not good. It will play the most recent episode or you can ask it to play the first. Once listening you can ask to play previous or next episode and it will remember which episode you were listening to for the next time.

I suspected as much. I'll play around with it as I think it's built into our TV. Even if it did work OK, TBH I can't see LOML using it.

[Andyp]

Just tried with Sliced Bread it will only play the latest episode but will then let you say “play previous” as often as you like.

[9fingers]

Surely the easiest way is to use a phone as the GUI is versatile enough to list and select episodes with ease.
If your wifi is adequate then use that but if not follow Malc’s method and down load before going out of wifi range
Or have i missed something?
Bob

[Andyp]

What I have found so handy with Alexa is the hands free control. The kitchen is where ours gets used most. With wet or dirty hands the ability to change the volume, pause, switch on or off etc without touching is a real advantage.

[AJB Temple]

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[Sheffield Tony]

A phone and a pair of earbuds. The latter most important, don't assume your neighbours (if you have any) want to listen to your music too.

[RogerS]

Surely the easiest way is to use a phone as the GUI is versatile enough to list and select episodes with ease.
If your wifi is adequate then use that but if not follow Malc’s method and down load before going out of wifi range
Or have i missed something?
Bob

As context LOML is very bright and competent. But she does have an aversion to learning anything to do with IT and tech if she doesn't need to. So she remains resolutely uninterested in learning how to select text, to copy, to paste, use bookmarks. She will painstakingly re-enter the URL for a website that she's recently visited, totally ignoring the fact that the browser has remembered and is offering it to her and that all she needs to do is hit return. I will explain these to her but she remains happy in the way that she does things. When she wants to show me something on her computer, it is for me an exercise in frustration.

And this aversion to tech extends to her (lack of) use of her smartphone. She has zero interest in learning how to find stuff using it that she might want to listen to . She will do it on her iMac in the kitchen.

At the moment she takes her very elderly battery radio outside and it does her proud. I've repaired it many times and even have a spare loudspeaker as the sound quality for its size is excellent. But it is just the one item. The thought of taking out two items (mobile phone and speaker) is out of the question. "I'm moving around a lot".

My use of the word 'browse' was misleading and apologies for that. She is very organised, will go through the Radio Times tearing out programmes that she might want to listen to at some time but not in real-time. So the 'browse' is only ever used to navigate to the programme in BBC Sounds.

Downloading isn't an option simply because of all the tech 'knowledge' involved.

Andyp has suggested Alexa and that is an avenue to pursue although I suspect asking Alexa to play Sliced Bread on Deodorants is beyond its capabilities.

We shall have to see.

Once again to all, my thanks.

[RogerS]

A phone and a pair of earbuds. The latter most important, don't assume your neighbours (if you have any) want to listen to your music too.

She hates things in her ears. Besides we only have to worry about upsetting sheep.

[Mike G]

I got so infuriated with my mother's Alexa the other day that I asked it to crawl away into a big hole and die. The response I got was scarily reminiscent of HAL in 2001........

[Andyp]

I got so infuriated with my mother's Alexa the other day that I asked it to crawl away into a big hole and die. The response I got was scarily reminiscent of HAL in 2001........

Indeed it can take some getting used to. If Roger’s better half struggles with learning new IT she might struggle with learning the right way to ask Alexa to do stuff and setting up the various Skills in the Alexa app.
I use ours to listen to live UK radio and as a BT speaker more often than requesting a specific podcast or programme. MrsP is always requesting Friday Night Comedy, The Infinite Monkey Cage, Desert Island Discs etc and is not at all bothered in which order she hears them.

[Robert]

I'm currently learning the ways of Alexa. Bought a dot on the first day of the sale.

Having put the app on my phone I'm wondering if the dot was really necessary as you can talk to the app just the same as the speaker. It is obviously more convenient.

If you want an Alexa dot speaker in the garden you would need the battery base to power it.

In the app you can set things to happen when the trigger words are said. I've not tried it but I guess it would be possible to have 'Alexa play whatever show episode 3' trigger playing the URL of a show or a bunch of instructions to get to it if no direct URL exists. So you set up in advance the complex route to all the required programmes and have them accessed by simple commands.

So far I've got Alexa turning on the TV and changing channels etc and operating smart plugs in groups and single. Work in progress is connecting it to Plex (media server mostly used for music) and possibly Heos (Denon multiroom speakers). I have Tidal music subscription and annoyingly Alexa does not work with Tidal in the UK but does in USA. Plex might solve that problem if I can work out how.

[Malc2098]

I'm told if you ask Alexa to make breaking wind noises, you can have hours of fun!

I don't have one myself, but I know someone who does. And they do!

[Andyp]

I'm told if you ask Alexa to make breaking wind noises, you can have hours of fun!

I don't have one myself, but I know someone who does. And they do!

If I was an immature 6 year old I would probably give that a try but as a responsable grown up I will have to take you word for it.

[Malc2098]

I'm told if you ask Alexa to make breaking wind noises, you can have hours of fun!

I don't have one myself, but I know someone who does. And they do!

If I was an immature 6 year old I would probably give that a try but as a responsable grown up I will have to take you word for it.

[Andyp]

Malc you are very very naughty and a bad influence. A friend has just told me that it is possible to set a countdown timer for some sounds enabling them to played when he is out of the room, out of the house even.

[Malc2098]

Malc you are very very naughty and a bad influence. A friend has just told me that it is possible to set a countdown timer for some sounds enabling them to played when he is out of the room, out of the house even.

Oi! Who are you calling naughty?!! I just said that someone I know………… I never said that you should actually try it and then see how you can get even more fun!

[Duncan A]

A phone and a pair of earbuds. The latter most important, don't assume your neighbours (if you have any) want to listen to your music too.

She hates things in her ears. Besides we only have to worry about upsetting sheep.

AfterShokz Aeropex bone conducting headphones are very good; I frequently forget I've got them on and they're fine when wearing glasses as well as not closing your ears to other sounds.

The new equivalent seems to be the Shokz Openrun https://uk.shokz.com/products/openrun-pro.

I download podcasts, stick my phone in a pocket, and away I go, using VLC as a player. Very simple and straightforward.

Duncan

[Cabinetman]

Thanks Duncan, hadn’t come across bone listening! Sounds just the job, and Christmas is coming!

[Gill]

It's just as well that I'll never work in broadcast media. I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to unexpectedly shout out, "Alexa, play Agadoo".

Repeatedly