Show HN: Air traffic control radio and chill music for focus

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Concept and initial reception

  • Service mixes live air traffic control (ATC) radio with chill/lofi music to aid focus, reminiscent of older projects like youarelistening.to and lofiATC.
  • Many commenters like the idea and report it as relaxing or great for productivity, though pilots note ATC chatter is too attention‑grabbing for them.
  • Some appreciate the “professional, neutral, emotionally detached” tone of ATC as a good background soundscape.

UX and feature feedback

  • Several people initially failed to get audio because of an unintuitive toggle separate from the airport dropdown; suggestions include:
    • Add a default “nothing” entry and auto‑enable streams when selecting.
    • Move the toggle closer to the dropdown and consider volume slider placement.
  • Requests for:
    • More airports (including specific ones like DCA, SEA, SoCal sectors).
    • Ability to enter arbitrary LiveATC stream codes.
    • A toggle to disable cloud animations (implemented via a cloud icon).
    • Respecting prefers-reduced-motion.
    • Potential alarm‑clock mode and Alexa integration.

Technical and performance issues

  • Reports of streams not connecting (especially on mobile, Edge, iOS Safari); some fixes were deployed during the thread.
  • Multiple users report high CPU usage and lag, attributed to the cloud animation; after feedback, the animation could be disabled.
  • Occasional playback errors and login prompts; the author attributes some issues to load (“HN effect”) and updates providers.

Use of third‑party streams and licensing controversy

  • Site originally pulled:
    • Music from SomaFM’s Groove Salad.
    • ATC audio from LiveATC.
  • Commenters point out:
    • LiveATC’s legal notice prohibiting third‑party use of live streams.
    • SomaFM is listener‑funded, pays significant per‑listener royalties, and is being “re-wrapped” without permission or initial credit.
  • SomaFM’s operator states the site is exploiting their streams, costs them money, and contributes to “enshittication”; asks for removal and to stop circumventing CORS blocks.
  • After pressure, the author:
    • Adds credits.
    • Then switches away from SomaFM to SoundCloud.
    • Apologizes and says they learned from the experience.
  • Some users donate directly to SomaFM, and others create an “Honest” clone that transparently surfaces the original sources without monetization.

Alternatives and related ideas

  • Mentioned alternatives: SomaFM (including Mission Control, SF police scanner), DI.fm, Radio Paradise, youarelistening.to, and historical “scanner + easy listening” setups.
  • Some question whether ATC or police audio can really be “chill,” given potential for distressing events; others argue serious incidents are rare.