What network are you connecting to? I fly a lot with the Vatsim network. I use ServInfo to check out the airports and usually there is a lot of very busy airports with a lot of ATC positions manned.
ServInfo can be used with the Vatsim and IVAO network by the way. It has numerous features:
There's a world map that shows all pilots and ATC connected worldwide. Also you can see Eurobook - the ATC booking tables so you can see how long ATC will be active at airports. Very handy for flightplanning. etc etc
Just take a look at www.vatsim.net.
Al this stuff and membership with Vatsim is free. I find it very very good.

Cheers
AJ

ehmmm....This explains a lot. Squawkbox is a program, not a server.  You need it to log into a network and see other players.... You were not connected to anything I think. Squawkbox will run by itself but all it does then is monitor your flight.
Take a look at the link I gave you. I promise you, you won't regret it. At first it seems terribly difficult to get it all working but then....You will never want anything else. There are very good tutorials at the Vatsim site. You'll have online ATC (that's real people), other pilots (hundreds worldwide at the same time), real life procedures....
It is the best step I ever took with Flight Simulator.

It is very realistic though. I do not know if that's what you're after.
AJ

Quote:


That is what I am after, but no where (that I have found after 5 days of looking) is there at spot that says "LOG INTO VATSIM SERVER HERE" or "HOW TO LOG INTO A VATSIM SERVER". 

Everything I have read sais that you log into a multi-player mode in FS, then go to SB and log in there and that is all.

AVC keeps telling me I need to "log into a VATSIM server" but no where does it say how or where.

Please be patient with me. I am at my rope's end with this.  I realy have been trying for over a week just to get SB to work. This is no longer fun, it is my Everest!

Scotch,
No worries . I know what you are going through. The same happend to me and quite a lot of other people. Some even give up. But believe me, once you understand it it is all really pretty easy and you'll be flying online within 5 minutes. The first tries took me hours..... Just a routine you'll have to master. So yes, I'll be patient. No problem at all.

Well, assuming you want to fly with Vatsim (as J3 pointed out, there are easier ways to do multiplayer but they are nowhere near as realistic. Vatsim is a serious but really nice, friendly and addictive environment which simulates real life flying extremely well) I'll try to talk you through the steps.

First: register with Vatsim. You'll need a Vatsim ID and password to log onto their servers. So go to the Vatsim site and apply. You'll have to read quite a lot for this as they have a couple of rules etc which you must understand and agree with.

Next. Go to the pilots downloads section and download the Squawkbox tutorial. It will explain exactly what software you need. This would be Squawkbox, SBRelay if you have FS2004, AVC, SBHost. I'd recommend ServInfo too.
Set it all up as described. You'll have to enter your Vatsim ID and password in Squawkbox and AVC.

Now you're ready to connect.
For this go to the Vatsim homepage and scroll down the middle part of the page until you see the Multiplayer Tutorial for FS2004 [Using SBHost]. Follow all the steps and you will be fine.

Please go through all these steps. If there is a problem you want help with please describe exactly what you did before the problem occured.
I'll be more then happy to help you as much as I can.

Good luck
AJ

Kevin,
You're welcome
5 minutes ago I finished a flight from Amsterdam to Dublin with a lot of traffic over the UK, ATC at Amsterdam tower, departure and radar, 2 controllers over the UK, Dublin approach was online and Dublin tower as well. Plus the weather at Dublin (which is realtime with Vatsim) was terrible. It was so cool.
Just so you know what to expect.
Once you get it running the hard part starts...you'll have to talk, fly and navigate at the same time. This game just isn't the same as off-line.

I'll check this post again tomorrow.
Good luck

AJ

Cheers
AJ

Kevin,

Glad you worked it out.
Some suggestions:
Sound. On my system I have a soundcard to which the flightsimulator sends it sounds, so they come from my desktop speakers. AVC gives you the option of receiving/sending through different sound devices (in the "audio setup" section) so under "output device" I selected the onboard soundsystem and I plugged my headphone to this device. Now I have engine sounds from my desktop, and ATC through the headphone (which is a regular Hifi headphone with adjustable volume). This works very very well without the need for installing a second soundcard. Well worth the try if you have a soundcard.

About all the programs: the next release of Squawkbox will have FSRelay, FShost and AVC integrated I believe. That will be a major improvement. All the current programs were developed for FS2000/2002 so yes....lot of work just to get it running.

You should really try ServInfo because you'll be able to see in a minute where ATC and traffic can be found.

About the Neptune: I used to be in the Royal Dutch Navy...but I'm a psychiatric nurse now. The love for grey aeroplanes & ships never died though

Kevin, enjoy Vatsim and e-mail or PM me if you want to ask or share something!!

Cheers
AJ

HI im trying to get logged on to vatsim  network and i need the AVC tuner thats not the pilot software page right?  I have squawk box and sbrelay.

Well is their a differant place i can download avc tuner cause that link wont work for me i think.... 

No wait... the AVC link worked but went to a differant site and i dont know where to find in on that site.

The Squawk box link didnt work so i did a search on google for it and got version 2.1 of squawk box, will this work

and any other pointers cause i really dont know what the heck im doing  

jay