Ventrilo
User Setup:
The first thing I am going to describe is the "User Name" menu. To create a new user, first you must click the arrow beside the dropdown (A). Once in the "Setup User" menu, you must click the "New" button (B). You will then be prompted for a name, this is the name other Ventrilo users will see you as, so just type in whatever name you want, and click "OK". Don't change whatever is in the field "Work Dir". If you want, you may enter a description, which will appear after your name in the drop down list.


Server Seup:
The next thing you must do is setup the venrilo server information, to do this, you start by clicking the arrow beside the "Server" drop down (C), which will bring up the "Connection Editor" menu. To add a server, click the "New" button (D) and enter a name. The name you enter does not matter, it is just for you to know which server is which if you have more than one in your list. You must then enter the IP or DNS of the ventrilo server, the port (3784 by default), and the password (if required).


Options Setup:
The last (well, pretty much last) thing you have to do is go through the setup. You can access the setup menu by pressing the "Setup..." button on the right (E). In the setup menu, the only tabyou need to configure is the "Voice" tab, the rest can just be left at defaults and should work fine. The first box (F), "Enable outgoing voice communications", enables you to talk if checked, so make sure it is checked. The next box (G), "Use Push-To-Talk Hotkey", if checked, makes you need to press a button for your voice to be transmited. I recommend checking this box, otherwise anyone in the channel will hear everything that you, and others around you say, and will cause echoing with speakers. If unckecked, ventrilo will automaticly start transmiting when you talk. The third box (H), "Use DirectImput to detect Hotkey" must be checked if the second one was checked, and you are using Windows 95/98/ME. The fourth, and final, checkbox (I) is not required, but if checked, will play a small click sould whenever you start transmiting with a hotkey. "Sensitivity" (J) is how sensitive Ventrilo is when you are not using a hotkey. "Amplify" (K) is how many times Ventrilo will amplify your voice, raise this number if you are too quiet, but lower it if you are too loud. "Hotkey" (L) is the key used to start transmiting if "Use Push-To-Talk Hotkey" is checked. "Incoming voice volume" (M) is how much Ventrilo amplifies other users' voices, raise this number if everyone else is too quiet, but lower it if they are too loud. As I said earlier, you can leave everything under the rest of the tabs as the default, and it should work fine.


Mic Testing:
Now, I will describe how to test your mic, you should not need to do this if you set everything up correctly, but it's best to not wait until a big match or a scrim to find out your mic isn't setup properly. When you press the "Monitor" button (N), ventrilo will start recording how loud your voice is being received, and will disply it in the box below that (O). Simply click the "Monitor" button (N) again to stop monitoring your voice. When you press the "Test" button (P), you must hold your talk button, or just talk if "Use Push-To-Talk Hotkey" (G) isn't checked. When you let go of your talk button/stop talking, Ventrilo will replay what you said how other Ventrilo users will hear you. Press the "Test" button (P) again to stop testing. If your mic doesn't work, the most common problems I have are; my hotkey has stopped working (yes, I have a crappy keyboard)