FAQ version 1.0.7 (05-17-03)

 

Question: I tried tuning in, but all I hear is the Live 365 "Operator" telling me to sign up for Preferred Membership. What gives? I thought listening was free?

Answer: Indeed it is, for the first 10 listeners on each stream. I cannot afford to pay for anymore of you! This sad development is due to changes in Live 365 Inc.'s policy regarding live/relay broadcasters. Unfortunately the DMCA/RIAA has tightened their grip further, demanding more overhead costs not just for Live 365, but myself as well. A small monthly donation of $3.65 US will give you ala carte access to WFR and all other hosted streams at Live365. Click the banner below to sign up for this Preferred Membership. Advantages include:

No more pop-ups and banner ads

Commercial Free Listening

A small cut also gets funneled directly to Wolfox Radio's broadcaster account as a credit. This credit directly applies to the streams' accounts to help me keep them running and purchase expanded packages to allow more listeners as well! It does good for everyone. Try it free for 7 days!

Question: May I send files of either myself or music that can be played on the air?

Answer: Yes, you certainly may! We prefer that they be encoded into 128k/sec @ 44.1KHz stereo. Please send them to wolfox_AT_sbcglobal.net. Be mindful that there is a 25 meg limit on this account.

Question: I left a file in your inbox, but I did not hear it on the air. What happened?

Answer: Sometimes files are too unintelligible to broadcast/produce effectively. Also, we prefer that you leave the ranting to 2. ;> Sometimes there is nothing technically wrong with the files, but we would really like to see them match the format of the radio station. After all, you cannot call up a modern rock station and request the 9th track from a Beethoven compilation C.D. Also, keep in mind that the decisions of Wolfox Radio's "senior staff" are final.

Question: Who is this "senior staff" of Wolfox Radio?

Answer: That would be myself Gentle, and 2.

Question: May I advertise on your radio station?

Answer: Yes and no. Yes, if you are a nonprofit individual who is just seeking to get their name out there and have some fun along with us. (I.E. You just unveiled a new furry themed web page that features your art.) The answer is no if you, your services, or the people using your services generate any kind of profit/revenues/etc. Wolfox Radio is a privately owned, nonprofit radio network. If we are not making money off of this, neither shall you. The reasons behind this are very complex and beyond most corporate lawyers.

Question: Will you sell me advertisement space on your radio station or web pages?

Answer: No. Neither the radio station or it's associated pages contained within the werewolves.org domain shall contain any paid for advertisement content or information. However, if we are asked nicely enough, and it complies with the above FAQ question, sure. We will drop your name on the air and create a link for you on our "About" pages. We are nice guys...really.

Question: Your website looks funny, the menu bars and top border are all broken up! What's wrong?

Answer: This page assumes that you have at least an SVGA display @ 800x640 lines. Oh, and 16 bit color helps too.:>

Question: When I tune in by clicking on your links to the streams on the left menu bar, I get a pop-up error message from live365.com. Is something broken on my computer?

Answer: Not at all. Most likely the stream has either broken momentarily from our radio server's feed to live365.com, or we are just not currently broadcasting.

Question: What are the broadcast times of Wolfox Radio?

Answer: We started broadcasting 24/7! We are up and running around the clock to make sure that you get your fix of fun tunes.:) The live Friday night dance parties are still held too. They start at 8:00 PM central and goes for as long as we can stand it.:> Try visiting our new playgrounds over at the "Swing Club". Getting there is easy, just T-port to the Herm Haven on FM, then use the Stepdisk, or type "Swing" to enter the club.

Question: Okay, I tried clicking on your "Quicklink" buttons to pick up the streams, but it does not seem to be working for me. Is there a direct URL to the stream I can set in my media player or bookmark in it?

Answer: Yes, there are three in fact! You *must* put these URL's directly into your media player's "Open Location" dialogue. In Winamp, this is accessed by pressing <control>-L.

For the 64k Broadband stream (This is for Cable Modems, xDSL , T-1's and even 128k ISDN - IT WILL NOT WORK if you use a dialup ISP)

http://www.live365.com/play/196619

For 56k Dialup users on modems, or if the above stream skips alot for you, try:

http://www.live365.com/play/213491

For folks on 28.8k Modem Dialup, and as a last ditch resort if you still get alot of skipping, hit the Canmeph-2 reflector run by Striker Redwolf at:

http://www.live365.com/play/211786

As a further convenience, these URL's DO NOT change! Another nice freebie from the folks at live365.com. So you may bookmark these addresses for your convenience. However you will still need to login using your Live 365 ID to acquire the streams. Some people have reported problems trying to conect using a Macintosh computer. These folks will need to be running O/S-9 or later with iTunes, MacAMP or even Quicktime 5 or later - just about anything that can recieve broadcast/streaming MP3 will suffice.

Question: The music and your voices seem to skip frequently, that or I hear a commercial from live365.com periodically and it is really getting annoying! What can I do to fix this?

Answer: This is actually not very easy to answer quickly. Many factors affect streaming audio quality. First, try to pick a stream that best matches your modem's maximum speed. Best bet it to just pick a slower stream that behaves itself for you. Some things that you can do to help this is to make sure that you are not downloading in the background, uploading e-mail, or otherwise doing much of anything else that requires heavy use of your modem. Other suggestions for fine tuning your system's performance for best reception will be covered elsewhere in our FAQ.

• For P.C. platforms, we strongly suggest the use of Winamp 2.5 or later. Though just about anything that can receive streaming MP3 audio will do! Make sure that it is set as your default player.
• For Macintosh users, Audion is by far one of the better player's next to SoundJam.
• For those super smart UN*X savvy folks out there, XMMS is the trick.

Question: Killer!! I am hooked up...but now it stutters and skips a little. I have even tried eliminating everything else running in the background on my computer. What's up with that?

Answer: Okay, if it is skipping around pretty badly on you after nuking everything in the background, possibly all you will need to do is try tweaking your media player's buffer. I am sorry to say that I do not have a Mac platform or a UN*X box to tinker with - However; a good guide on what to do, especially if you have Winamp, it to try the step-by-step instructions HERE. Pay particular attention to the section that covers the settings for the "Streaming buffer". A good rule of thumb is to increase ALL of the buffers by 16k increments until it stabilizes. This is also a good rule of thumb no matter WHAT type of media player you have. Check your online documentation installed with your particular software for the best information.

Keep in mind too that streaming audio is heavily influenced by network latency, NOT speed. Latency can vary depending on the time of day and how well provisioned your ISP is to deal with peak load hours. These problems cannot be directly fixed by either myself or you as a listener in any easy ways. I try to assure the best routing and latency on this side, and can sefely say that skips and drop-outs are not a fault of WFR studios. Remember, the Internet is a very big place, and any number of things can happen between yourself and the Nanocaster held over at Live 365. At worse, dial up again or power cycle your cable/DSL rig and try again. If it is still skipping, try lower streamrates or tune in again later - things may calm down in your neigborhood when folks are more interested in sleeping, rather than surfing the web. :)

E-mail us your question and/or comments! Help us to make things fun and easy for everyone... after all, we cannot think of every possible situation. - Gentle