Question: Why does the sound go in and out ... or the media player "buffer"?
Answer:
Causes for interrupted audio: If you are on a dial up connection, then you should be using a 56K modem. You'll never truly
get 56K speed, probably between 48K-53K in ideal conditions (a clean, quiet phone line). We stream our audio at 32K. So even
if you're connecting at a very slow speed, you should not get an interrupted signal often. If you're connecting to the internet
at speeds slower than 32K, then you need to check some things out. Because not only are you getting our signal interrupted,
but your whole surfing of the internet is much slower than it needs to be.
Possible causes for connections this slow:
1.
The phone company. The line to your house has too much noise on it for a decent connection. Give them a call and have them
check the quality of your line. Explain to them what speed you're connecting to the internet at using your 56K modem. They
are usually responsible for repairs from their office to the box mounted to the side of your house (unless you have "Inside
Wire Maintenance Plan.")
2. Inside Your House: Between the Box mounted on the outside of your house and your computer
modem, how is the phone wire run? Does the wire run thru the attic? Is it running over fluorescent lights or perhaps laying
in the wall right beside electrical wires? Many times this can cause a hum on your phone wire which will slow down your connection
to the internet. A good clue: If you hear any noise on your phone when you talk on it, then your internet connection will
be slow. The modem needs to hear an extremely clean, quiet phone line when in use to transmit and receive data.
3.
Are you running the phone wire that connects your modem thru a splitter or answering machine? A direct connection from the
modem to the phone jack is always the best route for a faster connection.
4. Also ... as much as we hate to admit it,
many times, we have bad modems. Lightning gets these things from time to time. Broadband connections are preferred for optimal
listening and surfing experiences, but we realize that's not always possible. So just make sure that if you are on dial up
access, to check on the above scenarios to make sure you have the fastest connection possible. Make sure if you're on dial
up, that you are connecting at least at 36K or above. If that's the case, then you shouldn't "buffer" or lose our audio very
often unless you are downloading a lot of other things at the same time.
Question: Can I listen to WKRK while surfing the internet? When
I leave the page, the sound goes away.
Answer: Good Question, with a very easy solution. The best this to do is LAUNCH an
external media player and let the music play in it while you browse the net. You can either download (and INSTALL) the full free version
of
WINAMP or the
WKRK Toolbar.
Question: Why can't I hear anything?
Answer: There can be several reasons. First, make sure you have speakers (and a sound card),
that are working and turned on, and they are plugged into the correct place ... and the volume is up. If your computer
speakers play other sounds ... then you should be good to go. Also, make sure you have a fairly recent version
of Internet Explorer (the most widely used browser). I haven't tested it on other ones yet. It may work on those
too. Also, make sure that your personal firewall settings (or your internet company's firewall settings) aren't set
too high to prevent the audio stream. Also, please make sure your Windows Media Player is Up to Date. Open up
the player, Select HELP, and Check for Updates. If you need to download a completely new version of Windows Media Player,
click
HERE.
Question: Is it true that WKRK can now be heard anywhere in the world?
Answer: Yep ... Click
HERE and see for yourself. Anywhere you can get to the internet ... you can listen to us live on the internet. If
you like to travel ... take your laptop computer with you, and you can still feel like you're back home. If you're a
seasonal resident, you can still have WKRK follow you back to your other home. If you lose our radio signal at night
and early mornings, that's no longer a problem since we're broadcasting online.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, please let us know. We'll try our best to answer them for you. Submit them
via our CONTACT FORM. 
