Tune In
From WWR
Contents |
Quickie tune in links
- Click here to tune into the Lo-Fi stream
- Click here to tune into the Medium-Fi stream
- Click here to tune into the Hi-Fi stream
Flash Player tune in links
Just going to one of these pages should load a Flash player that plays the stream.
Media player software
The media players category has a list of media player software. Clicking the name of a program will show you screenshots and step-by-step guides for connecting to the streams. The choosing a media player page compares each one and has some recommendations if you're confused about which to use.
Both resources are works in progress, but have the most common players covered and more are always being added.
Other players
If you don't have an audio player installed but have java installed you can run jlGui as a webstart application from the buttons below:
- WWR Lo-Fi Stream
- WWR Med-Fi Stream
- WWR Hi-Fi Stream
- WWR Lo-Fi Stream - Springfield skin
- WWR Med-Fi Stream - Springfield skin
- WWR Hi-Fi Stream - Springfield skin
(thanks DaveR!)
Three listening streams
Whole Wheat Radio webcasts three streams. One is for 'low-speed' listeners with dial-up connections. Another is for 'medium-speed' listeners with DSL, cable or other fast connections and medium or low-quality speakers. The last (which is still under test) is for 'high-speed' listeners with DSL, cable or other fast connections and good speakers.
The lo-fi stream is at: http://64.62.252.134:2670/listen.pls The medium-fi stream is at: http://64.62.252.134:2680/listen.pls (Note that the IP numbers are identical. Only the 'port', or the part after the colon, is different.) The hi-fi stream is at http://www.wholewheatradio.org:8000/listen.pls
The low-fi stream sends about half as much data as the med-fi stream which sends about half as much data as the hi-fi stream. This results in significantly lower audio quality. But for listeners who only have dial-up access or who want to keep their bandwidth usage to a minimum, the low-speed stream is preferable. For those with laptop speakers or desktop speakers, the med-fi stream is probably acceptable. For those who have lots of available bandwidth and good speakers, hi-fi is the way to go.
Caveats
Whole Wheat Radio is not 'normal' radio. It is real - created by everyday people who are (thankfully) not 'professionals'. It has never been our goal to appeal to a broad, generalized audience. Whole Wheat Radio is a place where intelligent people with creative, interesting and alternative views tend to congregate, share personal stories, act silly, laugh ... and sometimes cry. It's like visiting a good coffeehouse with your best friends - while listening to great independent music you won't hear on 'normal' radio.
You may occasionally hear swearing on the broadcast and in the songs we play. If that sort of language offends you, or if you are ultra-conservative, or if you don't have a sense a humor - you probably won't like this site. Although there may be thousands of more appropriate sites for you to visit, it is hoped you are not offended and always feel truly welcome here.
Audio lag time
It takes awhile for the audio that is playing in Talkeetna to reach your speakers. This is particularly true if you are dial-up or in a location far away from Alaska. The set your audio lag time page allows you to adjust this site to match what you're actually hearing on your speakers.
Problems tuning in
The PLS file
The purpose of the 'listen.pls' portion of the URL is to tell a computer which program to use to play the stream. Most computers have at least one player that has associated itself with the PLS file name extension. When a listener clicks on the PLS file, this program will come up and begin playing the music.
Unfortunately, a large number of music player software manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure their player is always used. If a listener has installed Winamp, iTunes, Windows Media Player and Jetaudio for example, each one of the programs will try to associate itself with the PLS file name extension. This often causes confusion for users because they are uncertain which player will come up.
Sometimes no player has associated itself with the PLS file extension. In this case, when a user clicks to listen, either nothing happens or a box pops us asking them what program to use. If they do not select a valid player, they will not hear anything because no player is taking the incoming music data stream and playing it on their speakers. It is important listeners know how to associate their particular player with .pls music streams as well as M3U and MP3 music files.
Windows
(NEED TO ADD BLURB ABOUT HOW TO GET PLAYERS TO ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH DIFFERENT FILETYPES)
Macintosh
When using Macintosh OS X one can select a .pls file, then choose Get Info from the File menu. The third block down has an Open with... pulldown menu populated with all programs registered to handle the .pls file type. Selecting iTunes will cause only the one selected .pls file to be associated with iTunes, but pushing the Change All... button in this block will cause a general association of the .pls extension with the iTunes program.
Linux, FreeBSD, Unix-like
If you use a contemprary desktop environment such as KDE (default on Mandriva, SuSE etc) or GNOME (default on Debian, Ubunutu, Fedora etc) on Linux or FreeBSD for example, changing file assosiations is easy.
In KDE, click the white on blue K menu and click Control Centre. On the sidebar click KDE Components, then File Associations. Under the Known Types box, click audio then x-scpls. On the right hand side there will now be a list of applications in order of preferece to open .pls files, such as amaroK. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to rearrange the items, or click Add to browse your K menu for other players. When you're done, click Apply.
On GNOME, right click the .pls file you would have downloaded to listen to Whole Wheat Radio, select Properties and under the Open With tab select your desired default media player.
Not being able to listen at work
Many workplaces do not allow their employees to stream music at the workplace in order to save bandwidth costs. This is frequently done by blocking access to any port typically used for streaming audio data. Since WWR webcasts on ports :2670 and :2680 it is very likely that some workplaces block these ports. In this case, nothing can be done and you will be unable to listen while at work.
You may be able to listen to other webcasts at work but not Whole Wheat Radio. Why? Because some webcasts make a point of streaming on port 80 - the same port used by browsers to surf webpages. Your workplace cannot block port 80 access or else they'd be blocking you from seeing any website. But they can easily block unusual ports like 2670 and 2680 that WWR uses.
Although Jim is aware that things can be done technically to force the streams to play on port :80 (the standard port that all webpages use) he has been reluctant to make this available. When workplaces block streaming audio, they are doing it for a reason. Using technical tricks to get around this restriction could potentially get a non-technical and innocent person fired. For that reason, he has not enabled port :80 access.
Other tune in options
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| Standard Tune In for most MP3 players
This option is the most common. It requires an MP3 player like Jetaudio or Winamp that has associated PLS files with it. |
Try to listen to low-speed stream |
| Alternate Tune In for some MP3 players
This option points to an M3U file. Some players that aren't configured to know what a PLS file is will work with this link instead. |
Try to listen to low-speed stream |
| Windows Media Tune In #1
This option points to an ASX file that should work with most installations of Windows Media Player. If it doesn't work, try the options below this one. |
Try to listen to low-speed stream |
| Windows Media Tune In #2
This option points to an ASF file that might work with Windows Media Player if other options don't work. If it doesn't work, try the options below this one. |
Try to listen to low-speed stream |
| Windows Media #3 and other players Tune In
Many players (such as Windows Media Player) will work as long as you 'Open URL' and paste in the address of the audio stream. Our addresses are show at the right. Try finding 'Open URL' (usually under the File menu) and then paste or type in the exact address starting with the http:// of the audio stream. |
Low-speed stream: http://64.62.252.134:2670 |
| Embedded Windows Media Player for Internet Explorer Only
You may see a player right here on this page playing WWR. If so, you can leave this page open to listen. |
If you are using Internet Explorer, you should see Windows Media player below and it should be tuned into WWR. This will not work with Firefox where you will only see a blank box. |
| Real Audio Tune In
Real Audio may work with either of these links. They point to a RAM file which then points to the stream. |
Try to listen to low-speed stream |
If you are still unable to hear the stream, try asking for assistance in the chat or try any of the following links:
- WWR Low Speed Stream
- WWR High Speed Stream
- WWR Low Speed Stream - Springfield skin
- WWR High Speed Stream - Springfield skin
Audio stream status
The audio server is in California. It runs the SHOUTcast audio streaming software. The EJs and Winamp communicate with this server frequently both to figure out who is listening, if the server is up and running normally and also to report what songs are being played. A quick way to get the stream status straight from the audio server is:
Lo-speed stream status directly from Shoutcast
Hi-speed stream status directly from Shoutcast
See also
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Needs Fixin' Outdated in several places |
