What does my computer need in order to tune in? Generally, all you need is a computer with Internet
connectivity through a 33k modem (or better), a sound
card, speakers, and an installed streaming audio player.
What hardware do I need? You can use a PC, a Macintosh, or a computer running a
variation of Unix.
What streaming audio players are supported? There are several free streaming audio players to choose
from. NOTE THAT STREAM RIPPERS WILL BE BANNED, so we recommend
using WinAmp. Click on the image to go to their site. Other players may also work, but we haven't tested
every
product.
Player
Minimum Hardware/Software
Pentium III 500Mhz+, 64 MB RAM, Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/2003
Where can I download a free audio player? A link to a free streaming audio player can be found
here.
When I click to tune in (using installed audio player), a window pops up which asks me if I want to open
or save the file. What should I do? Follow the browser-specific directions here: Microsoft
Internet Explorer or Netscape
Communicator/Navigator.
You only need to perform these steps
once. The next time you attempt to tune in to Cactus Radio, it will
work as expected.
The songs are "choppy" sometimes. Is it just that my
connection is too slow? It could be due to any of a number of factors. First check
your computer against our requirements. If
your computer is low on memory or processor power, running several other
applications may cause our broadcast to skip. If you have a slow
connection to the Internet, surfing to large web pages and downloading files
may cause our broadcast to skip.
Regardless of your computer's capabilities, the first
thing to try is adjusting your audio player's buffer
settings. This prevents skipping for most listeners. If this
doesn't work for you, please contact us
and we'll try to help.
How do I adjust my audio player's buffer settings? In WinAmp: Ctrl-P, Plug-ins, Input, Nullsoft MPEG Audio
Decoder, Configure, Streaming, and increase the Streaming Data Buffer
Field. The default is 64kb and it is not unreasonable to change it to
a value as high as 640kb. The higher value specified, the longer it
will take to start listening to the station, but the less likely the
broadcast will sound "choppy". Other streaming audio players have a similar feature. If you have
difficulty making this adjustment, please contact
us and we'll try to help.
What are all of these entries in my play list? Cactus Radio utilizes several servers to transmit its
broadcast. Sometimes, one or more of our servers may
become full or otherwise unavailable. By adding several entries to your play list, you
will automatically switch to the next available server if one is
unavailable. It is also worth noting
that some streaming audio players too quickly conclude that a server is
down, mistaking network congestion for an outage. It is for this
reason that we also add multiple entries in your play list -- to ensure you
will be connected to one of our servers.
How can I get through my company's firewall? In WinAmp: Ctrl-P, Setup, and enter your proxy server
address in the HTTP Proxy field. To find your proxy server address,
open your browser and proceed as follows.
Microsoft Internet Explorer: Tools, Internet Options, Connections, Local
Area Network (LAN) Settings, LAN Settings, Proxy Server and copy the values
in the Address and Port fields to the appropriate field in your streaming
audio player's configuration window.
Netscape Communicator/Navigator: Edit, Preferences, Advanced, Proxies,
Configure Proxies to Access the Internet, Manual Proxy Configuration, and
copy the values in the HTTP Proxy and Port fields to the appropriate field
in your streaming audio player's configuration window.
Other streaming audio players have a similar feature. If your browser settings do not reveal your proxy server's address,
you may need to contact your company's network administration staff for this
information. We regret that Cactus Radio staff cannot determine this
information for you. If you have
difficulty making this adjustment, please contact
us and we'll try to help.
Can I bookmark your station in WinAmp? This is possible, but not really recommended. When you bookmark a station
in WinAmp, it only keeps track of the IP address of that single entry in your
play list. Cactus Radio utilizes multiple play list
entries so that you can listen even if one of our servers is down.
Additionally, some of the IP addresses of our servers change from time to time, so the
server you bookmark may have moved when you try to access it again.
If I press the "skip track" button on my audio player, will I go
to the next song? Skipping tracks in our streaming audio broadcast causes
you to switch to a different server. If you
don't like the current song, please rate it.
If you'd like to hear a specific artist or song, please request
it.
Interact
Will you play my song request? We'll do our best! Enter the information on our Song
Request page and send it to us.
Can I talk with the DJ? Sure! Our DJs are typically in the Cactus Radio chat
room, which can be accessed from the Interact menu.
Can I talk with other listeners? The Cactus Radio chat room is
available for this purpose. It can be accessed from the Interact menu.
When I enter the chat room and pick a nickname, it says my nickname is
taken, but there's no one in your chat room with that name. What's
wrong? The chat room provided by our vendor requires that
nicknames are unique across their (30,000 user) network. So, you'll have
to pick a nickname that's more unique.
Can I download tunes that I like from your web site? We are not able to provide music for you to download due
to legal reasons. Sorry, but there are no exceptions.
Can you send me MP3s of songs I like? We cannot send you music due to legal reasons.
Sorry, but there are no exceptions.
Where can I buy these artists' CDs? First, check the Cactus Radio Recent Tracks
and Top Tracks pages. Featured Artists
are shown with a banner below their song. Click on the banner to visit
a web site about the artist. Typically, the web site will provide you
with information on how to purchase CDs. For other artists, if a web search doesn't provide you with the information
you are looking for, contact us
and we'll try to help.
Information
How can I get a banner on the recent tracks page that links to my band's
official site? Please see our Get Linked
page.
How can I get a banner on the recent tracks page that links to my band fan
site? Please see our Get Linked
page.
Will you play my band's songs? Please see our Get Played
page.
Can we send you MP3s? Please see our Get Played
page.
Can we send you promotional CDs? Please see our Get Played
page.
Will you play my Public Service Announcements (PSAs)? PSAs are played at the discretion of our Advertising
Director based on numerous factors. Please describe the purpose
and content of your PSA to our Advertising Director for consideration.
You must supply the recorded PSA and it must meet our standards for
broadcast quality. But, please do not send us an unsolicited MP3 of
the PSA.
Will you play advertisements for my company? Please contact our Advertising
Director for information on rates and our advertising-for-bandwidth
exchange program.
How can I help? Thanks for asking! Please see our Support
page.
Do you need any more bandwidth? I have a DSL connection
that I don't use while I'm at work. We can always use more bandwidth! Please see our Support
page.
How can I contact you? Please see our Contact page.
How did you build your station? Please see our Links page for a
list of the primary tools utilized.
Interact 