Frequently
asked questions
(including answers :-)
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Radiator does not work:
Recording:
Visage problems (Radiator):
Mouse problems:
Other questions:
Radiator supports many types of radiocards. However almost any of them is controlled in other way (which is not documented anywhere) which makes adding of new card quite hard. Nevertheless I try to add as many types as I can so it is possible that list of supported radiocards will grow.
Why my QuadXtreme (resp. Xtreme Theatre, resp. PCE2) does not work?
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These cards (together with SoundForte AWESOME64R - SF64-PCE2) are supported. Their control is based on calling the driver from the original RadioAKTIV software. It is necessary to use RadioAKTIV version 4.0, which is shipped on installation CD not until recently. It is possible to download it from MediaForte site - www.mediaforte.com.sg (approximately 4 MB). If you make this software work, Radiator should start working also.
Why my SoundForte PCR does not work?
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It is possible to use technique described above, moreover Radiator contains also plugin for this card now .
Why my D-Link USB radio does not work?
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It looks that radiocard D-Link is basically GemTek FMRadio 21 USB in another wrapper. It is necessary to use this method:
If Windows errors out with the message The required section was not found in the INF file continue by this:
How to make Radiator work under Windows NT 4.0 with SoundForte FMI, FMD
etc.?
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Answer from www.mediaforte.com.sg:
Please go to the Control Panels - Fm Radio Tuner and configure the port address to 0x384. Reboot your system and go to the Bios settings, set the PNP/PCI configuration - PNP OS installed to No. Then also set IRQ 9 (or IRQ which card is set) to Legacy ISA.
Radiator works on TVPhone98 only when
native application is run before. If TV is run previously Radiator
makes only noise.
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This problem is probably caused by the wrong initialization of original drivers. I am working on solution. You may try to use other drivers - for example from www.tvfreak.cz.
When I choose bt8x8 plugin Radiator crashes. What is wrong?
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You have to install WDM drivers for TV card (instead of VfW). These drivers are tested. They should work on Windows 98 and Windows 2000. If they are not installed, plugin does not check for them and system may freeze.
How can I help in order to add new supported
card to Radiator?
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The best is when you have access to the source code of application which can
control it, or description of functions exported by original DLL including
functions parameters meanings (eg. Tune (Frequency: Integer, Stereo: Boolean): Integer
etc.)
If you have found by yourself (using SoftICE, IDA etc.) some details about
controlling the radiocard, share them :-)
Also the technical description (ports list, ISA/PCI ...), WWW of manufacturer, may
help.
The new possibility since version 1.6 is support of plugins. Programmer owning exotic radiocard can finally use their brain effectively ;-) The interface is described on http://flesko.cz/plugins.htm.
What is the associated program to run after
recording?
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Associated program is an application set in Windows as standard for playing WAV files. It can either be a standard file player or WinAmp etc. If you check Launch associated program checkbox, then after recording and saving the file will the program be launched which will play it immediately.
When recording using codecs Radiator will create file 56 bytes long which is not playable...?Recording
using codecs was tested and should work correctly. However, not all the codecs
which are shown in codecs dialog are functional. E.g. for DivX :-) is maximum
bitrate of 64kbit/s at the moment. It can be useful to make a short recording
and try to play it in some wave player (WinAmp ...) If you can hear something,
it is OK :-)
Some codecs or combination of codec and its parameters are supposed to be used
for decoding only so they would not work for recording. If you try codec (in
Radiator) which creates wave file that is not able to be played, it is
necessary to close Radiator and start it again, or it would create not
playable file even with codecs that should work.
The table shows several configurations of computers, operation systems and codecs that have been tested. I'll be glad if you send me test of other codecs or other configurations if it should differ from the following table.
Computer freezes when recording using Mpeg Layer-3 codec, why?
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Fraunhoffer Mpeg Layer-3 codec (a least version I have tested) cause system halting on Windows 95/98 - the blue screen and restart is necessary, whilst on Windows 2000 this codec works very nice and almost any bitrates over 56 kbit/s are allowed. The reason is not very clear to me, but considering fact that this codec caused freezing also in other programs it is possible that the error actually is in codec itself or in Windows 98. When selecting this codec in Windows 98 Radiator shows warning message.
How can I schedule recording?
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Radiator uses very strong tool - scripts for scheduling recordings . It is not necessary to write commands in some obscure programming language - everything is intuitive, easy and pleasant. (Note: This is the advantage of writing FAQ by myself - objectivity :-)
Example: Station Asia 3 broadcasts its well-known hit parade from 2100 to 2200 every Sunday. We want to record it using audiocodecs and then switch off the computer.
Where are some audiocodecs to download?
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I have created the script, set the
time and date but script din not run. Why?
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Please check whether the correct time was set and both Global scheduling active and Current script enabled checkboxes are checked. Scripts have following (intentional) restrictions:
What is the meaning of the items on page
Options in frame Other recording settings?
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There are different settings for Playback and for Recording in Windows. Every volume device has its own volume slider and own checkbox. The checkbox provides muting in Playback (e.g. LineIn), in Recording this checkbox determines if the final recording will contain sound from this source. Some soundcards can have more than one source checked for recording simultaneously, some soundcards can have only one at the same time. The checkbox Check the recording source automatically temporarily selects the source when recording in Radiator. Correct recording source can be set on page Recording settings, list Recording source. When Radiator finishes the recording, all previous soundcard settings are restored.
Example: SoundForte 256 PCS Extreme Theatre 5.1 soundcard has the following recording sources: Mix, CD, Mic, LineIn, Aux, Video, Phone. It allows checking of only one recoding source at the same time. Let's assume that it has LineIn set (checked) by default. We set Recording source to Aux in Radiator configuration (this is the source to which is radio connected). When recording using Radiator it will automatically check the Aux source (so recording will contain radio sound). After recording it will automatically check LineIn source (as it was checked before recording)..
Checking the ... and uncheck other sources checkbox causes automatic temporary unplugging of all the other sources while recording (useful when you are watching TV on PC at the same time and don't want to include its sound in the final recording). The only checked source will be the one set in Radiator configuration.
Checking the Disallow tuning while recording checkbox will block tuning to other frequency when recording.
Buttons bitmaps are sometimes framed by the black
line, how to get rid off it?
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Sometimes this problem arises when the color depth is set to 16 bits (65.535 colors). After switching to 24 or 32 bits color depth everything should be OK.
I don't like Radiator label. Can I use some other,
nicer label?
© Atifan & Co. :-)
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Hmm, we are now solving probably the most important and annoying problem ever. Answer is: Yes, you can. :-)
Open your language file (English.lng etc.) in Notepad -
languages are stored in subfolder Lang (e.g. C:/Program Files/Radiator/Lang/English.lng).
Insert new line in section [MainRadioForm]:
MainRadioForm.LabelName.Caption=Cooler
Cooler can be replaced by some other short name. Save the file and restart Radiator.
When will Radiator support skins?
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I do plan skins support. I don't know the exact date :-)
Would it be possible to add more than 24 preset stations?
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I work on procedure which will allow using of almost any number of stations.
Why the mouse wheel does not work?
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Some mouse drivers (e.g. Logitech etc.) are not fully compatible with standard IntelliMouse interface. You can uninstall original drivers and install IntelliPoint - download at http://www.microsoft.com/mouse/mouse.htm
When moving the mouse the output is noisy, why?
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This problem is probably caused by the soundcard drivers - I suffered from this also using SoundBlaster Live 1024 and IntelliMouse Explorer, but only in Windows 2000. There was no noise in Windows 98. The problem in Windows 2000 had disappeared when I changed soundcard to SoundForte 256 PCS Extreme Theatre 5.1.
Why the volume setting does not work?
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You have probably selected wrong device - on page Hardware settings in section Volume control choose either Internal (radio card) (if card supports it) or Line -in and choose correct device in Line-in device. The device is input of soundcard where is radiocard connected to. Its name might be even other than Line-in (Aux for SoundForte 256 PCx Xtreme etc.). The most reliable way to find it out is to run original radio software, increase and decrease volume and look which slider is moving. Then set this device also in Radiator.
When the station is tuned, it produces noise, original
software works OK. What is wrong?
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Try to switch to mono if driver allows to do it. It sounds too simply, but it helps :-)
Why the Internal volume (radio card)
checkbox is grayed on Hardware settings page and what does it actually mean?
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Some radiocards are able to control volume by their own circuit (not using soundcard at all), the control differs: RadioTrack can set internal volume only in analog way (up and down, not by setting a value, but relatively towards previous volume), Aztech can set 4 volume levels, SoundForte SF16-FMR can set 16 volume levels.
The Internal (radio card) checkbox is grayed when selected card does not have the circuit usable for setting internal volume. Volume can be controlled only via soundcard for these cards.
Why the mono/stereo switching button does not work?
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Some radiocards can set "forced" mono/stereo, which can be useful for stations with lower level of signal. However only several radiocards support this good feature.
The respective button is disabled for other cards, they are set for stereo by default. They probably can switch to mono also, but this couldn't be enforced, decision is on radio chip.
Why the scanning does not work?
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Automatic
scanning does not work in Radiator on these cards now:
SoundForte SF16-FMR2, SoundForte SF16-FMD2, GemTek RadioMan, Justy Radion-maru, Unit Rajikoma, GemTek Wizard Radio,
SoundForte 256 PCx Xtreme, SoundForte SF16-FMR, SoundForte SF16-FMX. I would
like to add this possibility gradually.
Always when starting Radiator I have to skip
error message There is no media in drive. Insert disc \Device\...
twice. Can I solve it somehow?
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You have probably removable disk drive installed (ZIP, Jazz etc.); this message can be avoided by inserting some media to the drive (i.e. presence of the media in drive when Radiator starts).
Next possibility: Change letter for the removable disk drive using Control panels.
How to enable other language and LCD font?
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Example (for Czech): Go to the Radiator configuration, page Options and check Use external language file checkbox. Select Cesky.lng in the language files list. On LCD settings page choose Central European code page.
How can I switch off the annoying window
on closing asking me whether mute or leave?
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Go to the Radiator configuration, page Options and select either Mute or Leave in current state in the On power off list.
Does Radiator support RDS?
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No. RDS (Radio Data System) is a way how to transmit information in FM signal by coding them in frequency ~57 KHz. I don't know yet whether it is possible to decode it only by software. The only radiocard which supports RDS is ADS Cadet (see ADS pages).
How can I add my own language (localization file)?
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Simply. There are language files stored in subfolder Lang, one file for each language.
If you want to add your own language, open file on which the new translation should be based (in most cases probably English.lng), copy it to another file named *.lng (* ... anything that you want ;-) and translate text ONLY after the='.
Example: Item MainRadioForm.TuneUpBtn.Hint=Tune up will in Czech look like MainRadioForm.TuneUpBtn.Hint=Ladit nahoru.
As soon as you would have the new translation, send it to me and I will add it for download.
Does anybody knows manufacturers web site locations?
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MediaForte: http://www.mediaforte.com.sg
GemTek: http://www.gemtek.com.tw
AimsLab: http://www.darteurope.com/support.htm
Zoltrix: http://www.zoltrix.com
AverMedia: http://www.averm.com.tw
ADS Technologies: http://www.adstech.com
How much does Radiator cost?
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Radiátor is free :-) You can mail me if you like it.
If you really like it, you can contribute here :-)
I have ATI All-In-Wonder Pro (128, Radeon, TV tuner), can I use Radiator?
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Of course you can use Radiator. But only ATI TV is not enough to receive FM radio (it can tune only TV signal), it is necessary to use independent radiocard.
Is there any competitive software?
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Yes :-)
AFM2000
(Czech freeware): http://www.tvfreak.cz
RadioTray (Czech freeware): http://mujweb.cz/www/jokusoftware
bRadio pro (freeware): http://www.borgtech.org
Radio (freeware): http://www.andmevara.ee/toomas
FMBox
(shareware): http://www.algonet.se/~aarto/software.html
FMStereo (shareware): http://www.mkacomputing.com/fmstereo/fmstereo.htm
FMTuner(shareware): http://www.ryerson.ca/~sgray
PcRadio (shareware): http://www.kagi.com/mpucci
VCRadio (shareware): http://www.sagebrush.com/vcradio.htm
I have a question which could not be solved here, what should I do?
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I have an extremely good idea to improve Radiator functionality...
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Let me know about it, there is not enough of the good ideas never :-)
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Made in Czech Republic. © 1999 - 2004 Miroslav
Flesko
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Last updated: 12/04/04 10:24