Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

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Topic Author
Wading Ashore
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Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by Wading Ashore »

I have one manufactured by Grace. Great idea -- but marred by chronic connectivity problems. Was wondering if problem is this particular version, or if connectivity glitches just go with the territory. Right now I can get some "on demand" programs from one radio station, but the programs on the station I want just sit there "connecting." Thanks.
Jack shall have Jill, nought shall go ill; the man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well.
mhalley
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by mhalley »

I have one of the logitech models, I am at work so don't remember the exact one off the top of my head, and it works fine.
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ourbrooks
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by ourbrooks »

None of the wireless connections we had were completely reliable. That covers two different makes of laptops, a Roku box, and two Aluratek internet radios. The fundamental problem with wireless is the more connections you have the lower the reliability. It's not just us; we can see six different routers from our neighbors.

You might try going to a different router. My impression is that loading one of our routers with the DD-WRT open source router software improved our reliability; if nothing else, it has much nicer monitoring tools for wireless than the native Linksys firmware.

That failing, you might try powerline networking. We have a lot of that and it seems far more reliable than wireless. The Roku box and one of the Alurateks are connected that way.
THY4373
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by THY4373 »

My family uses a couple of Logitech Squeezeboxes. My wife and I both use one when we work from home and they see 7-12 hours of use a day on average. They are very reliable. We can go days without a single dropout. Now that might be a function of my wireless network vs. the Squeezeboxes which is DD-WRT based as mentioned previous in this thread.
rr2
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by rr2 »

I have used the Logitech Squeezebox and it works great. It needs an occasional reboot. You can also control it with an iPhone app or Android app as well.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?search-alias=a ... squeezebox
Chuck T
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by Chuck T »

I have owned and used for over 4 years an Internet radio made by Grace. It accesses my home wifi network which is connected via cable modem to our local cable provider. I have not had any issues of connectivity or reliability. I listen to news programs and sporting events on stations from all over the country. It has been great. I received it as a Christmas gift and listen to it daily.

Just went to my bedroom to look at the Grace radio. The model is GDI-IR2000. My wife says it is over 3 years old not 4. At any rate it has been great and still is. I don't think this model is still being manufactured.
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gatorman
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by gatorman »

I have this Internet tuner:

http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Digital-Wir ... 134&sr=8-1

Reception is great, ease of use, so-so.
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Groundhog
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by Groundhog »

I have the Logitech Squeezebox Radio as well. Very happy with it. I can control it with my iPad and I have the optional battery pack so I can be completely wireless when needed.
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SpaceCommander
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by SpaceCommander »

Also a Squeezebox Boom user. Plays several hours every day, never have connectivity issues. Very reliable and that's with a Roku on 24/7, an Xbox accessing Live in my sons room on all the time, and my daughter on her laptop's wifi for hours a day too.

Granted, I pay a little extra for the highest speed my cable company offers. Also, don't skimp on the router. A high quality router is worth it.
I honor my personality flaws, for without them I would have no personality at all.
benway
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by benway »

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Last edited by benway on Mon Aug 01, 2022 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Topic Author
Wading Ashore
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Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by Wading Ashore »

CGX wrote:Have you checked for a firmware update in the settings menu?
- Yes, checked yesterday. Said no upgrade available . . .

SpaceCommander wrote:Also, don't skimp on the router. A high quality router is worth it.
- The router I'm using is what we got from Verizon when we got FIOS. Not sure if that qualifies as high-quality or not ... ?

ourbrooks wrote:My impression is that loading one of our routers with the DD-WRT open source router software improved our reliability;
-I'm pretty clueless about routers :( . Could I use open-source software with the Verizon router? We live in a large city apartment building, and I do see multiple networks listed . . .


Thanks to all.
Jack shall have Jill, nought shall go ill; the man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well.
ourbrooks
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by ourbrooks »

I have no idea of who actually makes the Verizon router but that may not make any difference. Most routers have a web page which you can access from your computer; from that web page, you can turn off the wireless on the Verizon router.

Then get another router. One of the refurbished Linksys ones from Newegg will do very well; we're talking $30 here. Read up on Wireless Access Points on the DD-WRT site. Then, connect an Ethernet cable between the new router and the Verizon router. The new router will do the the wireless part; the Verizon router will handle connecting to the Internet, being the DNS server, etc.

There's a fair amount of complexity to master here but little cost.

If you just want plug and play, try the powerline route. You buy two adapters. One you plug into the wall near the Verision router and run an Ethernet cable from it to the router. The other adapter you plug the well near the Internet radio and run an Ethernet cable, which comes with the adapter, to the Internet radio. That's pretty much it but you may want to change the default password, since people from outside your apartment may be able to get to the adapter through the wiring.
khh
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by khh »

Groundhog wrote:I have the Logitech Squeezebox Radio as well. Very happy with it. I can control it with my iPad and I have the optional battery pack so I can be completely wireless when needed.
Assuming you have wi-fi, could an ipad alone serve as a wireless internet radio? If so, could you use the internet at the same time?
jridger2011
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by jridger2011 »

I also have a Logitech Squeezebox Boom. However, it does require occasional reboots, but has no connectivity issues unless the 3rd party service like Pandora or Slacker is having issues. The only thing that is truly wrong with it, is that it is possessed by the machine devil. It will randomly turn on but never randomly turn off, and the alarm goes off at the wrong time despite checking the settings. I have reset the settings enough times and the firmware is at its latest. The only thing I can do is turn the volume down after every use unless I want to wake up at 4AM to whatever the last station was playing.
rr2
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by rr2 »

khh wrote:
Groundhog wrote:I have the Logitech Squeezebox Radio as well. Very happy with it. I can control it with my iPad and I have the optional battery pack so I can be completely wireless when needed.
Assuming you have wi-fi, could an ipad alone serve as a wireless internet radio? If so, could you use the internet at the same time?
You could do that. However, I find the volume from the iPad built in speakers to be quite low unless you are using headphones and/or external speakers.
RyanC
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by RyanC »

I have been using my iPod touch as an internet radio with either Pandora or Tune In app. I've docked it on a set of Logitech ipod speakers, so the volume is more than loud enough. I occasionally have "outages," but I think the problem is with the iPod settings and have been working on fixing it.
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Igglesman
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by Igglesman »

Wading Ashore wrote:
CGX wrote:Have you checked for a firmware update in the settings menu?
- Yes, checked yesterday. Said no upgrade available . . .
I have the Grace...over 4 years...works perfectly. We use it over 8 hours per day. If you have the firmware update, one other item to check...you may have to just use WEP security vs. WPA2 (if that is what you are using). I have to use WEP on the one router to the radio. WPA2 for the rest of the house on another N-router.

Also, I would not just use one of the wireless signals you pick up out of thin air....since you do see many signals in your vicinity, you may want to change the channel you broadcast on...typically you can use 1 or 6 or 11...try one you are not using. Hope that helps.
Topic Author
Wading Ashore
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Re: Does anyone use a wireless internet radio?

Post by Wading Ashore »

Many thanks to all -- you are so knowledgeable!
Jack shall have Jill, nought shall go ill; the man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well.
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