Help Page
We’ve tested this site with several different web browsers on Windows and Mac computers, as well as smart phones running the Android operating system, but there may be reasons why some users have trouble listening to our radio programs, so the following information is intended to help trouble-shoot some common problems that listeners may experience.
1. Is Adobe Flash Player installed in your web browser?
The image below shows the web page for one of our episodes. Note the radio “player” in the left side of the screen:

The radio player shown in the image above requires that your web browser have the Adobe Flash Player plugin installed. It is a free download, which you can get from the Adobe web site here: get.adobe.com/flashplayer.
If your web browser does NOT have the Adobe Flash Player installed, or it is installed but isn’t functioning properly, you will not see the radio player. The image below shows what one of our episode pages looks like without the Adobe Flash Player functioning properly:

If your web browser does not display the radio “player” then you’ll need to install Adobe Flash Player. Most web browsers require that you restart the program to finish the installation process.
2. Has the episode already aired, is it a live broadcast, or is it an archived episode?
If the radio player is showing up properly in your web browser, but nothing happens when you click on the play button in the player, it could be an episode that hasn’t aired yet. There are usually a handful of upcoming episodes scheduled for future broadcast dates, so the player won’t be able to play anything until the episode airs. There should be a statement near the top of the page that gives the scheduled broadcast date and time for upcoming episodes.
3. Does the episode play audio for a while, then pause while it buffers?
The radio player doesn’t download the audio file to your computer (or smart phone), but “streams” the audio directly from the web server, so if your computer is actively downloading (or uploading) other files or is streaming other audio or video, then your internet connection may be somewhat overloaded, causing the radio player to buffer–which means it doesn’t have enough data to play the audio yet. The same problem can occur when there are more than one computers sharing an internet connection. If you can eliminate other major uses of your ineternet connection, that should reduce or eliminate the buffering effect.
Other problems?
If the information on this page does not help you solve the trouble you may have, please send an email to webmaster@empactamerica.org and include the following details:
- The operating system of your computer (such as: Windows XP, Windows 7, Mac OS X version 10.5, etc.) or smart phone (such as: iPhone, Blackberry, Android)
- The web browser you’re using (for example: Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer) and what version of that browser
- The version of Adobe Flash Player is installed for your web browser
- The connection speed of your internet service (for example: DSL, cable modem, fiber optic)
- Details about the trouble you’re experiencing, such as:
- No play button appears on the page
- Nothing happens when the play button is clicked
- No sound
- Sound volume level is too low
- Program stops and starts (“buffering”)
- Which episode you are having trouble with, or are you having trouble with all episodes?