How do I deal with a recalcitrant Internet radio?
February 24, 2013 3:01 AM Subscribe
I've recently acquired a Denon CEOL N-8 compact stereo. The main reason for my choice is its integrated WLAN and networking capabilities. There's one tiny spot of trouble, though: the WLAN turns out to be utter crap.
After much initial trouble with DHCP, I've been able to solve some of its problems by assigning it a static IP address. But the Internet radio remains recalcitrant: some stations drop off mid-broadcast, whereas others (BBC World Service, notably) crash the whole system altogether. It's getting frustrating. Any ideas?
After much initial trouble with DHCP, I've been able to solve some of its problems by assigning it a static IP address. But the Internet radio remains recalcitrant: some stations drop off mid-broadcast, whereas others (BBC World Service, notably) crash the whole system altogether. It's getting frustrating. Any ideas?
Response by poster: I must confess that I fail to understand most of what you wrote there, Goose. But anyway: location is not a problem: my apartment isn't that big and the stereo is some 5 meters away from the router. I get good WiFi coverage across the whole place, anyway. Indeed, I don't think this issue has much to do with the WLAN adapter: after assigning a static IP address to the stereo, other wireless functions, such as AirPlay and a Remote app for iPhone work perfectly. It's just the Internet radio, and only some stations. After some googling, it appears to be related to the formats used by the different stations...
posted by Skeptic at 2:54 AM on February 25, 2013
posted by Skeptic at 2:54 AM on February 25, 2013
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First, I would run a ping to its local address. Is it dropping out and then coming back after a while? Packet loss? Could be poor signal, a bad network adapter, or both. Either way, you know the stereo itself is misbehaving (assuming all the other wireless devices you have do not see the same issue in the same location).
If that checks out, throw it into the DMZ of your router. If the router firmware doesn't allow you to do that, you might try a custom firmware like dd-wrt or tomato. Another thing you can try in the same vein is switching the router to bridge mode, going to back to DHCP on the stereo, and letting it get a non-NATed IP address and seeing if that resolves the issue. If that fixes it, it's likely an issue with the NAT.
Failing that, see if the manufacturer has any firmware upgrades/downgrades/tweaks for the stereo itself. Not very likely, but probably a better idea to ask them than us.
Good luck, and please post your solution when you find it.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 5:27 AM on February 24, 2013