Frequently Asked Questions (click on a question to see the answer)
We strongly advise the use of the Firefox or Chrome browsers for use of all GCN's listening options and website.
About Genesis Communications NetworkWe strongly advise the use of the Firefox or Chrome browsers for use of all GCN's listening options and website.
These browsers are free to download and work on both PC and Mac computers.
The Genesis Communications Network is the fastest growing talk radio network in the world. Founded in 1998, by Ted Anderson, owner of Midas Resources, Inc., GCN was developed to promote the importance of investing in precious metals. In a short time GCN has grown with more than 40 programs syndicated on over 450 radio stations nationally. GCN's programs range from politics, world issues, and economics, to medicine, farming, gardening, home improvement, travelling, automobiles, and more.
Thanks to the dedicated listeners, the demand for GCN"s hard hitting talk radio is continually increasing. Currently GCN reaches millions of listeners each day on our website worldwide; through our Listen Live Online player, On Demand player, Listen Line, iPhone app, archives and podcasts. We broadcast across the 48 continental states to more than 450 AM & FM stations. GCN broadcasts in the top markets including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, San Bernadino and Washington D.C.. Through AM and FM stations, live internet streams, and satellite feeds, GCN gains hundreds of new listeners each day.
Our Live Player and On Demand Players will not work on mobile devices.
If you have the Apple iPhone you can download the GCN iPhone App from the iTunes App Store for FREE! The GCN iPhone App includes the live streams and On Demand of all GCN's programs. Get the GCN App Click Here
If you have a Blackberry phone you can install Flycast. Flycast airs all 4 channels of GCN's live streams for many mobile devices including the Blackberry. Click Here to go to FlyCast for more information.
You can listen to GCN's live broadcast and on demand by calling the Listen Phone Line. The phone numbers are listed on the Listen page. GCN provides this service for free but long distance charges may apply depending on your service plan. Check with your service provider.
The following are the absolute minimum requirements for the Live and On Demand Player to work:
PC Operating System: Windows XP (SP2 or higher), Windows 2000, Vista, Windows 7
Browser: Firefox 3, Chrome, Internet Explorer 8, Safari 3.2.2
Mac Operating System: X 10.4 Tiger or higher
Browser: Firefox 3, Chrome, Safari 3.2.2, Opera 8.0
In Addition: minimum Flash Player 7 must be installed on your computer. Click Here to get Flash Player
If you download the Flash Player and it still is not working you will need to check the following questions below to trouble shoot the problem you are experiencing.
If you are using FireFox you need to make sure you are updated to the most recent version of FireFox to insure that you have the proper plugins for your browser. To make sure your FireFox is updated you can go to the Help drop down and select "check for updates", then download and install any updates.
Linux: Ubuntu 10.4 LTS (only works with this OS at this time)
If you do not have these minimum requirements our Player will not work and we recommend you use the Archives. We are sorry but we unable to provide help to those who do not meet these minimum requirements.
I get a "Forbidden" "You Do Not Have Permission" Error Message trying to listen to the Live Player or On Demand Player?PC Operating System: Windows XP (SP2 or higher), Windows 2000, Vista, Windows 7
Browser: Firefox 3, Chrome, Internet Explorer 8, Safari 3.2.2
Mac Operating System: X 10.4 Tiger or higher
Browser: Firefox 3, Chrome, Safari 3.2.2, Opera 8.0
In Addition: minimum Flash Player 7 must be installed on your computer. Click Here to get Flash Player
If you download the Flash Player and it still is not working you will need to check the following questions below to trouble shoot the problem you are experiencing.
If you are using FireFox you need to make sure you are updated to the most recent version of FireFox to insure that you have the proper plugins for your browser. To make sure your FireFox is updated you can go to the Help drop down and select "check for updates", then download and install any updates.
Linux: Ubuntu 10.4 LTS (only works with this OS at this time)
If you do not have these minimum requirements our Player will not work and we recommend you use the Archives. We are sorry but we unable to provide help to those who do not meet these minimum requirements.
You may have a Windows Media Player (WMP) plug-in installed that allows Flash files (.flv) to be played in WMP and/or have configured Flash files to be opened with WMP. You need to make it so that WMP is NOT the default player for .flv files.
On a Windows XP or 2000 operating system, to disassociate Flash files from WMP:
1) Right click on the Start button, select "Open".
2) Select "Tools" from the menu, then select "Folder Options..."
3) Click on the "File Types" tab.
4) In the Registered File Types list, scroll to find "FLV" and click on it to select it. If "FLV" is not in the list, then Flash files are not configured to be viewed with WMP.
5) Below the Registered File Types List, the file type details are displayed. If "Opens with: Windows Media Player" is displayed, then Flash files are configured to be viewed with WMP.
6) While "FLV" is selected in the list, click on the delete button just below the list, then click the "Close" button. Flash files are now disassociated from WMP.
7) Please reboot your system before attempting to retry the Live or On Demand Player.
For Windows Vista this website provides step by step instructions and nice images to guide you through the process. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6172036.html
For Windows 7 this website provides step by step instructions and nice images to guide you through the process. http://vista.blorge.com/2009/10/26/how-to-change-file-type-associations-in-windows-7/
Help I am a dial up user. How do I get the low bandwidth streams?On a Windows XP or 2000 operating system, to disassociate Flash files from WMP:
1) Right click on the Start button, select "Open".
2) Select "Tools" from the menu, then select "Folder Options..."
3) Click on the "File Types" tab.
4) In the Registered File Types list, scroll to find "FLV" and click on it to select it. If "FLV" is not in the list, then Flash files are not configured to be viewed with WMP.
5) Below the Registered File Types List, the file type details are displayed. If "Opens with: Windows Media Player" is displayed, then Flash files are configured to be viewed with WMP.
6) While "FLV" is selected in the list, click on the delete button just below the list, then click the "Close" button. Flash files are now disassociated from WMP.
7) Please reboot your system before attempting to retry the Live or On Demand Player.
For Windows Vista this website provides step by step instructions and nice images to guide you through the process. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6172036.html
For Windows 7 this website provides step by step instructions and nice images to guide you through the process. http://vista.blorge.com/2009/10/26/how-to-change-file-type-associations-in-windows-7/
It is best if you get the streams from the Listen Live Player by clicking on the button at the bottom of the player that says "Dial Up Users Click Here"
The button will change to tell you to click play to get the low bandwidth streams. You will know that it is set to 16k when you see this message. If you cannot get the player to work you can get the low bandwidth streams on the Listening Resources page.
I have Dial Up and the streams keep breaking up?The button will change to tell you to click play to get the low bandwidth streams. You will know that it is set to 16k when you see this message. If you cannot get the player to work you can get the low bandwidth streams on the Listening Resources page.
We are sorry but we are unable to provide support to Dial Up users. As dial up connections are spotty at best the technology is not supported well on connections under 56K.
Most Dial Up connections are running around 43k or less and this will cause interruptions to the streams. This is not a new issue and has nothing to do with the player.
The Live Streams are available in 16k by clicking the "Dial Up Users Click Here" button at the bottom of the player. This turns the streams down to 16Kb. If you still have problems connecting you should try using the low bandwidth links on the Listening Resources page.
If those do not work for you, we highly recommend you use the Archives to listen to the shows.
How do I download the Archives?Most Dial Up connections are running around 43k or less and this will cause interruptions to the streams. This is not a new issue and has nothing to do with the player.
The Live Streams are available in 16k by clicking the "Dial Up Users Click Here" button at the bottom of the player. This turns the streams down to 16Kb. If you still have problems connecting you should try using the low bandwidth links on the Listening Resources page.
If those do not work for you, we highly recommend you use the Archives to listen to the shows.
Choose the program you want to download archives for, select the month and year you want to get. Once you are on the page with all the links for the days and hours, select one of the links, right click (mac-control click) and choose one of the following: IE "save target as", FireFox "save link as", Safari "download linked file", then select the location on your computer to save the file to (mac users should find the downloaded files in their download directory).
What is podcasting?A podcast is an audio file (MP3) that is available for downloading online. You can download it to your computer using special software that plays podcasts, or download it to your personal digital audio player (i.e. iPod, iriver, Creative Zen Touch, etc.). Podcasting is like "radio on demand"-you listen to what you want, when you want to hear it. Podcasting is a form of audio broadcasting on the Internet. The reason it became linked with the iPod in name was because people download podcasts (audio shows) to listen to on their iPods. However you don't have to listen to podcasts only on iPods; you can use your computer with some music software such as Windows built-in Media Player or Winamp, or other portable music players (iPod competitors) such as Creative Zen or iRiver. It really doesn't matter, as long as you have some way to play music on your computer or an MP3 Player you will be able to listen to podcasts.
How do I listen to a podcast?If you want to listen to a podcast away from your computer, you will need to transfer them to a portable media device. If you want to listen on your computer, you need to download and install Podcast Receiver software to your computer. But either way you will need to first download the podcast to your computer You can use the latest version of Apple's iTunes (which has the software built in), or other services such as Miro or Juice (formerly iPodder) to manage your podcast subscriptions. GCN's PodCasts work best with FireFox and Internet Explorer 8 and eliminate the need for a podcast receiver.
What Makes Podcasting Different?It's all about having the files come to you through syndication instead of you going to the files through search. To get our podcasts you use a software program called a Podcast Receiver. Sometimes this is also called a podcast aggregator (but again this is geek speak). Just know that Podcast Receiver and aggregator mean the same thing. It's the software that you use to download and receive podcasts. The Podcast Receiver regularly checks the feed for new content that has been posted. When a new podcast show is found, it's downloaded. The next time you plug your MP3 player into your computer, the new podcasts shows are synced by your media player. When you subscribe to a magazine a copy arrives in your mailbox every time a new issue is released. Subscribing to a podcast is just the same, but instead of a mailbox, you have an aggregator - a program that runs on your computer and automatically downloads your favorite podcasts making them ready for you to listen to.
Now You Can Listen to Exactly What You Want, When You Want and How You Want! With podcasts, you're in control. Podcasts are also like Tivo because you're in control of when you listen to it. You can rewind a podcast. You can play it over and over. You can pause it. You can store it wherever you want. You can delete it when you want. Podcasts give you the control. You can listen to podcasts on your computer, burn them to CD or transfer them to your MP3 player. You're in control of when and how you listen. Compare that to listening to the radio. Big corporations decide what you get to listen to and when you listen to it. It's all controlled by what will make them money. Now you can have radio your way.Unlike streaming audio, you can take a podcast with you. To listen to streaming content you're tied to a computer with a fast Internet connection. You're not limited to how many times you can download a podcasts or how many times you can burn it. It's not limited to only playing in certain media players.
I click on the Podcast button but I just get a page with a bunch of code on it?Now You Can Listen to Exactly What You Want, When You Want and How You Want! With podcasts, you're in control. Podcasts are also like Tivo because you're in control of when you listen to it. You can rewind a podcast. You can play it over and over. You can pause it. You can store it wherever you want. You can delete it when you want. Podcasts give you the control. You can listen to podcasts on your computer, burn them to CD or transfer them to your MP3 player. You're in control of when and how you listen. Compare that to listening to the radio. Big corporations decide what you get to listen to and when you listen to it. It's all controlled by what will make them money. Now you can have radio your way.Unlike streaming audio, you can take a podcast with you. To listen to streaming content you're tied to a computer with a fast Internet connection. You're not limited to how many times you can download a podcasts or how many times you can burn it. It's not limited to only playing in certain media players.
You need to a have a Podcast Receiver software on your computer in order to download a podcast or have a browser like FireFox or Internet Explorer 8. We highly recommend using FireFox or Internet Explorer 8 for our Podcasts. We only recommend these because of their ease of use and options they have available for you. To have it automatically downloaded for you every time a new episode becomes available follow the instructions of the Podcast Receiver you use.
How Do I Get A Podcast Receiver?We strongly recommend using Firefox for all of GCN's archives, On Demand, Podcasts and Live Players. Firefox has a built in receiver. Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 also has a built in podcast receiver. Juice, iTunes and Miro are also excellent receivers and are free to download. Click on any of the images below to get to the download site for the reciever you want.
Step by Step Instructions for downloading GCN's Pod Casts for Juice, iTunes, Firefox, and Internet Explorer 8 Users:| Podcast Receivers: | ||||
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Step by Step Instructions for downloading GCN's Pod Casts for Juice, iTunes, Firefox, and Internet Explorer 8 Users:
FireFox and Internet Explorer 8 Users:
1. Click on the PodCast button for the show that you want then...
FireFox users- Click Subscribe Now, Also make sure that the "Subscribe to this PodCast using Live Bookmarks" is selected (Click here for more information)
IE 8 users- Click Subscribe To This Feed (click the "Learn More About Feeds" for more information)
Juice Instructions:
1. Launch Juice
2. Click on the Subscriptions tab.
3. Add podcast feeds.
Right click the Podcast button on the GCN Website and select copy shortcut, click the green plus button on Juice, right click and select paste this link in the URL box, Podcast feeds will have a orange dash icon next to them. When you select a feed, its URL will appear at the bottom of the window. Add the feed to your subscriptions by clicking Add. It should show up in the main subscriptions window with state "newly-subscribed". 4. Set scheduler options
Still on the Subscriptions Tab
click on the 7 icon that looks like a calendar and a clock with a white box,
click "enable scheduler" click the "check at regular intervals" select "12 hours"
Finally, click "Save" to apply the settings
5. Set your preferences. In the General Tab, select the "continue running in the background when I close the main window" This will make sure it keeps downloading for you.
In the Threads Tab, select "8" maximal threads for feedscanning per session and "5" maximal downloads per session
In the Player Tab, select a player that you use on your computer
6. Walk away
Now your podcast will be ready for you to use in your player when you need them!
Juice will now check for and download new content and transfer it to your Player (Windows Media Player/WMP or WinAmp).
iTunes Instructions:
1. Select the show you want to set up for Podcast
2. right click "GCN PodCast"
3. select "copy shortcut"
4. Launch iTunes
5. in "Library" select "PodCasts"
6. on the tool bar select "advanced"
7. select "subscribe to PodCast"
8. a pop up box will appear, in the pop up box right click the white area and select "paste"
9. click "ok"
10. iTunes will begin downloading the PodCasts.
To learn more about PodCasts on iTunes you will need to go to the iTunes Help menu.
For any shows you missed in the Podcasting you will have to download them manually using the Archives.
We only keep 3-5 episodes on the server at a time. You will want to set up your reciever to download the PodCasts about every other day or once a week depending on how frequently the show airs.
How do I run the GCN iPhone app in the background?FireFox and Internet Explorer 8 Users:
1. Click on the PodCast button for the show that you want then...
FireFox users- Click Subscribe Now, Also make sure that the "Subscribe to this PodCast using Live Bookmarks" is selected (Click here for more information)
IE 8 users- Click Subscribe To This Feed (click the "Learn More About Feeds" for more information)
Juice Instructions:
1. Launch Juice
2. Click on the Subscriptions tab.
3. Add podcast feeds.
Right click the Podcast button on the GCN Website and select copy shortcut, click the green plus button on Juice, right click and select paste this link in the URL box, Podcast feeds will have a orange dash icon next to them. When you select a feed, its URL will appear at the bottom of the window. Add the feed to your subscriptions by clicking Add. It should show up in the main subscriptions window with state "newly-subscribed". 4. Set scheduler options
Still on the Subscriptions Tab
click on the 7 icon that looks like a calendar and a clock with a white box,
click "enable scheduler" click the "check at regular intervals" select "12 hours"
Finally, click "Save" to apply the settings
5. Set your preferences. In the General Tab, select the "continue running in the background when I close the main window" This will make sure it keeps downloading for you.
In the Threads Tab, select "8" maximal threads for feedscanning per session and "5" maximal downloads per session
In the Player Tab, select a player that you use on your computer
6. Walk away
Now your podcast will be ready for you to use in your player when you need them!
Juice will now check for and download new content and transfer it to your Player (Windows Media Player/WMP or WinAmp).
iTunes Instructions:
1. Select the show you want to set up for Podcast
2. right click "GCN PodCast"
3. select "copy shortcut"
4. Launch iTunes
5. in "Library" select "PodCasts"
6. on the tool bar select "advanced"
7. select "subscribe to PodCast"
8. a pop up box will appear, in the pop up box right click the white area and select "paste"
9. click "ok"
10. iTunes will begin downloading the PodCasts.
To learn more about PodCasts on iTunes you will need to go to the iTunes Help menu.
For any shows you missed in the Podcasting you will have to download them manually using the Archives.
We only keep 3-5 episodes on the server at a time. You will want to set up your reciever to download the PodCasts about every other day or once a week depending on how frequently the show airs.
By clicking on the play button in the box on the far right. This is the symbol for background play.
What do I do if I've upgraded to iOS4 and I've lost the ability to run GCN in the background?If you were previously able to run GCN in the background, but now you can't, reboot your iPhone or iPod Touch. Once your handset has fully shut down, power it up again using the power button. Your ability to run the app in background should be restored.
Why can't run GCN in the background on my iPhone?Only the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS, the two most recent generations of iPhone, support multi-tasking, more commonly known as "backgrounding applications." Similarly, only the latest, 3rd-generation iPod Touch devices support running apps in the background. Other models, such as the original iPhone, iPhone 3G and earlier generations of iPod Touch do not support running apps in the background at all. This is due to hardware limitations beyond GCN's control.
Why is GCN crashing now that I've upgraded to iOS4?iPhone 3G and older iPod Touch units running the current version of iOS4 are experiencing increased frequency of crashing and audio skipping. This is due to the limited hardware resources available on these units while running iOS4. This is beyond GCN's control.
Why does the volume dip twice after an iOS alert, such as the sound for an arriving text, or turn-by-turn directions?This is a general Apple iOS issue, and Apple's engineers are aware of this behavior. Hopefully there will be a fix in a future iOS release.
What should I do if I'm having problems with the sound? & Why does it take so long to load the player?If you're on a WiFi network, see if using another network fixes the issue, or temporarily turn off WiFi in your main iPhone Settings, to try 3G or EDGE. If that doesn't resolve the issue, you're probably in an area of heavy network congestion or limited connectivity and you may want to try again from another location, or later in the day. GCN has no control over the connection, and connections can sometimes be unstable or slow.
Where are the Shortwave Schedules?Some of our programs are contracted for shortwave through WWCR. Their schedule changes regularly and can be found here
WWCR Shortwave Schedules WWCR Website
What is the Listen Line?WWCR Shortwave Schedules WWCR Website
By popular demand we now offer all of GCN's programs by phone. You can call the number for any show 24 hours a day and listen to the program you want to hear. It is an On Demand player for the telephone. When the program is live you will hear the live broadcast. When the live broadcast is finished it will go into a continuous play loop and will keep repeating until the next time the show airs live. You can also listen to all four of GCN's live streams on the Listen Live Phone Line at 760-569-7700. The phone numbers for each program's Listen Lines are listed on the Listen page. GCN provides this service for free but long distance charges may apply depending on your plan with your phone company. Check with your phone company for your long distance charges.