Quick-Start

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Depending on your computer’s settings, you may or may not get a Windows Firewall warning or antivirus program warning when downloading, installing or running FeenPhone. There is no virus in FeenPhone, it’s simply too new to be recognized. If you do get warnings, chose “Allow” or “Allow Always” to bypass the warning. (In Windows Defender, you have to hit “More Info” on the notification window to get to the place you can chose to run anyway.)
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— DOWNLOAD FeenPhone beta version. (If you had another version of FeenPhone installed, uninstall it first.)
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–Click on the downloaded installer, and let it install.

Click “Next.” It may take up to two minutes before it looks like it’s doing anything, but then you’ll get a series of “Next” windows to click through. Click “next” through the dialog boxes until it’s done.
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–If you get a Windows prompt saying that your Windows .NET Framework is not up to date, allow it to update.
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By default, the FeenPhone installer will add a desktop icon. Click this icon to open FeenPhone:
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FeenPhone starts with the AUDIO OUT button (microphone icon) muted (red X showing). Once an audio input is connected and chosen, and you connect to another user, the X should go away.
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Name
The Nickname field will say CHANGE ME by default. Enter your name (or a user name) in place of that.
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NETWORK Settings:
When two or more people use FeenPhone, one of them has to act as the server, and will have to configure their router to forward a port for TCP (not UDP) in the 5000-6000 range.
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If you don’t know how to configure your router to forward a port, go HERE.

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–The computer running as the server (“the Server”) does not need to enter anything in the Server field. They do need to enter their open port number in the Port field (to the right of the circled red button in the image below). The other computer(s) connecting (“the Client” or “the Clients”) will need to enter the IP number address and Port number of the Server, in the Client tab. The Server can find their own IP address to give the Client(s) by Googling “My IP”.
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It doesn’t matter which person’s computer runs as the Server, but the computer running as the Server must tick the “Run Server” tick box on the Server tab near the top right of the program interface (that button is circled in red below) before the Client(s) push the Connect button. The Client(s) should NOT tick the Run Server tick box.

You can tell when the Server is running because it will say “NETWORK: RUNNING SERVER” near the top right of FeenPhone:

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The Server will know the Client is connected when the Server’s LOG field says “Login SUCCESS: (Client user name).”

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The Client will know they’re connected to the Server when the Client’s LOG field says “Server Login Accepted” and shows ping response times.
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Changing the Port

The default port when you open FeenPhone is 5150. The Server port in FeenPhone is changeable whenever the Server is not running. If you’ve been running as Server, stop running the Server on your FeenPhone by un-ticking Run Server in the Server tab. Change the port number in the Server tab to another port you have forwarded in your router. Then tick Run Server again, and the Client should be able to enter your new port number and your IP address and connect.

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AUDIO IN settings:

FeenPhone starts with the volume sliders halfway up or all the way down, depending on your system. You may have to change your volume sliders if it’s too loud or too quiet, depending on how loud you are to the other person, and them to you.
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If you still can’t hear your co-host, or your co-host can’t hear you, go to the Troubleshooting page.
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The sliders are labeled by user name for each person (to the left of the mic icon and headphone icon). There’s also a MASTER volume slider that controls all callers, including you. And each remote Client, plus the MASTER volume, have a VU meter (Volume Unit meter). Click for larger image:

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–In the AUDIO IN drop-down menu, pick your input device. If you’re using the recommended Audio-Technica AT2005USB mic (microphone) (Get it here on Amazon), it should show up in the drop-down list as something like WAV: Microphone (AT2005US):

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If you’re using a different USB mic, look for the model number of your mic in the drop-down list and pick that. If you’re using a mic or mixer that goes in through your sound card (or sometimes even if a mixer connects via USB), you may have to pick your mixer, your sound card or your general USB interface.

The AT2005USB mic’s blue light will come on whenever you are connected to your computer via USB. But you still need to turn the mic’s switch on (switch pushed toward the talking end of the mic) to get audio! The blue light will come on even if that switch is off.

AUDIO OUT settings:
–Set your Output Device.
If you’re using the recommended Audio-Technica AT2005USB mic, it should show up in the AUDIO OUT drop-down list as something like WASAPI: Speakers (AT2005US). (See next image up, AUDIO IN and AUDIO OUT in FeenPhone for AT2005USB mic.)
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This is because you plug your headphones into the bottom of the mic, so the mic is your output device as well as your input device. There’s also a volume control on the bottom of the mic, it only controls your headphone volume, not the volume of your output.) If you’re using a different USB mic, that mic will probably show up as Input, and as Output if it has a headphone jack on the mic like theAT2005USB. If you’re using a USB mixer or a mic plugged into a sound card, your Output device will likely be your USB mixer or sound card. (It will NOT be the model of your headphones, unless they’re a USB headset.)
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There is more info on microphones in Michael W. Dean’s 20-Minute Audio School
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TUTORIAL for FeenPhone’s COUGH BUTTON, FeenBook (PHONE BOOK) AUDIO NOTIFICATIONS and CALL CLOCK
You can find those HERE. Saving passwords in FeenBook is HERE.
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GETTING LESS LATENCY
–Default for the Input Buffer (top slider) is 70 ms. Default for Buffer Target (bottom slider) is 100ms. Both should be good. You will often get audio drop-outs or clicking sounds when FeenPhone first starts, then the network will adjust and those glitches will go away in less than a minute. If you continue to get drop-outs or clicking, you can increase the Buffer Target slider a little bit. This will give more-solid sound, but may give a noticeable amount of round-trip latency. If this doesn’t solve the issue, have the person you’re talking to try turning the Buffer Target slider up. If that doesn’t solve it, see the Troubleshooting page.
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If both users have great computers and a great connection between you, you may be able to even lower the Input Buffer for less latency and still not get audio glitches. If you have a rock-solid connection at 70 ms, try 50 ms on all hosts. The Freedom Feens frequently do two- and three-hosts shows with our Input Buffers set at 50 ms.
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A USEFUL TIP
If you’re doing a mission-critical call, like a live show with people listening, turn off any programs that tend to auto-reboot after a scan. Malwarebytes actually rebooted my co-host’s computer that was running FeenPhone and kicked him off while we were doing a live show on nationwide syndicated radio. There is no Malware in FeenPhone, this would have happened regardless of what programs were running. That’s just what Malwarebytes does sometimes.
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When doing a live show, we recommend using a dedicated computer for FeenPhone. Even a cheap used computer running FeenPhone alone will usually perform better than using FeenPhone on a better computer that’s used for other tasks during the show. I do recommend running FeenPhone on a computer without a lot of programs on it. It’s best if it’s a computer that you do not use use for other tasks while doing the show, or ever. Your media is worth it. Dedicate one computer exclusively to having great audio. You can get a used Windows 7 laptop or desktop computer on on Amazon that will run FeenPhone well for $100-$150.
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