Saturday, February 14, 2009

A little break from the outrage....

We're about to go on vacation next week. We've been having trouble with the cassette adapter that we use to get our iPod sound into the radio in our (pre-iPod ready) van. It's cirtical on trips, because otherwise we're stuck listening to Western Kansas radio twang or lugging our CD library with us (if we can find our CD's, of course) We thought it was a problem with the casette adapter, so Mrs. Curmudgeon bought a new one at Target.

$18. Ouch.

Mrs. Curmudgeon suggested that we test to be sure it's the adapter and not the cassette player itself. How? I asked. She suggested I put a tape in and see if the player worked normally.

"Do you have a cassette?" she asked

"Umm of course I do...somewhere."

So I went down to the basement and pulled open a box that has been sealed for years. You know...a box containing remnants of our former worldly life.

The first cassette I pulled out was Van Halen II. One I didn't particularly enjoy even when I bought it in high school, and one which Mrs. Curmudgeon had never even endured. We agreed that it would be no loss if the cassette deck ate it. It was serving no purpose other than waiting for a more dramatic end in an old fashioned book-burning or TV-smashing party.

Well sure enough, there was a problem with the deck. It's stuck.

It won't play...God is merciful. The Curmudgeons wont be listening to "Dance the Night Away" over and over on a 15 hour drive. But it just keeps clicking and clicking.

I could not get the tape out. So, I got on the internet, looking for ideas.

As I searched, I ran across this:

$10
Metro on Craigslist. Project car, anyone? - Fuel Economy ...
Radio has "William Shatner Christmas carols" cassette tape stuck in deck, enjoy. ... must tow (preferably on a trailer with a solid deck and sides to avoid ... MPG - 2006
Toyota Corolla automatic. Latest project: pedal power bike 12v ...ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/10-metro-craigslist-project-car-anyone-671.html - 58k - Cached - Similar pages


Up until that point, I couldn't imagine anything worse than a minivan with Van Halen II stuck in it. Now I can. An '06 Corolla with Captain Kirk singing "Silent Night."

Beam me up, Scotty!
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:14 PM, February 15, 2009

    Hey, Curmmie! One of my best Traddie women friends wants that cassette should you be successful in your rescue efforts. She lost her Van Halen II cassette and hasn't been able to replace it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:16 AM, February 16, 2009

    You can alway's by the FM adapter/player for the iPod. You will have to adjust the frequency as you drive, however it works in our Van.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Curmudgeon10:01 AM, February 16, 2009

    Tried the FM modulator solution a couple of years ago. Didn't work. I'm told they vary in quality/signal strength, and that I probably had a cheap one. Supposedly, I'd have better luck with a more expensive, higher quality FM device.

    But I broke down and I'm getting a local auto trim shop to put in a hard-wire auxiliary jack out the back of my factory radio head (and surgicaly remove Van Halen cassette while they're in there). And I think it's time to dress up the minivan a bit, so while it's in the shop, I'm also having them put some getting some wheel spinners, neon undercarriage lighting and glass-pak exhaust.

    Feisty, I'll email you if the cassette comes out in one piece so I can figure out where to send it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous7:41 PM, February 16, 2009

    The Shatner Christmas Album might come in handy for Lent. For people who think hairshirts are for sissies.

    ReplyDelete