Narrowed down my next car to be a new Corolla, and spent time this week talking to a Toyota dealer about delivery dates and PX etc. Discussion going okay, \'til I mentioned I wanted a cassette player. It seems the standard Toyota range is now CD-only with their own fitted HiFi units. I can only get a cassette if I fork out for £3000-worth of colour DVD/SatNav or somesuch! I can\'t believe this. There is a slot in the Corolla\'s dash below the radio that I could slot a cassette deck into, but it would have to be a third party unit, and not sure to be compatible with the Toyota CD/Radio. I like taping BBC radio plays at home, to play back when I do my regular 3-4 hour trips up to Manchester. With only a CD player I cannot do this.
I think the salesman wants to lock me into a specific car which is coming in on such-and-such a date. Getting it modified with any extras would delay the purchase. I think that is what is going on.
I can\'t believe Toyota are gonna lose a sale over this issue. Are they fibbing to me?
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Not sure about Toyota, but many other manufacturers seem to have dropped cassette. I think the Primera is CD-only.
Why not record your programmes to CD? Get a DAB receiver for your PC, set the timer according to EPG and away you go!
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Most cars are like this now, except for very basic models, you can get a CD-recorder at Richer Sounds for about £99.
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Cassettes have been dying for some years, you have arrived at their funeral. Welcome to 2003
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Buy a CD recorder for your PC. Then get totalrecorder, which will capture sound from the internet. Look for your programmes on the BBC website and record them using totalrecorder (either live or on playback on demand). Record them onto CD, then play them in your car. Costs me about 25p per hour of radio, which I think is reasonable. If you have a CD-RW writer, then you\'re looking at the same sort of cost as cassette (buy one and record forever).
Bit of hassle, but it means that you can buy the car you want rather than the audio system you want with a car you may not like.
V
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But what a PITA. With a cassette you can record what you want or copy over it then chuck it away when you\'ve finished with it or give it to Algie down the pub. You want to record something off the radio then you press a couple of buttons and you\'re all set. Try that with a CD writer without needing to make a call to Mission Control Houston (peak time call rates may apply), or turn to page 355 in the manual.. The CD writer half the time hangs up my PC or doesn\'t write properly so you\'ve wasted the disc then you find the damn thing will play on the player in my bedroom but not on the one in the lounge room.
Forward motion does not necessarily equate with progress.
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\"Forward motion does not necessarily equate with progress.\"
That also applies to new PCs that come without a Floppy disc drive!
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Dear respondants,
Lots of sensible advice about acquiring devices that can record (or whatever the 2003 equivalent is) onto a CD.
The handbook of my 2001 Saab 9.3 TiD (which is CD equipped and with no cassette) specifically warns against using home recorded CD due to them overheating in the slot. The warranty is thus invalidated.
I\'ve often wondered as to the reality of this \'cos I\'ve got the facility to record onto CDs but have always desisted from using them in the car. Has anyone got any comments to make from knowledge or personal experience about this ?
AI
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The handbook of my 2001 Saab 9.3 TiD (which is CD equipped and with no cassette) specifically warns against using home recorded CD due to them overheating in the slot. The warranty is thus invalidated.
What a complete and utter load of drivel. I reckon whoever was compiling the manual put that in for a bet or was on loan at the time from the Sunday Sport. Ignore it.
Interestingly though the CD player (CDR500 or similar model number, can\'t remember exactly) fitted to the pre 2002 Vectras isn\'t vented/heat-sinked properly and gets red hot. On a journey of more than a couple of hours you\'ll often find it packs up, starts skipping on CD etc. Fine the next time you use it. After removing a CD which turned out to be cigarette lighter hot I took the car back to the garage but was told they\'re all the same and if they fitted another one it\'d be no different. Heard same story from two other Vectra owners as well...
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Interesting that Dan.. I have a 98 vectra with the Car 400 radio with cassette player.
Only last week a mate who works on a fleet of Vectras said he would get me a CDR 500 out of the next vectra which goes to auction and that it was a straight swop.
Is this wise or would I be better off sticking with the existing one. Any trouble likely with the display etc?.
alvin
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I 've used home burned CDs' in my saab 9-5 with no problems - you can't use re-writable cds though
dom
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Uhoh! I really didn't expect these answers. I reckoned I was being given a load of flannel by the salesman. So cassettes are dying out. I see.
Actually, I am pretty much up to speed on PC's and software and I have the kit to burn CD's etc, but I will miss the simplicity of recording tapes. Vin {p}'s suggestions of downloading the Beeb feed from the internet, and saving to HD and then burning CDs etc is something I CAN do. But look at the amount of faffing about it all takes!
Oh dear. But I'm pretty sure low-spec Civics can be had with a cassette/radio base unit. Heading over to the Honda dealer ...
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Would a hi-fi separate CD recorder connected to your home system be practical solution? The record time might be an issue for plays but there might be a recorder that could deal with this.
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'Burn'
That's the word which was eluding me
AI
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Compact cassettes were a brilliant improvement on 45rpm vinyl for music on the move, 30 years ago, but technology has moved on, so have cars.
If you want to play an old music format that you still have, why not use an old car instead of changing for something modern and up-to-date.
I don't understand why people buy new cars if they don't want new technology, it's like buying a new PC but running Dos.
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I don't understand why people buy new cars if they don't want new technology,
Might sound daft, but I'd prefer a tape deck as well. The reason is that on long journeys I take my portable MP3 player with me and play that via a tape adaptor. This means I can have literally hundreds of songs on random play and never have to touch the thing for the whole journey. I must admit I've never tried but I suspect a slot CD player would require to take your attention off the road for quite a while to change disk, mainly as I suspect you'd have to be fairly careful putting the new one in not to scratch it.
Considering the processing power available these days in cars I'm surprised they can't fit MP3 decoding on board mind you...
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I don't understand why people buy new cars if they don't want new technology, it's like buying a new PC but running Dos.
Ah, but my DOS programs run 500 times faster than they uzed to. Use the latest offering from Big Bill and it runs no faster than ancient Windows386.
motoring link - its like engines get 100 times more powerfull, but weight 100 times more.
Martin
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Try reading this site with dos - you cant
no linux comments please
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Try reading this site with dos - you cant no linux comments please
Believe it or not there are browsers for DOS and this site works fine under Linux but I digress...
Returning to the original topic, take a look at an earlier thread entitled 'Good old-fashioned cassettes' at www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=14...4.
This resulted in my finding a solution to recording radio programmes to CD. It involves less faffing than you expect, with the important advantage that you can record the programmes at your leisure rather than when they're actually being broadcast.
Since that thread I've successfully recorded quite a few programmes for playing back in the car and the whole process has worked far better than I expected.
I've commented before on how slow car manufacturers have been to phase out cassette players. A common suspicion is that it's a way of getting buyers to pay extra for a CD player. CDs were introduced in 1983. I was prompted to buy my first CD player in 1988, when several classical labels announced that they'd no longer put their new releases on cassette. I don't think I've bought a cassette since.
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On reflection, it's rather the opposite end of the spectrum from a Toyota but the Volvo S40 and S60's both come with a double sized unit which takes CDs and cassettes...
Maybe it'd fit with some severe brute force?!
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I've got a Volvo S40 with the tape deck and CD player.
The only problem it has is playing my home recorded CDs.
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Never mind Linux; get an AppleMac!
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I had a similar problem. I've had a mp3 player for 2 years now and wouldn't be without it. I thought about getting a new Corolla but because of Toyota's policy of fitting non standard radios, my old mp3 player wouldn't fit. Of course Toyota themselves didn't offer a mp3 player on their options list. They claimed the non standard radio was a security feature. Several other new cars I looked at had non standard radios fittings. In the end I saved my money and bought a secondhand Mazda. Non standard radio fittings makes life difficult if you want something old (tape) or new (mp3). It will also have a bad effect on the ICE companies such as Alpine and Kenwood.
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I just went to the Halfords superstore, and lo and behold, rows of CD/tuners (and minidisc and mp3), only one crappy £39 GOODMANS radio cassette on the end.
One thing that struck me is how ugly and brash all of these new stereos are nowadays, obviously made for the back-to-front baseball cap brigade! or am I getting old? :o(
They have microscopic buttons scattered all over them, stupid multicolour illuminated animations of BMX bikes doing stunts, another a new york skylin fly-by, another shows a sort of instrument cluster with the needles flicking up. No wonder they are all factory fitted with ones that match the dash nowadays!
Yuk!
I'd rather have a Blaupunkt Grimsby.
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All I want is what I used to have.
On the left an on/off knob which was also the volume control. On the right a similar knob which when turned moved a well lit needle along a visible and legible scale of radio station frequencies. Along the bottom about 8 buttons, the first one selecting AM or FM, the others allowing you to preset several stations to your taste. Above this but below the dial, a cassette slot in which you put your tape, which played instantly, not some cantankerous disc which takes ages to load or else decides it will play on the CD set in my housemaid's room but not the fancy Kenwood over-priced nonsense in my lounge room, or in my car, or refuses to perform at all if it's got my dabs on it. (CD's do have a use as emergency coffee coasters, though I'll give Sony that).
I am only driving my car and not the Albert Hall; it's only rock 'n roll anyway, Beethoven never floated my boat.
I barely use the things fitted to either of our vehicles, they're far too replete with unnecessary gizmos that require half the manual to explain them and pulling over on to the hard shoulder and fumbling for one's spectacles to fiddle around and get them to emit any sound at all. Even more maddenning are buttons which have more than function and will delight in effortlessly finding you the one you don't want. I agree about the ludicrous displays and supernumary "features". This is technology for its own sake being used to convince people they want something they'll never need in order to push up the price. Quite simply, neither of us ever uses the damn things anyway. One of the things even came with a remote control, FCS.
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Those 'non-standard' ones cost an arm and a leg if they need to be replaced. There is an old thread somewhere (can't find it now, but can remember it) where someone was quoted £1400 for a replacement Toyota radio/CD unit!!
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Ok people, for all those who want to play MP3's thro your car stereo check this little baby out
www.neurosaudio.com/
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Anyone know where I can get a car 8-track player.
Sorry, I jest!
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Who needs modern stuff like 8 track? get one of these ( not sure about DIN fitting)
tinyurl.com/3bjy
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They have microscopic buttons scattered all over them, stupid multicolour illuminated animations of BMX bikes doing stunts, another a new york skylin fly-by, another shows a sort of instrument cluster with the needles flicking up. No wonder they are all factory fitted with ones that match the dash nowadays! Yuk! I'd rather have a Blaupunkt Grimsby.
Aren't all these 'hi-tech' thingies just perfect to distruct you from doing the single most important thing you can do in a car: Drive?
WOW! Look at that! What is it? New York, or.. BANG! (Ups)
Vagelis.
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Don't forget the original problem - like me, the problem is recording speech programmes off the radio NOT MUSIC.
Technology has left us behind - it is getting harder to find cars that can play cassettes. Next move is to minidisc, but how many cars offer an MD player as standard, or as a reasonably-priced option? Last time I changed my car (May 2003) I had to get one with radio-cassette and 6-disc CD changer just to ensure that I could play cassettes. This cut down the number of used vehicles I could consider because of this "basic" requirement.
New technology does not automatically equate to "better"!
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About time! I am astonished how many cars you still have to pay extra to get rid of the horrible tape machine and fit a CD player!
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I never listen to music in the car, usually have 5 live or radio 4 on.
I was pleased that my Focus had a cassete rather than CD as I reckon it is less likely to get pinched. Is my radio / cassette worth anything in the 'pub trade' ?
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Cassettes are a rapidly dying format - I can't see any reason to have them in a car these days. If you want recorded CD's without the hassle of a computer just get a standalone CD Recorder which will make a recording in the same way as a cassette deck.
What does annoy me with most built-in car radios is why on earth there is no auxillary input easily available for mobile phones, MP3 players etc. Surely a mini-jack in the glovebox or something similar would not be too complicated. I'm also amazed how few support MP3 playback off CD.
OK, so you can get all these features on after marker units but as others have pointed out they all look horrible, are very fiddly and it's very annoying to have to rip out a otherwise perfectly decent stereo from a new car you've already paid for just because some idiot couldn't specify a line-in jack...
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"What does annoy me with most built-in car radios is why on earth there is no auxillary input easily available for mobile phones, MP3 players etc. Surely a mini-jack in the glovebox or something similar would not be too complicated. I'm also amazed how few support MP3 playback off CD."
DING! DING! DING!
I am one of the MP3 brigade, with a 10gb Apple iPod (incedentally the best gadget in the world). I only use the cassette slot for connecting this, and would be happy with no cassette if there was a jack, RCAs, whatever! But is there? NO! So cue wires dangling everywhere, and looking awful. In the States, the iPod connector uses a device tuned to a spare FM frequency, but for some reason we only get a stupid cassette adaptor.
I can sympathise with radio recordings though (I'm a big fan of ISIHAC)- perhaps if the BBC released recordings of wonderful series like these less than 10 years after they aired (and on CD), then we could all be happy.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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You mean one of these..........Buy it here, not legal in the UK but i wont tell if you dont.
www.biggreycat.com/product_info.php?products_id=159
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Nice one, Renault! What an excellent device.
So, 2 questions:
1) Why are these illegal here,
2) How can these guys sell them without getting busted?
Okay, 3 questions
3) if a chap was caught using one of these, what offence is that?
Ta!
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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1) Why are these illegal here, 2) How can these guys sell them without getting busted?
Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949?
No, I'm not a lawyer. See
www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/32098.html
The device mentioned in that article sounds as if it works in a similar way.
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