# Cassette deck???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824 "2011-09-10T15:00:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/21 "2011-09-11T23:43:16Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I’m not totally sure what shaft style refers to, but I think what you’re talking about is where the two radio shafts go through holes in the dash. > Anyway, my car is 2 din and so is the Clarion. It _looks_ like it’ll fit where the OEM unit is. Dimensions look good. I found a couple reviews that said that Clarion model is pretty good. All I need from the car is 12vdc and the speakers. Oh, and the antenna. Didn’t think about that :eek:. I listen to radio a lot. > The proof is, of course, in the pudding. Shocked at the high price for that unit. I’d have thought anything with a cassette would be giveaway priced these says. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/22 "2011-09-12T00:01:35Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Shocked at the high price for that unit. I’d have thought anything with a cassette would be giveaway priced these says. 😛 I wouldn’t quite call it “shocking”. Kinda high, but free shipping. I didn’t find a lot of stereos with what I wanted. I googled the make and model number. _Usually_ if you do that about a piece of you get a lot of negative replies. It is kinda old, 9 years or so. I really prefer to not be messing with a walkman while I’m driving. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/23 "2011-09-25T14:23:03Z")
I just bought a used ('93) motorhome. Guess what kind of dash mount player it has. 😛 🆒 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/24 "2011-09-25T14:41:12Z")
I was interested enough to pull my old cassette deck out of the closet-I popped in an old tape I had made, and guess what-the tape had deteriorated (to the point that the “wow and flutter” was all i heard. So I guess this format is truly dead-most of those tapes you see at yard sales are probably unplable. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/25 "2011-09-25T20:40:53Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I was interested enough to pull my old cassette deck out of the closet-I popped in an old tape I had made, and guess what-the tape had deteriorated (to the point that the “wow and flutter” was all i heard. > So I guess this format is truly dead-most of those tapes you see at yard sales are probably unplable. Some higher quality tapes are still in good shape, but in the end it’s just a thin coating of rust glued to a very thin plastic film, so yeah, it’s not gonna be around forever. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/26 "2011-09-25T21:52:35Z")
Most of the tapes are novels, played once then stored in a cardboard box. They should be okay. I’ll play one this weekend and see. The best thing is to let them play through without a lot of stop/start/rewind, etc. I wonder if I can (or should) find a tapehead cleaner cassette.😕 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/27 "2011-09-25T22:06:57Z")
I’ll be, amazon has some Maxell wet cleaners from, I think, 1995. I seem to remember these being somewhat controversial. I dunno. BTW; I also seem to remember books on tape being od higher quality than run-of-the mill music tapes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/28 "2011-09-25T23:01:40Z")
Try your local junkyard. They salvage usable electronics out of the cars they haul in. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/29 "2011-09-25T23:13:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Try your local junkyard. They salvage usable electronics out of the cars they haul in. Junkyards (most of them) aren’t what thet used to be. They’re more like department stores, with networks and such. I’ve heard of one that even shrinkwraps small parts. Thanks to restorers, a lot of the good stuff is priced high. Same for pawnshops. Try to get your insurance to pop for a new bumper. Oh yeah, to answer your reply-I already got the player, but haven’t tried it out yet. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/30 "2011-09-26T00:02:01Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Most of the tapes are novels, played once then stored in a cardboard box. They should be okay. I’ll play one this weekend and see. The best thing is to let them play through without a lot of stop/start/rewind, etc. > I wonder if I can (or should) find a tapehead cleaner cassette.😕 Some 70% or 90% rubbing alcohol on a q-tip works just fine to clean the heads. Twist the q-tip tight after wetting so no fibers go astray into the mechanism. A gentle but firm up and down motion will pull most of the crap off a head. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/31 "2011-09-26T00:45:32Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Some 70% or 90% rubbing alcohol on a q-tip works just fine to clean the heads. Twist the q-tip tight after wetting so no fibers go astray into the mechanism. A gentle but firm up and down motion will pull most of the crap off a head. Sure, but getting my creaky old hands to pull the unit out to get to all the things that contact the tape is a problem. It would be different if it weren’t an in-dash unit. Someone needs to invent swabs with something more like cheese cloth on the ends, Cotton is too smooth, and doesn’t scrub. I read the reviews, and the Maxell got pretty good marks. I remember their similar product for VCRs did an adequate job. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824/32 "2011-09-26T00:52:28Z")
[Oh!](http://www.arcticmod.com/computer-mod/max-professional-swabs-for-electronics-and-more-6-swabs-in-3-sizes.htm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-deck/595824.md?page=1)