Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
Boombox
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2005 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
I have a small combination FM/tape/CD player in my room that my mother gave me as a high school graduation gift. I adore the UI. For example, the designers put the tuning wheel next to the FM tuning display, and the volume wheel on the other side of the machine entirely. Innovation!
I've gotten used to the analog FM tuner and the lack of a shuffle function for the CD player. But, over its many years of service, my little music box has begun to evince contempt of physical media. It displays recalcitrance when asked to spin up a CD; I often have to open and close the CD door a few times to get the player to start spinning it. Also, if playing a cassette that's been properly rewound to the beginning of a side, the player will play it too fast or too slow, and I have to jiggle with REW, FWD, and even (again) opening and closing the door to get it to play properly.
My mother paid no more than $40 for this lovely, compact little machine back in 1998. Could I get it fixed for a similar or smaller amount? Are there perhaps minute yet pivotal adjustments that I could make with common household instruments? Will this boombox ever learn to love again?
