My Boom Box Ain't Booming
June 5, 2022 8:45 AM
I have a little Sylvania CD/radio boom box that I bought in September 2020. A few days ago it started refusing to play any of my CDs... literally. When I pop in a CD and press play, it says "No" via its little digital screen. (The radio still works.) Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can troubleshoot this?
Obviously this was not an expensive sound system (I paid $27 for it at Canadian Tire), but due to both financial and environmental concerns I'd like to fix it if I can.
I've always treated the boom box with great care so it hasn't had any falls or hard knocks.
The instructions that came with it don't offer any suggestions as to what to do when the thing won't work.
Obviously this was not an expensive sound system (I paid $27 for it at Canadian Tire), but due to both financial and environmental concerns I'd like to fix it if I can.
I've always treated the boom box with great care so it hasn't had any falls or hard knocks.
The instructions that came with it don't offer any suggestions as to what to do when the thing won't work.
The 'no' on the little screen is probably short for 'no disc' and signals that the player is broken in a fundamental way, such as that the laser or the detector which 'reads' the laser light reflected from the disc is no longer functional.
posted by jamjam at 6:38 PM on June 5, 2022
posted by jamjam at 6:38 PM on June 5, 2022
I don't hear a whirring sound, and nothing seems out of place. The CDs click into place. I think it's borked, sigh. I'll keep it for its radio functionality until I can afford to replace it, and meantime I suppose I can entertain the forlorn hope that it will magically come back to life before I spend money on a new one.
posted by orange swan at 2:07 PM on June 13, 2022
posted by orange swan at 2:07 PM on June 13, 2022
There are a few possible causes of it crapping out like that.
This is one of those legit scenarios where "smacking it around" could actually do some good that's worth a gamble against breaking the rest of it. Previous SIA experience can be helpful.
The model you linked to has an ambiguously phrased "aux" input. I'm guessing that there's a 1/8th (inch) jack somewhere on it?
That could be the "aux in" where you can hook up a portable CD player or your phone, with the right cables. I've seen CD walkman-types at thrift stores like Salvation Army, still. That'd be a 1/8th" to 1/8th" (male-male) cable that you can get for a few bucks, or cheaper if your store has a "wires and stuff" bin (or your Buy Nothing group or...).
posted by porpoise at 9:09 PM on June 13, 2022
This is one of those legit scenarios where "smacking it around" could actually do some good that's worth a gamble against breaking the rest of it. Previous SIA experience can be helpful.
The model you linked to has an ambiguously phrased "aux" input. I'm guessing that there's a 1/8th (inch) jack somewhere on it?
That could be the "aux in" where you can hook up a portable CD player or your phone, with the right cables. I've seen CD walkman-types at thrift stores like Salvation Army, still. That'd be a 1/8th" to 1/8th" (male-male) cable that you can get for a few bucks, or cheaper if your store has a "wires and stuff" bin (or your Buy Nothing group or...).
posted by porpoise at 9:09 PM on June 13, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
If it doesn't, you might jigger around to see if something popped loose from a gear or something. If it doesn't spin, does the CD "click" solidly into place?
If it scans, then maybe blow on the lens (with compressed air, ideally, but an old blow bulb from an old camera is good, or by mouth).
Unfortunately, a lot of stuff is engineered and manufactured without care to longevity/ user-serviceability - either as a design criteria on purpose or a design criteria that is just ignored.
posted by porpoise at 11:17 AM on June 5, 2022