Hello All,

Does anyone have a tape deck for the MINI that they are willing to part with for a nominal fee? My brother in law is looking for one......(not sure why).

Thanks for the help.
Jeff

 

If you are looking for OEM, I don't think the tape-deck was even an option....in the US market anyway, BUT it was standard on many cars in Europe...
IF he wants it to use an adapter for an I-pod, he can use a jack kit that plugs into the radio..so he can plug it in.
Any appropriate aftermarket radio with the right wiring adapter should work fine.....

 

The funny thing is he is very tech savvy. So if it's for MP3/iSomething I would suggest the AUX option that I have and love also. (not sure why it's in the glovebox or why I have not yet relocated it)

I had wondered about the cassette being an option ever, but then again my parents even still love their tapes.

Thanks for the reply....know anyone in Europe?

 

This page from Real OEM.com indicates that the boost radio was available in the U.S. with a cassette, CD and Mini-Disc (!).

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...14&hg=65&fg=05

I have heard about one MINI in Ohio I think that had a cassette deck in it. If you got hold of a European boost cassette radio and it had a different frequency plan for the radio it shouldn't be hard to switch out the radio portion of your current radio to give you a unit that works properly here in the U.S. AM signals in Europe don't have the separation that we do here in the states- if the first station is at 540 for example they go 9MHz between stations instead of 10 so the next station there would be on 549, then 558, then 567 and you can see how that would get off of the frequency setups on our radios. Same for the FM band- they use even frequencies of 88.0, 88.2, 88.4, etc. Some European radios tune in both even and odd steps, some don't. Aftermarket radios often have a switch on the side or bottom or a way to switch between band plans so they can be sold worldwide but OEM radios usually don't. I'll pop my old radio open today and see if there is a switch inside.

Val

 

Is he also looking for a mullet and acid-washed jeans?

 

Come to think of it he did ask if I knew where to find a jean jacket and a Bon Jovi album.

 

I might be able to find an 8-track player if your interested!

 

Would a conversion tool be a better solution

here's one, they can be found for less $$
http://www.hammacher.com/product/792...pe%20converter

I've been working thru my record collection doing the same thing - not everything has been released on CD and I just can't pay for downloads on something I can convert for free - if it is even available.....

 

Good point...and depending on the year..he could put HOURS of music on one MP3 CD....that way he could avoid an MP3 player...only thing is there is not really a menu system for MP3 CD's on the mini...you have to arrow through stuff manually. His best option might be to convert it!! Unless he uses it for Books on tape or something...possible. If so, I would reccomend switching to one of the online services for it...so you don't need 20 tapes for a book, or 20 CD's either!! Most any MP3 player supports the main company that sells audio books!
What year is his car?
And most of the time...US/Euro radio's are the same...you just need to get into the radio set-up, and change the tuning options. Anybody that was shown how to get/insert their radio's anti theft code SHOULD be able to get to this menu to change stuff around (I was shown by the dealer how to do it when I bought my car in late 2004, but I don't remember..never had to do it!).

 

There was the cassette option available up to the 04 model year.

 

http://www.allminiparts.com/products...126923504.html

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/MINI-R50-R52-R53...item45f15ea941

The only issue you may have is in Europe and in Asia they use different frequencies for the tuner, but ZippyNH has already addressed this issue.

If he buys it from the guy and does the install, please post pics. By the way, 19.50 GBP is roughly $31 USD.

 

I'd go with a reel-to-reel. Better sound.

Seriously, though, a Walkman-type cassette player through the aux jack will give you good sound that will only be limited by the cassette deck you get. And installation is a snap (assuming you already have the aux jack in the glove compartment).

 

Whats a cassette?

 

Maybe he wants to continue the retro feel of the car....I think an 8 track would really be the way to go!!

 

If you are still dealing with cassettes, consider buying this to convert the music to MP3 format: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...DECK2C&cpc=SCH.

 

Wow! 8 track, just had a flashback to childhood taking a long road trip with my parents in my fathers custom van. Listening to music on the 8 track tape player.