About 15 months ago, I purchased a new radio for my 51 1/2 ton. The dash had been cut up some and wanted to make it look better. I bought a new one from CP (I think called the USA-1 for about $200.) It had a lot of bells and whistles that I really didn't need, especially in an old truck. But, the radio fit the dash and mounted using the 'knobs'. The radio worked great until last week (1 year warantee was expired). The radio has a 'filter' that is a small 'board' inside a plastic box on the end of the power cables. This filter is inline with the truck power and the radio (I assume to filter out noise from the power ckt, etc.). The radio was dead - I opened the 'little filter box' and the 10a fuse was blown. I changed it...blew immediately when I turned on the ignition switch. With a little more trouble shooting (and more fuses), I found that the 'filter board' was the problem (the fuse still blew with nothing but the wires and filter connected to power). Guess I elected to fix this - so I cut the fliter away from the harness (there are 3 wires in and 3 wires out of the filter board...ground, ignition and battery). I added 2 inline fuses between the ignition and battery wires. The radio came back alive and sounded great. Guess if I had it to do over, I would not buy one of these 'state of the art' radios for my old truck. I should have looked for a am/fm, no stereo and that just fit the dash (or put one in the glove box). I have nothing bad to say about the radio - its a good radio. Just think a simple one would have been better for my truck.
Radios I highly agree ~ when I needed a radio , I went to the local Al & Ed's Stereo Store and looked in the piles of sale stuff , they had factory refurbished Blaupunkt stereos in plain white boxes for $125.00 , I installed it many years ago and the cassette only recently died , radio still plays fine and gets and holds , distant stations when I'm in the middle of nowhere...
The radio people need to wise up. I see one of the cell phone makers is offering a phone with big buttons that sends or receives calls---period. When my present one dies that is the one getting my money. If a radio comes out that the left knob turns it on and sets the volume and the right knob twists to select the station and clicks in or out for am/fm then I'll give them an extra hundred for the thing. I never use the one in my truck because I don't want to keep my eyes off the road or pull over to try and set it. I figured out the clock though. I noticed whenever the battery cable was removed and replaced the clock showed 12:00 so I just wait for noon or midnight and pull the cable and reconnect. I haven't looked in the owners manual but that probably is not in it.
THANKS! I needed a good laugh! I can just picture you out there at midnight, battery lead held high over head just waiting for the stroke of midnight! Too cool!
Hahahaha. Its 11:34 PM and the clock on my radio is off by 2 hours. I might have to go in the garage and do that.
Y'all are making this too hard!!!! Just ask one of your grandkids-- they will have it set in 15 seconds -- and give you a look that says-- What's the matter with you?" Glenn
VCRs too? hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm, maybe I will try this with my VCR - it's been blinking 12:00 since new in 1998....
