# Carrying loads of CD's



## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

I was wondering what do other people do for music in their M/H.

I used to curse the amount of CD's lying all over the front of the M/H so to get around this I bought a 40gb ipod that I have put all my cd's onto. I then purchased a belkin FM transmitter on the internet that connects to the ipod through the headphone interface and pick an FM signal or frequency that is idle. Then I tune the stereo of the van to that and hey presto the capability of taking all my CD collection with me in the van. I know Pioneer and Alpine now have an add on module to attach your ipod direct to the car stereo headunit but this transmitter only cost €25 and it means I can take the ipod with me on the bike when I'm cycling.

What does everyone else do?

Dec.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We have an MP3 player in the cab radio with loudspeakers to the rear. All my very extensive collection of spoken word tapes and CDs ( most from www.audiobooksforfree. com) are on a few CDs and they keep us happy when driving or in the evening. We could not get many on an i-pod so have not gone down that route.

We had the installer of the radio overcome the 2o minute cut off period and the radio has a remote so we don't have to keep getting up to turn it back on in the evening.

G


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## badger (May 9, 2005)

What...you mean there is something other than 8 track?...............

Seriously, I bought a cheapo (well relatively) Radio/CD which is great, even has a remote control so I can control it from bed.
It has MP3 but to be honest I dont use it to that extent. There are about 20 favorite CD's in a travel pouch in the M/H and if the mood takes me I will listen to one or two but thats as far as it goes really.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

To add to this. We enjoy listening to bits of BBC Radio 4 -plays, talks etc that we have missed. I downloaded a piece of shareware software called Total Recorder

http://www.5star-shareware.com/Windows/Music/WAVPlayersandUtilities/total-recorder.html

which means that I can go to the BBC website, find the programme on Listen Again and then record it as an MP3 to burn onto a CD and take with us. Sound quality is almost as good as on the original.

G.


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

I download my music from the web onto a 17 in Mac Powerbook,(collection exceeds 3000 singles and hundreds of albums.) Burn them onto cd , (about 120 tracks per cd). play on a radio/mp3 player or use laptop with external Altec Lansing speakers when parked..


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

Am I the only one that would really like an idiots guide to all this new fangled way of playing music, can usually understand most things but this has me beaten  must be a sign of old age I guess. Perhaps one of you could do a tutorial......simply


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## 88919 (May 10, 2005)

no helenb you are not on your own i was struggling after we went past cd


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## 91929 (May 1, 2005)

No Helen its not old age or lack of technical knowledge
I have worked in computing for several years before joining the ranks of the permenant holiday makers
A friend started talking to me from 400 miles away via the laptop
He is a Senior Lecturer in Computing & had just found out we could communicate for free on the internet using the messenger a microphone 7 (in my case) headphones

I know what Ipods & such are but cannot be bothered to switch on this that & the other to get the music

I have a minidisc system & can record from local radio (try radio Tirol about 17.00 hrs you get a good program with Tirolean music)
If you carry a lap top just put the discs in there (forget which program) a play back via the lap top with an input into the normal player or via headphones


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## androidGB (May 26, 2005)

Grizzly said:


> We have an MP3 player in the cab radio with loudspeakers to the rear. All my very extensive collection of spoken word tapes and CDs ( most from www.audiobooksforfree. com) are on a few CDs and they keep us happy when driving or in the evening. We could not get many on an i-pod so have not gone down that route.
> 
> G


Don't know why you say you can't get many on an IPod on a 40GB one you should be able to get between 60-80 unabridged books recorded at CD quality

I'm also into audio books and I use an Archos Jukebox Recorder and simply erase the book when I've finished and pop another one on. I keep them all on DVD for long term storage.

Andrew


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## 95843 (Jul 25, 2005)

HI Dec

Yea we have a 60gb Ipod with radio transmitter, I cant imagine we will fill that anytime soon.

Ellie


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## 95367 (Jun 6, 2005)

You should get tons of audiobooks on an Ipod, you only need encode them at about 80kbps, that would give you FM radio quality. Any higher than that is a waste, really.

I've got one of those transmitters. The only problem is that the radio reception round here is so good it can keep interfering on all the frequencies I've got.


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

And I was wondering where to instal the gramophone in the RV, and got to thinking that the needle would bounce when I hit a bump. Don't want to scratch my 78's :lol: :lol: 
How do I download LP's onto an ipod, it doesn't look big enough to fit the record into it????
Keith


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

Kands, you need to rest a couple of old pennies on the needle arm! :lol: 

haven't plunged into the Ipod world yet, I don't like being locked into one manufacturer and one type of file.

I still buy my music on CD as I don't like the licensing terms of downloaded music. I then convert it to MP3 and burn it to a copy CD for use in the car, then it doesn't matter if it gets broken or scratched.

I also use my standard Palm, a Tungsten T3, with a few SD cards as my personal music player, which also doubles for collecting mail, reading the BBC news, Sat nav, chess etc... I am considering a wireless transmitter for it at the moment. As for a computer well, I use a computer everyday in work and have no desire to cart one with me on my hols.

Technology is great but sometimes it gets over hyped or it just isn't appropriate to everyone.

As for copying records/tapes to MP3, it can be done with a pc and a fairly basic soundcard but it can also be time consuming. If the record's available on CD, then sell your vinyl on e-bay and buy the CD from the same place. If you have to do it then if you can put a good quality amp between your player and the soundcard you can get excellent results with much less effort.


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

How about a tutorial for the forum tutorial list then one of you. I for one would be very grateful 8)


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Being a technology freak I made the mistake of buying a very early i-pod and it was a mistake. Poor battery performance, poor storage capacity and poor mechanical operating ( ie buttons to press). I've not gone that way again and am happy with the MP3s. 

Helen; there is an interesting introduction to the different ways of storing sound on the audiobooksforfree.com website. What exactly do you want to do ? It is possible and quite easy -though time-consuming in that it has to be done in "real time, " to record all your cassette tapes and vinyl records digitally onto your computer and then onto CDs for use in the van. This saves the needle jumping on the gramophone and the tape unravelling in the cassette.

I've always been lead to understand that the use of an FM transmitter is illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act ( think it is that one- will check) ?

G.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/enforcement/rtandthelaw?a=87101

FM Modulators (also known as car baby devices) - the use of the FM broadcast band to transmit a radio signal from a device used in a vehicle to the car radio is illegal. These devices also include CD players and attachments for mobile telephones. Such use - despite the relative short range involved - is subject to licensing under Section 1 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. As the FM broadcast band is allocated for the exclusive use of licensed broadcasters no other systems are permitted to operate within the band. Use of these systems therefore constitutes an offence.

G


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

What I would like Grizzly is an idiots guide to MP3 and how you actually get your CD's on to the player, which sort of player do you need, and then hear them through a speaker system, can I use the vans system or my laptop if so how :?


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

You have to make some decisions first Helen.

Do you want to buy a new "radio" unit for your van that plays MP3 CDs ? This we did via Halfords and got a bargain -a JVC at under £100

You can play MP3 CDs on your laptop but need some system for securing it in the van if you are going to use it while on the move. I find the sound is a bit "tinny" so I have plug in loudspeakers. That would be awkward to carry too.

You can buy a cheap personal MP3 player for less than £20 and plug in speakers. These can be secured around the dashboard and powered from the cigar lighter or 12v plug. . We drove all round the US for 3 months with this in a hire car and it worked very well. Not elegant though !

There is a gizmo to plug into your personal MP3/CD player from a car cassette player. They come as cheap as £3.99 from Tesco. Again you have to have some means of securing the CD player in the van but it has the advantage of playing through your car speakers.

If you decide on going the MP3 route I can tell you how to record all your CDs, tapes etc etc onto MP3 CDs to reduce the number of discs you carry.

G


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

To convert your normal CD onto MP3 format, you need a CD rewriter in your PC. The most important part is MP3 software. As I use the Ipod, I have downloaded the free software from Apple called ITunes. When you place your standard CD into the PC it will compress the signal into MP3 format and store it on the PC for you. Then using a high quality CD rewriter software, something like Roxio, copy the MP3 files to a blank CD. Depending on the CD that you are coping, you should get about 12 CD’s to a MP3 disc. The final piece of the jigsaw is that you need a MP3 player to convert the compressed files back into music.

I’ll do out a more detailed document and place it in the guide.

Dec.

PS..Grizzly,

"If you decide on going the MP3 route I can tell you how to record all your CDs, tapes etc etc onto MP3 CDs to reduce the number of discs you carry. "

Maybe you could help me with this one, I have a lot of vinyl that I'm not prepared to part with and wish to convert to MP3, is there an easy way to do this?

Thanks,

Dec.


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Helen

Putting your music on a laptop is a good idea because it allows you to organise your music as you want and then create a music selection which you'd like to play. At that point you can decide whether you want to create it as an MP3 CD or as an ordinary CD. The advantage of the former is that one CD will hold about 7/8 normal albums. The disadvantage is you need, as George says, a car CD player capable of recognising MP3 CD's. The other disadvantage is that it is, in my opinion, more difficult to find single tracks should you want to. As George also says, it is good for Audio books as it saves you having to change CD's all the time. The only other thing you will need if you don't have one is a CD burner for your laptop. These days such devices are not too expensive.

Doing it this way avoids the need of buying MP3 players with wireless transmitters or setting up your laptop when you're driving as you can still use traditional CD's to accomplish the same thing. You can still use your laptop to play music from as well and you can go on and plug it into various setup's if that's what you want but personally I would just use it as for storage/organisation and to then go on and actually create the CD's you want to use, put them in the car and play them. Once you've decided if this suits you then at that point you need to know what software to use on the laptop to do that.

Tim


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

So says she cautiously
I download MP3 software from the web

then using the ordinary existing cd writer on the laptop or my PC make a MP3 cd which consists of several of my ordinary cd's

and play that back either using a new radio/cd/MP3 player which I have replaced the existing van radio/cd player with or use my laptop or a MP3 personal player with external speakers?

Or is that wrong


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

Helen,

Thats it in a nutshell. :wink: 

Dec.


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

no correct but with more detail....

*option 1*

download MP3 software (software to be decided)
convert CD's to MP3

create audio CD in 'normal' audio format using above software

play on normal CD player in car.

Cost = £0 - £15 (assuming you have a CD burner)
_Cost of CD's, a few pence each_

*Option 2*

download MP3 software 
convert CD's to MP3

Create MP3 CD using CD burner software that came with the burner (and probably not the MP3 software you downloaded)

play on new car player capable of recognising MP3 format

Cost = @ £100 for new car player

*Option 3*

download MP3 software (software to be decided)
convert CD's to MP3

put MP3's on laptop/new portable MP3 player

'rig up' above device in van

play on exisitng CD player through MP3 player via FM transmitter or on laptop via transmitter or speakers

Cost = @ £30 - 250 for MP3 player plus transmitter
_extra costs for laptop speakers_

and not forgetting tht you can just copy a CD using your PC/laptop without getting involved in any of the above.

Oh and one more thing! New CD's are starting to come out copy protected i.e. you cannot copy or convert them to MP3. At the moment this is not widespread but in the future who knows...

hope this helps...


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

It's very satisfying Helen -or is that my need to have everything pigeon-holed !
With most software you do have the option to type the name of the recording /artist/ audiobook /whatever and the track number for each track and that is an option I would strongly recommend you use. It then gives you the ability to find any track very fast even when you have several hundred tracks per CD. It does help to keep a bit of paper ( or CD cover) with the disk giving the index though !

I agree with Tim that it is a good thing to have your collection on your laptop or PC and you can then burn compilations as you wish for playing as a CD or MP3. It is also a good thing- as was said earlier (Dec ?) to keep the whole lot on a DVD. I am a belt and braces woman and like to have multiple copies of everything. Comes of being reared in pre-computer days and watching them evolve from the beginning.

Dec:

You need to buy or make up a lead -good quality as you don't want "hum" on your recordings. The PC end will have a 3.5mm jack plug and the record player end a DIN or phono plug depending on what you have. It plugs into the "phono out "socket of your record player.

You sound as if you have already got capture software that will convert analogue signals from your record to your digital PC ? I use Cool Edit which is no longer available. It does give you the option to tinker around and improve things but is not vital. 

Once converted to digital you are able to do what you want with it.

G.


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Dec

Following up on Grizzly's post: I was halfway through this when he posted so I might as well finish it off now and just expand a bit as I was going to say exactly the same thing.....honest!

I've done the vinyl bit too. Notwithstanding my earlier advice to sell it and buy it again on CD, I can quite understand you either can't or don't want to do that, then...

There are lots of permutations to do this but unless you're an audiophile with lots of money then the technique I used is as follows:

you need:

-A PC (obviously)
-A sound card with stereo input and output (a cheap one will do fine)
-A lead to take your record deck output into a small 3.5 stereo jack plug which will go in your soundcard (Maplins, probably a two phono to stereo jack)
-Music editing software
- and preferrably but not essential an amplifier between your deck and the soundcard 

the software (I used to use Cool Edit too, excellent product but now taken over by Adobe and is not cheap) must have the ability to capture the soundwave, normalize it (essential if you are not using an amplifier), alter the soundcurve (add bass etc..) and perferrably filter and eliminate clicks and hiss, Oh! and divide up the wave into individual tracks. All of that takes time, time to do and time to process which is why I recommend an amplifier (and buying the CD instead). The amplifier will do 90% of the processing for you, no need to normalize or process, or remove hiss and probably no need to remove clicks (they're an authentic vinyl experience anyway). You'll have to look around for the software but don't scrimp too much as what you buy will be critical to your results.

Tim


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

Absolutely brilliant knew I could rely on you :lol: Seriously it is now crystal clear and I really do thank you :wink: 

One probably final question, is there a 'best' download for MP3 and windows XP or is it you pays your money and make a choice job ?


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

so MP3 players/ripper/converters

These are often free and for some you can pay a small amount for add on bits. Becasue of that you should choose one you find comfortable to use: So my personal recommendations and your starter for ten.....

www.winamp.com (allows you to create normal CD's if you buy the professional license - this is my personal preference)
www.quinnware.com
http://uk.real.com/home/
and Windows own Mediaplayer which you should have on your PC already

There are lots more, search under MP3 players: Advice is download them and use them to form an opinion of what you want before purchasing any of the add-on's if there are any.


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

Grizzly and Tim,

Thanks for the info. That will definately keep me busy this weekend. I'll try it and let you know how I get on.

Helen,

Try the free ITunes software. If you are going to put your music on MP3 CD then I find this works perfectly. As far as I can remember Roxio also has free rewriting software.

Itunes is available on www.apple.com
Roxio is available on www.roxio.com

Dec.


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

Hi Helen

The best player/burner by far is iTunes. I have been 'sharing' and burning mp3 for 7 years.. it's sooooo good that they even made a Windows version .. :wink:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

To share files the best IMHO is Limewire

http://www.limewire.com/english/content/home.shtml get the free version not the pro.

Happy downloading .. oops I mean sharing :wink:


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## 95367 (Jun 6, 2005)

The best program for copying audio from CD and turning it to MP3 ("ripping" as it's known) is a free program called EAC although it does require some knowledge of MP3 codecs in order to do the conversion bit (you have to install your own, they don't come with it), so is perhaps not the best thing for beginners.
It is useful for slightly scratched CD's as if it encounters an error it will re-read that portion up to 80 times to try and get it right, where other programs read through it and you end up with errors in your MP3 file. Anyway, it's here: www.exactaudiocopy.de

A far more user friendly program for a small fee is dB powerAMP. This will convert from CD to almost any sound file you want. It's really easy to use and gives good results. It costs $14 which is about £7. You're able to download a free version to try but you need to register and pay the fee to use it fully.
You'll find it here, it's the Music Converter you want. 
DB poweramp.com

Hope these are helpful.


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## 95367 (Jun 6, 2005)

Keep away from Real player at all costs!

It's evil spyware/crippleware and takes over your PC.

To play real media files without the hassle use Real Alternative

Which is here: Real Alternative[


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I like RealPlayer too Helen ( see Tim's post above ) It is free to download though I think it costs a small sum ( can't remember) to get the ad-on that converts to MP3 format. It is easy to use.

Tim...I'm a *she*.

G.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

In what way Dubzi ? ( RealPlayer taking over) I've had it installed for some time now ( 2 or 3 years ) and have had no problems at all. You've got me worried !

G


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

[quote="
Tim...I'm a *she*.

G.[/quote]

     didn't even think!!


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

Dubzi is right about Real Player.

We have had to ban it off the network Pc's because it used to poll constantly and hang the network on us, so now it's a banned site.....

A complete pain.


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

Real Player is not the only software that does that but I agree it is quite invasive, however a good firewall keeps it under control and most people have or need Realplayer because of the large number of sites which use Realplayer format. I wouldn't rule it out on a home PC just for this but I think it's good to be aware of it's constant need to 'communicate with mum'

Tim


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Thanks for the warning. We do operate behind a firewall. Presumably this would stop it ? Or would it ? How would I notice it misbehaving ?

G.


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

Depends on your firewall: Most home firewalls operate by scanning your PC on installation for previously installed software. At this point most assume that if it's there it's ok and will let that software communicate with the outside world. Depending on how you've configured it, it may ask you if you want to allow the program to communicate but this might not be on by default and if it is most people get very fed up with the number of times they're asked and switch this warning off.

So to find out who or what is communicating you wil need to check any logs the firewall keeps or choose the software from the firewall's list and disallow it from communicating.

Some firewall software is very user unfriendly and seems to revel in confusing people but when you understand what's behind it, then you realise firewalls are operating at a fairly low level in the network communication chain, hence their complexity.

Tim


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Tim, thank you very much for this. We will investigate this as soon as we can. 
I'd no idea....

G.


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## 95367 (Jun 6, 2005)

Download & install Real Alternative people.

It will handle all your real media needs without dialling home constantly, making itself the default player for everything and installing all sorts of nonsense.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

I've got a JVC radio/mp3/cd player in the van (about £130), fitted 2 extra speakers in the rear and use musicmatch to store and convert to mp3 , great stuff for several years until a glitch just recently, my entire collection of albums on the pc somehow somehow got corrupted and some have lost all their odd numbered tracks and others have lost their even numbered ones. 
Sometimes i hate computers! :evil: 

Anyone else use musicmatch and had this problem?

pete.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

This a truly bad luck peejay. Sometimes you think the computer has a brain - it couldn't manage a fault like this without careful thought really !

Sorry though - can't help with musicmatch.

G.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Not that problem with musicmatch but they did annoy me recently because I used it as much for internet "radio", customising my own "programmes", yet now they cannot provide this service to the UK. They still tried to take my money for an annual subscription, however, and despite me playing email ping-pong with them trying desperately to get them to acknowledge anything remotely like "We goofed; sorry" it turned out they had greater patience and obstinacy than me and were determined to avoid doing that.

I take it you NOW have a good backup regime, pete ......

Dave
PS I can't fathom that error, now I think about it. I could WELL imagine the musicmatch database got corrupted, but if it managed to delete alternate MP3 files from where they are stored on your hard disc, that DOES surprise me. Are you certain the tracks have gone, as opposed merely to the musicmatch database playing up?


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Pretty sure they're gone (well i cant find the buggers), not a great problem I suppose as i have all my music on original and shared/copied cd's and of course on large mp3 collections, so I could put them all back on again but can't see the point if its gonna keep 'loosing' them. The only worthwile reason for me would be if i want to remix different tracks onto an mp3 album but i can't see me needing to do that.

pete.


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## 91289 (May 1, 2005)

ahhh!, databases. The one thing you can be sure about is that they will eventually go wrong, guaranteed, money on it, etc... Backup, duplicate, triplicate, hide some in a drawer - but never rely on a database, especially someone else's. Here endeth the lesson......


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## fjmike (May 10, 2005)

If you want to convert (rip) your CDs the best programme is Free Rip. This will not only convert the music to mp3 but will also generate track lists etc.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Well I must say that so far we've not found the need to carry lots of CDs.
Once the valves have warmed up and the humming has stopped we can usually get good Home Service and Light Programme reception - if we park facing the right direction we can even get Radio Luxembourg (but it does tend to fade a little). 
Life was so simple then!


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Yes..but have you noticed that the Home Service has always got blessed cricket on it ?

G


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## thehutchies (Jun 25, 2005)

Whatever happened to gathering around a few burning sticks for a little communal whistling?


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