New DVD/VCR Unit and A Couple Little Glitches

DeBary, FL.

57 deg. clear, SE wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.


Jim called the Deland Truck Center yesterday morning to see of my new air filter had come in. Dennis, the parts manager, said that it hadn't come in yet, and he would call as soon as it did.

After making the call, Jim decided that he would tackle the installation of the new DVD/VCR machine in the overhead cabinet, over the driver's seat. It didn't take him long to get the old VCR out, but it took a little doing to get the new combination unit into the available space. The new unit is about 3 inches deeper and 4 inches wider than the old one so some wires had to be re-routed and a small modification made to the cabinet.

Once the unit was in the cabinet and hooked up, Jim turned it on and began the preliminary settings. Well, the opening screen didn't come up like it was supposed to and a message on the TV screen said "No Signal". : (  Well, Jim went back though all the connection instructions to make sure all the connections were correct and then started the settings again. It was at this time that he realized that one of the settings wasn't correct. After changing that setting, everything started working and now it's working as advertised.  : )

This is really a pretty neat unit. It's made by Panasonic and as I said, it's a VCR/DVD combination unit. You can record off of the TV onto either DVDs or VHS tapes, you can copy a VHS tape onto a DVD or copy a DVD to a tape. It can play CDs and has both USB and SD slots on the front, for among other things, looking at individual photos or watching them as a slide show.

So, the unit is installed and all that still needs to be done is to either modify the existing face panel or make a new one. In the meantime, when the cabinet door is closed, you can't even see the unit. So, everything is working, the unit is secure in the cabinet and we're good to go. : )

After lunch, CLT took Jim and Linda over to the bank so that they could get some cash. When traveling, (like we're going to be doing soon), they've learned that sometimes cash is the only thing accepted, so they make sure they have some on hand.

Later in the afternoon, Dennis from the Deland Truck Center called back and said that he had called his supplier and found out that the air filter was back ordered, but was assured that it would be here for sure next Wednesday, the 18th. : (  Jim reminded him that we were leaving here on the 23rd of this month and he again assured Jim that it would be here.

For dinner, Jim cooked burgers on the grill and Linda put together salads inside. The evening was spent watching TV and reading.

Did you know that Friday the 13th will occur 3 times in 2012?