In other words a boombox!
My wife came across this Aiwa boombox in a thrift store the other day and I took a good hard look at it. It's officially the Aiwa CA-DW235 CD Carry Component System, but I'll just call it a highly evolved boombox. According to a sticker on the back, it was manufactured in May 1999.
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| The Aiwa CA-DW235 CD Carry Component System |
The CA-DW235 was listed as having 18 watt power consumption which certainly means it had more than enough power for a dorm room or apartment. It could also be powered by 8 D-Cell batteries.
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| The CA-DW235 Back Panel |
Features like a CD player, a dual tape deck for high speed dubbing, an AM/FM radio, and a microphone input would make the Aiwa CA-DW235 CD Carry Component System fairly complete by the standards of the day. I like the push button equalization settings. I never know how to set up an equalizer with sliders.
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| The Aiwa CA-DW 235 Control Panel |
Why not buy it? It was selling for about $20. But, there were some issues that would be showstoppers for me. First, there was no power cord. You'd have to find a replacement. A manual I found online suggests that using the wrong replacement could be a fire hazard. I'm not too keen on fire hazards. The absence of power also prevented me from testing out the system.
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| Strike 1: The Power Cord Is Missing |
The CA-DW235 can also run on battery power. It takes 8 D cells. The battery compartment in this one is definitely showing corrosion from old batteries. While clean up is possible, it's another project.
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| Strike 2: The Battery Compartment is corroded |
Finally, the volume switch was drooping a bit towards the down position. This made me wonder if the boom box would automatically mute itself during operation. It's definitely something to test out.
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| Strike 3: The Volume Button is drooping |
Ultimately, I passed on this old boombox. But, you can find operating and service manuals for the Aiwa CA-DW235 CD Carry Component System here at Manualslib.com. If I was handier and new a few things about electronics, it might have been an interesting projects.
If you like the idea of a vintage Aiwa boombox, but find the prospect of restoring aging electronic devices a bit daunting. Aiwa makes a very cool retro boombox with 40-watt speakers, bluetooth, AM/FM radio, and cassette capabilities. I was surprised to run across it here on Amazon.
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| Aiwa Retro Boombox (Amazon Photo) |
You can check the Aiwa Retro Boombox out here on Amazon!
