Hi All,

After a few days of ordering and waiting for a package to arrive, I have started my audio playback and Audacity recording sessions. Fun stuff ! I ordered a USB audio card from Sabrent for $8.69 ($7.99 plus CA tax) on Amazon.

The audio card is about the size of a half dollar, and has two ports: microphone and headphone. The microphone is on the left side and the headphone port is on the right. Connecting the USB connector to the laptop port, there is no installation noise or ding, at least an indicator. I think this is because there is no storage unit included, just two ports for accessories.

I started up the cassette player and plugged in the 6.35mm jack from the player to a 3.5mm plug, the microphone port, in the Sabrent audio card. I fired up the Audacity application, and checked the input monitor for noise. There was signal indication, and I recorded a few seconds on the laptop.

Playback was good ! Adjusting for volume to within 3 and 1 decibel, I was able to digitize a few sound clips and some music. Some of the audio recordings are listed here:
http://grapster.us/audio/mp3/10_Clas...ick-060220.mp3 http://grapster.us/audio/mp3/10_Clas...ind-060220.mp3 http://grapster.us/audio/mp3/10_Clas...age-060220.mp3

So, apart from the cassette player and electricity to power the devices, the purchased items needed to create this setup was less than $10.

Here are specifications for a decent audio conversion setup:
1) A quality cassette player ($148.28, cassette tape switcher for normal or CrO2, metal tape https://www.ebay.com/itm/AKAI-CS-M3-...cAAOSwTzBdrwCl),
2) obtaining a standard laptop (about $130.99 for a laptop, which included a Core i5, 3GB RAM, 250GB hard drive and Windows 8.1, https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Eliteboo...4AAOSwuDte0ThB), don't forget to install a Linux OS,
3) the Sabrent USB audio card, plus audio cables ($7.99 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sabrent-USB...4AAOSwiGBeyEVH, about $6 for a 6-foot cord, $1 for a 6.35mm audio plug adapter)

The total cost for a decent setup is about $294. Factoring in cassette tapes for recording and time, the conversion session will be about $300 for combined one day's worth of audio work.