as per positive recommendations i attempted to buy the BEHRINGER UCA202
i conducted a through search but there is no availability with all retailers stating its on back order.
i did see a UCA222 on ebay but the price was well over the $30 avg retail (i assume its available as those are also scarce)
is there any suitable alternative to this?
not junk or expensive professional grade stuff
thanks
There aren’t a lot of choices at that price point. At least not from known-reliable manufacturers.
Watch out for “USB soundcards” because they usually have only mic-in and headphone out and you can’t always believe the advertising claims.
The ART USB Phono Plus is about twice the price. It has switchable line/phono inputs and a recording level control.
For around $100 USD there are quite a few [u]USB audio interfaces[/u] with switchable mic/line inputs. You generally need a 1/4-inch TS connector (or XLR connector for a microphone), so you’d need a different adapter/cable. (BTW - These things work with stage/studio mics, not with computer mics.)
…I wonder if it’s being phased-out to be replaced by something else, or maybe everybody confined at home because of Coronavirus is buying them. 
UCA222
That’s the one with the fire-engine red paint job. No other difference I can tell.
This series is in the sweet spot between low cost and good performance.
UCA-202 Stereo in and out.
UCA-222 Fire Engine Red.
UFO-202 Phono Preamp.
There are USB sound mixers which will do this, but they’re not $30 usd.
Oh. I see what the problem is.
What’s the actual job?
Koz
job…
i am trying to convert old cassette audio tapes to digital before they deteriorate, and while i have a working cassette deck… 
i tried with my newer dell laptop but as you guys mentioned (and i experienced) the combo mic/headphone input is not working properly when i try to connect the cassette deck.
(i tried the adapter, 4 ring into combo port on laptop with 2 female ends for mic and headphone, rca plugs out from deck reduced to 3.5mm 3ring)
when i use the same configuration on my older windows7 desktop with the rear “line in” it works.
however - i figured i would invest in a reasonable external device such as the UCA202 so i could eventually use it with the laptop
and even a simple external mic with the laptop.
With the right adapters you should be able to make a (mono) connection to the microphone input but it’s electrically wrong. A line level signal is 100-1000 times stronger than a microphone signal. Plus, the microphone preamp built-into soundcards/laptops is often low-quality and noisy.
saw a vendor with the new uca222 on ebay but the price would be about $78 with shipping
way too much
What was wrong with the Win7 desktop? A three-banger soundcard has the right connections and Audacity will run on Win7.
You need one of these.
You need to make sure Windows doesn’t try to “help you out” with sound tools and automatic enhancements.
https://technicallyeasy.net/how-to-disable-audio-enhancements-windows-7/
If the machine was used for Skype in the past, restart it and make sure Skype doesn’t start automatically
Koz
yes
have that cable and its connected to the line in of my desktop (see my other post)
was hoping to get the uca202/222 to use in my newer dell desktop which has the less than desirable “combo” port.
every place i check has them on back order
i did buy he star-tech USB adapter you referenced for the laptop, it was cheap enough so i figured id try it out.
star-tech USB adapter you referenced for the laptop
That gives you a Mono Mic-In and Stereo Headphone Out. It duplicates what at the time was the standard Windows laptop configuration, so I can use my mono telephone pickup microphone on my Mac. My Mac, which, again at the time, had Stereo Line In and Stereo Line Out which would have been perfect for your job.
Even if you capture with two blue waves, look at the bouncing sound meter and make sure they’re bouncing different. That’s the hallmark of real stereo, two independent sound tracks. If they bounce the same, even if they’re slightly different starting point, then you captured mono in two tracks.
Because of the way the sound cables are designed, you usually get two copies of Left and no Right sound.
Koz
The UCA-202 and cousins are still the cheapest you can get away with for good quality stereo in and out.
Koz