I think I'd better clarify some issues.

I've clearly made an error in judgement by making the Mark 2 preview images public at this stage. It's not terribly easy to conceptualise the finished product from the rendering and SLA model - you have to use some imagination. You can't see the textures and materials that we are going to use from the graphics, and some people even seem to think that we're going to use the colour scheme shown on the low-res rendering - which is out of the question!

The front part of the fascia is going to be black, or almost black. The transparant part will be made from material in whatever colour you choose, similar to the current model. The handle will be made from aluminium with a sand-cast finish and anodised black.

The size of the display has not changed.

The buttons will have the same clicky feel to them as with the Mark 1 (because they use the same mechanisms). The rotary control will feel gradiated when turned, and will also depress with a positive click.

The fixings will be black anodised hex bolts, matched in with the rest of the design.

In an attempt to clarify this further, so everyone can see for themselves what the product will really look like, I have now commissioned a photographic quality rendering in the suggested colour and texture scheme. This should be ready by the middle of next week.

Rob

In an attempt to clarify this further, so everyone can see for themselves what the product will really look like, I have now commissioned a photographic quality rendering in the suggested colour and texture scheme. This should be ready by the middle of next week.

Thanks Rob, I think that will help a great deal. I obviously didn't read the preview page very well otherwise I would have spotted it said the final design was going to be black. It's sounding much less "Fisher Price" already...



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Unit serial number 47 (was 330 in the queue)...

Umm.. err.. *looks shifty* I guess I kind of only just changed the page to mention the colour scheme. Well, I forgot that you guys weren't in on our design meetings!

Rob

I see, I'm not as daft as I thought I was...

(rustling sound as Andy removes brown paper bag from his head)

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Unit serial number 47 (was 330 in the queue)...

Just a quick thought...
What colour are the buttons likely to be...
Can we get them to match the display colour (Blue buttons on a black face with blue screen would be very nice.. =)

Jazz
(List 112, S/N 00030, 4 gig blue)

Someone in another thread mentioned that the Mustang instrumentation is white ... any suggestions as to how the empeg can match that?!

I wouldn't worry too much about matching the color, even if you have a color option that's the same. I've got a Green-faced Empeg, and I've now had it in two different green-instrument cars. Neither of the shades of green in the cars matches the shade of green on the Empeg face. The empeg is so bright and sharp that there's no way they could get it to match the muted shades of the car dash lights.

In the end, if you have a white-instrument car, I'd suggest either the blue or the amber face. The clear panel on the blue face looks kind of neat when the Empeg is turned off- it's almost a violet or purple shade, very neat. The amber face is a nice neutral color that should go well with anything.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

I really like the new look. You guys have obviously spent a lot of time and effort on this. Well done!

Stan

PS. I'm glad you kept the lawyers away from the face design! (big grin)

Is that an invite?

Paul Haigh, 6GB, Blue
Reg: 4120 - Serial 00254

Stick with your guns rob, I really appreciate your company being so open with everyone. You can't expect positive opinions every time, it's the nature of business.

I've clearly made an error in judgement by making the Mark 2 preview images public
No you haven't. This board (and owning an Emma) would only be half as much fun if you guys would lock yourselves up and would only talk to the outside world via a PR department. I can imagine that you get a bit disappointed when you have a couple of fires going on at the same time, but they'll fade with time.

I have now commissioned a photographic quality rendering in the suggested colour and texture scheme ( . . ) be ready by the middle of next week.
Great, though I don't need them other than to confirm expectations. Had a look at the design again. I'm starting the really like it.

Question:
On the design page you say that one of the pictures was taken from an SLA model that will be used for EMC testing
What an SLA model? What's EMC testing

Henno
# 00120 (6GB+18)

If I had to guess, it's a picture of a one off model that will be fitted for testing electromagnetic field compliance.

Calvin

The SLA model is more than "just a one-off model". It's from some kind of a machine where you feed it a CAD file and it literally creates this 3D object for you. Perhaps someone else on this BBS can describe the machine in detail?

I've heard of two kinds of machines that will do this, one is purely mechanical and will sculpt the thing for you, and the other is really weird and cool, and it uses beams of some kind (Lasers? Microwaves? Dunno) to harden 3D points in the interior of a vat of liquid resin. You then drain away the resin and what's left is a 3D model.

So what kind of method was used to create the Empeg model?

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

A long time ago I had asked if backlit buttons were reasonable for the MkII -- as they would aid in safely/efficiently using the unit at night. I recall that the response indicated they were possible but dependent on design considerations.

I figure now is a good time to inquire as to where this stands?

-- Bleys

"If you would judge, understand." -- Seneca

Gee, Rob, I dunno.... this new design is different from what I'm used to, so it can't possibly be any good, right?

;-)

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Hey Rob,

I doubt any of us feel that you made a mistake by making the images available. I for one appreciate an inside peak at what is coming up (even if I don't care for what I have seen of the design). The only difference between the disaproval some of us have for the MK2 face and the disaproval a certain percentage of customers would have for any product is that you guys at Empeg actually pay attention to what your customers are saying. We still appreciate being clued in to what is going on, and (in some cases) having some influence in these decisions.

-Mike

I agree, I will wait and see what the thing will actually look like. It just looked to me like you guys were going for design over functionality, because there was so much faceplate on there and little consideration for the actual screen (which i wish were bigger, but oh-well). I'll anxiously await the new pics.

I wouldn't worry too much about matching the color

Well I would. Say, for example, I have a red car. It has dark grey interior so that doesn't matter, and the display is amber. I don't think I want blue buttons with the amber display, especiall if they're back-lit (which I think would be very cool). I can do with a difference in shade, but some colors just don't match.

> little consideration for the actual screen (which i wish were bigger

As Hugo said elsewhere, the screen is exactly the same size as the Mark 1. It can't get any bigger - the buttons, screen, rotary control, consumer IR, IRdA, standby LED and power supply components are as tightly packed on that board as they can be.

With the Mark 1, a lot of the face is wasted space.

Rob

> What an SLA model?

SLA is a stereo lithography technique in which lasers are directed into a tank of resin - where the laser is focussed, the resin sets. The shape of the product is built up one layer at a time until you end up with a solid model. It's a very fast way of prototyping complex designs.

> What's EMC testing

This is the testing that we must carry out to ensure that the product doesn't radiate radio frequencies (beyond a certain limit) and is immune to radio (and other) signals directed at it.

In our case, because the front panel is plastic, we have to coat it with a conductive material to prevent these emissions. If you look closely at a Mark 1 front panel, you can see that a wire mesh is embedded into it, and brought out to a conductive coating on the rear face around the edges, where it makes a ground contact with the metalwork.

This is the kind of thing that our clients don't usually see going on, but it takes a very large amount of our time and money to complete successfully. Without this testing we can't have FCC or CE approvals, and wouldn't be able to sell the product.

Rob

oh I don't blame you for not having a larger faceplate. I can wish, can't I? ;)