Anyone know a good place (preferably online) to get an extra AC/DC adapter brick that is
compatible with the Empeg? I'm tired of lugging it between home and work everyday to
use the Empeg in my office.


I know any suitably polarized and voltage/current rated adapter with the right size plug
should work, I just haven't found the intersection of all these properties anywhere.

--- Carl

I know any suitably polarized and voltage/current rated adapter with the right size plug should work, I just haven't found the intersection of all these properties anywhere.


If all else fails, you can order one from Empeg.

But from my personal experience and recent discussions on this BBS, it seems like the requirements are met by a great many power supplies, some of which you might be able to scrounge up for free. Here are some examples:

- IBM ThinkPad power supplies
- Small inket printer power supplies
- Small flatbed scanner power supplies
- Multimedia speaker power supplies

I was able to scrounge three additional power supplies, all of which worked great with the Empeg, simply by looking around the garage and finding unused equipment.

At my home computer, I'm using the power supply for my scanner. The Empeg gets about 100 times more usage than the scanner, so it makes sense. The only drawback is that I can't listen and scan at the same time. Oh well.

Having an extra set of audio cables and a power supply at each "common station" is really neat. I can plug my Empeg in at my home computer, my work computer, and my living room stereo, all without lugging any cables. I keep the original power supply in the Empeg's carrying case, so that it's ready just in case there's an unexpected need for tunes. It's really convenient.



-- Tony Fabris -- Empeg #144 --
Caution: Do not look into laser with remaining good eye.

I've done the same as you, Tony:
One PS at my PC at home, one in my office, and one in the spare bedroom (which is more of a server room than a bedroom =]). I used thinkpad power supplies.

Being rather visually anal, the Empeg sitting around with a bunch of cables hanging out of it is starting to bug me. As a result, I'm now looking into building a docking slot for each location. This may mean purchasing a few extra car sleds and wiring them into a box properly -- as a solid means of making the USB, RCA, and power connections without damaging the unit over time has, thus far, eluded me.

I'll still have to find some way to make the USB connection, though (sled or no sled), so it may be for naught...

There was talk of making a 19" rack-mountable sled for use outside the car. If that ever comes to fruition I hope it's got USB support (in the case of MK1's) and ethernet support (for MKII's). I also hope it's modular enough that the main portion of the dock could be removed from the 19" rack sleeve.

My fingers are still crossed, but it looks dim as there's not been a lot of talk on the subject...

-- Bleys

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

Your Lordship,

If you buy another car docking sled for in-home use, remember the following:

The Empeg won't know the difference between home and car, and will no longer switch personalities automatically. Currently, it has two different settings for each of the EQ presets, and two settings for the volume control. I foresee a future where other settings change as well: Loudness, for instance (maybe I should put that on the wish list).

I'm pretty sure that it uses the power connection as the determination to switch personalities. So, in theory, you could build your own docking system from scratch, and have it use the in-home connectors. This would be difficult to "get it right", since the connections would need to be aligned perfectly (the car connector has some built-in "slop", the home connectors don't).



-- Tony Fabris -- Empeg #144 --
Caution: Do not look into laser with remaining good eye.

Tony,
Good point, but thankfully I don't use the personality options, anyway. In each location as well as in the car there's a head unit where I handle all of my customizations. Solves the problem rather nicely: the Empeg always stays on 0.0db. Volume, loudness, and EQ control is handled by external hardware acting as a pre-amp.

-- Bleys

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

The developer site has the pinout for the car connector.
So you don't need the car sleds, you can just build a reasonable box and screw
a connector on the back.

It works fine.

David

I hadn't realized it was posted. Much thanks!

-- Bleys

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

I've got a spare "universal" adapter here which claims:

INPUT: 120VAC 60Hz 7W
OUTPUT: 1.5/3/4.5/6/7.5/9/12V
VA: 12VDCx300mA MAX

Would I burn up this universal adapter trying to feed the empeg enough current?



--------------------
Reg #57xx, Ser #080000141, Rec'd Aug.11/00

This doesn't really have the right ratings to drive an empeg - you need to be able to supply a peak current of around 1A at 12V for disk spinup.

You should be able to find such a PSU around though, they're fairly common. The voltage doesn't matter too much as long as it's in the 12v-16v range. It *must* be DC and it *must* have a centre postive 2.1mm DC power jack.

Hugo

Sure do. Right on Empeg's website under accessories. It's $38 USD or £23.00 (Excluding: VAT).

That's what you were looking for, right? Or was it something else?

George

Seems that this was NOT what you were looking for.

George

This one beats empegs price by about $31.50 (only $6.50) if you're interested :)

http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-PS-131.html?L+scstore+jxhw7857ffec5eec+970091362

Alex Lear

The power adapter for the laptec speakers (.8amps, 15V) are perfect for the new mk2's...
-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

The mk1 PSUs are only 1A too, there's not that much difference in mk1/mk2 power requirements. The Mk2's internal PSU is more efficient, but it also has more chips inside :)

Hugo

...except that there is no VA/current specification for this brick at all. At $6.50, I doubt it is going to be such high quality, or have sufficient current delivery for the disk spin-up at power up.

Additionally, it is a pre-mould, so you are not going to be able to take it out of the country, unlike the empeg OE one.

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

It did have a current rating somewhere on the page (13v 1A?), and we now supply pre-moulds unless the customer requests IEC.

It's very cheap, but I this is probably because the vendor is a surplus dealer I believe.

Hugo