I wish for...

A remote installation option where the display face could be mounted in the dash (perhaps permanently), but the chassis could be mounted somewhere else (e.g., the "boot"). This would provide several benefits:

1. Improved security and convienience. I drive a spider (convertible) and often park with the top down (even with the top up, breaking into a convertible is a trivial matter). With the current design, it's not unreasonable to pull the empeg and lock it up when parking for any considerable length of time. But I'd hate to do it everytime I run into a store, post office, etc. Yet, it seems that if one doesn't, then with the current design someone could quickly reach in and snatch the unit out of the dash.

2. No more ugly dash holes when the unit is out of the vehicle. Additional display faces could be sold for installation in multiple vehicles.

3. Improved installations. Remotely mounting the chassis would mean that the unit could be placed very close to the external amp (and away from other wiring) for reduced electrical interference. Plus, there would be more options available for installing the display head since it would be so compact.

4. While the handle is attractively manufactured, a display face with no handle would give a much more finished look to the vehicle's dash. In fact, if the button controls were relocated to a wired remote (like Sony's) that could be mounted on the steering column, then the display face could be reduced to a single plain piece of dark plastic that would not even look like a stereo, thus further reducing the odds of having one's car broken into.

Michael Liu

As I mentioned over in the installations forum a few weeks ago, my 2nd install is in the trunk of my other car with an infra red repeater allowing me to control it with the remote from up front.

This works very nicely as long as you only want to use the Empeg like a large CD changer, which most of the time is how I use it.

The (coming soon) PIN number function should make it a bit easier to control from afar.

Making the Empeg speak enough to navigate around the menus with seeing them might be an option.

Or maybe a serial port connected remote display (maybe with buttons to avoid the infra red repeater) of some type that could be mounted up front, maybe on the sun-visor?

Cheers,

Mark.

p.s. Just got back from a week's driving holiday and the Empeg did an excellent job of providing 1300ish miles of non-stop non-repeat music. :)

one more advantage i size dosent matter, and the display can be even lager.
that mighe be an grate Idea for an pro model.
ther will also be more space for connectores on the unit (USB in the car)
I´l love to get my hands on an GSM to USB connector!!!

Mark
emaks rouls #10677
want a 100GB model, even I only have colecet 18GB

Mark,

I agree that the serial port connected version would be good, since the problem I have is not security related, but physical space.

I have just purchased a Holden Commodore VT sedan, which has a dual DIN slot currently occupied. Since I will be replacing the factory stereo with replacement hardware, there will be no space to put the empeg player in the main dash without physically changing the car (not an option).

I would like a wired remote for the empeg that COMPLETELY duplicates the functions of the current display, allowing the actual unit to be located elsewhere (probably in the boot).

Having a talking unit is also a great idea. I currently have a jvc head unit that speaks when the buttons are pushed (except the volume control), and after a couple of days having the unit, I never had to look at the display again. Very nice from a saftey perspective as well. I suggested this to the empeg guys some time ago, maybe we will see it in a later release :)

Glenn

I think you're missing part of the reason the player was invented - the all-in-one-unit. No extra boxes, no long-distance wiring, no extra installation hassles.

For the security issue (which was the essence of the original post, IMO), I think there should be a 'secure' option where a relay-driven bolt pushes through the frame and into the chassis of the empeg unit itself. This could be a top-level menu option, with the 'unsecure' option being accessed by a PIN. An option with the security would be whether to allow play access and emplode access once secured - so that if someone really has ripped your car apart to get at your empeg unit, without the pin it's just a lump of componentry. (A master rolling-code override from the empeg boys would allow you to get around forgotten PIN woe).

(Aside: the internal serial number and owner information issues have already been covered in another thread.)

For the rest - why have it anywhere else? The unit already packs a heap of power into a standard sized unit - any larger and you'll be just limiting the market.

When I get one it's going to take pride of place in my car, dammit!

Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.

A remote installation option where the display face could be mounted in the dash (perhaps permanently), but the chassis could be mounted somewhere else (e.g., the "boot"). This would provide several benefits

Even better (maybe I'm dreaming here) would be to interface the empeg player to, perhaps, Sony's UniLink protocol. This gives the advantage of being able to control the empeg player from a Sony head unit through their excellent unified stalk control, whether the empeg was mounted underneath the head unit or in the trunk. Further, UniLink allows the ability to retrieve copmplete track information from a CD or MD changer, displaying the information on the head unit display.

I had a Sony in-dash MD changer slaved to my Sony CD/Receiver head unit before I replaced the changer with the empeg player, and now I miss controlling the whole thing with the stalk control as a single unit :-( Still, at least I'm not fumbling around changing CDs and such anymore, but damned if I'll give up my CD/Receiver head unit.


jester
Sunnyvale, CA
MkI/20GB/Blue/SN00309

I think you're missing part of the reason the player was invented - the all-in-one-unit. No extra boxes, no long-distance wiring, no extra installation hassles

Reality is different. I'm really missing decent FM radio and am starting to doubt if the Empeg-guys will ever be able to approach to quality of their MP3 delivery for FM radio, or even come close to matching out-of-the-box car radios. The antenna amplifier hasn't made a lot of difference, and the announcement that the Mark-2 will have an external radio-unit is bad news for any Mark-1 owner who wants decent FM-radio, I think. From the announcement that the Mark-2 will use an external unit I read that Empeg have given up developing one themselves and will purchase a module from an external supplier. Unless there will be a (complicated??) inetrface into the Mark-1, we'll have to live with what's there. (Any comments / assurances, Hugo ??)

I think there should be a 'secure' option where a relay-driven bolt pushes through the frame and into the chassis of the empeg unit itself.

Nice for the Mark-2; not feasible for the current model. Have tried to build one myself, but there is no space behind the chassis.

For the rest - why have it anywhere else? The unit already packs a heap of power into a standard sized unit - any larger and you'll be just limiting the market.

As I said, fitting it in the boot will free-up the DIN-slot in the dash, so I could mount a decent FM-radio player. Navigating the Empeg remotely should be easy, especially if it talks back / confirms options and selections. It will also be much more secure in the boot. And there is much more space there to hook it up to anything else.

When I get one it's going to take pride of place in my car, dammit!
I have mine mounted and am proud of it. It works great from MP3s. Will gladly mount it in the boot though. It'll sound equally well from there and I may have decent radio.

Henno
serial 120

>I think there should be a 'secure' option where a relay-driven bolt pushes through the frame and into the chassis of the empeg unit itself.

>> Nice for the Mark-2; not feasible for the current model. Have tried to build one myself, but there is no space behind the chassis.

I thought I read in one of the posts that there was a 4mm or thereabouts threaded hole in the back of the empeg. How about putting some sort of eyebolt in that hole, then using your relay-driven locking plunger to secure the eyebolt? I haven't got my empeg yet, but when I do I plan on doing something like that. Probably set it up so that you have to turn the ignition on to remove the empeg.

tanstaafl.

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

there was a 4mm or thereabouts threaded hole in the back of the empeg. How about putting some sort of eyebolt in that hole, then
using your relay-driven locking plunger to secure the eyebolt

I tried that, even found a remotely controlled plunger (home security thing), but there ain't no space to fit it behind the empeg chassis. Some of this is due to the cable string at the back of the chassis. Fitting the antenna amplifier was difficult enough and I (hope I) will not (need to) open everything up once more. It may work in other cars (my BMW has the dash closed up).

So I seriously consider mounting it in the boot. Empeg support for this will help (remote control; voice feed-back; ideally a remote connect to the front-plate). A built-in relay-driven physical security lock should be a included in the Mark-2 though. It could be the feature that justifies (???) spending another $$$$ on an upgrade so shortly after my Mark-1 came in.

Don't misunderstand me. I like the empeg. I think it's a great machine especialy for the empeg software philosophy and it plays CD's beautifully. Just wish I had a decent FM-tuner connected.

Henno

I asked Hugo about this a long time back, as I discovered a "free" hole in the back of the unit case. I cut and mounted a small eyelet at 90 degrees to the case with a thread locked M4 allen screw. For this to go through the sled when inserted I cut a vertical slot in the rear panel of the sled and checked that it went through OK. I then went out and picked up a washing machine door solenoid with a length of about 2 cm and a bolt thow of about 0.75 cm (it's a Miele washing machine part) and mounted it on the back of the sled. It is wired through a high current resistor to the ignition AUX so that the solenoid only withdraws with the ignition on. It does have a thermal bimetallic strip inside it so that you actually have to wait for a few seconds after turning the ignition on before the bolt withdraws and you can remove the unit. This means that when the ignition is off, the solenoid engages and locks the unit in the sled. The solenoid plunger/bolt was shaped a bit with a steel file to produce a "wedge" profile, so that when the unit is inserted, the plunger is depressed out of the way before re-engaging through the eyelet. This worked quite well.

The problem with this setup is that the eyelet and screw attached to the unit are necessarily small, and not very strong. A single M4 screw, even if it was tensile steel, is not up to much. The case and the insert are also suspect, as there is no easy way to judge the strength of the setup. I was a bit loathe to test it (as I am sure you can understand ), but I am certain there will be boyos with no such qualms when it comes to a real "nick". For this to work properly, the case and sled would need to be designed for this setup from the start, and I am not about to void my warranty to try modifying the case.

In the end I just took it off and learned to take the thing out of the car each time; having said that, this weekend I forgot and left it in the car for two days (!!!!!), then remembered late on Sunday night. I went out to retrieve it and was promptly stopped by the local police for attempting to steal it!

"From the announcement that the Mark-2 will use an external unit I read that Empeg have given up developing one themselves and will purchase a module from an external supplier."

Actually the current tuner is an off-the-shelf module from Philips.

There are three major reasons for moving the tuner to an external module. Firstly, having the tuner inside the case makes AM reception impossible, due to the high level of digital interference across that band from the processor.

Secondly, there's not enough space in there - most car stereos dedicate a huge amount of space to their tuner, but we have so much other stuff that even our tiny Philips module barely fits. The Mk.2 has even more digital circuitry, and no room at all for the tuner.

Thirdly, we want to be able to develop a DAB upgarde, and making the entire tuner section modular seems like the best approach to accommodate this.

Rob

Actually the current tuner is an off-the-shelf module from Philips

Aha! Which one? Do you know the Philips Part No.?

> I have mine mounted and am proud of it. It works great from MP3s. Will gladly mount it in the boot though. It'll sound equally well from there and I may have decent radio.

Makes me glad that I own a Jeep, and just ordered a Tuffy Security Stereo Console to replace the one that was stock with my Wrangler... lets me add another place to mount a head unit in the Jeep, so I can put my old (nice) CD Player/Tuner from Sony in it, and use the empeg to the AUX-IN on the Sony, thus letting me listen to CDs, the FM/AM Tuner in the Sony, and the empeg of course.. ;)

See, your reasoning is wrong. We don't need a new design for the empeg, everyone just needs to buy Jeeps.. ;-> (ahh.. the world would be such a better place!)

(O|||||O)
S/N 00246 6GB Blue

It's an OM5610 module, which uses the TEA5757(?) chip.

Hugo

Hmmm... had a look at the data sheet, and it's pretty much fire and forget. There's little you can do to tweak the behaviour of the tuner itself, so why the unit doesn't grab a signal cleanly, I don't know. The module itself is used in various Philips RC and RM series radios, and from my own experience, quite successfully. About the only influence I can see that might affect the module's performance is the source impedance of the antenna. This does tend to imply that smart software could improve signal selectivity and the unit's ability to seek and tune on the centre frequency of a stereo station.

What seek sensitivity are you using? How do you manage to extract RDS data?

One problem is the amount of mush generally inside the case from the CPU. RDS extraction (etc) comes from the 7705 DSP (also a Philips part), which has various interference cancellation modes for moving reception.

Hugo