Well, I got my empeg at last! Nearly filled the 10gig hard disk already, but I knew I would! Gotta start looking for a cheap 30gig now!

Anyway, I've installed it in my car, after a great deal of difficulty due to lack of room for wiring, and I just have a quick query about the handle on the empeg. It feels like it's made out of metal, but what are the mounting points like?

Basically, is it safe for me to carry it out of the car and up the stairs holding it only by the handle?

Cheers,

A.

Probably, if it's a handle it's probably make to carry the empeg. But I usually carry it like a book anyway (hand clamped on the chassis).

In any case, I wouldn't go swinging it around by the handle only.

I carry mine by the handle all the time. Less chance of dropping it that way.

prices from google gear
all drives are IBM travelstar

10g $69.99 6.999$/g
20g $87.99 4.399$/g
30g $127.99 4.263$/g
40g $155.99 3.899$/g
48g $234.99 4.895$/g
60g $402.99 6.716$/g

based on the above you might be best spending the extra $28 and getting a 40g

I also carried mine by the handle for months. I finally bought a case this weekend. I was always afraid of smacking it into something, carrying it in the rain, and dropping it. A twenty dollar, US, bag is pretty cheap insurance.

I'm aiming for that 40 gig drive when I get my happy refund from the goverment

Yes that's fine, the handle is made from aluminium and attached to steel mounts with six screws. I've only heard of one broken handle, and that was because the unit was dropped onto it.

Rob

Great, cheers.

40gig drive does look the best price... shame I'm in the UK, and shipping/customs would make that price a lot higher . Have to look out for a good deal over here.

Thanks all,

A.

That would be this schmuck.

Having replaced said handle, I can tell you that it mounts onto the Empeg very strongly with those screws, however, I wouldn't be carrying around an Empeg by its handle even if it was mounted with space shuttle hardware. While I don't think you'd ever have the handle slip, is it really worth chancing it?

Get a suitable carry case toute de suite.

I do intend to, but the price that this (admittedly fantastic) toy has managed to cost me *after* merely purchasing it has, by my standards, been quite high (although in no way overpriced, I just have a very limited budget currently).

While I do intend to get a case in the next couple of months (around the same timescale as the hard disk), it's not feasible right here, right now. But, as you rightly point out, if by any chance I did drop the marvellous thing, I don't think I could ever console myself!

Cheers,

A

I dropped mine from about 2 feet up and broke the handle too...

I promptly ordered a Pelican case!

- Jon

I hold mine like a runningback going in for a TD. Handle? Bah.
I'm still sizing up cases so I 'fear' a little less.

I trust the handle, but the only reason I wouldn't carry it like that is rain. Living in the UK this is a pretty common occurrence.

So I bought the empeg case, which I carry like a book - but with my fingers tucked through the handle as well. I could carry it like a handbag, but then it would look like I was carrying a handbag, and that may damage my masculine image.

Go for the empeg case - it is a great size, people ask when they see the logo, and it has a nifty pocket for the remote.

I'd love to - but it's sold out, isn't it?

Cheers,

A.

It is, which is a pain because the zip on my black one is on the way out. Which means I will have the swap to the embarrassingly girly blue one at some point...

I have given up trying to make it not look like I am carrying a handbag, it doesn't matter how you hold it !

It is, which is a pain because the zip on my black one is on the way out.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone with one of the Empeg-made cases of an important longevity tip:

Always unzip the zippers fully, all the way to their end stops, so that both zipper-heads are all the way to the ends on the opposite sides of the case. Then open the case fully. This ensures that there is no stress on the zipper at any point along its length.

Do not open the zippers part-way and try to insert or remove the player through the partial opening. This will cause stress on the zippers at the points where the zipper-heads are. I ruined my first empeg case in a matter of months by doing it this way.

I could take the black one off your hands.

Good advise, but in my case it is the teeth on the zip on one corner wearing on where they rub up against things when it is being carted around places. Eventually they will stop working and I'll have to try and replace the zip, or resort the to blue bag...

No thanks, I need both of them. The black one I'll use until the zip dies and then I'll need the blue one to use until I find someone with the skills to replace the zip.

When the teeth on one corner of my case wore out, it was because that was where I stopped the zipper every time, not because of things rubbing it on the outside. My second case is doing fine, and looking brand new still, after 14 months of usage.

It's definitely not that issue with mine, I stop the zipper on the edge not on the corner. I can see the material of the case wearing in the same place the teeth are wearing, right on the corner where it rubs up against things.

Ahh - oops. Sorry - I should have checked

The handle may be strong enough, but what about the springs? if I carry it around by the handle, will the springs get less springy?

They shouldn't do, they're used within their elastic deflection.

Rob

They shouldn't do, they're used within their elastic deflection.

Heh, it almost sounds as if Rob knows what he is talking about...

Heh, it almost sounds as if Rob knows what he is talking about...

Which makes one question who on Earth at SonicBlue considered him management material...

I got my carry case when Empeg had that marketing survey sometime last year. They gave away your choice of a t-shirt, a carry case, and some other stuff if you completed the survey.

I use the case all the time. While I still find myself carrying the unit like a book, the case protects the player from everything I have managed to accidentally throw at it so far.

I do understand about the case looking like a handbag, that very thought has crossed my mind. There really is no way to hold it without it looking somewhat feminine. But then I also remind myself of what really is inside and dont mind. Let 'em think what they want.. I am the one that owns it and they only wish they did.

the fact that you are carrying a linux based car stereo computer in the bag offsets any femininity immediately... besides... who gives a fark.

If you're really that self concious about it... get one of the GBA bags... they have a shoulder strap included.