V1.1 - will take a while. The problem here is that there's so much new stuff, testing is going to take ages, and it hasn't even got as far as the alpha team yet. Anyone who saw a demo at Amersfoort, RO2000 or IASCA will have seen a prerelease version, so you can at least be assured that we're getting there.

Tuner - a small shipment (about 75 units) of components arrived today (thanks to S3 sourcing them on the grey market for us). Those will go into production ASAP and ship to the people that have been waiting longest (upgrading Mk.1 owners). Hopefully we'll get some larger quantities before too much longer.

Handle - These are being delivered in batches at the moment. I need to discuss the terms of the replacement deal with Hugo before posting final details - we're concerned that user fitting of this part may prove too complicated.

AR Display - 1000 screens have been moulded and AR coated - but are stuck in a production queue awaiting ITO coating (the conductive EMC coat that goes on the rear face). The problem here is that the company in question have suffered equipment breakdowns, but our job is their top priority and we hope to get some screens next week.

Knob - I received 6 production prototypes yesterday, and they seem to work fine. Before running a thousand units I'd like to continue testing. To help with this I would like to send new knobs to two volunteers from our clientbase. If you want to help out, please email me, provided you meet the following criteria:

- Your current knob worked OK at first, but has since started to slip (no dirty jokes please!)
- You are confident to remove and reattach the front panel
- You don't mind having an ugly white knob for a while (the final knobs will, of course, be grey)
- Your player will get some testing in the conditions which caused the problem (probably in-car, hot climate)

I will choose two people from the volunteers at random, and courier over knobs immediately.

Rob
rob@empeg.com