For MKII.
Or is there another place where regular updates concerning the availability of the radio is posted.

T

..on the empeg home page/shop...

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

Yeeh. It says it is expected to ship in November - last november that is.

Does anyone know if this will be another waiting list list kind of deal? or will there be enough to feed demand? Price??
I am starting to miss the radio here (a little).
Empeg must have a scheduled ship date... right?


12Gb MKII 080000516 Blue

I think my last email from empeg concerning the issue stated that owners of the MKII would be contacted directly when the module was finished - no mentioning of waiting list. And the price to expected about 550DEM, some 200 GBP ex handling and shipping. Don`t kill me on the price it is pulled from pure neurocache - T

that would be right shy of $300 US dollars. We could buy a new stereo for that!

Proud Owner of MK2 080000558 - 18gb Blue

what about their upgrade policy. From "empeg Bulletin 15" :

In reply to:

---

/// Discounts for Existing Clients
/// ------------------------------

We value all of our clients highly, and none more so than those that chose to
purchase a Mark 1 car player. They showed great faith in us by trusting their
money to a company with little history, in return for a Beta Release product.
They have provided great feedback and have helped us to keep focussed on our
customer requirements.

We would like to thank all of our existing clients, and hope that your car
players have brought you many hours of listening (and viewing!) pleasure.

When the Mark 2 is released it will be almost exactly a year since the first
Mark 1 players rolled off the production line. In that time we have implemented
lots of great new features - check out last month's news bulletin for full
details! We know that many of our existing clients will want to own a Mark 2
player, and we are pleased to offer the following discounts:

Discount from retail price (before tax) of 15%
Plus a free FM tuner module (worth approx $75)
Plus a free carry case (worth $26)

We are not offering a trade in - you are free to sell your existing player
privately if you wish to do so.

The discount will be available to original clients that have purchased a Mark
1
player direct from empeg. If that client has sold their player they can still
take up the offer, or it can be passed on to the subsequent purchaser.

---

It says the FM-tuner is worth about $75. I hope I don't have to spend $225 for AM as an unused extra feature...

Frank van Gestel

No that price is way off - we expect the price to fall under $100, probably around $75.

Mk.1 owners who took advantage of the upgrade offer will receive a free tuner.

Rob

Rob, But is there a revised ETA for it? The last we heard was several months ago saying "real soon now", but still no sign of it. D

Thanks Rob, that sounds like a reasonable price to me...

Frank van Gestel

Sold, Please send me mine ASAP.

Proud Owner of MK2 080000558 - 18gb Blue

Yes, selling them hasn't been the problem

Rob

I tried.

Proud Owner of MK2 080000558 - 18gb Blue

? Hm... note the new RIO brochure (photos taken from CES, see other thread):

"... Tuner interface for AM/FM module with RDS..."

http://www.justified.com/rio/brochures.html

ok, fine, sounds like the tuner module will include RDS... but it also sounds like Rio Car will MERELY provide an interface! The option of purchasing a tuner is not stated!!!!
...I keep saving my money for a new car with two DIN (or a double-DIN) slots...

... but if a tuner module from empeg/rio gets released I'd still love to get on...
Frank


Mk2 40GB #090000592

Did the BBS drop a message in this thread? I didn't hear any answer or wild speculation about the projected availability of a tuner module...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
MK2 #141, green, 12GB

no drop, just a lack of response.

i HATE not having a radio, and bought my unit under the impression that the radio was "coming real soon now" (tm) last august !!

i do not want to install and link another head unit just to get a radio

the lack of progress reports on the module doesn't help much either, imo

dont get me wrong, i have been reading this bbs for a while, and was registered for a unit a long long time ago, and i have a lot of respect for the product, team and company, they are all very good, but, this isnt a "rotary comes off", or "cant see because of reflection" inconvenience, it is a real problem

as much as i love my unit, i need a radio !! London rush hour without traffic reports is a major hassle .....

if you're not careful, the radio module could soon become an urban legend.....

Craig

It would be nice to at least get a targeted ship date for this.
I know of no companys that plan to release a new product, that doesn't have a targeted ship date.
Please, at least give us the target date even if it is at risk to slip.
You are more than welcome to add the necessary disclaimers. Just let us know....

12Gb MKII 080000516 Blue

I wouldn't hold my breath.

Got an email last week stating it would probably take 2-3 MONTHS I'm really starting to wonder if it wil EVER arrive (starting to sound like vaporware). I love my empeg but this sucks (bigtime). Too bad I already sold my MK1, the tuner was far from perfect but it was better than the empty connector I have now.

Walter
-------------------------------------
Reg:1934/Mk1:158-6Blue/Mk2:380-12Blue

"i HATE not having a radio, and bought my unit under the impression that the radio was "coming real soon now" (tm) last august !! "

Same here, having the Empeg is a dream come true, 10 GB of my farorite music, but sometimes I'd like to hear the news....


Hendrik
#080000456
18Gb green

I guess I must be one of the rare few that does NOT miss having a radio. Sure, I intend to purchase one when they are available but to be perfectly honest, wonder if I will even use it once I get it.

One mans ceiling is another mans floor I guess..


Carl

080000506 12gb-green

We supplied expected shipping dates (which we fully believed to be accurate) on a number of occassions last year. Through events beyond our control these were proven extremely inaccurate, and I have no intention of tempting fate with another estimate.

I'm quite happy to state what we know for sure, though. The module is being reworked for production by Rio's electronics office in Germany and we expect a new prototype in about two weeks. The module then has to go into production, which is dependent on our contractor and suppliers. We have 200 tuner modules (the module within the module) in stock, which will cover the free tuners for Mk.1 owners who upgraded - no more modules currently exist in the world, however the manufacturer has claimed that stock will become available shortly after we have used the 200 units we already have.

We didn't anticipate it would be this hard to buy in a decent automotive tuner - it almost seems like it would have been faster to design our own from scratch!

Rob

If you want something done right, do it yourself...or at least have empeg design it... that's what i always say =]


|| loren.cox || 080000446 ||

i can appreciate the supply problems you have had, been there done that myself, and i certainly dont have any negative feelings towards the product or company, far from it, i just need to vent that frustration out occasionally. (especially when i find myself in yet another traffic jam ;)

i'm sure you have investigated all avenues, but how come there is a global shortage on this component you need, are there no other alternatives ? or are any of the equivalents not up to scratch ?

just curious now :)

Thanks for the update.

Proud Owner of MK2 080000558 - 18gb Blue

Without the radio, how can we hear new music. Do you buy a CD first? I don't. I buy a CD when it has a song or two on it that I like. In my case, I hear them on the radio(in my other car) or on the TV. I like them so I buy them and emplode them.

So I would use a lot.

Proud Owner of MK2 080000558 - 18gb Blue

Automotive tuners are actually far more complex than you may realise. The major manufacturers have spent a great deal of money and many years refining their receivers to the quality that you would now expect from even relatively cheap head units.

Although there are a number tuner modules available on the market, such as that used in the Mk.1 car player, there are few good quality OEM automotive modules. Our requirements are also a little specific, requiring an appropriate digital interface and certain dimensional criteria. We found a suitable product, but production of it is running much later than expected.

So in short, yes, there's a global shortage of these - and many other - electronic components. Production of the original car player was delayed by months due to a shortage of the most basic capacitors!

Rob

In reply to:

---

We have 200 tuner modules (the module within the module) in stock, which will cover the free tuners for Mk.1 owners who upgraded - no more modules currently exist in the world, however the manufacturer has claimed that stock will become available shortly after we have used the 200 units we already have.

---

so does this mean that us Mk.I->Mk.II upgraders can expect to receive our modules in the next week or so? Or is there something else delaying the shipment of the existing modules that you have in stock? D

No, I said we have 200 of the modules WITHIN the modules. We have 200 AM/FM receiver components, ready to fit to our tuner module when it goes into production.

Rob

Gotcha... 200 of the "guts", none of the "boxes for the guts". Would that be an accurate assessment? D

Of course it's more than just cases we're waiting for, but basically that's right.

Rob

Well, yeah, I figured it was more than just "a box" that was missing, but it answered my question enough in generalities. Thanks sir. D

many thanks for the updates and explanations rob, they are much appreciated.

It's the supply of information thats important....

regards
Craig