I wanted to point out that there's a bit of a "gotcha" in the somewhat popular opinion that it may be a good idea to purchase a second Empeg as a "backup" in case your first one dies. Actually I was considering this even though I seriously don't have the money to do it... But... Let's say you buy an Empeg now and shelve it. Your current Empeg lasts two years, so you switch to the new one which is now out of warranty and unsupported. Now something goes wrong with it. Sucks to be you. You just spent $1000 on a backup that you can't get serviced. A good number of people, including myself, have had to send their Empegs to Cambridge for service. That will no longer be an option.

I realize there are some things that you can fix with a soldering iron and a little skill, but there are a LOT of things that can (and have) gone wrong with Empegs which require expertise very few people have.

I guess I'm just saying that this "backup empeg" approach is a bit risky. You're spending $1000 now and PRAYING the thing isn't a lemon. I guess if you've got the money to burn, it's worth it... Personally I could get that kind of cash together, but I don't think the "hot backup" offers enough of an assurance to warrant that kind of expense. Backups fail, too.

-Tony
MkII #554

What I am/will be doing:

1. Purchase "backup" Empeg
   
2. Power on backup Empeg when it arrives to make sure it functions at the most basic level
   
3. After 1 year (when warranty has expired) open up backup Empeg and remove battery, if possible, to avoid corrosion
   
4. Keep stored in plastic wrap (maybe vacuum sealed) until needed

-Rob
-----
12GB MK2 Blue 090000736 (6166 in the queue)

Greetings!

This is something that I had thought about before going ahead and getting a spare for myself. Some thoughts on the matter...

I have had my empeg for a little over a year now. It has not had any problems, and I hope that it will not develop any new ones. Nothing, of course, lasts forever. If I have a hardware problem in the future that is not disk related, my intent would be to transplant the disks.

It is true that the second one could have problems, or be a lemon to start with. Before putting the unit away, I would test it first, load up a few files, give it a "shakedown". This should get rid of any "new system" problems while still under warranty.

To be honest, I think that the empeg folks will still be around for quite some time, and even if there is no warranty you might be able to get the unit fixed for a few years out. Perhaps enough Red Bull or a case of Oreos will help. Just from seeing these folks in action, I really suspect that few (if any) users will not be able to get help repairing a broken unit.

As to longer term, after the new warranty expires and there is no one else to help and both units have problems, I will attempt to fix it myself. This really depends on how the units fail, but you never know. I would have components from two failed units to work with.

To be honest, all of this is speculation. Given the changing technology, I would guess that the Mark2, way ahead of its time today, will still be obsolete by the time I have to worry about this. With the size of hard drives growing so quickly, knowing the empeg folks are still hard at work on integrated systems, I think there will be something better by the time I really have to worry about it.

Finally, I had been thinking of getting a second unit anyway. This just knocked me off the fence.

So, if you are just now thinking about getting an empeg, or have been toying with the idea of a second for whatever reason, now is the time to act one way or the other. If you are buying it only for insurance, you have to think about it yourself - if it is worth it.

I am just glad to be able to have my entire CD collection in the car all at once! You can never have enough disk space!

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (96GB Smoke)

It might make more sense to purchase the backup empeg, copy all the mp3s over to it and use the new one. Put the "old" one into storage.

That way you are pretty sure the "old" one isn't a lemon and if the new one is you will find out.

__
Unit serial number 47 (was 330 in the queue)...

Greetings!

True, assuming the new one has the same or greater hard drive capacity.

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (96GB Smoke)

The new one says Rio on it. I want to avoid advertising for them as much as possible. Good point though.

EDIT: I have to take back that comment a bit. I cannot say I don't like Rio, I just would rather have my stuff be original. I am not sure if the deal is still valid, but if I were to receive a Rio fleece with my "new" Empeg, I would have no problem wearing it

-Rob
-----
12GB MK2 Blue 090000736 (6166 in the queue)

Edited by robricc on 26/09/01 07:50 PM.

When the new empeg-geek site (the empeg.org one?) comes up, I plan to document all the common repairs (with digital camera pics, etc) on there so anyone who is confident enough with soldering - or knows someone who is - will have the knowledge to do fault-finding and fix their own empeg.

There are a number of common issues; most are simple repairs, though sometimes the parts may be hard to get. Anyway, with the repair information out there there's a much better chance of empegs living longer :)

Hugo

The RTC backup is not a battery, it's a supercap (.22uF ISTR). You won't need to remove it, it shouldn't leak. This is why the RTC only runs for ~7-10 daysish with no power - though the RTC cap is charged when the unit is OFF in-car (ie, can't be turned on with the buttons, but there is power on the yellow wire).

Hugo

I plan to document all the common repairs (with digital camera pics, etc)

Hugo, YOU DA MAN!

___________
Tony Fabris

This is a very cool gesture. I am glad you're committed to keeping us happy after the support officially disappears. Documented repair instructions is an excellent step towards that. I'm not very competent with a soldering iron but I have friends who are.

Now, if you could "accidentally" let the player source leak out, that'd be another great gesture. :)

-Tony
MkII #554

Sorry, no chance of source; it's what everyone here still works on every day. It's headed into a lot of different products - all built from the same source tree.

Hugo

I was definitely kidding about open source, and in another browser window, I'm posting a new thread in the programming forum related to that exact topic. I realize there's no way you guys can do that.

-Tony
MkII #554

Hugo, great idea about the fix-it-yourself information resources. This will definitely become invaluable to many people in months/years ahead...

That's true devotion. Truely a man of character.
It reminds me of the work you were doing on your first mp3car project. Happy to share the specs with the notion that others might want to do the same thing.
The real spirit of what empeg is about I believe. Yeah, we tried to get this to the masses and make lots of money, but at the heart was the desire to have the coolest toy. Cleary mission accomplished.

what do you guys think a MkII 12GB, serial number in the 100's is worth these days?


|| loren.cox ||

700 US

New one has more ram and other tweaks.
And a warranty

Sean

Edited by Terminator on 27/09/01 05:39 AM.