Run the string in a loop through two of the ventilation holes on the back, and knot them well above the docking station. This way, you can suspend the dock from the rear, and the only contact the string will make on the dock would be along the opening of the air holes.

I'm not sure what Mark had in mind, but you could just bring the string in the vent hole and then tie it something larger than the vent hole, a pencil, an old stick of ram....

Well, there are a total of 71 dock orders so far (not including my own!), and seven of them have been shipped out so far.

Based on the enthusiastic responses, I have decided to make at least 75 of these now -- I have purchased sufficient quantity of most of the parts for that many, excluding the docking connectors, which I will re-order once my remaining stock of them is used up (about 43 left).

Production is crawling along -- in the workshop there are about 90 sets of wooden blanks now cut to size, and machining has begun on those. I have also purchased a proper crimping tool to speed wiring of the docking connector pins -- no more soldering on the connector ends of the wires.

I'm busy with a Linux contract (and tuner assembling) this week and next, but by mid-March the docks should be rolling through the post office again.

Cheers!

Got my dock last night. Wow Mark. The pictures don't do the details justice... you put a ludicrous amount of thought and detail into the design man. I'm very impressed. It's well worth the $ if anyone is on the line. I just hooked it up here at the office... perfect! No more scrambling with cables dropping behind the desk and having a mass of wires on my desk.

I can't wait to get it painted.

Thanks again for your efforts Mark. This dock kicks ass.

I keep meaning to ask: is there any facility for attaching a security cable? I'd be fine trailing one through a hole in the back of the dock, but I really need security at the office. I'm in an office with, I'd guess, 1500 people (gub'mint), and I know something on the order of 25 of them.

Just loop the security cable through the airflow slots at the back.

When an Empeg/RioCar is inserted, you'll also need to loop the cable through the handle on the player.

Cheers

What I mean is that I currently have a security cable that attaches to the security slot in the back. (Actually, there's this screw-on nut that attaches to the slot and then the cable attaches to the nut.) I'd like to keep that configuration. Is there space in the dock for it, and is there a hole the cable can go through, or free space to drill such a hole? The whole mechanism, when attached sticks off of the back of the empeg by about an inch and a quarter, which is significantly deeper than the docking connector, at about five-eighths of an inch, so another five-eighths deeper, give or take.

Actually, it looks like that's exactly where the ethernet connection is going through the back, so I'd have to reroute that. Sigh. Special orders? (Not that I have any cash.)

I think it would be much much simpler to just obtain another steel cable, with loops on each end. Just thread it through the handle (and rear of the dock if you're really concerned), and loop it around something BIG and HEAVY and lock it with an ordinary lock..

Cheers

Too tacky for me.

Part (most?) of the reason I'd want it is to avoid having cables strewn about when I'm not here. Having something like that going on while I am here isn't going to happen.

Being a cheapskate and not wanting to spend $$$ on a cool box (I really need two) when you get tired of making these units up will you come up with a set of plans available with the docking connector with pins (the rest looks like its readily available)?

Edit: I just noticed the sled connectors are available from Digikey (read the parts list thread), so even just making the plans available for a reasonable price would do.

Greetings!

I can relate. Is that fix to make the insertion tighter in the first few units? I was just doing "show and tell" at the office for another person with an empeg, and the same exact thing just happened. Unfortunately, mine is not booting at the moment - disk not found errors. I did the first set of troubleshooting (checking connections, jumpers, each drive individually, etc.), but no luck so far. More testing when I get home. The display board and everything else looks good.

To add insult to injury, this is the exact same unit that was just repaired for the dry solder connections. I suspect that some more pins came loose, but I will need a magnifying glass to verify that.

I think, after I get this fixed, that I might retire this unit to the quiet life of a spare... It has been through a lot - dry solder, display cable fraying, stripped space, buttonhack, digital out, multiple hard drive upgrades, etc...

Aw, Paul, my condolences on your loss. Had you adjusted the two screws where the handle clicks in? I tweaked those a little bit to make sure it's in tight.

In my case, not tightly enough... I will adjust them a bit more.

Well, not that it makes you feel better, but at least you have the wherewithall to solder anything that might be busted. Perish the thought, but if my empeg were to have any such problems, I'd have to send it out to someone with electronics experience beyond the Radio Shack 120-in-one project kit.

You mean the empeg's innards aren't all connected together with springs?

I honestly think this player would do better with springs! It has been through a lot.

Actually, I am inept with a soldering iron. I usually request or obtain the services of others in order to do this. For example, Mark did my button hack and Stu did my digital out installation and dry solder fix last time. Worst case, I could always attempt it or send it in for servicing.

That is why backups are so important!!! Always back up your data. And redundant hardware is a must if you demand high availability!!!

Ouch! Yeah, as noted earlier in this topic (somewhere), DO NOT TILT THE DOCK WITH A PLAYER INSERTED!

The player's latches are not really designed to support the full weight of the player, but rather to just keep it from casually coming loose when near horizontally inserted into a car's dash.

The two black screws just inside the dock opening can be adjusted to provide more friction to make it safer, but still..

Hope it comes back to life!

heh, i almost did this last week when showing it off to fellow empegers here at work... i had the dock 2 inches off the desk with empeg inserted when i remembered your mishap and quickly set it back down, removed the empeg, and continued the display. =]

Well, the drives are okay, but it looks like the IDE header may have lost a bit more solder. I can hear the drives attempt to spin up, but it never gets far enough to autodetect them. So, I will be running on the spare for a little while.

got mine today very nice.gona go hook it up to my b&k right now.Thanks agian.

I'm curious what everyone's going to use to cover the unit? I guess paint would be best but I would really like to get a su per glossy black finish. Anyone have ideas? Maybe some sort of enamel? I guess I'll start looking into these things before mine ships

Thanks

if you find anything please post info/pictures. I'd love to get mine covered in a piano black lacquer type of finish (like nice expense speaker cabinets).

Just spray it black with a can of black enamel spray, maybe 2-3 coats for even coverage. Then spray a nice clear laquer finish (or even clear glossy polyurethane) over it all and it will look incredibly glossy.

-ml

Sherwin Williams sells piano black lacquer in gallons . You will probably want to use a primer or sanding sealer compatible with lacquer before proceeding to the lacquer. The surface needs to be absolutely smooth prior to applying the lacquer or the imperfections will show in your finish coats. You will need a spray gun, 8+ coats of lacquer, and will have to rub the finish out multiple times (wait at least a week after the final coat before rubbing out) to achieve the sort of effect you see on pianos and high end speakers. Many finishers use 3M and Meguiar's auto polishing compounds for the rubbing process. I don't know if it is worth it to you or not, but the above is a lot of work.

Stu

I was just curious how queue numbers can go backwards?

Depending on the model you ordered, your position may change radically from time to time, as I will tend to batch-build units of the same type.

ISTR that Mark further clarified this, and that your position within the list of people that ordered the same type will not change.

Doh!! I guess that I just need to learn how to read.

Thanks

Let's cover them with Formica! Any chance of these being sold as kits to lower build time, shipping (?) and cost?

Or this. I knew a guy in OK that covered a whole jeep in the stuff...