Argh! Last night, my car was broken into, and my Mark I Blue, serial number 000234, was stolen. I had upgraded it to 60 Gb, and was counting more than 3,400 tracks of great music.

Fortunately, the thieves didn't get the cradle, so they probably can't use it. If anyone gets requests for help about having a "lost cradle", then please let me know, unlikely as it is.

Of course, now I'm faced with a dilemma. Should I replace it by buying a second hand Empeg? Or give up on having digital music in the office and car.

:-(

I live in Vienna, Austria, so if you hear about an Empeg for sale from Austria, it's most likely STOLEN!

The sad fact is the morons are going to spend 5 minutes trying to get a cd in it and then dump it.

But buy a Mk2 you'll go nuts if you go back to cd,s i occasionally drive a car with a mortal head unit and it ain't nice

Yes, you're right. The thieves will have no idea what it is. The look on the cop's face when I tried to explain what it is was also very telling. He had heard of MP3s, however.

I'd love to get a Mk II -- but is anyone selling? Let me know if you have one for sale....

Email your serial number to carsupport@sonicblue.com

Rob

Thanks, I already emailed the serial number to the support team.

This happens way way way too often for a product with a user base of only a few thousand.

Yeah. I was curious if anyone has had his car broken into without having the empeg stolen, say, in the last six months. I suppose having a gaping hole in your dash is something of a preventative, but, still, it'd be interesting to know.

take it inside.. all the time.. i'm wondering how many users the group has lost due to theft. how many empegs total have been stolen?

count mine as one. who else?

what we need is when you power the empeg down a huge flashing light saying take the empeg out.

This ain't a sony they don't grow on trees they cost a small fortune but that ain't the problem buying them is the problem

I carry my empeg around with me at work.
I take my empeg into gas stations when i pay for gas.
I take my empeg into the pizza place to pick up a pizza.
I take my empeg into the house even when im "just gunna gra somethin".
I take my empeg into the movie theater with me.
I have an empeg in my shopping cart when i'm getting groceries.

My empeg is more important than ever leaving it in my vehicle. I cannot understand anyone doing otherwise.

Ditto. Mine got stolen the ONE time i left it in the car for 15 minutes. It only takes once.

What sort of world do we live in ???

My Empeg spends more time sat at home on my desk and not in the car because I don't want it pinched. It only goes on trips that are over 30mins, and then I take it EVERYWHERE with me.

People are beginig to think I am having a love affair with it, I even take it to the toilet with me in the Pub.

Cris.

yes i know what you mean the ex refered to it on more than one occasion as that [censored] stereo

people that dont have just dont get it. I often get lauged at for carrying my purse (gba empeg bag). I tend to put the empeg in the case, and then in my backpack when I carry a backpack.

Mine was stolen two weeks ago tomorrow...fortunately I have just received confirmation via UPS that my 'new' one is waiting for me at my apartment office.

It'll never leave my site again...I have since put an old ammo box in the back of my blazer, bolted it down to the body, with the nuts on the inside of the box and painted it to match the carpet. That way if I ever absolutely must leave it in the car I can put it out of site in that box in the back with two, count em two, locks. And I will also be using what the bastard of a theif left of the cut-up wiring harness as an insert in the cradle so it looks like it's already been taken.

I don't plan to ever use the box, however...it's just an emergency measure.

Seriously man, my thoughts go out to you. I have been there and I am still in a bit of shock after two weeks.

On the plus side, I had become a really passive person and having the empeg taken from me has blossomed a more aggressive personality. I wouldn't say it's at a 'don't take no $hit from nobody' level yet, but just under that

Also: If you have renters/homeowners insurance, try them first, they will be more likely to payout closer to empeg value that auto insurance will...worked for me.

On the plus side, I had become a really passive person and having the empeg taken from me has blossomed a more aggressive personality. I wouldn't say it's at a 'don't take no $hit from nobody' level yet, but just under that

Yeah, but if you put your empeg in that box one day and someone steals THAT, you'll be looking like this guy.

ha ha ha, true!

Well, I keep tools in the box now, I just thought of the emergency empeg stashpoint the other day...like if I drive to the ocean and go scubadiving or something...again, I live in Colorado, so it ain't gonna happen anytime soon...

would you say about 10 or 15 have been stolen?
what percentage of the total number made have been stolen?

we should keep stats in a nice boxat the top of the this bbs

...you'll be looking like this guy

Yesterday My roommate (burdell1) had his car broken into. He left the empeg in the glovebox. The thief smashed a window took the crappy amp (value of about 50.00) that was mounted under the seat took the empeg out of the glovebox and left it on the seat.

took the empeg out of the glovebox and left it on the seat.

There's only one word for that: PHEW!

Wow. A 'considerate' thief - one that realises that if (a) he doesn't know what it is, that (b) he's not likely to be able to make it work or fence it, leading to (c) why make the victim suffer more than neccessary.

And I thought that honour amongst thieves was a dead concept.

I imagine it's closer to dealing with carrying an unknown item than consideration.

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the ex refered to it on more than one occasion as that [censored] stereo

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Yes, my g/f is still pissed off that I spent the whole of tuesday night building my tuner instead of being with her! She has, on more than one occaision threatened to throw my 60 out of a first floor window (I haven't told her about the spare 10 in the safe at work! )

I even take it to the toilet with me

a. Where's the pub in Leeds that has plug-ins for Empegs in the toilets, I want to drink there?

b. Cool, another Empeg owner in Leeds, what do you drive? - I'm in a British Racing Green MGF, T Reg! - not up to Hugo's standards, but, on the other hand, I won it in a competition.

I drive a Mazda 323F. I live in Headingley/Adel. You ???

If they did have Empeg docks in the bogs, I would spend so much time in there, then some really funny things would be said.

I thought I was the only Empeg owner in Leeds apart from my mate, who only uses his with his Hi-Fi.

Cheers

Cris.

ya know, i may be nuts, but i almost never take my empeg out of my car. it goes against the conventional wisdom, but i really find it works best for me. why?

• the convenience factor. the whole reason i have the empeg is to be able to listen to the music i want to listen to, at my convenience. having to lug the empeg everywhere i go greatly detracts from the convenience i bought it for.
  
• the risk of damage or loss. i think it was elv1s who started a thread about how he accidentally dropped his empeg in a restaurant. i honestly think that the empeg is more safe in my car most of the time than in my hands in a store.
  
• it's insured for replacement value. sure it's a hassle to deal with insurance companies, but that's what i'm paying for, right?
  
• i have several backup units. trust me, i'll never be without a working empeg unless i choose to be, or my house burns down.
  

so, i have no problem leaving it the car. it's been a year and a half, and no problems yet. i live in chicago, but i have no idea whether the theft rate for car stereos is any higher or lower than elsewhere. i do park in a private garage at home, so that helps.

--dan.

Well everyone is different. The empeg being stolen isn't the only problem you face by leaving it in your car.

When a theif throws a brick at your window or messes with your locks or trys to pry your door open (yeah one time it looked like the person used a pry bar on my door) then your faced with damage to your car. Yeah insurance will pay for it BUT the car will never be the same again. Also if the wrong person works on your car then it will be even more screwed.

If you have backup units then I can see why your not too worried but still. Re-ripping all your cds would be a pain and time consuming.

When a theif throws a brick at your window or messes with your locks or trys to pry your door open (yeah one time it looked like the person used a pry bar on my door) then your faced with damage to your car. Yeah insurance will pay for it BUT the car will never be the same again.

Or, like in my case... crowbared into the rear hatch, completely bending it and requiring serious body work. Yuck.

Crowbar to the rear hatch? Wouldn't breaking the window be less effort? Within the last year i've had my car broken into and my appartment broken into, so the argument could go either way. The only time I get real nerverous is when I end up with my backup and my regular player in the car at the same time.

Personally, when my car is sitting in the garage below my appartment, my empeg will not be in it. It sits there way too much, for many hours without any supervision. If I'm out around town however, i usualy shove it in the glove compartment and leave it at that. I know I'm more likely to drop it than have it stolen, and insurance won't pay to replace it if i drop it. And I've got a backup.

Matthew

Crowbar to the rear hatch? Wouldn't breaking the window be less effort?

They needed to get at some stuff locked in the trunk under the deck lid. Grr.

well, my car isn't exactly what i would call theft-bait, it's pretty ordinary looking. everything about my install is completely stock looking (the OEM head unit is still in place and functional, via a sony switch), and my amp is buried underneath a seat that would have to be removed to get it out. the empeg is low-key looking enough that even looking in the window, it doesn't exactly catch your eye the way most aftermarket head units would.

it also helps that my install location is just low enough in the dash that the empeg can't be removed while the shift lever is in park.

besides, i'm a lazy bastard(tm), too.

--dan.

ah, no worries there. i have my mp3's on three other empegs in active use in various locations, as well as on my main mirrored RAID server. i'm not losing my music anytime soon.

--dan.

I take it with me anytime I leave the car. The bag I use actually works as a belt-pouch, so it's not too much trouble. I do sometimes have to give the "It's my in-dash MP3 player. They don't make them any more, and even if they did, it would cost 3 times what I paid for it, so no thanks, I'll just hold onto it." speech.

I have, on exactly 2 occasions, intentionally left it unattended in the car, because it was simply impractical to have it on me where I was going, but I wanted music on the trip. In these cases, it was in the trunk, UNDERNEATH the spare, attatched through the (full sized, steel) spare and the mounting bolt on the trunk floor, with a thick laptop security cable. The unit was zipped in its case so it wasn't obvious what it was, and all of this was under the spare carpet cover and a bunch of junk and tools.

Even if a thief managed to FIND it, the only way he could have gotten away with it would be to reove the mountin bolt and lug a p235-75-r15 around, because the way I had it situated, there wasn't even room to cut the cable.

In fact, the second time I did this, I had trouble reaching the combination part of the lock in the dark, and had to leave it in there until I got home.

i think we need car safes

i think we need car safes

Or, of course, safe cars

I live in Headingley/Adel. You ???

Out at Sicklinghall, you know where the Scotts Arms is?

I've been reading your CV and I don't believe you look like your website!

Radio controlled helicopters, I hear those things are near impossible to fly - I built a real steam, radio controlled paddle steamer, that's about as good as I get.

I used to have a guy working for me who spent all winter building a plane, then religiously crashed it on the first decent day of spring!

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I've been reading your CV and I don't believe you look like your website!

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Ok, I am completely gullible and out of touch with the world at large. I read this post and thought " Huh... I wonder what he looks like..." The next thing I know I'm sitting in my CHURCH office with a website up that scares me to death as the secretary walks in. Thank God for Alt. F4. I've got to get a clue....

I wonder what he looks like..."

If a babe like that is flying radio controlled helicopters and boozing in Yorkshire....the Lord does indeed move in mysterious ways.

I can recite all the books of the bible from memory (the names, not the text), any use if I'm passing one sunday?

Heh, Rev, I think we need to put a cybersitter program on your PC.

Its amazing.... most people but filters on their computer to keep their kids from looking at stuff they shouldn't. I'm going to have to put it on mine to keep me from assuming there won't be a naked woman on the link I hit.

I'm going to have to put it on mine to keep me from assuming there won't be a naked woman on the link I hit.

One of those new-fangled radio-locating brooches for your secretary might be less work!

I've been reading your c.v. - Minnetonka, are you near to those moccasin manufacturers, whose driving model are the only shoes I can use to drive my MG comfortably?

Great value, until you want them repaired, I order a new pair, every couple of years - and they do size 13!

- no, I have no connection whatsoever with the company!

most people but filters on their computer to keep their kids from looking at stuff they shouldn't

Can you get a filter to cut out all the gadget manufacturers sites that have new products that I can't do without? - I don't have a problem with porn!

I'm not sure...what is their address?

I'm not sure...what is their address?

Good point, now I look at the site, it gives a PO box in the Bronx, but I guess that with a name like Minnetonka, they must have started out in your part of the world!