Hi everyone-

Thought I'd say hello since I'm new to Empegs and the site.
Yesterday I put my hands on my very own first Empeg! Woot!
I am now the proud owner of MkIIa #10101466.
A good friend of mine introduced me to Empegs a few months ago when I was lamenting the dearth of car-based hard-drive mp3 players on the market (I was so naive!). I'm still reading through the FAQ and post archives, as well as collecting up more info for my install.
For now, the first phase of Empeg use will be to integrate it at home and move some music around, building up that perfect playlist structure that never existed before.
I've got a MLord home dock on it's way! Fantastic piece of work!
Next phase will be the car install- into my del Sol. I found a post with pics of a Sol install, but haven't managed to contact the author about some of the details I want to discuss... like clearance on the radio-hidey-door when removing/replacing the pull-out unit.
Also, because there's only room for one DIN1 unit in the Sol, I was planning to go with a low-power 4channel amp and eventually install a tuner. I had a new thought recently, though- and that was: why not go with a new head-unit that is remote mounted and put the Empeg in the dash as planned. Hafta think about that one. Is it possible to remote start an aftermarket head in 'aux' from the Empeg?

Upgrades?
Yah- I'd like to go with an additional drive- 20gig is not enough, maybe a lighting kit (if the buttons become reliably available... it seems they are currently not), playing around with boot screens, etc., the hacked kernel is already installed, but there's some more hacks I'd like to find- like the alarm clock- what happened to that site? Anyone have a copy of the code they could send or post?

At any rate, before I become long winded about all this (whups, too late), suffice it to say that I'm very impressed with the Empeg, but really what's sold me on it is the maturity of development in the product that is made possible by the continued enthusiasm of a close-knit user community. Truely unique!
I'm happy to be here!

Oh, yeah, sorry, I won't be able to make it to any Euro-meets, I'm in California! lol

Welcome to the group! You probably already saw this thread with it's good info for new owners. Sounds like you're well on your way!

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(if the buttons become reliably available... it seems they are currently not)

Within a month, I'll have the production run of buttons in my hands and will be taking orders on my website. If only that darn curse hadn't struck my bank account and set me back a month, I'd have the buttons already.

Enjoy your new machine. We all hope it's with you a long time.

Welcome!

Great to see another person who's enthusiastic about the empeg. Make sure you upgrade your player to at least the 2.0 stable release, and get a recent copy of the hijack kernel. These give you some really cool extra features and stability that your player may not have. At least check the revision of the software when it boots up. (I think?)

Have fun,

Paul

Welcome, and hello from the West LA part of California.

Welcome!

If you haven't seen it in the FAQ already: Unless you've already got your tags in perfect order - start working on them...

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remote start an aftermarket head in 'aux' from the Empeg?

Not as such (IIRC), no project to control a HU and flip it to AUX... but if the HU stays with last selected source between power down/up it should stay in AUX In mode (or radio if you chose that last before shutdown...) it should pretty much do what you're thinking of if it also is wired and set to automatically come on, right? If it draws the actual power from the constant +12V wire you could probably just wire the ignition lead to the empegs remote turn on lead so it turns off along with the empeg. (and if the current draw is too large you could put a relay inbetween I guess...) IIRC, some HUs might be able to switch to AUX in upon activating the "phone" lead (normally to be wired to a handsfree kit)...
Just some ideas...

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Oh, yeah, sorry, I won't be able to make it to any Euro-meets, I'm in California! lol

That's not a valid/sufficient excuse! At least apparently to some nutcases...

Thanks, everyone, for the tips and links! Excellent resources!
Thanks, too, for the welcome!
I've got my studying cut out for me, that's for sure.

As for the ID3 tags- I've been using some freeware called 'SelfRenamer', but I'll certainly look into the apps recommended here.
Other tools I use frequently are FreeRip and Audacity. The very simple player I use on the home box is 1by1.
The work on the tags will follow a review of playlist strategies...
lots to do now.
I'll keep my eye peeled for updates regarding the buttons, thanks!

Hello fellow del Sol owner!

Check out my old website for some install pictures.
http://www.geocities.com/renejeddore/
Check under the del Sol link on the left to see generic stereo install pics.

As for the space behind the little door. Not an issue. About the only thing I have noticed is that I have to put the gear shifter in 2,4, or Reverse in order to remove the empeg.

Any questions feel free to PM me.

Rene

Hello ShadowMan!
Yes, I found your links in other threads here on the BBS.
Your 'Sol porn' thread gave me much confidence, I tell you!

My worry was for the lower corners of the empeg being on a collision course with the door in the 'open' position. When I 'sight' down onto my stock head unit from directly in front of the face, it looks like the door will be in the way for a straight pull-out.
Thanks for posting a reply! I went to your blog a few weeks ago, but couldn't find an email address. Your posts here were so old that I thought you'd left the scene (the blog also does not mention a Sol!).
Congrats on the baby!
I'll PM you with some other questions soon-

...leaving California for NYC and on to Amersfoort 6/26.....no excuses!

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As for the baby... I guess you haven't been to my blog in a few weeks.

My condolences and sympathies. We went through the exact same thing our first time around. Definately a difficult time.

We now have two great kids - they'll be 5 and 2 this summer. We did approach the news with a bit more reserve each time, though.

-jk