You guys are a laugh. I feel like I'm watching a voting process on how to install a light bulb.

I'll second Jim's opinion of Radio Shack heat shrink. It stinks. NEVER buy the glssy stuff if you can avoid it. Never buy pre-cut tubing if you can avoid it. I've used 3M brand and a few other similar varieties that are excellent. They're all matte in appearance and are available in every colour you can think of. I buy from local electronic stores (each piece is at least a metre long) and it's cheaper than the cut packaged stuff at Radio Shack.

I've used a hair drier which worked fine - it's busted and gets un-naturally hot. But my favoourite thing to use is a small torch (normally used to light cigars).

But would I bother with heat shrink for this project? Maybe. But maybe not. When working with thick gauge AC wiring, I use Marrettes. The plastic caps (copper on the inside) that you twist onto your wires. Very secure.

Let us know when you've got pictures up somewhere Loren. Even if you're not done with writing up any description.

I'll be making my own enclosure from scratch using satin-finish aluminum (really excited about this because I've nearly finalized the design in my mind ) and I'll be powering the empeg with a power supply from an old drive chassis. I'll use a small adapter to fool it into home mode. I'm also going to throw in a pair of speakers and a small amplifier (courtesy of a set of decent PC speakers - this is cheaper in the end than building my own amplifier, which I also looked into). This way it will double as a component for my large system as well as a portable player - and most importantly, it's going to be my alarm clock. Haven't decided on the dimensions yet, but it will probably be 3" tall, 17-19" wide and 8-10" deep.

Bruno