A True Labor of Love!

As we all know...the famed 'Hard Drive Not Found' event is merely an eventuality for Empeg owners.

I have recently replaced my ribbon cable when I could not boot up at all. For a few months it was wonderful!

Recently, however, I have been having this dreaded message reappear. When it does, I have to open up the Empeg (RioCar to be exact) and fiddle with the cable. Usually this is enought to spark a connection. More recently, though, I have had to take the HDD's out and press down on the cable connection onto the motherboard. It is working fine now.

But I know that it will reappear soon.

This weekend was particularly interesting, for i was driving my Miata top down from NJ to Long Island (2 hour drive) in 85+ degree heat. All was fine until I tried to change a playlist and the HU froze. Took it out of the dash and it was VERY HOT to the touch. Had to place it on the floor of the car to cool off. I also have a Clarion installed in the dash and the heat generated by both units (Rio>Clarion) was substantial for as I placed my hand it the cavity left from the removal of the Empeg it has Pizza Oven Hot!!!

When I slid the HU back into the dash i got the HDNF message.

After and hour or so the unit cooled off enough to boot up, but, again, having the top down and the car off, the direct sunlight heated it up enough so that it would not boot.

Eventually I had to open up the unit...take out the HD tray...press down on the connector...put it all together...and I was merrily on my way again!

Point of the story...the empeg is truely a labor of love for anybody else, my wife included, would have certainly tossed the unit on the first sign of distress.

Like a cell phone, ATM card and the internet...for me at least...the though of not having the Empeg alive and well leaves me with an unsettling feeling!!

So...any other heat related stories to tell?????

Any cable stories as well???

Any advice for me on avoiding the HDNF issue?

Thanks!!!

The symptoms you describe exactly match those of the cold solder joint problems. Have you had someone resolder the IDE header on the main board yet? I think it is time for that to happen.

Actually I did ask around the area yet nobody wants to do the job and my fingers are too fat to take on such an operation!

Any suggentions, Paul?

Both Stu at eutronix and Mark Lord will do it inexpensively if you don't mind mailing off your player.

Thanks...I just e-mailed Eutronix and when I hear back from them I will put the process in motion

Thanks!

Yes. I sent away for all of my soldering as well. I know what you mean about not being that good with a soldering iron.

I have to say that I am not all that good with a soldering iron myself... but this repair was very easy. And if you do shag it up (solder bridges and the like) maybe you could send it away after. Fire up the iron and try a few similar type procedures on old junk boards and see how it goes. Just make sure when you are in your empeg that you don't hit anything with the hot iron that you shouldn't.

I'm sure I will eventually come across a job that will require an iron and for quick repairs I was wondering if anyone here knew of or has had experience with these. It seems like the perfect tool for those on the spot jobs.

I wouldn't let it near my empeg - the blurb mentions 800F operating temperature, with peaks possible "that excedd 1000F", which is too hot. It is also clear that the iron is not even power regulated let alone temperature regulated - power output is quoted at 25-50W, suggesting that it is dependant on battery voltage. There isn't any obvious means of controlling the power output either. There is also the issue that it is obviously not static-safe.

For simple electrical work it might be useful.

Thanks. That's good info to know.
I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to do internal work "out on the field" anyway.

I'll keep those specs in mind when looking for a iron.
Thanks again.

{quote}the famed 'Hard Drive Not Found' event is merely an eventuality for Empeg owners.

::shrugs:: 1.5 years and I haven't had a HDNF yet. The only "labor of love" that my empeg has been was the ID3 tagging. Everything else has been free of configuration or error (aside from a sync error which occured twice and my spare's crashed HDD thanks to bad UPS, which is to be expected for HDD players).

But I will be replacing the cable in my spare because it's too tight. Ah, and probably in my main too, just as preventative maintenance. (did I spell that right?)