Does anyone know how you could look up all the information about your empeg player... By serial number...

Thank you,
- Dirty Dozen

If the previous owners left some of their music on the player, this can be a clue, especially if the music is liked by relatively small demographic groups. For instance, if FID 120 (the first non-playlist number available for tunes) is by Jefferson Airplane, FID 130 is by Justin Timberlake, and FID 140 is by Eminem, you can use that to work out that your player must earlier have been owned by a faded Bay Area hippie, a fourteen-year-old girl, and Eminem, in that order.

Um, no, actually I don't know of such a place. You could try doing a search on this BBS, but the sort of owner who puts their serial number in their signature file probably isn't the sort of owner who would ever have sold their player on in the first place.

Peter

There used to be an empeg registry, it was even linked at the top of this BBS. Don't know if it is still active somewhere...
It showed serial numbers and geographic locations. Most early users of the BBS registered there...

isn't that? http://www.empeg.mars.org/registry.php3

bye

Here is the old registry list
http://www.empeg.mars.org/registry/search.php3?country=any&state=any&vehicle=&sort=locality
Once it has been listed there it can't be changed or updated. You might find it on there, at least it's worth a shot.

*falling off chair*

Damn, that was funny.

If you want to change the old entry, just enter the same details again with the changes and it will update. I don't know if Rob is ever on this board these days...

I tried that with the MKl I bought but it wouldn't let me. Maybe I did something wrong

Here is the old registry list

Just as an additional thought.... it would be a good idea to register your player there if for no other reason than it is a safe repository for your serial number.

How many people here could provide their serial number to the police if their unit were stolen?

tanstaafl.

Greetings!

I would actually prefer a more formal registration process. While I registered the players on that board, long ago, so much has changed, including selling one off, so the data is not up to date. After all, you need to pre-registration number to make changes...

Is there a registry with Empeg? I know there used to be one with the Mark 1&2s, but I don't know if SonicBlue (and Digital River?) was as good with that.

How many people here could provide their serial number to the police if their unit were stolen?

I had that same thought, so I have my serial numbers in a file on one of the servers at work that gets backed up daily. Other than that, I'd be SOL if I lost a unit.

DirtyDozen, if your primary concern is whether or not it's a stolen player, then simply contact support (as listed in the FAQ). Unofficially, we've been telling everyone who's had a player stolen to report it to the support address. That's no guarantee that if it's a stolen unit they'll know for sure, but it's probably the best you'll get at this point.

I've often wondered what happens if it turns out to be a stolen unit?
Does the original owner get it back? And if they do is the person that bought it reimbursed for buying it?

What happens exactly?

They are deliberately cagey about their procedures with regard to stolen players. Since the thieves might read this BBS too, let's just leave it at "if your player gets stolen, contact support and give them the serial number."

Too bad cause I'm curious. But I can understand that...

Does the original owner get it back? And if they do is the person that bought it reimbursed for buying it?

I can't comment about procedures with regard to stolen players, for the reason Tony mentions. That and the fact that I don't know -- that's David's department.

Having said that, to answer the second part of your question: In the UK, recovered stolen cars are returned to the original owner (if one can be found). The person who bought it has no right to compensation.

This sucks for the person who bought the car in good faith, only to have it taken away. Arguably, however, they did have the opportunity to check whether the car was stolen -- they don't have to buy it. The original owner didn't have the opportunity to prevent their car being stolen. So it seems fair to me that the original owner should get their car back.

I imagine that it's similar for other goods. I don't know what the legal situation is in other countries, though.

My concern was the exact prior usage of my player...
There is no factory date on the thing. All I can think of is open it up, and look on the part's for a factory "tag".

All that's marked is an "inspection" sticker saying: 31/5/01
Does this mean my player left the factory May 31st, of 2001?

Thank's,
- Dirty Dozen

There is no factory date on the thing.

But of course there is. The serial number itself is a date code. Click here for FAQ entry.

I've always been concerned about sharing my empeg serial number. It seems like thieves would LOVE to know which players are currently in people's possession. That way, if they stole one, they could create new serial number tags based on which empegs WEREN'T registered. Yes yes, I know the serial is in the firmware, but how can a buyer know that without having a picture of the unit booted up (which I always ask for when trying to buy). A buyer wouldn't get that luxury on a supposedly sealed-new-in-box player.

Or am I being paranoid like I always always am? Can anyone think of other reasons why it's unsafe to put my s/n in my sig and on the registry? Can anyone think of good reasons?

Yes, I think it would be good to have a secure registry. OOh, time for another annoying projects post.

You know I've got an idea.

Why don't we set up a stolen page on the board here.
And put the serials of players that were stolen on it.
That way, when one of us goes to buy a player from eBay or something we can ask for the serial number and check it against the reg.
If we find a match maybe we can do something about it.

Anyone think that'll work?

Alright, thank you all for the help...
My player's 1 Year, and 58 Day's old

Weird: It was giving me a lot of trouble around the beginning of this last October... Could it have something to do with me not geting it something for it's birthday??

Regard's to all,
- Dirty Dozen

I should point out that if the player was stolen from anyone other than empeg or SONICblue then we have no involvement in what happens to it. If a player was reported stolen, and a new owner emails the serial number to support, we will let that person know that there is a problem with the player. This is an unofficial service.

If the player was stolen from us then you'll find that our response will be reasonable and proportional to your involvement in or knowledge of that theft. In most cases we know who the thieves were because, frankly, a few hours of detective work on the net or on the phone seems to yield better results than the police can manage (or be bothered to manage).

Rob