One of the nice things about the Mk. II in its current state is that it's relatively non-descript. It doesn't have some major brand name stamped all over it (or at all, actually), which I think confuses people as to what it's really worth. For all its pretty curves, there's really nothing about it that screams "very expensive item!!", which I actually like.

I'm guessing that the theives would've taken it if it had had 'SonicBLUE' or 'Rio' stamped on it somewhere.

Just one small advantage to being a relatively unknown company...

-Oscar

If anyone does have their empeg stolen PLEASE report it to us, it could help.

Rob

This isn't something we could take any official responsibility for. In practice, there have been one or two occassions where I think we could have helped someone out had they reported their unit to us as stolen (but without knowing that - can't do a thing).

Rob

Official responsiblity -- no, of course not. God forbid it comes to that, but I'd try anything to recover my empeg. Sure, its a big ticket item, but I've got some music on there that would be difficult to replace.

How do you feel about some sort of "spyware" idea?

Units fresh from the factory would, upon first install/emplode, allow the user to insert an e-mail address into the unit. From then on, that install of emplode and the e-mail address inside the unit would match...UNTIL the unit was synchronized on some other system, namely the thief's computer (or the thief's customer) -- which is going to happen VERY soon, since they're not likely to have my taste in music, etc.

emplode could try and send e-mail to the address stored in the unit, with the IP of the machine which it was just sync'ed with. The unit would not behave ANY differently, nor signal what it was doing. It is likely that even a dialup connection might be up in conjunction with emplode running (oh, gee, I wonder why...heh heh)

The e-mail in the empeg could be password protected, so that a handover of empeg (sale, borrow, etc.) could let the actual owner reset the notifcation address, etc.

This is, of course, a cursory and simplistic description of what might be a more complete mechanism, but insofar as this basics here, it *could* prove invaluable in recovering an expensive and very personal piece of equipment.

Imagine it:

"Officer, my car-stereo just sent me an e-mail notifying me of the IP address of the thief that stole it. Could you please contact [ISP name] and give them this timestamp and IP and trace the user and or telephone number it corresponds to?"

Police have responded to lesser crimes involving an IP address and exact timestamp.

Worst case, if the password is forgotten and an e-mail address is stuck inside and the empeg still thinks it was stolen, its just the empeg spamming the former owner.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
MK2 #141, green, 12GB

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, LEAVING THE EMPEG IN THE CAR!?!?!?!?!

Did you speak to Oscar or to the thieves?

TeeMcBee
Got my Mk2! # 080000143

Additional I'd say that it may look strange if you don't have any sleds for cassette or CD and the display is fixed so there could be no sled behind it. So what to do with such a strange unit...

TeeMcBee
Got my Mk2! # 080000143

We already have procedures in place for stolen players which will not be discussed here. Spyware is not one of them, however - that would raise serious privacy issues.

Rob

Perhaps that piece (or one like it from another vehicle) could be modified to slide into the empeg bay?


The plastic compartment I pulled out of my VW Passat looks like it would fit quite nicely in the empeg sled with a bit of trimming. The interior dimensions look like they would fit in the sled while there is a lip that extends slightly outward that would probably cover up the exposed metel and give it a clean look. It's also not as deep as the DIN slot so I think it would clear the docking connector without having to cut a hole in the back.

If anyone is interested there might be a part number I can pull off it.

-Dylan

Sure! I'll bet there are a lot of people on the BBS that would like a standard, easily obtainable slide-in storage tray. I know I would, if the price were reasonable. On the other hand, I'm not sure if it's worth begging a VW dealer to order it with their standard "Mark-Up". If there's somewhere online where we could buy it, that would be better.

_~= Dearing =~_
"WAY too happy about having #99."

If you look further back in this thread, I mentioned an aftermarket part that met my needs pretty well for USD 15 or 20. There are a few photos as well.

Well, looking at the pocket that used to sit in the lower
DIN slot in my VW Polo '01, there's what looks like a part
number, 6XO 857 058 (conforms to Hella part numbers too...)

I think it's marginal if this part will fit in the sled
(judging by measurements on the piece and on the empeg.

Depthwise - no problem, the part that extends back to grip
the hole where the screw/rubber plug on a normal HU goes is
easily hacked off and the pocket itself is ~10mm shallower
than the empeg (MkI) metal chassis.

Width - no problem after possibly trimming some small plastic tags

The problem is height - this one is very marginal,
measurements makes it ~1mm higher than the empeg including
the lid screws even after trimming off extending tabs.

I'll chop it up and get back with the results...

Well, the Polo pocket does fit, but not perfectly...

It is a very little bit too tall at the front - it's
slightly wedge shaped, causing the top and bottom of the
frame to bow slightly down and up respectively.

Slight pressure straightens it out, so I mounted a post,
made from a PCB mounting post, front/center, to spread the
top and bottom back to their normal distance. It does halve
the width of things you can put in the pocket, but provides
a handy handle for removal of the pocket. The top of the
pocket is perforated with holes large enough for fingers
(ventilation?) but the metal edges of the sleeve are pretty
sharp, and it's easy to scrape or cut your fingers trying to
remove the pocket that way... it is a pretty tight fit.

The post looks a little odd, but I won't be seeing
it much anyway...