A general question relating to my plan to add Empeg to a new car as a secondary HU plugged into HU #1 -- the double-DIN Subaru WRX.... I'd like to make the empty sled less obvious during the times when the Empeg is not in the car.

Approach #1 would be to make the sled itself black. Black powder-coat or black satin spray paint would eventually wear in those areas where the Empeg rubs against the sled. A better alternative would seem to be some kind of black anodizing, but I know nothing about whether this could be done to the sled, which appears to be made of steel. Anyone have any experience with this? I expect that this would wear somewhat over time, but less so.

Another approach would be to make a plastic cover or (I'm thinking this would be more useful) to fab a black plastic/lexan insert that would form a dash cubby for spare change, pine tree deodorizers, roach clips, etc. Still, the latter approach would add one more thing rattling around the car.

Any metallurgical insights appreciated!

Jim

I don't know about Subies, but...

For my Honda, they actually make a plastic piece to cover the stereo hole. It's intended to snap into the dashboard on cars that are sold without a stereo.

I ordered one of these pieces from a Honda dealership online, and it snaps perfectly into place over the empty empeg sled. I had to modify the plastic connection points just slightly to make it fit the sled, but after that, it was perfect.

When the empeg is removed and this cover is snapped in place, it looks like there's not even a stereo in the car at all. My speakers are all under the factory grilles, so you can't even tell I have aftermarket speakers. It's a totally stealth installation. Nothing visible to steal==no break-ins.

Investigate this with your Subie dealer.

___________
Tony Fabris

Anodising is used only with Aluminium, whereby you electro-chemically change the colour of the oxide layer that normally covers the metal. Over time, even this wears off though. There is a different process for stainless steel, but I cannot remember whether this is done in the melt or after the metal is rolled. It was black only, IIRC.

Renault do DIN size sleeve inserts for very little cash; I picked up a couple here second hand from a scrappy for about 50p (80 cents?). They fit into just about any DIN slot I have tried so far.

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

It's a totally stealth installation

Except the "EMPEG" license plates :-)

Hey all

Here is a low-tech way to conceal the sled. Since it's made of steel, maybe good ole gun bluing would fit the bill. A nice shiny surface like that could be made jet black if it's done right...

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

I guess I have a different perspective..

When my empeg is not in the car, its obvious because of the empty sled spot. In a way I like that fact. The neighborhood where I park my car at work is not the nicest in the city and cars have been broken in to before, in our very parking lot. Mine has had no problems because its obvious there is nothing there.

In my case it works fine. I dont mind the empty sled spot because I am not in the car at the time. The empeg is there when I am so I never see the empty sled. In short, I want the empty spot to be visable to deter theft.



Carl

080000506 12gb-green

When my empeg is not in the car, its obvious because of the empty sled spot. In a way I like that fact.

We've had this discussion before. Some theives, seeing a hole for a pullout stereo, will break into the car anyway, assuming you left the stereo in the trunk or the glove box (since a lot of people don't like hauling pull-outs around).

The reason I like the cover-plate scheme is because, if done correctly, it looks like there's no stereo installed in the car at all.

___________
Tony Fabris

Exactly! That's what happened to me, they broke in to see if it was in the glove box, and them (once in the car) did a quick sweep of the whole car, boot included.

Luckily I only lost an amplifier that time, but still a major pain in the ass.

After I went for a stealth install (looks like no stereo at all) - no problems.

Mind you on the TT I've now got the fold-down flap, so still no problems.

Paul.

Paul Haigh, Reg. 4120
(mk1) 6GB, Blue, 00254
(mk2) 12GB, Red, 00357

Mind you on the TT I've now got the fold-down flap, so still no problems.

Yeah, right. Typical thief will think "Well, this is only a $35,000 Audi TT, probably the owner wouldn't bother putting a stereo worth stealing into a basic economy car like this" and move on down the street to that nice looking Toyota Corolla or Dodge Neon.

Sure.....

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

No, they're more likely to think "it's a TT, it's got that annoying wide stereo that they all come with as standard that won't fit into anything apart from Audi's - and you can't sell stolen ones as everyone has one already"

Hugo

Hmmmm...

Has Hugo been investigating a new car purchase ?
(or does the Beetle have the same style stereo ?)

__
Unit serial number 47 (was 330 in the queue)...

The beetle has the same style stereo (ish) - it's got a sloped front though, Audi's are flat front.

Hugo

No, but most importantly, they say:

" I Can't see the stereo, so it's probably the standard one which is [censored].

I won't bother breaking the window, setting off the alarm and [censored] everyone off."

As opposed to my polo - where they could see the open hole, which was an open invitation.

Paul.

Paul Haigh, Reg. 4120
(mk1) 6GB, Blue, 00254
(mk2) 12GB, Red, 00357

As opposed to my polo - where they could see the open hole, which was an open invitation.

But surely a Polo with a hole in the middle is completely normal and expected...

Patrick



Opinions expressed in this email may contain up to 42% water by weight, and are mine. All mine.

LOL.

Not if it's a mini polo.

Paul.

Paul Haigh, Reg. 4120
(mk1) 6GB, Blue, 00254
(mk2) 12GB, Red, 00357

>> Some theives, seeing a hole for a pullout stereo, will break into the car anyway, assuming you left the stereo in the trunk or the glove box (since a lot of people don't like hauling pull-outs around).

I guess I may be nieve when it comes to thievery. I never really thought about that aspect. I hope that the thieving types in my neighborhood have not either. Most of them are homeless and if the stereotype is accurate, not the brightest bulb on the tree.

It would be a big sucks for my car to be broken in to, even though the empeg is with me. Its still a hastle to have a broken window replaced.

My best deterant is where I park. I work in a bank building with a few drive thru teller lanes. When a customer drives up to the teller window to conduct business, their car points directly at mine. My car is pretty visable by -someone- most all day long. I realize that this may not be possible for the rest of you but I am doing all that I can to keep my system intact, and so far so good.

Carl

080000506 12gb-green

My best deterant is where I park. I work in a bank building with a few drive thru teller lanes. When a customer drives up to the teller window to conduct business, their car points directly at mine.

This is great on work days. But what about the times where you're parked in an unusual place? Both times my GTI got ripped off, it was parked in a location that I normally wouldn't park. Once was at an airport, the other was at a restaurant that I don't normally go to.

___________
Tony Fabris

Good point Tony.. it may be nieve of me to think that my car is only vulnerable only at work but in a way thats my attitude. My work location sucks at best so I am VERY careful what goes on there.

Away from work I am in much better neighborhoods, but not crime free I suppose. Maybe I should not take this for granted.. after all its when you let your guard down that you get clocked. Now you have me thinking..

Carl

080000506 12gb-green

As for the knowledge of thieves:
My car was (accidently) unlocked some day, with the empeg pulled out of the sled, and positioned plainly visible on the passenger seat, locked to the car with a notebook lock (Kensington, attached to the floor of the car, beneath the passenger seat). Well, when I got back to the car, I found a note on the empeg stating something like "Why do you lock such a cheap radio to the car?" Well, the VW alpha (cheapest radio VW sells with their cars) had still been in the car (this happened two days after my empeg install). Like I said: had been, the thieves did take that VW radio with them....

cu,
sven
(prod owner of a MkII 12GB blue now green, #080000113)

"Why do you lock such a cheap radio to the car?"

I think we should feel somehow offended

Rob

If it makes you feel any better, just think of what will happen soon - the ads will start rolling out in the high end magazines, TV ads, great press, and a car thief thinking what might have been (if he remembers anything about it at all, of course...).

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (40GB Green)

> > "Why do you lock such a cheap radio to the car?"

> I think we should feel somehow offended

Well, probably. However, to be honest, the empeg MkII (and the MkI as well, if not much more) does look cheap. At least if you can´t figure out what the connectors at the back are for, or what might be inside (I mean, how many radios are available today that don´t have any tape, minidisc or CD playing capability?). One way or the other, that thief was plain stupid, lost his driver license only 1 meter away from my car, and had the VW radio that he got out of my car plainly visible on his passenger seat, when he arrived at home (where the police was already waiting).

There is a phrase in german, that really matches this thief: "Dümmer als die Polizei erlaubt" ("More dumb than the police allows." or something similar)

cu,
sven
(prod owner of a MkII 12GB blue now green, #080000113)

However, to be honest, the empeg MkII (and the MkI as well, if not much more) does look cheap.

I was thinking about that this morning as I looked at the face of the stereo while driving to work.

I don't think it looks cheap, but I can see why someone might get that impression. It doesn't have all the flashy silkscreen printing all over the face that other aftermarket stereos have. Honestly, I think that's the only reason.

In terms of overall "looks", the Empeg is actually quite attractive when it's installed in the dash of the car. I think it looks better than most aftermarket stereos, precisely because it doesn't have the flashy silkscreen printing.

I think this has a lot of benefits:

- Less conspicuous to thieves (as we already discussed).

- Matches the vehicle's interior better (aftermarket stereos always look out-of-place because of all the printing on the stereo faces).

- If the Rio Car is ever sold in retail outlets, it will "stand out" on the rack next to all the other me-too stereos with all the flashy printing.

- It's a great backlash against the increasingly gaudy aftermarket stereo styles.

___________
Tony Fabris

If I didn't know about the empeg, I would look at ANY pull out HU and think "Egad! That thing must be 10 years old! I havn't seen a pull-out in forever!!" But yes, that theif is stupid. In the time it took him to write a note, he could have gotten the empeg and been less rushed (and therefore may have NOT dropped his license). WIth so many in-car systems like GPS and video systems, to someone who doesn't know - the empeg could have been ANYTHING.

12gig Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

You should be more careful in the nicer neighborhoods because the thieves know that is where the goods are. If you park your stuff in a bad neighborhood, leave all the windows down, the perps will probably avoid it thinking it's a sting operation.

Calvin " ;-) "

If you park your stuff in a bad neighborhood, leave all the windows down, the perps will probably avoid it thinking it's a sting operation.

ahh.. have you actually tested this theory? I suggest you do so! A thorough and rigerous testing procedure, preferably with your car and stereo, should be carried out.

I expect the complete analysis would be enthralling!


____________________
Murray 06000047

If you park your stuff in a bad neighborhood, leave all the windows down, the perps will probably avoid it thinking it's a sting operation.

ahh.. have you actually tested this theory? I suggest you do so! A thorough and rigerous testing procedure, preferably with your car and stereo, should be carried out.

I expect the complete analysis would be enthralling!

In some quarter a century I own cars (and several years more I drove parent's) I have been testing this theory by never locking the car for perhaps ten years. I got things stolen from the car twice (once a first-aid kit, once a blanket; the police found bad boys and girls and returned what was left of goods in both occasions, even though I did not bother to report the treft (and got informally reprimaded for that by the police)), both from the locked car. Moreover, the car was so expertly broken into as to leave it virtually undamaged (they managed to insert a wire between the glass and its frame and manipulate somehow door locking mechanism). No - wrong - once, when I parked my ancient Citroen 2CV - unlockable for all practical purposes - with roof down near a highschool, somebody stole a bag of Mars bars from the seat .

More seriously, thieves in Croatia nowadays mostly steal whole cars, preferably better models of Mercedes, Audi, BMW and occasional VW. Sometimes they use one of those trucks with a crane used to remove cars parked on location disrupting or endangering traffic. Most of them seem to end in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina ('Dear tourists, come to B&H - your cars are already here!') My Twingo has remote keyless entry with engine immobilizer (though just IR, not RF, without chalenge-response protocol), so I have terminated the experiment .

Cheers!


Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green

> > However, to be honest, the empeg MkII (and the MkI as well, if not much
> > more) does look cheap.

> I don't think it looks cheap, but I can see why someone might get that
> impression. It doesn't have all the flashy silkscreen printing all over the face that
> other aftermarket stereos have. Honestly, I think that's the only reason.

You are right. I took a deeeeeeeep look at my MkII again (while in the dash), and actually, it looks great there. However, I rethought why I first got the impression that it looks cheap. There are two factors that contribute to this. The first is (just as you found out) that there is no printing on the face (not a single letter). The second is that the buttons (and the knob) are simple grey plastic buttons. They are simply not as stylish as the darker (or metalic) buttons one can find on the mainstream stereos. I actually even thought about painting them (or at least the knob) using a darker grey or black.
But most important: The face of the empeg itself is as beautiful as it could possibly be, and I really hope it stays this way under the rio brand.


cu,
sven
(proud owner of a MkII 12GB blue now green, #080000113)

You are right. I took a deeeeeeeep look at my MkII again (while in the dash), and actually, it looks great there.

And I think that's an important point.

The empeg is designed to look good in the car. Other stereos are designed to look good in a catalog or on the rack at a stereo dealer.

___________
Tony Fabris