Both really, although I originally meant on the side you photographed.

I can see how the module is soldered in. Can you look in from the side or anything to see? There may not be any room. on the module side. The way it looks from the brochure photo I have, the module PCB is mounted on the shield and the shield is used as the majority of the mechanical connection between the module and the interface board.

I can't see under the module at all

here's the back it's pretty much empty

Thanks again Matt.

That is empty as far as I am concerned. So it's a single sided PCB which is a "good thing" (TM). Looks like a 2 layer board also which is another "good thing" (TM).

I have emailed Rob. We'll see how I go with him and with Microtune I guess.

Please count me in with two

I want one too and would pay in advance

Peter

If the project keeps going, I probably would be interested in getting more than one unit/kit...

Alberto

I have a tuner but a backup or two would be great. Keep us informed of your progress. I think the effort will pay off in the end and you will make a lot of people very happy.

Sean,

Did you end up talking to Microtune at all? I haven't heard anything back from my email yet. I'd be asking for a qty of 300 only. Then we probably have a worst case scenario. If more are bought, then the price will only get cheaper.

Rob,
Are you reading this thread anymore?

I have been out of circulation for a while and missed the poll. I would definitely be interested in 3 units for which I would gladly pay up front.

Sorry, I jumped in with this comment before I found the poll. I have input my request to the poll.

I would want one tuner as well.

Yes, I talked to them. 30.00 each. No qty discount until you get up into the thousands.

Thanks Terminator,

That sounds pretty reasonable. I thought they might be a bit more than that. At least you got an answer from them. They still haven't replied to me.

It was somewhat awkward when they wanted to know what company I was with, but getting the tuners doesnt appear to be much of a problem. The biggest problem I see is getting the overall package manufactured. Who does small quantities?

Sean

Hey Rob, So what about posting Tuner (with an embedded sign-up add) up on Ebay for a longish auction? I'll bet there could be a fair amount of interest stired up from that. It might be an effective way to reach a different shopping set than those who frequent this board. Thought I don't know where Ebay stands on such a form of tactic.

I'll see if I can't track down a contact here at SB for you that could be used to pursue some info. I'm due for a lunch with someone over there...

best regards,
Tim

I sent you an email regarding an external run of tuners but I haven't received any response from you. Did you get it? I'm hoping you have email replies turned on so you will get this.

Is the chance of a SB tuner run still a possibility?

The last thing I heard from hugo was that if we werent running 1000, the factory wasnt interested in producing them.

Sean

OK. That's fair enough. They are a business trying to make money in the end and it's probably not economical for them to do this.

If this is the case, then I will pursue the feasibility of getting the design released so that someone can do a run of their own. All my investigations will be based on 2-300 units.

When did Hugo tell you this?

I can't remember when (It wasnt long ago), but it was posted on this board. Can't remember what thread it was in. BTW, the tuner poll in another thread is up to 350 tuners. I think Rob is pretty busy these days. You may want to contact Hugo by email, he is now a fellow and may have enough pull to get you some information. (although he is busy too I'm sure)

Sean

They way you were talking sounded like it was in the past few days. i.e. since this thread started and you found out the module prices.

I will try Hugo now.

Can anyone beam me Hugo's email offline? Don't post it on the BBS please.

His profile doesn't list an email address.

Why not create a page for order info?

A place where people can sign up giving name / address / phone # / and tuners wanted. I think you will reflect a better # of people who want tuners and have more of a commitment to buy them.

Anybody willing to give this a crack? My HTML / Web skills are... well... crap. Even if it was just a form that emailed the request to someone. Enter it in a table and you're done.

I can host the page no probs if required.

I would do it (I suggested it, thought I was gunna get a beating over not offering to do it ), But I am retarded when it comes to HTML.....

Let's not get too carried away with this though. Apart from what Rob said early in this thread, I haven't had any talks with anyone from empeg / SB regarding how feasible this is or whether they would even release the design,

If we are talking about a run of 500 units at a factory gate cost of USD 80 to USD 100 I am prepared, in principle, to fund the manufacturing run and deal with the shipping to individual buyers.

A number of caveats:

1. I am probably not equipped to deal with the factory (depends where it is). Someone else would have to do that.
2. I would need to have a good number of units pre-ordered and pre-paid before going ahead.
3. I am not going to be able to offer returns/repairs/warranties, unless it's a manufacturing fault that affects all units. If all the units are faulty, then we can get the factory to compensate in some way. If just your unit gets fried by cosmic rays, then you're going to be out of luck.

If this is of interest, let me know, and we can work out some more details.

Regards

Mark

I'd buy one. I think there are some people who would buy one who haven't spoken up actually.

For what it's worth, I would purchase a manufactured tuner if it's in the $100ish range. They were in stock when I bought my RioCar, but as a neophyte I did not realize what a great unit the empeg/riocar was and the tuner would allow me to do away with my factory head unit.

If anyone does up some PHP code that talks to MySQL, I'll bless it with the needed RioCar.org bits and toss it there. The site seems to get enough newbie traffic to probably grab the sttention of some owners that don't frequent here.

Make sure to have big notices that no tuner will magicially appear by filling out the form, and don't collect billing info. All we can do is make an opt-in type e-mail announcement list that might be able to one day say "No tuners" or "Tuners for $x".

I'd do the page, but my free time is lacking for a while as indicated in another thread.

As said by Shonky:

Quote:
'Apart from what Rob said early in this thread, I haven't had any talks with anyone from empeg / SB regarding how feasible this is or whether they would even release the design'

I dont expect them to 'release' the design. Very few companies will release any tech they spent money on development. That doesnt mean it cant be done. We need
to do a few things.

1. Explain our purpose.

The main reason is in no way, shape or form for prohit.
We are a group of indivuals who either missed out on getting a tuner, had our original tuner break or want a
spare for 'just in case'. Just look at how many people have
spare Empegs. Explain we will be more then happy to show our cost and sale recepts.

2. Protect their design

Sure, they no longer make the tuner, but who says they might
not use parts of the design for a future product? We need to show some structure of how we are handeling the manufacturing and distrobution of the product and more importatly who will be handiling the design. Offer to sign NDAs and make sure ONLY the people who are dealing with
the manufacture have access to them. (pardon the spelling)

3. Mark those tuners.

We also have to design them in a way (casing, markings) to show these are NOT Sonic Blue tuners. I'm sure they dont want any headaches of people complaining about repairs to tuners they didnt build. Hell, mark 'em has ' Sonic Blue didnt make this and if you bought this on Ebay, you are an idiot'

4. Offer 'em a taste. (I know I'm going to get flack for this)

Lets face it, it's their design. Nothing talks like money. Offer them a small amout (2-5%), explain that this is FREE MONEY.
Again be prepaired to show manufacturing costs after they are built to them.

If we are going to do this, it's going to have to be a labor of love. The only profit for us is the ability to get tuners. There
is no other way short of reverse engineering the puppy (then we still would not have the right to do a mass run). If there is anything I can do for the effort, just ask. God forbid if we do this and I see one of these on Ebay......