FM Tuner - When?

I've been looking around and have not seen any info on when the FM tuner might be available. It's not in the order section so I assume it not out yet. Anyone know?

Not so Patiently waiting till #15885,
Jeff

Do a search for tuner.

This is only the tidbits of info I have gathered from reading these post. I am by no means in a position to know more than you could find "by doing a search on tuner".

The last estimate I saw was expecting end of September. There are also some posts that indicate the development is 'on schedule'. I think I also saw some mention that there are a few 'test' units built and they are working on source-ing the metal work for the casing. The first tuner for the M2 will probably be FM only. See, I was paying attention.

Patiently waiting for a tuner - Honestly, I dont miss the radio as much as I thought I would. The empeg is way too much fun!


-Doug
(Mk2-12G-Blue)

Patiently waiting for a tuner - Honestly, I dont miss the radio as much as I thought I would. The empeg is way too much fun!

Yeah, I've got a mark 1 with a perfectly good tuner, and I hardly ever turn it on at all. Amazing how radio seems so unnecessary when you no longer get bored of the CDs in your changer.

___________
Tony Fabris

The tuner may be delayed; we've not been happy with the performance of the FM only prototypes and are doing some more work on it. This may result in the first tuner module that is available being the AM/FM unit.

Hugo

This may result in the first tuner module that is available being the AM/FM unit.

Wow, so both good and bad news, then?

Sorry to hear about the problems, but adding AM would make a lot of people happy.

___________
Tony Fabris

We're determined to get the empeg tuner to at least the standard of a good car head unit - ie, no problem with weak stations, etc; the FM tuner was better than the mk1 tuner, but still not on a par with the reference tuners we have here (which pick up stations & rds with a bit of damp string as an antenna).

Unfortunately, the new tuner is bigger than the old one, the tuner is likely to be around 10x5x2.5cm.

Hugo

Yes it would. It's kind of funny how a geek like me would want something so low tech as AM, but until I can stream the local sports talk show over wireless ethernet, I need an AM tuner. :)

---
MkII 080000554

I guess DAB is still some way off?

Weren't you looking at the Gold Cards or something?

Philb.

...the tuner is likely to be around 10x5x2.5cm.

How close to the empeg will the tuner have to be placed, i.e., how long will the connecting wiring harness be? If the tuner module can be a meter or so away, then physical size will be less of a problem.

tanstaafl.


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

We were looking at gold cards, yes, but DAB is likely to be some way off - if there's demand for us to do it at all. Problem is, it's a lot of effort to go to if we only sell (say) 25 DAB tuner units!

Hugo

err ok what is DAB?
kinda curious and im still at work *yes that is a 15+ hour day but hey they might make me into a unix sys admin after 1 month of being a tech support punk :)*

cant wait to get mah hands on an empeg. n e ways jsut a nice slow defination of what DAB is. thanks guys

Im as confused as a babby in a topless bar...

DAB is digital audio broadcasting. This has been operational for a couple of years in europe - you get multiple MPEG2 encoded streams, at up to 320kbit, at home/in car/etc.

Problem is, the receivers are expensive. They started out at around $6000, and are now down to about $750 for a trunk mounted addon for an existing head unit (eg, Pioneer do one).

This isn't the american DAB, which isn't out yet.

Hugo

This isn't the american DAB, which isn't out yet.

Don't tell me the americans are going to do their own incompatible thing again

Borislav

I would definitely be interested in the DAB tuner.

I've just bought the Arcam DAB home tuner, and it is simply amazing - the quality of the stations is unbelievable.

According to the Arcam book though - 256Kbps is the maximum bit rate - have they changed the spec to 320 now? I didn't find a station transmitting at more than 192Kbps in my area.

As the number of services grows over the next two years - this will become a premium addition to the empeg product - especially if the software is even 1/2 as good as the arcam stuff.

Paul.

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

Would be also interested in a DAB tuner, though the price would somehow matter at the end...
(...I'd be interested in case I can order an empeg any time...)
Ionic

#15399 (!!!)

Don't tell me the americans are going to do their own incompatible thing again

They have a low bandwidth system that operates on the side of existing FM bands. It's much lower quality than the European system, but it's cheaper for radio stations to adopt - and US radio stations are notoriously slow to take up new technology.

Rob

Check this thread.

thanx for the links guys as im in ca and the only thing even close to that i have heard about is streaming mp3's not mp2. and i heard it was 5 years off.. o well you damn euro's are lucky :(

Im as confused as a babby in a topless bar...

Back on the tuner...

So is there an estimate when the AM/FM tuner will be available?

Well, the general idea i get from reading this thread is that they are not happy with the current fm only tuner, so they are going to go ahead and work on it some more-possibly switching to an am/fm tuner. They don't have exact dates on the tuner because if they set a date and a big oem project comes up the tuner will have to wait for a little while until the oem project is done. Thats just my take on it though, I could be wrong.

Sean

We're trying to get the tuner out as soon as possible; however there are several obstacles, not least of which is actually getting the tuners. We have samples, and we're hoping we can get production quantities quickly - but the lead time on electronics is generally 12 weeks minimum. I suspect this is what will influence the delivery time the most.

We're just finishing some testing on the prototypes today (ie; FM is great, just checking AM) and if all goes well then we can place the order for production quantities of the tuner modules (we don't build the tuner itself; this is all complex RF stuff. We just buy a canned module with digital controls :) ).

Hugo

Some infos about the price range on the tuner-module

TeeMcBee
Got my Mk2! # 080000143

(ie; FM is great, just checking AM)

Whoa nellie! Wow, I was under the mistaken impression that AM was not going to be provided. This is fantastic---because without AM I couldn't totally give up another head unit. (I listen to too much talk radio!) yahoo

Of course, now that I've looked through the rest of this thread, I realize that had I bothered to read this thread before now, I would have already seen this little morsel revealed :-)

Michael Grant
12GB Green
080000266

Edited by mcgrant on 14/9/00 12:41 PM.

We estimated the price range as $50 to $100 several months ago, and that still holds true. The target was $75 but it may be a little more as we now have AM and some other cool features up our sleeves.

Rob

You guys must have enormous sleeves, what with all the cool features you keep pulling out of them!

-Trevor

-----
Mk 2, Green 12GB 080000349

> We're just finishing some testing on the prototypes today (ie; FM is great,
> just checking AM) and if all goes well then we can place the order for
> production quantities of the tuner modules (we don't build the tuner itself;
> this is all complex RF stuff. We just buy a canned module with digital
> controls :) ).
>
> Hugo

Since you have prototypes, I'd really enjoy physical specs and installation notes. For instance, is the radio attaching to the sled or going under a seat? I've got my empeg everywhere but in my car, and am trying to decide whether I should do the car installation and retro the radio, or wait and do it all at once. Of coarse your schedule plays heavily in the calculation as well...





-jim

It attaches to the tuner connector which hangs off the back of the sled. It's small enough to fit behind the dash somewhere.

Hugo

I guess I'm having a hard time visualizing this. Do you happen to have any pics to get a better idea?

I'm having a hard time visualizing this

Think of a pack of cigarettes with some ware attached to connect it to the player . . .

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6