first batch of memory boards approaching

Posted by: pca

first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 15:41

Hi.

I am about to order the first small batch of 32 PCBs for the memory boards. So, I am throwing the order book open.

The price will be £100 plus shipping, which is £5 to the UK, £7 to europe, and £10 to everywhere else.

The boards will take about 1 month to arrive, and then a further two weeks to build. I will ship them immediately they are ready. Once the first batch is done, I will evaluate the situation and work out the batch size for the next lot.

I do NOT want to get stuck in the same trap as the tuners produced, sitting on several thousand pounds worth of unsellable stock. So, I will be taking firm orders, not requests for interest. I don't currently have time to fiddle with the website and will simply do this via email at first.

If you want one, email memory at pcats.co.uk with your name, address, email, and phone number. I will respond within a couple of days with a paypal request for the appropriate amount. Once it is paid you will be allocated a board or boards from the next available batch, along with an approximate shipping date.

As I said, the first batch will be 32. So, the first 32 orders will get those boards. The rest will have to wait until the next batch, the size of which will be determined by the number of orders.

Installation will have to be arranged by the purchaser. I will provide a manual in PDF form, the location of which will be announced when it is ready. The installation is fairly straightforward, but as has been mentioned before isn't something you want to learn soldering by doing If you are unsure whether you can do it, chances are good that you can't. Find someone who can. I have no doubt that there will be plenty of volunteers on the BBS.

Any questions?

pca
Posted by: belezeebub

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 16:06

how much is 100(fancy "L" in us dollars)
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 16:14

Quote:
how much is 100(fancy "L" in us dollars)


It changes from time to time, but you can use a Currency Converter.

£ = United Kingdom Pounds = Fancy L
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 16:22

You have mail.
Posted by: belezeebub

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 16:25

Okay so 100"L" would be
187.132 USD
United States Dollars

Cool but what advantage do I get for my 200 bucks (including shipping)

Quote:
Quote:
how much is 100(fancy "L" in us dollars)


It changes from time to time, but you can use a Currency Converter.

£ = United Kingdom Pounds = Fancy L
Posted by: tman

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 16:31

Quote:
Cool but what advantage do I get for my 200 bucks (including shipping)

More space to cache music = HD spun down more, bigger database possible and finally more extra memory to run third party applications. In short, more memory...
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 16:45

And more is better.

For me, I'll no longer get the VM: do_try_to_free_pages failed for player... through my serial port.
Posted by: tman

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 17:02

I give it another year or so before you and pgrzelak outgrow the 64MB expansion board
Posted by: pgrzelak

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 17:20



As it is, I am deliberately holding back from the first batch. I already have extra memory - I want to let others have a chance first before I get a few boards for "future use". But I will certainly be getting some down the road.
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 17:21

Thanks for the reminder! I almost forgot my daily check to see if the 120gb drives were out!
Posted by: mlord

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 21:45

Quote:
Cool but what advantage do I get for my 200 bucks (including shipping)


I plan to build/release a full replacement Linux distro for the player, to serve as the basis for future Hijack style enhancements, many of which will then become doable in userspace.

This will result in a larger in-memory footprint for the C-Library, since the player s/w will still need it's original glibc, whereas I hope to use something more modern for everything else.

This new distro will be targeting players with 32MB or more. I plan to upgrade all of my own players to 32MB, using the simple/cheap stacked-chips method. People with the full 64MB will gain performance from 3rd party apps, and more spin-down time during playback.

Cheers!
Posted by: mlord

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 23/03/2005 21:56

Another plus with more RAM is that one can play flac files and the hard drives might actually still manage to spin down.

Cheers
Posted by: pca

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 24/03/2005 17:24

17 gone so far...

pca
Posted by: tfabris

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 01:29

Quote:
Cool but what advantage do I get for my 200 bucks (including shipping)


My FAQ Entry on the topic needs to be updated a bit, but for the most part still answers your question accurately.
Posted by: canuckInOR

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 02:55

Quote:
As it is, I am deliberately holding back from the first batch.

Likewise. I will get one, but it'll have to be from a 2nd (or subsequent) batch. Hopefully there'll be a "last call" post, to make sure that I don't miss out. What's the minimum batch size for ordering?
Posted by: andy

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 05:25

Quote:
Likewise. I will get one, but it'll have to be from a 2nd (or subsequent) batch.


AOL.
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 17:15

I'm order #3..

So who has 1 and 2 ??
Posted by: FireFox31

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 17:20

Order # 5, reporting in. Hey, if I'm going to be the empeg software librarian, I'll have to try out all those programs. The extra meg'age could only help, right?
Posted by: mtempsch

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 18:33

Quote:
I'm order #3..

So who has 1 and 2 ??


I got #1
Posted by: Mataglap

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 18:56

Order #17 as of just a few hours ago!

Woot!
Posted by: geeknerd

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 19:18

Are these boards usable with the rio central?
Posted by: tman

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 19:43

Quote:
Are these boards usable with the rio central?

It's designed to fit onto the bottom of the empeg PCB and connect to the test points. Unless of course they just happen to be in the same arrangement and nothing is blocking it, it won't work.
Posted by: peakmop

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 25/03/2005 23:03

Got #14
Posted by: pca

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 26/03/2005 08:07

25 gone now. Keep the orders coming!

pca
Posted by: caseyse

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 26/03/2005 13:14

Yup, 3-boards. Orders #11 and 19.
Posted by: Micman2b

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 26/03/2005 18:43

I am going to wait until the second order for a board as my primary player has the "stacked ram" method AND I needed to get 2 100gb drives today as my primary player seems to need a new drive. Someday my backup player will get a RAM upgrade board though...
Posted by: caseyse

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 26/03/2005 19:40

These boards are great for the mk2 units, as memory stacking only yields 16MB. I can now upgrade the memory on a couple of empegs in order to support larger drives/TOCs.
Posted by: Waterman981

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 27/03/2005 06:20

Quote:
I am going to wait until the second order for a board...

I'll be doing the same. I'm going on vacation in a week, so Chevron, hotels, resturants, Vegas, and U2 are going to be getting my hard earned money. Road trip to LA to see U2, with the empeg playing every album in order for the drive there! It will be fun! I'm just hoping I can get the cash together after this trip before the second batch.
Posted by: pgrzelak

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 27/03/2005 12:42

Okay. I have given everyone a fair chance. That would be four boards for me - <click>.
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 27/03/2005 12:44

That was very cool of you to give everyone else a stab at it first. Maybe word hasn't gotten out yet, but it looks like this first batch isn't going very fast. I'd be more worried if I were in the second batch that enough orders may not be generated to make them.
Posted by: pgrzelak

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 27/03/2005 12:51

Agreed. I am surprised these are not selling faster, but I would guess that many of the people that wanted extra memory already did the RAM stack hack. This seems to be a much more elegant solution, and I personally like having the option available in case the memory stacks on my players become unstable.

I think people may also be waiting until funding is available.

The good thing is that the small batches require less money up front, so hopefully this will be much easier to produce and distribute.

Now, about those 120GB hard drives...
Posted by: drakino

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 27/03/2005 20:25

Quote:
I think people may also be waiting until funding is available.

Yeah, I'm in that boat. I knew these were coming, so I held off on upgrading mine with the stacking method. And now, I need to get some things around the house taken care of before I buy any more toys, or upgrades to existing ones.

It would help if I could get firm numbers on what I need for my yard and basement, but nothing yet. Once I do, I can decide on grabbing one of these and possibly a visit to the owners meet in Europe again this year. *curses the Colorado snow storms in the spring*
Posted by: Ezekiel

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 28/03/2005 12:09

AOL to Drakino's post.

-Zeke
Posted by: Dviant

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 28/03/2005 12:49

Well, I'm definitely interested in the memory upgrade. Haven't ordered one yet though.

Upgrading the drives holds a bit higher priority for right now, but a new drive (80gb!) is on the way. I'm also still waiting on my tuner kit, actually. Once I get it I'll get in line. Just want to make sure that the international mail gremlins havent started to target my orders!
Posted by: Waterman981

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 29/03/2005 01:43

It seems like they are targeting me as well... Maybe someone in the post office needed our tuners more than us!
Posted by: AndrewT

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 29/03/2005 10:23

Quote:
I think people may also be waiting until funding is available.

Agreed. We've got a lot of work left to do on this house and we keep on running out of funds. SWMBO will have a fit if she catches me buying empeg goodies right now, but I hope I don't miss out on these!
Posted by: pca

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 29/03/2005 17:27

Well, I have now sold the first 32 boards. However, I have a couple of orders past that threshold. If I get a few more, it will probably be worth enlarging the batch size to perhaps 50 or 60, so keep them coming. Otherwise it'll have to wait until I get more orders in later.

pca
Posted by: JeepBastard

Re: first batch of memory boards approaching - 30/03/2005 18:46

Whats the deadline? I might consider ordering. I ordered a radio from you and that turned out quite lovely , although now that I cant find the remote at the moment, I cant change the channel, but it was a great kit to build from scratch, so me and my solder gun say thank you. But money is sooo fleeting

would those extras still be at 110 GBP? ($206 american!)

I use my EMPEG everyday, I may just have some time finally not to be overseas or working on a film to try my hand at ODB-II integration (come on dude! Press a button and get your current RPM's or MPH? We have to do this!) This ram mod might come in handy if we get increase userspace with a modified install.