I recently became a first time empeg owner. My previous stereo had been stolen and my insurance gave me way more than I paid for the old one, so I thought what better way to treat myself after dealing with the trauma of a theft than to buy myself a kick ass empeg.
Anyway, I managed to almost install it on my own. The only problem is, my left channel doesn't want to work right. The signal is coming through both channels from the empeg because I tried plugging in each channel into the right channel on my amp and they each work. It is when I try to plug either one into the left channel from the amp that it doesn't work. My amp was working before the theft, although they did try to steal that but couldn't get it out... they were a bit rough with it while trying though. Could this be a wiring issue up front? Any ideas will be appreciated.

Thanks.

If I parse you correctly you have left and right signal out from the empeg all the way to your amp, but no sound from your left speaker(s)?

That does sound like a dead amp channel, or possibly a speaker wire issue...

Try connecting another speaker to your amps left channel out - with know good wiring - either a spare speaker or switching over the right speakers wires to the left channel. If the known good speaker+wire is dead then it's the amp. If you do get sound with a known good speaker+wire I'd look into the wire - check for open circuit (broken wire), short circuit between wires or short circuit to ground.

If your left amp channel is dead I'd still check the wire for shorts, as that
might have been what killed it...

/Michael

Congratulations on your new toy!

Sorry to hear about the theft. It just so happens, that's how I got my first empeg. It actually cost a bit more than the insurance money, but I talked my wife into it anyway.

Bet you're going to pull it out of your dash and take it with you every time though, huh? Having a stereo ripped off makes one pretty paranoid.

Your problem could be your amp, yes. It also could be something wrong with the wires; either the wires running between your dash and your amp, or it could be crossed speaker wires. Perhaps the thieves yanked on some wires and cut the insulation on a metal edge or something.

The way to narrow it down is to connect a small portable CD player directly to the amplifier and try it. If the problem still exists, then you know it's the amp or the speaker wires.

___________
Tony Fabris

Weird that you mention that. Thats how I broke down and ordered my empeg unit. Way back in like march my Aiwa CDC-MP3 player got stolen (stupid me not having comprehisve to cover it) so my loss. Couple friends offered me there cd-players but I turned them down, not only paranoid and said whats the sense it'll just get stolen again, put also they didn't play mp3's. Gotta have standards I supose. Yes it cost a lot more then the $300 mp3 player I was looking at getting but I've always wanted one since they first start back in 98 when I saw it. So I talked my wife into letting me get it. And yes it'll be taken out everytime I get outta the car, debating about even doing it when I go into a store, that's how paranoid I am right now about it, also calling insurence company and adding theft insur. before it get's installed =)

Just my 2 cents.

Future Blue MK2 20 GiG Owner.

Thanks for all the helpful info. I did manage to figure out what is wrong. It is not the amp but rather the left channel on BOTH outputs from the empeg dash adapter. I figured this out after connecting the RCA's directly into the back of the empeg, the home stereo connection. It worked perfectly at that point. This is a good thing since my amp is old and not warrantied whereas my 2 day old empeg is still warrantied. So I guess my next question is, is there any way for me to fix the mounting tray, or should I just get it replaced.

As far as taking it out, yes it will come with me almost everywhere I go. I have even contemplated getting one of those heavy duty cases that I saw another empeg enthusiast had. Here is my dilemma though:
1) When I am home or work, no problem. I can easily bring it in and set it on my desk.
2) I can't seem to figure out what to do when I go into a store or into class or someone elses place. I go to parties every now and then and don't really want to lug it around.

I would like to hear how anyone else deals with the lugging issue.

Thanks again.

Regarding the sled: Contact support about it. It might be a faulty wiring harness. If they determine that the wiring harness is at fault, they will replace it free of charge. See the FAQ for support contact addresses.

Regarding carrying the unit: Purchase a carrying case from the international store (empeg.com). It is great, and makes it very easy to carry the player with you everywhere.

___________
Tony Fabris

Speaking of the lugging issue... does anyone use the Pelican 1200 case? I know there are a few that use the 1400, but i was just wondering if the 1200 fits... seems like it would be tight. I'm lookin at picking one up and wanted some reviews... thought i'd try here instead of starting a new thread.


|| loren.cox ||

Yes, I use the Pelican 1200 after my MkI encounterd a concrete pavement from an altitude of about 5 feet - only damage was that the top left corner of the colored panel was broken off Other empegs that have taken lesser falls have suffered far worse injuries...

Let me do some measuring...

Interior dimensions of case 244x185 mm

Left and right I have 26 and 42 mm between empeg metal side walls and case wall (the facsia extends another 5 mm left and right) In the wider area I insert the remote, vertically between two 'columns' of foam. You could center the empeg and put the remote on top of the empeg. Or dig out one column of foam and store a cable there...

The back wall of the empeg is 30 mm from the case wall. Between the case wall and connector there is one 'line' of foam ~10mm thick. Between the facsia and the case wall there is also ~10mm of foam

Height: the middle foam layer is deep enought to accomodate the empeg. I actually lined the bottom with one extra 'row' of foam left over from the stuff removed to allow the empeg in. This stops the empeg from bumping back and forth between lid and bottom (small movement, but noticeble). Even with this extra padding you can put a CD jewel case on top of the empeg and still close the case, so you can probably carry an USB or ethernet cable there if you really must...

But if you want to carry USB, serial and ethernet cables, power adaptor etc then you do need the larger Pelican 1400.

I'll try to get some pictures next week(end) if I can borrow the Ixus from work, as I need to redo some wiring for the dimming sensing... Might as well document the install then. I just removed (today) my MkI and installed the MkII and tuner - very nice! No whine at all... The upgrade of the amplifier(s) from two el cheapo Pyramids to a somewhat nicer Audiobahn 6600E (6x75W) helped too Bloody big for a small VW Polo though, covers about all of the 60% part of the foldable split seat back... Didn't play much with the tuner yet, so I haven't checked if there's any of the issues others have experienced, will check tomorrow...

/Michael

Oh yeah... 1 inch = 25.4 mm, so 10 mm ~ 3/8"

Thanks so much for the measurements. I'd really appreciate some pics too if you get a sec. Thanks! =]


|| loren.cox ||

Hi.

I was wondering if someone knew a source to get the Pelican 1400 case (a single one) in or to Germany. The only sources I was able to find only sell in large quantities, and I will certainly not go and buy 20 cases just to get one for myself. I even asked for a distributor in Germany, and asked all the Dists for resellers, but still only got sources for 15+ cases as a bulk purchase. Anyone able to help?
If nobody knows a source for me directly, is there anyone that would be willing to buy one for me and send it over (I will pay up for it through paypal)?
Those cases surely seem to be very good.

cu,
sven

proud MkII owner (12GB blue/green/smoked, was #080000113 is #090001010)

If nothing else works out for you I could buy it here in Sweden and
ship it to you. But if I could find two retailers here in Gothenburg it shouldn't be impossible to locate one in Germany!

One of the retailers here was a shop that mainly created custom boxes in wood, but also sold various premade cases.

I'll check on the price for a Pelican 1400 here.

/Michael

Hi.

I finally found a reseller that sells in low quantities. That were about 3 hours of intesive searching through the web. Well, here is the resellers URL: http://www.computerdoktor24.de/Peli/uebersicht.html

cu,
sven

proud MkII owner (12GB blue/green/smoked, was #080000113 is #090001010)

I'd really appreciate some pics too if you get a sec. Thanks!

OK, here's the first one, showing how the empeg fits and where the remote lives.

/Michael

And a view of the cutout, the flash washed out the details of the rear of the cutout, but it is shaped to accept the connectors of both the MkI and MkII (also see next pic)

/Michael

And here's one showing the rear of the cutout in more detail.

/Michael

Awesome. Thanks a ton man, that's exactly what i was lookin' for. I think i just might get me one. =]


|| loren.cox ||