empeg car Mk.1

The original empeg car was released in August 1999 and in total 350 players were shipped. The reason for the low volume was production yield - the product proved very expensive to manufacture. We decided to refine the design and add some new features as well, so a second batch of Mk.1 players was never produced.

Despite production delays and shortages the product was a great success, receiving critical acclaim from the industry and clients alike. At one time players were attracting EBay bids far in excess of the original retail price, and it seems likely that, with high volume shipping of the new model underway, the original empeg car player is set to become something of a collectors item.

Specifications

Processor		220MHz StrongARM S-1100-DA
Flash memory		1Mb
RAM		8Mb 60ns FPM
DSP		SAA7705H
DACs		16 bit sign-magnitude, fourfold oversampling digital filters, noise shaping
Display		128 x 32 dot matrix vacuum fluorescent display, 2 bits per pixel
IR		SIR IrDA I/O, Consumer IR input
Controls		4 pushbuttons
HDD ports		2 x ATA 2.5" HDD standard 2mm header
HDD physical		2 x ATA 2.5" HDD up to 12.5mm, corner mounting screws
Serial IO		9-pin PC serial port, data rate to 230Kbits/s
USB		12Mbit/s standard type B socket on head unit
Power input		+12V fused at 2A with inline fuseholder
Grounding		Negative earth only
Auxillary control output		+12V @ 1A maximum
Audio outputs		4V line level front & rear stereo RCA line jacks, 1V stereo RCA sockets on head unit
Audio inputs		1V line level stereo RCA line jacks
Other features		On board temperature sensor FM fuzzy logic autotuning radio, full RDS, RBDS capability

Some Pictures

empeg car player main PCB

part assembled player, without disk cradle or docking loom

the original player featured unpretentious styling

rear panel connections

car docking sleeve

car docking connections