fisherd3

Before the floods in Thailand you could buy a Samsung 1Tb from www.thanni.com for 1,700thb now the cheapest 1Tb HD there is WD 3,180thb.

They say that the new Windows 8 O.S. is creating big demand for hard disks from PC manufacturers keeping the prices high after the flood.

For now the goal posts have moved and you may have to reconsider your 'cheap enough price'.

Well as usual, everyone identifies the lies (corruption), everyone seems to concur that it is the Thai cultural norm, then rant and rave based on their own Farang perception of things.

What an illogical waste of time!

In my experience (not at your crossing) you will have to pay an inflated rate in Thai Baht around 1000thb..

If I obtain an Online visa for Cambodia enter through Poi Pet do I avoid the 'whole passport page' visa that is the normal 'on arrival' visa, and any other pertinent experience would be appreciated.

During the course of my application for the same, I was told by the Policeman dealing with the application that:

"It was impossible that the money I had in the bank came from selling a condominium because a foreigner must have a work permit to sell a condominium"

As I doubt whether any of the Gurus on this board would have anticipated such a statement it follows that it is unlikely they will be able to tell you what will actually happen when you make your application.

I declined the offer of the issuance of the extension for 15,000thb via a telephone call received at the instigation of the immigration office ten minutes after I got home after wasting two days of our time including paying the manager of our condo to go and tell them we were bona fide, they may just not be interested.

But anything is possible TiT .

Must be last years fashion.

If you decided to get the WRT-54G make sure you check the serial number. If it starts with "CDFE" (version 7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series#WRT54G ) then it's not good. it has the Atheros AR2317 chipset and is not compatible with DD-WRT. They might be cheaper than the other versions because the vendors may want to get rid of them.

What you need is the Lynksys WRT-54GL (note L!) this model has a bit more memory which enables the use of the upgrade firmware such as Tomato and dd-wrt mentioned above.

I like Seagate never had one fail, but I don't suppose I stress them much, right now I am about to buy a WD 640GB for just over 3000thb from Thanni have read reviews all looks good and price per gig is excellent.

I am also looking for a large external hard drive, right now reading about it I am leaning towards Buffalo, check www.jib.co.th for pricing they seem to make some innovative products and it is a Japanese company.

I am thinking of buying the Sony 26" TV to use as a monitor at about 18000thb in Power Buy Rayong, it has all the inputs, HDMI which it has can be connected to DVI with adaptor and most importantly it does not have a 'TN' panel which almost all 22inch displays have and is the most basic panel you can get. Basically low quality as panels go.

Not so long ago this TV would have been over 30,000thb.

I have a couple of mates that own condos in thip.

they have been trying to sell them now for about 6-8 months

with no luck.

maybe it is the price they are asking but

i really think that overall

the managerment is poor with no maintaince being done.

no painting etc the guard lets anyone in when he is not asleep

pool upkeep is not worth talking about,

if you have a phone line you need pay office rates(as you go through there switch board)

which means they can listen in.

they turn over office staff at a great rate.(not sure why)

most don't speak much english.

so they are some of the grips i see with the place.

i would advise you lok at view talay1, you could still pick one up there for about 1 mil if you look around and take your time.

better location for baht taxi to pattaya, 300m walk to beach, low maintaince fees annually (3600 baht) pool is great,

nice cosy shop one ground floor etc

anyhow good luck

ps no i don't own a condo in view talay 1, I have one in view talay 2.

Although this post is a bit old I thought I would set the record straight with regard to the misleading comments made above about Thip Condo where I have lived for two years.

The misleading nature of nearly every item above can be characterised by the fact that at Thip Condo if a telephone line is available from TOT or TT&T you can have it installed with the usual 500thb charge to connect it to your room from the frontboard and have your own telephone line direct with the exchange and pay your bill to TOT or TT&T direct.

It is very clear that the author of the above does seem to have some "grips" (sic) with Thip Condo which probably accounts for the non sense he has written.

I once read a great factual article on CD and DVD quality, the address of which I have in the past posted on this board but don't have to hand. There are three grades of media A,B, & C there are only about five brands in grade A the most revered seems to be Taido Yunden (something like that) which is made in Japan, anything made in Japan is rated. Sony is also in grade A (mostly made in Taiwan but some in Japan), I use Sony DVD-R and CDR mainly because it is consistently available and doesn't cost the earth I pay 650thb for 50 DVD-R and 350 thb for 50 CDR.

In grade B in this article and which I have seen advertised at 380thb for 50xDVD-R on a Thai mail order site is Ritek DVD-R which I intend to try out when I find them.

Princo is indeed very poorly regarded.

Media is mostly made by a few major manufacturers for the different brands, one of the biggest that seems to produce quite a lot of unrated brands is CDC.

After 17 years it was time to upgrade the Phuket home kitchen. Starting with a search for kitchen cupboards, led to a one stop shop. The kitchen cupboards of real wood, Malaysian made, have served perfectly for three years now, and still look and feek new. In the same shop was the Spanish made Fagor kitchen appliance agent.

The appliances were a nightmare. Fridge. After a few weeks of use, it started to ice up in the deep freeze compartment and then switch itself off. After much pleading with the shop, the experts arrived, and poured hot water on the frozen condensor in the deep freeze compartment. It worked, and they said, OK now. Then, sometimes it quit after a few days, sometimes after a few hours. I got tired of taking all the food out of the deep freeze, and melting the ice each time with hot water. The team came again and said, it is the circulating fan. Then, no it is the electronics not switching on the fan. Can you get new electronics, I asked. Yes, we will ask Bangkok. After a few days I chase them, they say, Bangkok no have. I said then give me a new fridge. That had them confused. We will have to ask Bangkok. Well do that, I said. They came back, Ok you can have a new Fridge, (how generous, I thought we may have to wait for new electronics from Spain) BUT, they say, Phuket no have, must come from Bangkok. Do you have a spare, I asked. No, they said. I had to buy another small emergency fridge. New one arrived 2 weeks later, the door and sides with dents. I said dents. Yes they said, rough ride on lorry from Bangkok. So, that now works fine. BTW, the old fridge having worked reliably for 14 years was donated to a tsunami victim.

Next cooker. The old gas/electric one, having been well used and trouble free for 16 years, had to give way to a new shiny Fagor gas/electric top. After no more than a few months use, the smaller gas burner melted, deformed and failed to burn correctly. Just outside your guarantee, sir, (tough luck, I thought, luckier with the fridge though!). New little burner cost over 1000 bt. After a few more months of use, the larger gas burner melts and deforms. I promise I am not doing experiments to try to melt titaniuml. Comment. Maybe your machine no good. I said its a Fagor, its your machine, and gas is gas is gas. Sorry, that is also out of guarantee. I know I said, but as it is the second time, dont you think that these are inferior materials you are using, for a simple gas burner to melt and deform, and maybe you give it to me for free. Okay she says, and I leave. I get a phone call next day and she says, you must pay, its out of guarantee. I said yesterdy you say OK, taday you say NO. Whazzamatta I ask? Out of guarantee, she insists. OK, get me another, I need to have it, but I will surely tell about this nonsense. But we will give you a 20% discount she pleads. Big deal. I say. Cost 1800 baht, before discount.

So if you are looking for a new kitchen appliance, that in this high tech age you would not only expect to function as designed, but also to be made of at least acceptable materials, then please dont be fooled by this shiny, stylish Made in Spain brand.

Yeah, one of the major delays on the A380 was caused by the Spanish made tail section not fitting!

Thailand is a country of laws, but I'm afraid Mr. stopVT7 they're enforced however they see fit and will always look after their own kind before considering the sea view of a handful of wingeing farangs. GET OVER IT!

So, K. JaiDee, you are saying that thousands of expat retirement visa holders don't have any hope of justice in Thailand?

Not unless they pay the money

Check www.rayongresortcondos.com .

When the UK adopted the European standard of 230v from it's existing 240 volts, I believe that it was not necessary to do anything radical as the new standard fell within the acceptable deviation for general household supplies.

The Japanese manufacturer obviously hoped to drum up some business for it's associate company!!!! and possibly enshrine their product in myth.

If you have replaced the stylus I have no suggestion (cannot remember!), if you haven't it is possible that the actual tip of the stylus (used to be called 'diamond' or 'saphire') has literally fallen off the stylus arm and whats left is incapable of sitting in the groove but is capable of some vibration which is the output you hear, but the whole thing just drifts across the disc.

If you have lost the stylus tip tracking at a heavier weight will damage the disks so perhaps you should establish the condition of the stylus before doing that.

So replace the stylus if you haven't already done so (easier said than done I believe).

Yes, I recently assembled a MythTV computer video recording system and finally got it working with an USB MCE remote control device with IR blaster, so it can select the channel on the UBC box automatically and record by schedule. It doesn't completely erase the feeling of spending too much for poor service, but I have found that there are enough movies and shows on over the course of a week to record and give me a few hours of material to watch if and when I want it. I hadn't previously noticed that there are a few OK movies here and there in the middle of the night or middle of the day when I don't normally use the TV...

Just being able to fast-forward through some of those long advertisement sessions is reason enough to do it!

I like MythTV, being an old-time Linux and open source software user. I would assume there are similar solutions for Windows users though which might be easier to manage for a less technical user?

My next trick will be to teach my family members to use it. At the moment, they've mostly just balked at using the main TV in the living room because they know I have some project going on and might get upset if they disrupt the UBC box in conflict with the attached computer.

How did the simple art of watching TV get so complicated? It sounds like you need to be some sort of mad scientist who dashes about, screwdriver in hand, mumbling to yourself formulas, and working late into the night in your secret basement laboratory.

TiT

I have dealt with Star Assets as a letting agent for one of our condos, when the deals were set up 2 or 3 personnel visited my condo with contract and deposit very professional, and when one tenant put his fist through a door they replaced the door no questions asked, promptly, all that adds up to a positive review from me.

I use www.ipipi.com

I was stopped on highway 3 past Rayong, and having just read on the board the day before what to do, I sat in my Suzy Jeep, held my passport open below window line with 100thb on top, (that all I had in small money), and looked straight ahead, the cop just reached in took the 100thb and off I went, no ticket nothing, it seems to me logistically, if you are being given 100thb easily, to try and bump it up to two with a person who does not speak your language is just too much grief.

I thought I would bring this topic back up as I will be in the market for a big screen in January.

as part of my googling I came up with this opinion from this page http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtv/1080p-vs-720p.html

The question I am most frequently asked about this resolution comparison is, "Should I get 1080p resolution in my LCD Television?"

In order to perform a fair test of 1080i vs. 1080p we sent participants out of the room after having shown them the DVDs with both resolutions several times. Then we called them back in with one of the resolutions displaying and asked them whether it was the 1080p or 1080i signal. We repeated this process 10 times and, guess what? They had no clue and could not differentiate at all between the two. This feedback came from a team who knows TVs. In fact they seemed to favor the 1080i signal slightly (60/40). It's incredibly difficult to see the difference even in a side by side test.

this was written in October 2007 so it is a recent opinion. Do any of the AV enthusiasts have an opinion on this comment ?

I have also been browsing the 1staudiovisual.co.th site thinking it might give me a rough idea of pricing - are their prices reasonable ? and they do not seem to have sharp LCDs (32-46'), is this because they are not readily available ?

I have recently bought a 32" Panasonic LCD and a 42" Samsung Plasma both in the middle as far as resolution goes , the biggest surprise is the heat that the LCD kicks out hardly any different to the Plasma, considering its size, my observation on picture quality is that the plasma has a richer looking picture, it certainly has some of that Superstore demo quality a lot of the time, i I would certainly not decry it in any way given the imperfection of most inputs, I would imagine it is more forgiving. It seems to me that a lot of the positive talk regarding the superiority of LCDs is similar to the analysis of Hi-Fi sound which can often be 'technically superb' i.e. flat response no distortion etc, but is often less aurally pleasing than a technically incorrect sound.

My comment invited above is that in my reading about plasma/lcds the most startling thing I have read is that to actually see the benefit of a High Definition TV over a slightly lesser model you have to sit within 10 feet or so of the screen!! Too ridiculous.

I am very happy with both my TVs but I must say the Plasma seems more loveable!! Sorry for the emotion over technicality!!!

By the way I bought the Plasma from Sin Siam mentioned in the pinned A/v stores list on this board, no problems at all, good communication, deliver to Rayong 450thb.

His site sdeems pretty well informed vis a vis quality: http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

Sun Channels advertise 300 channels on a moving big dish, for around 10,000 Thb installed , the box has an inbuilt decoder has no card. The Channels are not fantastic but include basics like Bloomberg and BBC, they have a shop office in pattaya tai quite near tuk com, the place seems straight up and the lady in ther helpful and knowledgeable.

Anyone have any idea if this works just to provide some TV fodder rather than big movies etc?

Cheers.

On my Linksys its cunningly disguised under

Applications & Gaming -> Port Range Forward

Are you saying that tomato includes access to nat table. i.e. if i put tomato on I will then have access to the nat table?

Thanks everyone for input.