wpcoe

1 hour ago, speedtripler said:

Don't take no for an answer the first few times, also try at several companies, they have different reasons and ideas about installations, depending on who you talk to and what mood they are in

Been there, done that.  Been there, done that.  Been there, done that.  Been there, done that.  And, based on reports from other Pattaya members, they have, too.

29 minutes ago, Pib said:

Maybe because management of the highrise doesn't allow True or 3BB into their building; maybe another internet provider has sole rights to the building.   Lots of areas/buildings where there is only "one" internet provider....one cable TV/internet provider, etc.

 

And when it comes to running new lines in a building, it all depends on how the  building was constructed.   If there are large, easy to get to conduits to put in new lines (and building management allows it), running a new line (fiber, coax, phone/DSL line, etc) shouldn't be hard.  But if the lines was enclosed in half-inch PVC pipe in the walls, it's practically impossible to weave new lines into that PVC pipe that no doubt makes numerous 90 degrees turns.  And if an internet tech is going to have to crawl around inside building shafts  they are probably not going to do  it from a company safety standpoint.

 

Now I know True runs high speed internet in Bangkok highrises and that internet is usually "cable/DOCSIS" that carries TV and/or internet....you know, the round, pencil diameter TV type cable.  Cable that was built into the building because TV has been around for a long time.  Newer highrises have fiber infrastructure also.

 

Summary: it depends on building wiring infrastructure and if an internet provider has rights granted by building management to install in the building.

 

At least two Jomtien buildings I know do not block out True and/or 3BB.  One building that I looked at, the management office in the lobby said they would let any provider provide any type of service.  The building I bought in, and live in now, allows 3BB ADSL so why wouldn't they be able to use the same copper wire for VDSL?  The building will even run new phone lines from the ground floor to my unit upon request (and payment.)  The building let a local cable TV provider run *fibre* up to my unit.  So, it's not the building restricting 3BB (and, I'm guessing: True). 

It's an automatic knee-jerk reaction when you go to 3BB/True offices in Pattaya:  "Sorry, no condos."

1 hour ago, Jai Dee said:

On the subject of speed tests, I personally favour speedtest.net, and choose various international servers to test from, as unlike Ookla it does not aggregate tests and you get a more accurate result.

???  The speedtest.net page clearly says "powered by Ookla"...

4 hours ago, Pib said:

2)  a VDSL router....the fibre optics cable terminates on the ground floor of a highrise where an electronic devices converts the fibre optics signals to a VDSL signal....and then that VDSL is feed into the phone/DSL lines that always been in the highrise where it ends up hooking into your VDSL router that will still say AIS Fibre on it.   In this case the "AIS Fibre" on the router does not mean it's a fiber optics router with a fiber optics cable hooked to it....it just means the router was provided by AIS Fibre.  Max speed plan available when using VDSL in the final meters of the AIS Fibre run is around 75Mb if you have a really good copper line in the building....and that speed limitation is simply due to technical limitations of the VDSL standard where approx 90 to 100Mb is the max speed possible on a good copper line run (i.e., no corrosion, no splices, solid connections, high quality wire, etc).  Most internet companies don't even attempt 75Mb over VDSL....most will just offer VDSL plans up to 50Mb.

 If that really is a viable option, and it certainly sounds like it is, why on earth don't the staff in True and 3BB shops offer it? 

8 hours ago, speedtripler said:

They told me that too.... Now I'm using Fibre on the 8th  

 

Who knew.... 

 This is in Pattaya?

If so, who did you contact for the installation since the staff at the True shops in Pattaya automatically say it isn't possible?

I've never used Lazada before, and am considering making my first purchase.  I'd like to try the product and if it's not quite up to my expectations, return it within seven days for a refund.  It sounds like only un-opened packages can be returned for "Change of mind."  Is that correct? 

Even if it is a Non-Immigrant O as part of the process to change from another visa type to an extension, if he leaves Thailand and plans to return within the 90-day validity, a re-entry permit would be necessary.

9 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

This is why use of right terminology is important

Amen, brother.  Amen.

But, that said, for folks who aren't avid followers of this forum section, it can be quite easy to mis-use terminology.

2 hours ago, lou62 said:

I didn't know about a TM 30. A friend told me, anyway I made a trip to immigration.

 

I'd been back 45 days since my return to Thailand. Fined 9000 Bt.

 

It was 200 Bt per day,  didn't have to pay the 5000 Bt that I also would have been charged as well had I not turned myself in (so to speak).

 

I'm on a retirement extension and have been on the system for a few years now.

Had you previously filed a TM.30 for your current address before you departed Thailand and then not advised them you returned after being gone 30+ days, or was this a fine for not ever having filed a TM.30 for your current address?

O-A visas are not issued in Thailand, only in your home country.  Most likely, you received a one-year extension of stay at an Immigrations office in Thailand?  If so, then as said by ubonjoe above, yes, you do need a re-entry permit before you leave Thailand.  If you don't, the extension is canceled upon exit from Thailand.

7 hours ago, Spaniel said:

The Pizza Place,   View Talay 2 A, ground floor, Jomtien.     Recently opened (about a month ago).     Wife and I were in Pattaya  about a week ago and one rainy night we didn't feel like going out to eat so ordered a pizza from the newly opened Pizza Place, which they delivered to our condo but I don't think they have delivery service other then in the building.      They offer 14 pizza selections, lasangna, caesar salad  and a tart of the day,    Prices range from B200 to    B 300.   The pizza was excellent and well enough for two.     In addition to carry out they have four or five tables  in the restaurant.

I've had the #8 pizza from there twice, salami (pepperoni), and it was very good both times.  Far better than the pizza I tried from the other new place in the 'hood on Thappraya Road in the old Jomtien Properties location next to the defunct cabaret show place.  That said, pizzas seem to stir some deep emotions in folks as to what is a "good" pizza, so YMMV.

As you exit the VT2A parking lot, The Pizza Place has a green and red tuk-tuk (a real sam-lor, not a Russian-monikered baht bus) with their name on it, so I suspect they deliver elsewhere than just in that building.

2 hours ago, wpcoe said:

Boy, 3BB seems to be on a roll with xDSL.  For new subscribers they drop ADSL, then drop the @inter option, and now they eliminate 50/20?  Is the only option for condo dwellers the VDSL 30/10 package, then?  

1 hour ago, muratremix said:

They offer 100/30 on fiber for 700 thb.

Thats why they removed 50/20 for 700 thb on VDSL in my opinion. 

 

I'm getting 70/24 (65/22 actual) speed from 50/20 vdsl (no inter)

In Pattaya & Jomtien, at least, they won't install fibre in condo buildings.  Even low-rise buildings.  So the ONLY offering for condo dwellers is now VDSL 30/10.

9 hours ago, Caiman said:

...the 50/20 has now gone so no longer an option for new customers.

Boy, 3BB seems to be on a roll with xDSL.  For new subscribers they drop ADSL, then drop the @inter option, and now they eliminate 50/20?  Is the only option for condo dwellers the VDSL 30/10 package, then?  

... or a third choice:

3.  Obtain a Non-Immigrant O-A visa in your home country before you head back to Thailand.  It does require a medical certificate and criminal background check, so might not be worth it, time-wise & money-wise.  On the plus side, however, the Non-Immigrant O-A can be stretched to almost two years in Thailand before you need to do an in-country extension.

There are some OTC medications -- I believe Tagamet is one? -- that can suppress the vomit reflex.

Your inquiries might be innocent and sincere enough, but addressing your questions may be tricky as I doubt the forum endorses "how to" tutorials for suicide.

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

 

I deal with the regional office at Chayapruek and was told no inter package for VDSL.

 

I called 1530 and was told the same.

 

I will go back tomorrow to the regional office, since I had an agreement that I could switch back to the ADSL inter, so will push hard tomorrow.

 

I have never seen a brochure or anything on their website regarding an inter package.

I know the 3BB counter in Tesco Lotus on Sukhumvit had it pinned to the wall on the left-hand side of the counter.  I'm pretty sure it was the VDSL promo brochure, but might have been some other ad/document.  Several months ago -- probably January? -- I was in the 3BB office on Thepprasit and they also were advertising the @inter with VDSL.

Found this in another thread from April, this year:

ISTR, that the VDSL 50/10 Mbps plan was later upgraded to 50/20 Mbps.

4 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

Yesterday I got VDSL installed, and there is no inter option for the VDSL

What?  Are you saying that 3BB has discontinued the B200 "@ Inter" add-on for VDSL?  Admittedly it has been over a month, but last time I was at the 3BB counter they showed it on a display brochure.

Do you mean like for glass shower enclosure doors?  The Häfele store on Sukhumvit across the road from Tesco Lotus has all kinds of them.  

7 hours ago, Dickygozinya said:

Got a box from Sophon Pattaya - NOTE they are not ALWAYS in STOCK.    Great 150 digital channels.   If your condo uses standard cable splitters - channels may not work.   Splitters we have are able to support 5mgz - 250mgz.    here is site for movie listings in ENGLISH for Movie channels TWO  FOUR  SIX  -   http://www.pattayamail.com/stv/wednesday.html     Attached is list of channels as of the date of this post available for viewing in pdf printable.       

SophonDigitalTVpattayaChannels.pdf

I'm confused.  I have Sophon cable TV in my Jomtien condo and probably get about 150 channels (never counted...) and some of them are ID'd as being HD, but the channel numbers are nothing like the .pdf file that you shared.  They are grouped in series:  Non-Thai news channels are in the 700's (starting with Bloomberg at 700), foreign non-news channels (movies, dramas, etc) are in the 600's (starting with a movie channel at 600), etc.

While my condo was being renovated, I stayed in a unit down the hall which had fewer channels, none of the HD ones, and different channel number.  When I asked at the front desk they said it may be because my TV (a Samsung "smart TV") is able to decode the digital signal whereas the one in the rental was older and only got analog.  I have no converter box of any type.

@Crossy:  

Not sure how any part of the Amazon system works.  This would be my virgin voyage.

There are some other items I would probably buy from Amazon, too.  For sure I would by the keyboard/cover and that's about $20 cheaper in the US.  I get bonus airline miles by using Amazon.  Etc, etc, etc.  If it were just the Surface Pro, I'd probably buy here, but...

@Jeffrey346:  Thanks!  Nice to know that's the intent of their systems, but as a first-timer, I'm still skeptical and curious.   It's in my genes.  

[edited to add:]

I just did a dummy order to add the $128 keyboard/cover.  The shipping went up $5, but the Import Fee Deposit went up $24???  

Thanks.  I had wondered if there were a better, more appropriate page on the Thai Customs web site, but that's the closest I could find.

The seller is Amazon. This would be my first time using them, so not sure exactly how they work.  They don't list a particular shipping company, just "AmazonGlobal" Expedited or Priority shipping.  Rates seem reasonable:  $26.73 for 5-10 business days, $39.55 for 2-5 business days.

Including shipping + customs it will be US$1400. The same item will be released in Thailand on 15-August for B49,900 (US$1500 at today's exchange rate), so US$100 cheaper.

I'm on the fence about which way to go.  I started this thread to make sure the Amazon price was realistic with their custom's fee deposit.

It's a Microsoft Surface Pro.  I just did a "Live Chat" on microsoft.com  about the warranty:

Quote

 

Microsoft Live Chat:

 

In this situation, When the device is purchase to USA, The device manufacturer warranty will be covered in any country if the device is also launch in that the country. For example I live in Thailand and purchase a device in USA like Surface Pro 4 that is also launch in Thailand, the warranty will be covered still. But if the device is purchased is USA but I live in Thailand the device is not launch in Thailand the warranty will be not covered.

 

If the purchase device from USA is not launch from where you live, you can get assistance or replacement (just in case) to the nearest country that the device is launched on the same as USA.

 

I wonder where on the planet the Live Chat person was. His replies did not sound like native English fluency.

From Google searches, it seems people buying computers overseas and having them shipped to Thailand are either being charged:

(a) 40% + 7% VAT, or

(b) 1% + 7% VAT, or

(c) simply 7% VAT

The best "official" site I can find is http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp.  If you click on "Search for Import Tariff" and enter 8471, and then choose 8471.30.20 (for "Laptops including notebooks and subnotebooks") it displays a "Statutory Rate" of 40%.  What does "Statutory Rate" mean?

Has anybody bought a notebook or tablet online recently -- e.g. this year -- and had it shipped from overseas?  If so, how were you taxed?

The computer I'm considering is US$1300.55 including shipping.  They add on an "Import Fee Deposit" of $99.15, which is slightly more than 7% VAT would be, but I realize that's not a maximum limit and if higher tariff applies, I would be responsible for paying the extra.

8 hours ago, wpcoe said:

It did apply when flying US carriers (NW and UA, which now have both ceased service at BKK), and from what I've read also currently applies Australian carriers?

7 hours ago, bubba said:

No. Last month, I flew from Narita to Washington DC. with a connection in Chicago. Bought a bottle of sake at Narita duty free, and was allowed to board the plane with the bottle in the sealed duty free bag. I was also allowed through security in Chicago onward to my domestic connection with the bottle, because it was in the sealed duty free bag. That's allowed by the rules and I have done it more than once.

Well, I stand corrected.  I used to frequently fly out of Suvarnabhumi, often several times a month, on UA before I retired in 2010.  At that time, it didn't matter if you had a sealed duty free bag or not.  To enter the UA gate room you had to surrender anything over 100ml.

But, doing a Google search, I see that the US relaxed the rule somewhat in January 2014 to be exactly what you described:  if your purchase is in a sealed, transparent duty free bag you can exceed the 100ml limit both on your inbound-to-the-USA flight and on any subsequent connecting flights within the US.

I know HomePro sells stone cleaner in a spray bottle which is labeled to be used on granite.  They also used to sell a sealer, but I've been unable to find it for several months now.

I've been considering the car wax option, as well, but not sure if it's good/bad for the granite.

Apparently these forum "upgrades" are a tech version of Whack-A-Mole.  Fix one thing and another thing breaks.

I was elated yesterday (yeah, my life is that boring and mundane) that when using the back arrow to return to the main forum list it didn't bounce up and down (scrolling rapidly up and down) while the ads inserted themselves.  What a nice experience to use the back arrow and see a motionless main forum list.  That was when the Like function was still missing.

Today, we have Like again, but the main menu is back to bouncing.  Since we know it *is* possible to not have the ads keep resizing their space to scroll the list as the ads load, can't we keep it as a permanent feature.  PLEASE?

1 hour ago, nectar said:

Doesn't apply to liquids in sealed containers or bags.

It did apply when flying US carriers (NW and UA, which now have both ceased service at BKK), and from what I've read also currently applies Australian carriers?