newbegin4

I have a similar duty question. I've been to the Customs website and try as I might, I cannot find the computer peripherals/equipment-related section. I've looked through Sec 84xxx and found nothing.

Specifically, I'm looking for the duty on a 'network router'. Has anybody imported one or have any suggestions on how to properly search the custom's website?

I also want to know the duty on normal household-type 220v anti-surge multi-plug electrical outlet (not part of a UPS). For this item, I did find the term mentioned in the customs site under the main heading, but soon became completely lost in searching the sub-headings as I did not see that term used again.

Hopefully somebody has imported similar items and already knows the classification (or please just let me know the duty percentage paid so I know what to expect).

On top of the duty, can I expect the 7% VAT as well?

Thanks!

The common multi-plug extension cords one sees in every store are of very dubious value for surge protection. The uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) have considerably more complex circuitry as well as a battery for use during short blackouts. The Phuket PC club has had many discussions on these and the general consensus of the members (and the very strong recommendations of some of the more expert ones) is that the only UPS really worth buying in the LOS is the APC (American Power Conversion). These are available in most computer shops.

Unfortunately, I already purchased a UPS here in Thailand many months ago (not an APC brand). I'm thinking about the anti-surge power strips (multi-plug electrical extension outlets) as a go-between the wall electrical outlet and the UPS. Is there a recommendation about brands of anti-surge power strips? It sounds as if there are no brands available in Thailand that are any good as far as power strips are concerned. It seems that I will need to import an anti-surge power strip. Any brand recommendations of anti-surge power strips thas I can import from the U.S. (or other country)?

Edited to remove double-post.

Have you talked to them about this? I call immediately if I experience anything worse than expected... Should be said I don't have any experience with TTT

Martin

My wife has called TTT repeatedly to no avail.

I'm starting to accumulate quite a bit of expensive electrical hardware and am increasingly worried about lightning strikes. I've got a computer (and a second on the way for a planned home office network), ADSL modems, telephone, fax machine, and other very expensitve network gear that I want to protect.

Are these items toast no matter what surge protection device is used (in the event of a direct hit)?

I don't want to trust buying an anti-surge device from the local store because I won't know what I'm buying and whether it would be good quality or a worthless imitation.

I hope that someone can help, with available make, model and source recommendations, thanks!

afarang, are you in the Udonthani area? My wife said she used CAT CDMA last year and wasn't happy with the service. Perhaps she needed the 'antenna' device. Speaking of which, where can I purchase one? Are they sold locally?

I'm willing to try everything, money is no longer an issue as I'm desparate. I told my wife that I either have to return to the U.S. or move to Bangkok (for better internet service) if there ultimately proves to be no solution to my Udonthani internet connection woes. I'm effectively unemployed. I can't work at all.

Thanks for your advice.

Not quite in Udon,Southern Buriram.If you are within about 3 kms of a mobile phone tower, you will not need an antenna, further away and you will definitely need one. Quite a few of us here are using C.D.M.A., very successfully.The modem and antenna are ONLY sold by C.A.T..I was using satellite, but C.D.M.A., is vastly superior.Maybe, she was an early user,now many more phone towers are equipped to provide the service.

Ok, thanks for that advice! I'll check into it further.

afarang, are you in the Udonthani area? My wife said she used CAT CDMA last year and wasn't happy with the service. Perhaps she needed the 'antenna' device. Speaking of which, where can I purchase one? Are they sold locally?

I'm willing to try everything, money is no longer an issue as I'm desparate. I told my wife that I either have to return to the U.S. or move to Bangkok (for better internet service) if there ultimately proves to be no solution to my Udonthani internet connection woes. I'm effectively unemployed. I can't work at all.

Thanks for your advice.

A good solution for you to check out is:: C.A.T. C.D.M.A. .Cost for modem B 9,500 approx.+ B850 per month. It works really well, much,much faster and more reliable than land lines.I have been using it now, for 9 months and am very happy with it. Sorry, C.A.T. is the Communications Authority of Thailand , will have an office in Udon.

Thanks, I'll ask my wife about CAT CDMA. By the way, how is the latency with this service? My experience with the GSM wireless that I just bought is a bit disappointing (above and beyond the slow crawl speeds). The latency is 700 to 900 ms (about twice that of ADSL). I use Vonage extensively, hence the worry about latency.

I've had TTT service since January and it has been (mostly) reliable until up to about 3 weeks ago. Since then it has been constantly out or barely running. I work nights and usually have no problem with international service but now I can not count on internet access. The service just is out 90% of the day (and crawls the remaining 10%).

My wife works about 3 km away at a factory and their TTT is also down all the time. That factory also has TOT as a backup and she says that that service is also not dependable.

I would like to know if this is just a temporary local problem, a problem in all of Udonthani or a recent issue in all of Thailand?

I am desperate! Without reliable international internet access, I am effectively unemployed (no income) and have a wife and young child to help support.

I bought a GSM wireless card last Friday as a backup, it barely works (dial-up speeds or less). What other options are there? I'm willing to try ANYTHING, including satellite or an expensive leased line (if necessary - but I wonder if that would even help).

Udonthani-area expatriates/residents, please advise what is (or is not) working for you, thanks!

First off - the Peplinks are routers. They are not ADSL modems, so you will still need a box between the Peplink and your phone line (assuming you have ADSL or similar). RJ45 are basically ethernet plugs, so you'll have an ethernet cable between the Peplink and you computer, and also between the Peplink and your ADSL modem.

I did purchase a Peplink 20W previously. I looked at local providers, but it worked out far cheaper to buy it direct from US, shipped to EU, and then carried by hand into Thailand (I travel back and forth a lot). As in about 40% cheaper. The local resellers here have very juicy margins (or import duties are massive).

I know that Peplink have some new models now. I'm actually now using a Draytek 9210n wireless router with load balancing. Clever device, N wifi, and cheaper than the Peplinks. Peplink does have a good name for load balancing however, and their support were top notch when it came to setting up their router for Cat CDMA modem. Draytek seem to have built a pretty solid reputation also.

If you're going for Peplink I'd buy the 30 model so you can load balance two ADSL connections. I believe it also supports USB for a 3g dongle, so you effectively have 3 lines.

Thanks for the clarification on the need for the ADSL modems. I've asked Peplink directly about the number of WAN connections for their Peplink Balance 20 (newest model). The aswer is, and I quote, "The Balance 20 does indeed have two Ethernet WAN interfaces and a USB port for a 3G connection, so a total of up to 3 connections." So I was pleasantly surprised (yes, I know their brochure seems to indicate only 2 connections - I guess they need to update it). At U.S. $295 that makes the Peplink Balance 20 the best deal in my opinion. It seems that the local reseller prices are over $400 so, if hand carrying back from the States, it is much cheaper (or at the worst break-even if you have to pay the full 40% customs duty). The tech support guy at Peplink that I spoke with on the phone said that they would work with me to write a driver for my USB modem at no charge (if it was not already supported). I thought that was indicative of great service.

I'll look into the Draytek nevertheless to cover all my bases. Does the Draytek support wireless connections via a USB port (as does the Peplink)?

Where did you buy yours? Locally or imported? How much? How about setup?

The ADSL connection is a regular phone line-type adapter, however, if I'm not mistaken, the Peplink accepts the larger RJ-45 connection? Any solutions (other than an intervening modem) such as some sort of phone cord to RJ-45* adapter?*

*Actually I haven't seen one of these units in person, so I'm assuming that the connections are indeed RJ-45.

Any other helpful hints or suggestions that would help me and others?

* * * * *

Just to help readers who don't know what the Peplink is (or what I'm doing), I'm trying to combine an ADSL internet connection and a Mobile internet connection (hence the need for the new model which supports the USB port or the old model W which also supports wireless). This is for redundancy reasons in the case of one connection failing the other takes over. Also it increases available bandwidth.

By the way, I might be interested in purchasing a used unit, if someone has one available.

If your current video card doesn't have two monitor outlets, no fear. So long as you have a spare PCI slot, just buy a second video card. I've been using dual monitors for years. Lately, computers have been switching over from analog connectors for the monitor cords to some new type of digital connector. So make sure that the connector outlets match. I had that problem here. The solution was to buy a special adapter, but it wasn't easy to find locally.

As to using the monitors, you need to right-click on your desktop, choose Properties > Settings and configure from there (these instructions are for XP, you operating system version may be different).

Good luck!

I would need an International adoption.

I have been looking at the official U.S. sites and am hopelessly totally confused. The forms I viewed seem to be wholly inapplicable to my particular situation...such as for adoption of orphan, etc. Adoption of your wife's daughter didn't even seem to be an appropriate option, at least on first glance!

Anyway, surely someone else with a nearly identical situation as myself has gone through this before. If so, please post here a basic outline of your experience and help point us in the right direction, thanks!

Hello, I'm an American man, aged 41, married to a Thai wife, age 36 who has a daughter (born out-of-wedlock) age 3. We were married in October 2009.

Questions:

- How long will the process take?

- How much will this cost in attorney's fees?

- Has anyone completed this process without assistance of an attorney?

Thank you!

Ok, thanks! My wife and I will go to the local immigration office tomorrow and try to take care of the fine and see what to do next.

Hi all,

I need quick help on this! Background: US Citizen, married to Thai citizen on November 13, 2009. I originally arrived in Thailand on August 22, 2009, made several Laos visa runs before getting a Tourist visa from the Thai Embassy in Vientienne on November 2nd. Both my Thai wife and I looked at the Visa at the time of issue and noted that it said 'Enter before: 1 Feb 2010' so we though we were issued a 90 day visa. Tonight my wife was looking at my passport and noticed an obscure stamp on the next page that said 'Admitted until: 1 Jan 2010'. We are both surprised and confused.

What should we do?

Go to Vientienne tomorrow and try to re-enter to obtain another 2-weeks so we can avoid accruing any more 500 baht/day fines? Should I go to the Thai Embassy for another extension? Will they issue me one since I overstayed my previous visa?

I want to hear about any red flags that I should look out for (anything I should do or should not do), it would be very very bad to be marooned in Laos (over some technicality) and not be able to get back into Thailand I am currently without the funds necessary to fly back to the States in such a worst-case scenario.

It is January 4th, Monday night and I hope someone is reading this post tonight and can respond with some insight. Thank you all!

Udon Thani is just across the Mittaphab Lao border and is Land Locked. The only fish around there is coming from the

Mekong River and buffalo ponds such as the Catfish,Talapia and Carp. (Check the river sanitation before you eat the fish around there).

Go to the nearest Hyper-Mart such as Tesco-Lotus and check out the fish department there. You'll see a variety of fishes

which you can identify. If not, resort to the frozen fish selection; there are Red Snapper filets, Cod fillets, etc.

Good luck.

I've been to both Tesco-Lotus and the new Carreful supermarkets and have seen the fresh fish displays. Problem is I don't know one fish identification from another...but the frozen fish idea is a good one. I'll check to see if there are any frozen fillets (hopefully those would be already de-boned).

.

Antacil works well.

[/ quote].

Ok, thanks! I will ask to see Pepcid, Tagment and Antacil next time I am at a pharmacy. I'm looking for some tablets (so that I can carry in my pocket in case I need one).

I can't seem to find an equivalent to Tums or Rolaids in any of the pharmacies. What is the Thai equilavent?

Small chewable tablets is what I'm after for treating stomache acid, thanks!

Hi, I would like to find a fish that is boneless (or at least is easy to de-bone).

So far, it has been trial-and-error with no luck in restaurants and buying from the supermarket.

Any suggestions? Please provide the fish name(s) as known locally in Udonthani, thanks!

In followup, it looks like I'm going to have to go to Bangkok to 1) visit the U.S. Embassy, 2) translate the affidavit and 3) take both documents to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since I'd be traveling from Udonthani, how many days should I plan on staying in Bangkok to get this all done? I'd love to finish in a single day, but somehow I don't think that is going to happen. What experiences have you all had and what recommendations can you give to help me speed up the process?

I don't feel comfortable (being a newby in Thailand) travelling alone and hope that my fiancée can accompany me, however that would be a burdon on her to take several days off work.

Thanks everybody. Well that nixes tying the knot in Laos.

My Thai girlfriend and I are planning to get married, then I will apply for a Non-Immigrant O Visa.

Anything we should know in advance if we don't tie the knot inside Thailand itself? Any additional documentation or steps required?

Thanks!

I recently brought over my desktop computer from the U.S. I flipped the obligatory switch on the back of the machine to convert the power input from 110 volts to 220 volts and the computer itself works fine.

Unfortunately, I the computer's internal fax modem PCI card now won't work (my software fax application ways it can't detect a dial tone). I brought over my Vonage adapater and it works well and as far as the fax modem is aware, it should think that it is still connecting to a state-side telephone line (by the way Vonage service works great when I connect a phone directly to the Vonage router).

Anybody have a similar problem?

Thanks!

If all else fails, I will try purchasing a new fax modem locally.

I just arrived and brought over my desktop computer from the USA, works fine but I can definitely feel stray current when I touch the exterior (tingly feeling with tiny shocks).

I did flip the power switch from 110v to 220v before connecting. Is this normal for the 220v environment (I wouldn't think so)? Is it the computer's fault or could it be the house wiring (i.e. lack of ground wire)?

Fire hazard or just a minor annoyance? Anybody else experience the same thing?

Thanks for any advice!