hogan@xanth.cs.odu.edu (Emmett Hogan) (03/24/88)
With all this talk about the inexpensive ZOOM modem, I was just wondering if anyone has everheard anything about the:
ANCHOR 2400 baud Modem
it is supposedly on sale for (get this) $129.00 !!! Anchor is the same company
that makes the VOLKSMODEM (I think), but this is the first one they have put their company name on. If anyone has hear anything about this modem good, or
bad let me know. Because the offer is awfully tempting.
:jcb@loral.UUCP (Jay C. Bowden) (03/25/88)
In article <4550@xanth.cs.odu.edu> hogan@xanth.cs.odu.edu (Emmett Hogan) writes: > > ANCHOR 2400 baud Modem > This reminds me very little of the flame that I tried to post about a month ago but I believe failed to be distributed..... I have no idea if this has anything to do with $129 Anchor 2400 baud modems, though. Here was my posting: ----------------------------------------- What would you do if you were a manufacturer of modems, and you found out you just shipped a lot of bad ones? I don't know if Anchor Automation is the only mfgr. affected by whatever the "chipset defect" is that prevents the AT&C1 command from working in the 2400E external modem I got, but what burns me is how they treat folks victimized by this defect. To wit: I ordered from a mail order house, and got my modem within a week. It seemed to communicate fine, but the damn Carrier Detect line never went off, no matter what the state of the carrier was. And the AT&C1 command did not help. I really need the CD line to work, since I have the MR. MOX that powers-up my PC based on the CD signal, so I can call in if I want. So, after spending a few hours trying everything I could think of, I decided to call them up and ask. Not as easy as it should have been, *all* the Anchor literature is devoid of a phone number! I think they do not want people to call! Especially with *problems*. Anyway, I knew where Chatsworth CA was, so information got me the number. On my second call I talked to a human being, and, yes, she knew about the &C1 not working, that happens sometimes, she says. All she can do, she says, is "let you send it to us with $5.00, and we will fix it." Hmmm, why do I need to send $5.00 because I got a defective product? I *really* think they should pay shipping *both* ways, but I could let that go. But this $5.00 is just too much. So I say "But this is a BRAND NEW modem!", and she says "Well you could return it to the store you got it from", and I can't argue with that. But I *did* ask, "And if they send me another one, will it have this problem too?". She says "No", so I asked for her name (Desiree) and said thank you. Packaged up the modem and sent it back to the Mail Order house, with a letter describing my interaction with Desiree. Today (2/24/88), I get a call from the M.O. house saying, "gosh, Anchor is having a problem with these modems and the &C1 command, they have told us it is a chip problem. We would like to substitute a different brand of modem". Well, all right. I can't fault the M.O. house for anything they have done (that I know of, unless they still shipped Anchor 2400E's after Anchor told them about the defect, but I'll never know). But, I think Anchor is the real jerk in this situation, and by being a jerk they have wasted *MY* time and money, and the M.O. house's time and money. If, in this case of a "we know we shipped modems with this defect", Anchor would have accepted my modem back for repair *without* the $5.00 "gipping" charge, then the modem would have stayed sold as far as the M.O. house was concerned, and I would have been happy (eventually). And I would own an Anchor modem, instead of a substitute. The thing is, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIX IT ANYWAY, and routing it back through the M.O. house is just a chicken-s**t attitude, reflecting a disregard for end-users (me) and retailers (the M.O. house). I liked my first Anchor modem (a 1200 baud), but now I never want to see one again! Anyone have related comments? - Jay Bowden -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Jay Bowden, EE/Consultant; see also Bowden Engineering Currently contracted at Loral Instrumentation, San Diego {ucbvax, ittvax!dcdwest, akgua, decvax, ihnp4}!sdcsvax!sdcc6!loral!jcb