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5 months...going on 5 years

T

ToFarGone20

Member
I too have entered into a battle with the modem gods. My first went bad not 2 weeks after install. They sent me another very quickley and it didn't make it a week. Keep in mind that I still have the first one in my posession...after placing 2 calls and not getting any return informaion. I knew WHERE to send it but had no return number or receiving person. The second made it a week (network error-L). I had my phone company crawl over every inch of my phone line...inside and out (wasn't cheap). There was NO problem in the phone lines. I sent this one back and they said they would check it. During this period of time I got a call from my distrib asking me why I hadn't sent the first modem back. I told him I called twice (once more than I should have) and made no progress. He had received a note from Unitec saying they hadn't got the first modem back and they were going to charge us because we hadn't returned it. I quickly got it packed and sent out. My second modem would later be described as "locked up". They sent it back...guess what...same deal (network error-L). I asked them what the heck is going on, and what did you find on the first modem? They had got the first modem a month ago and never even looked at it. Didn't need it back so bad I guess.

My last call had them telling me it must have been a power surge and that the mother board and power supply could be damaged. (on the first modem) BUT luckily that voids the warranty and they don't have to do another thing. HOWEVER they wanted me to note they sent me a $750 modem at no charge the first time and that was not how they usually dealt with things (i should feel very special). Not that the 11000 they got from me is any big deal to them.
 
cont'd

Everyone there told me something different and I am lost. Installed a new auto and needed this entry system to work and get customers interested. Instead all I am doing is making excuses as to why they can't use their credit cards. Now I have the board and power supply out to have them checked...SO I get to enter all washes by hand and then close up at night (losing even more money).

Sorry for the rant BUT 4 modems 5 months O answers and THOUSANDS lost!!!


I will NOT use another Unitec item for any reason...perhaps this was a bad unit...but that is no excuse for bad customer service. My distrib has been fantastic and behind me 100%...I do feel bad for him...he has sold a lot of these and wonders what he may be in for...

Thanks for reading and good luck to all
 
I can feel your pain. While Unitec has a pretty good reputation overall, sometimes the planets align themselves in just the right order, and you happen to be right there.
 
I think you were more venting than anything, and I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. While reading through your description, one thing that popped into my mind was your power situation. The previous owner of the wash I purchased said he would have all kinds of odd things happen with the electronics, so he installed a power cleaner which cleans all the power before it goes into any electronics. Since then he hadn't had anything blow out, nor have I since I've owned it. I'm not sure what it is, there's a lot of smart guys on this board who probably have ideas on how to clean up the power before it goes into your electronics.

Just a thought.
 
First, I'd like to say that I own a WSII for two years now.

Second, I'm a Telecom Engineer with over 25 yrs experience. So I'll try and go over some aspects.

Modem connections to the CC clearing house are low speed and simple very robust protocols. All this info can be had by calling the unit from a PC, breaking to command mode with a +++ and running the info commands (ATI1 to ATI16). This info, it will tell you what the handshaking results are and so what the lines characteristics are. But if you don't hear anything bad on the line when you use it for a normal call, I would not suspect the line.

Next is Power and Grounding. This is what I would suspect. However, this is much more difficult to troubleshoot. Bad grounding, ground loops, noisy power, etc can all contribute towards what you are experiencing. Are you experiencing any other problems? Anything from power outages, brownouts, surges, electrical storms, voltages too high, loss of phases, premature bulb burning, etc.

Here is a scenario that happened to me that could explain you problem. Basically, your modem is connected to the phone line and power via the Unitec. There may very well be a grounding potential imbalance between the two. For example, the phone line may be going to the telephone pole and the power to a different pole, both could be grounded separately and bridging through you equipment. I'm not saying this is it, but you get where I'm going with this.

In defense of Unitec, once the unit leaves the shop and gets connected into the real world, there are too many variables that they don't control. I understand your frustration, but you are pooping all over Unitec, when you have not determine the real fault.

Keep us posted on what happens.

BigLeo
 
update

Motherboard and 12v power supply tested fine...not a single problem.

Bigleo, I appreciate your input and hold all of your posts in high reguard. I don't want to be seen as some cry baby pooping on Unitec (too late)...it doesn't reflect well. I also realize that they have no idea what kind of person is installing this machine. However the machine was installed to the letter and that is all I can do on my end.
Who knows how many stupid things they have seen...BUT I know if I treated my customers the way they have treated me...well...they wouldn't be "my" customers anymore. Either way I will do a better job of measuring the tone of my posts in the future...I certainly understand your point.

I will let you know what the next step is and how it turns out.

Thanks again for your reply.
 
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