FW: [carc] Fwd: [TriLUG] Did you buy an APC UPS at the Cary Hamfest?

[Hank Montgomery]

While I am sorry if you think you got a bad deal, you should ALWAYS be wary
when buying equipment from non-commercial sources.  But I must respond to
some of the comments in your posting.

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that "Just goes to show, there are quite a
many dishonest people in the world."  or that anyone was "taken in by his
sales in bad faith".  I find it much more likely that this was an honest guy
who found them somewhere in bulk and didn't know about any problems with
them.  I personally have certainly bought bulk quantities without checking
out the history of the product - especially if it is from a reputable
manufacturer.

It appears from the web site you referenced that APC will replace the
"battery unit" free of charge.

As described on the same web page, the problem is with the battery itself.
You can find batteries at just about any hamfest for a price that still
makes your purchase a terrific buy.

According to APC there were only 8 problems reported with these units -
quite a small percentage.

Since you were wary of the buy in the first place - did you get the sellers
name?  Have you contacted him?

And lastly  - if you still don't want it I WILL BE GLAD TO GIVE YOU $25
DOLLARS FOR IT.

K4HM - Hank

-----Original Message-----
From: ALFRED JOHNSON [mailto:alfjon at mindspring.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 1:00 PM
To: carc at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [carc] Fwd: [TriLUG] Did you buy an APC UPS at the Cary Hamfest?


This message was recently posted on the Tri-lug mailing list. On another
note, I was informed by a ham who was manning the Cary 911 center which is
apparently now located in or close to the parking garage that some hams at
our Swapfest caused some problems with their computers.
Of course, I can't confirm this report, but I just thought I'd let everyone
know about this report. The ham was on the 27 repeater. When I suggested
that maybe some of the computer cables might need some shielding or
something, he discarded that explanation because the workers had already
done a lot of shielding. In any case the RFI didn't affect their
communications only their use of some computers. He also said that the
interference ended after the fest was ended. I don't think that a formal
report was made about this, but I thought I ought to pass this report along.
Incidentally, this was the only negative comment that I received about our
fest, despite my inviting such feedback. --- Alf KQ4FP.
Begin forwarded message:


  From: "Aaron S. Joyner" <aaron at joyner.ws>
  Date: July 18, 2004 10:59:19 PM EDT
  To: Triangle Linux Users Group discussion list <trilug at trilug.org>
  Subject: Re: [TriLUG] Did you buy an APC UPS at the Cary Hamfest?
  Reply-To: Triangle Linux Users Group discussion list <trilug at trilug.org>

  Brian Daniels wrote:


    There was a guy outside under the parking deck selling APC Back-UPS 350
CS UPS'es for $25 new in the box. Which set off the 'too good to be true'
detector a bit, but I decided to gamble 25 bucks.

    When I got it home, it looked great. Everything in new condition,
although
    the test printout showed that it was from 2002. So the battery is a
little old, who cares for $25? And it worked fine.

    But something kept nagging at me...wasn't there some sort of issue with
APC about two years ago? Some sort of recall?

    Yes.
    http://www.apcc.com/rely/?isoCountryCode=us

    This unit is a fire hazard. If you bought one, check it's serial number
info against the page above. If it matches, stop using it and remove the
battery.

    --Brian



  That's just really too bad. :( . My condolences to those taken in by his
sales in bad faith. Any idea if APC is still providing replacements for
these units, as described in the FAQ on their website?

  Aaron S. Joyner
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