Atari monitors for the Apple //gs

[John.Ranney@drbbs.omahug.org (John Ranney)]

In response to a message from jamess@pro-sol.cts.com stating that
All Tech Electronics sells Atari monitors outfitted for GSs
 
                     **** WARNING ****
 
I purchased one of these units about 8 months ago for use on a BBS
system.  Worked fine for the first month or so.  Turned it on about
a dozen time.
 
One morning it did not respond to the power switch, just buzzed a
little.  After calling All Tech and explaining the problem, they
arranged shipment of a replacement monitor.  It arrived several
days later.
 
To my surprise, out of the box, it did not work.
 
At the time, I had three working GSs, so I moved it to all three,
using it to replace two working monitors.  NOTHING, not even the
friendly BUZZZZZ the other one had obtained.
 
Called All Tech.  The first person to answer, obviously only the
phone answerer passed me to tech support.  Don't have his name
right here handy, by I talked to a guy, and the gist of the
conversation was that they had had a few problems with the Atari
monitor, and it seemed to be a weak transformer.  He went on to
suggest that the Apple monitors, even used, were a lot better
monitor.  I agreed, since I have one that has given faithful
service, and I got it used.
 
After being transferred to someone actually in charge, this person
seemed surprised that I would have had so much trouble because
these were supposed to be good monitors.  Her words, not mine. I
suggested getting a credit on the Atari monitor and applying it to
a used Apple monitor instead.  She said she would call me back
after talking to the owner about the situation.
 
Called back, no replacements at this time.  They wanted me to
package the monitors back in their boxes and they'd have UPS pick
them up and refund my money.  Sounds fine.
 
Month goes by, no UPS, no refund.  I call VISA and explain the
situation from my notes.  BTW, I kept good notes and still have
them.  They put the matter into contest, so that in essence is my
money back :-)
 
Still no USP, however.  It must have been about two months later
that those two boxes left my house for parts unknown.
 
All Tech's backup service was a little slow, but all in all, I'm
only out the original shipping, about $10 and several long distance
calls to their customer service, a non-800 number.  Too bad,
because the Atari was a nice looking unit and fit into the GSs
appearance well.  Also, the price was right, if it had been a
working unit.  Hopefully, there are some of you that got good ones,
but that wasn't to be for me.
 
I was rather surprised at their attitude about replacement with a
used Apple monitor, with me paying the difference, of course.  They
just didn't seem interested.
 
One moral or this whole thing is to purchase with a credit card
whenever possible.  Gives you, as the customer, leverage when you
need it, plus extra warranty and other features, depending on the
card you have.
 
The Magnavox monitor was also mentioned as a replacement.  I have
one of those and would recommend it for the GS.  The $300 price
quote is a bit high.  Look in "Computer Shopper."  You should be
able to find a new one for $249.  In fact, I recall a couple of
years ago, seeing one company selling them for $229.  I should have
gotten a spare then.  Also, I believe that the Magnavox might still
have a two year warranty.  If your credit card provides the
service, that warranty could be extended an additional year to
three years.
 
Hey guys, there are lots of non-Apple peripherals out there that
work on our GSs, and other Apples too.
 
John C. Ranney (the real blaster)
member: "Dead Computer Society"
sysop : Pro-MACH (712)328-7566 V.32bis, V.42, V.42bis