Tok2000, I'm having a VERY hard time with your perspective, and punishing invective.
I received the mod parts in today's mail. 24 tiny diodes and 3 capacitors. They SOLD them to me for $65, just like ANY manufacturer would sell spare parts. I haven't opened up the EMC-1 yet, but I suspect that it would take a good couple of hours to carefully replace these tiny parts.
The history of the mod is as follows: Talon in Canada took it upon themselves to upgrade their EMC-1, and liked the results enough to suggest it to EC, who concurred, and paid them for the info. EC then put this mod into production. It was decided that EC would upgrade older EMC-1 MKII if returned to them, for a fee (much less in Europe, but individually decided by each Euro-dealer, at least up until now). In the case of far-flung 44lb CDPs, EC sells the parts kits to their distributor or dealer, who then decides what the installation price would be. If there's a local dealer involved as well, then the handling of a 50lb box becomes quite a nuisance. The list price for the mod is $800, and about $500 to the dealers. the distributor has to buty the parts ($65?), and then hire a tech to install them, and redeliver the unit to the local dealer, perhaps.
The pricing of $800 probably reflects the incredible inefficiency of all this handling, in combination with highish tech rates in the Northeast, and a healthy profit for being bothered by EC's decision to offer it?!
I'll not comment on the fairness of charging $800 for the installation of $65 worth of parts.
Do you know how much it costs to replace a 25 cent leaky oil-pump o-ring in a Subaru? $300. Fact of life.
I don't for a minute believe that EC, or its Servige Manager (Vigleif), expected me to hold confidential my cost for the parts I purchased. YOU can go to Subaru and buy a 25 cent o-ring (for $5). People accept that installing it will cost $300 to stop an oil leak...or they don't.
But nobody is going to get upset by the possibility of a purchaser relating to his community that he purchased the part for 25 cents on his own, right?
There are probably 25-50 gray-market EMC-1MK II in North America (just a rough guess). If EC chooses to sell the parts for said "UP"grade to end users for $65 because their distributor refuses to perform installation of said parts, then where exactly is the problem?
Certainly NOT with me as the purchaser, nor in my decision to inform the 800+ viewers of the initial thread for which this information holds interest.
To suggest that EC charge me $400-800 for an ounce of tiny parts would have reignited a firestorm, to say the least.
Part of me was hoping that EC would have sent me the parts at no charge, or even asked me to send them the boards and install them at EC for QA, given the time and misfortune that came my way back in December.
But at $65 and a month's wait I'll hardly complain, and hope that the installation goes easily. I will probably hire the most proficient tech I know in the Boston area to perform the installation, because he has a wave solderer, and said third-party installation will protect me from finger-pointing if something goes wrong.
Again, Tok, I really feel that you've got it all wrong.
Vigleif NEVER asked me to keep ANY information or correspondence confidential! He simply sold me some parts normally used in manufacture. I never asked him for a special price nor pressured them in ANY way. I'm sure that he would corroborate that. I do NOT know if EC will sell these parts to other EMC-1 users in North America. certainly a misguided installation would void the warranty.
EC was successful in having their local dealers install the previous entire DAC boards for a $1000 list price ($600 US wholesale and Euro-retail).
Whether this latest mod was considered too tricky to install (soldering), or profit protection was sought at the distributor/manufacturer level I'll never know. I will not make judgements there. I suspect that the decision to offer this power supplies parts upgrade was done after the fact.
I don't know. I don't see EC as the greedy party here.
A corporate customer developed a mod and they introduced it into their manufacture, and then folks heard about it and requested it. What's the big deal? Two dozen cheap, tiny diodes and three small caps. Probably $20 at Allied....
When my wife saw the bag, she was shocked that all this hoopla was about such a small thing....
I hope to get some time next week to drag my EMC-1 down to Cambridge to set up the upgrade installation. Vigleif was careful to list parts positions and include two photos showing the new capacitor positioning.
Re my time, yes I would have very gladly preferred to have initially paid the $650 price quoted to me by Fathers & Sons, had my upgrade installed in December, and be enjoying well before now. That you, Tok, see that somehow I should be castigated AGAIN for showing EC's goodwill by relating the continuing facts in this saga is nearly incredulous to me! I'm glad EC sees that even a lunar owner deserves better treatment in the future, and that improved services will be available for all units while they reside in North America.
Let's say I was sold the "secret" beachsand (!) that sits in a well-known $$$ PC for $1. And I told folks about it.
Would you then also cast aspersions on my relating that cost? My daughter buys skeins of really nice mohair wool for $5 or whatever. Should that be kept confidential to protect those who've purchased $300 sweaters? Isn't it all in the design, knitting, handling and marketing?
In some ways I feel this is another case where a certain minority prefers to shoot the messenger of news that should predominantly have good effect for the majority of a community. Price-fixing, secret agreements with customers, and after-market poor service are NOT the hallmarks of a successful company in the 21st century.
I'll try to start a concluding thread after the installation. In the meantime please refrain from sniping.
Thanks, and thanks to all of you who've emailed in support.
Good Night. Ern
