Pc's , Sattelite dishes etc

Post by **Bill & Sue** » October 31, 2005, 12:58 am

Hi All,
We have finally sold our house in not so sunny England & will be amongst you very soon. ( At last ! )
Just a few questions if you don't mind.
We will need a PC asap. Any recommendations as to where to buy one or where to buy the bits so I can build my own.
How do we get online? Who are the best ISP's? Has Broadband arrived yet?
We will also need a satellite dish. How do we get one & what will we be able to watch when we get it? IE will we be able get any English stuff?
We will also need to replace all our furniture. Paul has told us we can buy pretty much anything ranging from cheap & cheerful to hand made stuff but where do we find it, especially the hand made stuff.
Are there any Thai language teachers in town, as being able to say hello wont get us very far!!
Looking forwards to meeting whoever turns up at the December forumites meeting as we should be there by then.
Regards, Bill & Sue

Post by **Dakoda** » October 31, 2005, 6:53 am

Welcome, can maybe ans a few of your ques.

can get UBC satellite runs between 1k to 2k depending on package plus install and equip. I rent equip for 155 baht per month. yes has english.

can get a Mac computer in Bangkok and not have all the problems of a PC.

How do we get online? Who are the best ISP's? Has Broadband arrived yet?

yes, just look thru this site for many ans!

We will also need to replace all our furniture.

Think just spend some time here, there are places everywhere. also maybe go to Nong Khai and look there. One of this sites sponsors has web site with kitchens and bedrooms.

So again welcome

Post by **banpaeng** » October 31, 2005, 7:17 am

Wilcome Bill and Sue. You will beat me there but plan on being abouy a month and half behind.

Again welcome to the forum.

Post by **JimboPSM** » October 31, 2005, 7:50 am

Welcome Bill & Sue,

Link for UBC: http://www.ubctv.com/ they offer a similar service to Sky.

By the way, are you the same Bill & Sue from Cleckheaton that were on the old forum?

Post by **PopsIcafe** » October 31, 2005, 10:52 am

Welcome to the forum and soon to Udon Thani. There are internet services, TT&T and TOT. They have ADSL service, which isn't the greatest. There is CAT internet service but they are mainly business oriented. You also have numerous internet cafe's here that you can use while waiting for the service to hook you to the internet

, last person I talked to was told about 2 weeks before they could get to him, short of technicians was the reason. Here, internet services offer packages from 500 baht and up. You can also use other forms of internet access as there are cards you can buy, but the connections are quite slow. It really depends how much you will be using the internet as to what you want and need. Good luck and enjoy your stay in Udon Thani.

Pop's

Post by **Dakoda** » October 31, 2005, 11:09 am

They have ADSL service, which isn't the greatest.

I complain about TOT alot, but since I now, get a bill from them and pay it, my ADSL is fine for 256. (my tries to go to 512, not happening, maybe because phone is in owners name).

Now the phone is another story. Thursday I needed to make a call, and every time I tried I got a busy signal. So in the afternoon I decided to try calling TW's phone and got the same busy signal. I could receive calls and ADSL worked fine. They fixed the problem Friday afternoon.

Post by **Bill & Sue** » October 31, 2005, 4:51 pm

Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer our questions. It is very much appreciated.
Yes Jimbo it is us! I will send you a photo of the old Metrotect site. Boy how things have changed! I heard that a guy bought the site for à¸ƒ5.2m & sold it on some six months later for à¸ƒ11m!! =D> Nice work if you can get it.

Post by **Paul** » October 31, 2005, 11:22 pm

get yer PC in the shopping complex. Plenty of shops there will build one to your specs in a couple of hours - and much less hassle than getting the components yourself. I couldn't buy the stuff individually and build one for what they quoted me - it was a good deal.

As mentioned getting broadband (commonly known as ADSL here) isnt the problem - its getting the phone in the first place. Plenty of phones but no numbers !

Instead of satelite, there is cable (I have 'home cable TV') Its 300 baht per month, 60 channels 3 or 4 in English and MTV/Channel V.

Post by **Dakoda** » November 1, 2005, 11:03 am

Instead of satelite, there is cable (I have 'home cable TV') Its 300 baht per month, 60 channels 3 or 4 in English and MTV/Channel V.

not sure why, but people in this area with cable are now looking into UBC. I think something changed. A few seeing my dish have stopped by wanting to know where office is located.

Post by **businessman** » November 1, 2005, 11:11 am

Dakoda,in Nong Khai the two cartoon channels have vanished from cable providers.If it's the same in Udon and people have children then they will switch to UBC for the peace and quiet.

Post by **Prenders88** » November 1, 2005, 11:50 am

Wellcome Bill and Sue,

Go to Panthip Plaza in Bangkok for your computer gear, you have just got to see that shopping mall, you can get everything there. A much bigger range than Udon.

Paul's right about the phone lines, not enough to go round due to a lots of people moving to Udon Thani. Moobaans going up right left and center.
Lately the phone lines to Udon has been playing up, calls drop out, lousy sound quality sometimes, with echos and crackles. Put the phone down and try again and line will be crystal clear.

Don't worry about furniture you can get cheap looking MDF crap, plastic coated sofas that make your arse sweat, to hand made good quality pieces that will last for years.

Tony

Post by **Dakoda** » November 1, 2005, 2:47 pm

Phones, my 2 baht.

When my TOT line is working, calls to america are crystal clear, sounds like they are next door, seems better to me then calls in the states

Of course, when I call my british friends cell, he can hardly hear me, not sure if its the phones or him.

When I rented, it was required that owner get phone installed and it was done in about a week. So when I hear all the problems getting a phone, figured I shouild start early getting one for TW's place. So we went to TOT and they sent us to TT&T, seems that they had that area. It maybe took week and half. Yes, after it was installed, took another few days to get small problem fixed. Seems when you dialed the number you got someone else.

Maybe not as fast to get a phone as say Atlanta, there I just called from phone I wanted connected, and because no deposit was required it was working before end of the day.

Now in MB SC at the phone company I work for, it took 10 business days

Go to Panthip Plaza in Bangkok for your computer gear

Yes, they had the best price for iMac's - but there is also a lot at "Fortune Tower" where I ended up buying mine!

Post by **BobHelm** » November 1, 2005, 4:13 pm

Dakoda wrote:When I rented, it was required that owner get phone installed and it was done in about a week.

Dakoda, was this a private rental, or though a company. And was this part of a standard rental agreement, or something that you had to have specifically added??

Thanks....Bob

Post by **Dakoda** » November 1, 2005, 5:20 pm

Dakoda, was this a private rental, or though a company

yes Bob, it was private rental from owner, local teacher. I just talked to other foreigners about any problems, and was told of phone and water problems.

So I just told the teacher that I would rent with renewable year lease, if she would install phone, ADSL, water tank and pump. She had ask me if I wanted kitchen inside big room or outside other small building. She agreeded with all and drew up the document which she got translated.

Not sure how long the place was empty, but a day later after she found out how much it was going to cost, she wanted advance rent, so I agreeded to six months advance. The only thing I would change is kitchen outside!

Post by **BobHelm** » November 1, 2005, 5:25 pm

Thanks very much Dakoda, good information..
Did you have the kitchen inside & now think outside was a better option, or visa versa??

Post by **Dakoda** » November 1, 2005, 6:31 pm

Did you have the kitchen inside & now think outside was a better option, or visa versa??

I figured it would be better in the outside building. But because there are openings above doors, plus we leave them open, we get a lot of mosquito's!

So I do not cook too often, they seem to like me, but do not bother TW for some reason, must be the beer.

oh, I should add that place also needed AC in bedroom and water heaters, which were also in the agreement. The big room already had two AC units.
So when I move, it will be just like in the states, just the furniture.

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » November 2, 2005, 1:51 pm

if you get a laptop with WIFI, any new decent one has it, 40,000 baht ball park price, was out pricing them, as low as 35k. then you can just check you internet/mail while sipping pints at irish clock or any other place that offers the service.

oh yea, hello again, that was quick decision the come the sell all. see you when you get here.

Post by **Dakoda** » November 2, 2005, 2:19 pm

LA, you can get a Apple iBook for < 40,000 baht with everything. Take a look at one in the following link.

Apple Store

While back I heard something about a free iPod, but can't remember if in Bangkok or not.

Post by **lee** » November 2, 2005, 2:33 pm

Welcome to the Forum Bill & Sue, good luck with your move.

if you get a laptop with WIFI, any new decent one has it, 40,000 baht ball park price, was out pricing them, as low as 35k. then you can just check you internet/mail while sipping pints at irish clock or any other place that offers the service.

Buy a GPRS modem for your laptop and you can use your computer anywhere in Udon, or Thailand for that matter!

Im using GPRS, very cheap and I have no complaints so far, the best thing is you don't have to worry about getting a land line, just plug your modem in and you're ready to go.

Post by **yorkman** » November 2, 2005, 3:23 pm

lee wrote:
Buy a GPRS modem for your laptop and you can use your computer anywhere in Udon, or Thailand for that matter!

Im using GPRS, very cheap and I have no complaints so far, the best thing is you don't have to worry about getting a land line, just plug your modem in and you're ready to go.

Ahh there is an option I had not considered. Which providor do you use?When you say cheap have you an indication of costs?, or better still have you got a web link and I won't pester you

John