Members Zeromus-X Posted August 19, 2003 Members Share Posted August 19, 2003 These guys were mentioned awhile back as having extremely low prices -- lower prices than Neutrik dealers' costs on Neutrik plugs and stuff. Because they're right down the street from my uncle, I had him check them out, and he said it's not a bad looking place. I decided to give it a shot, since I needed some stuff and wasn't really on a time limit. Well, I ordered the following: 1 - PowerCon outlet panel-mount2 - Male XLR locking panel mount, metal6 - 1/4" locking panel mount, metal3 - UNI-1 panels (Ashivraj, I got yours locally so I wouldn't have any problems)2 - 9V ProCell batteries About a week later they arrived (the card wasn't charged for two working days, even though the parts were in stock according to the person I spoke to). I had one UNI-1, two batteries, two non-locking XLR panel-mount jacks for PCB, a single locking 1/4" female cable end (not panel-mount), and a PowerCon. None of the 1/4" locking panel mounts at all. Called 'em up and they said they'll get the right parts out immediately, and asked if I could ship back the incorrect things I didn't order. Sure thing. Shipped them out yesterday, and in the mail today is a new box of parts. This time I get the correct XLR jacks and the other two panels, but five of the six 1/4" panel jacks are plastic, not metal. This will make the third time trying to get the order right. Since I'm paying shipping back to them each time, it's starting to add up to quite a bit more than I originally intended on spending, both in time and money. The project I was doing went from a week-long project to a month-long project, and I still don't have the proper parts. I figured I'd order from CT to let you guys know how it worked out, since as far as I'm aware no one on the forum mentioned they've ordered, even though their prices are mentioned occasionally. Sad to say, but I don't think I'll be dealing with them in the future after this order gets fixed once and for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted August 19, 2003 Members Share Posted August 19, 2003 in hindsight... you should've asked your unc to pick up the stuff and send it to you. he'd pay sales tax, but S/H would be cheaper, plus you're guaranteed what you want, the first time around. when i asked mark for a quote on similar parts - panel mount XLR and 1/4" dealies - he had me check out CT. their prices looked tempting, but im glad i stuck with him. anyway, hope you have fun with your project. lemme know how it turns out... if it ever does... AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 19, 2003 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2003 I've had my uncle pick up some stuff from there and ship it to me, but that was even slower... because I had to wait for HIM to ship it! CT's shipping method is "toss the stuff in a random box with no packing materials" from what I've seen on the past two shipments. Of course, there's only 1/4" jacks and panels in there, nothing that could get damaged by bouncing around. The downside is that if a hole was punctured into the box, those jacks would just fall out during the trip! Time to call them again today. I'm sure they'll love me by now. Oh, by the way -- I found these neat little ID-tag type things for the D and DL-series connectors. I'm gonna try and find somebody that sells them (Mark maybe?) and get a bunch... they seem fairly nice for labeling the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billiam Posted August 19, 2003 Members Share Posted August 19, 2003 I've placed several orders with them, around $1000, and have been extremely pleased with their speedand always got the right stuff. Sorry to hear you bad news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 19, 2003 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2003 Contacted them today and they told me they no longer carry the metal 1/4" locking Neutrik plugs, and that I'm stuck with the plastic ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 20, 2003 Author Members Share Posted August 20, 2003 2) NJ3FP6C-BAG: Black Shell That's what I ordered, when CamelTraders told me they only have the plastic ones and can't get the metal ones. The only thing that irritates me is that not only did they say they had them, but they invoiced me for the metal ones, and charged me the price for the metal ones. Inspecting a bit closer, ONE of the six that I ordered appears to be metal on the underside, oddly enough. The actual panel that you screw/rivet is still plastic unlike the ones Ashivraj sent me, which seem like they're ALL metal. Either way, since I didn't feel like dealing with it anymore, I went with the plastic ones. Hand-riveted them to the UNI-1 panels I received... I'm impressed. Hope to hell none of them ever break, because those rivets are never coming out! And speaking of which... boy does your hand hurt after doing about 30 of those bloody things! Semi OT: Ashivraj - I should be done with your setup in a few more days. I'll PM you the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 20, 2003 Author Members Share Posted August 20, 2003 I've riveted things before, so I guess I didn't think about it. Just put the pop rivet gun on the thing and shot. They're almost all flat... all I've got is a cheap gun and the one we have at work, which was too large to use for the amount of space I had available to work on the 1U panels. I'm sure a machine shop could have had them all perfectly flat... but they've also got a hell of a lot more tools than I! I've done a few other patch panels... mostly 1/4" jacks though... and haven't had anyone complain yet. When I start charging $100+ for my work like I've seen several others do, maybe I'll have to make sure I'm using a level when riveting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 20, 2003 Members Share Posted August 20, 2003 Removing the rivits takes about 10 seconds and a 1/8" drillbit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 20, 2003 Author Members Share Posted August 20, 2003 Believe me, I know that all too well I make custom computer cases for people at work... one customer wanted me to rivet his acrylic window onto the side of the case. He came in with the flimsiest case side I'd ever seen and a paper-thin piece of acrylic that had a big scratch through it. He told me he probably wouldn't be able to see the scratch, and it was given to him, and he didn't want to pay for a new one so he'd stick with it. I cut a really nice window into the side of the sheet metal, mounted the acrylic window, popped the rivets in... All was fine until he brought in a cold cathode tube for the inside of the case. Ever seen those Hughes & Kettner heads with the etched glass front? Know how any scratch in bottom-lit glass shows up extremely well? He decided he didn't like it, and bought a new piece of acrylic for me to install... but wanted to keep that case side. Out with the drill... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 21, 2003 Author Members Share Posted August 21, 2003 That's a pretty cool trick actually. Never thought about doing that. The rivet gun I use has a hex-shaped head on it. It's interchangeable between different heads so you can use different sized rivets. I had trouble getting it to fit on a project I was doing awhile back, so I sanded down the hex-shaped head with a Dremel. Fits nearly anywhere now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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