[tech] New Mermaid

[Patrick Coleman]

Alternatively, I have a friend (covox) with a Bongo account. Shipping
from Bongo is about $30/box iirc, so that plus whatever it costs to
ship from the store to Connecticut (I think?).

I other people are buying things from the US, you can also amortize
the $30 a bit, because they'll pack multiple orders in the same box.

-Patrick

On 14/03/2011, at 9:51, Bob Adamson <bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au> wrote:

> The only option for shipping on the website is Fedex, and the
> shipping quote is for Fedex International Economy. I've just dropped their
> sales department an email to see if they can provide some alternative
> shipping means.
>
> Bob
>
> On Mon, 14 Mar 2011, Mitch Kelly (UCC) wrote:
>>
>> I agree,
>>
>>
>>
>> Im all For the purchase, They look pretty nifty
>>
>>
>>
>> 227 seems excessive. Can we get it via UPS Land? 227 Sounds more like FedEx Priority Express to me.
>>
>>
>>
>> I get Wi-Fi Gear from the US (Texas) For an item that’s 5 times the size, 3x heavier it costs $68.00
>>
>>
>>
>> Mitch
>>
>>
>>
>> From: tech-bounces at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au [mailto:tech-bounces at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au] On Behalf Of Ash Tyndall
>> Sent: Monday, 14 March 2011 9:14 AM
>> To: Bob Adamson
>> Cc: tech at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au
>> Subject: Re: [tech] New Mermaid
>>
>>
>>
>> I'd support the purchase, but I'm unaware of any Australian companies that would sell it.
>>
>>
>>
>> Where did the quoted shipping price come from? Could we potentially get it cheaper?
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 8:36 PM, Bob Adamson <bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au> wrote:
>>
>> This thread got a little sidetracked with talks about disks...anyway, back
>> to the actual topic...
>>
>> [TRS] linked me to a box[1] which not only has all the features we need,
>> but does it much cheaper than the previous suggestion. It has 8 serial
>> ports, a fanless 1.2GHz VIA 64-bit processor[2] running off a VIA Epia
>> motherboard[3]. The cost of $389 is good at the moment with the Aussie
>> dollar close to parity with the American dollar. The problem is shipping
>> to Australia - $227!
>>
>> Does anyone know of a local source, a better alternative, or someone in
>> the US that we can ship through?
>>
>> Bob Adamson
>>
>> [1] http://www.e-itx.com/epia-m840-ep50.html
>> [2] http://resources.e-itx.com/processors/VIA_Nano_Processor_datasheet_v100727.pdf
>> [3] http://resources.e-itx.com/via-epia-m840/VIA_EPIA-M840_datasheet_v100915.pdf
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 3 Mar 2011, Bob Adamson wrote:
>>
>>> Hi techies,
>>>
>>> I've been thinking about a replacement box for mermaid, and now seems like
>>> a good time to do the job properly while the box isn't being used for
>>> anything.
>>>
>>> Dispense is currently running on heathred, the vendserver is running on
>>> martello, the door lock is controlled by a service running on mussel, with
>>> a decserver, a man-eating power supply and a modem in amongst all that.
>>> It's all very hot, very power hungry, and not all that reliable. What I
>>> hope to do is put all these services on one reliable machine with a ups.
>>> It will also require a little electronics later on for the door stuff.
>>> This will hopefully mean that the services are more likely to stay up in
>>> emergencies (fuse trips, power dips, hail storms in the clubroom,
>>> armageddon, freshers in the machine room) and also be easier to
>>> understand, manage and update.
>>>
>>> The replacement box should run on as little power as possible, have at
>>> least 3 serial ports (preferably more), have static cooling (ie no fans),
>>> preferably mini or microATX so we can stick it somewhere out of the way.
>>>
>>> At the moment, I'm keen on getting something in the $800 range from
>>> advantech, such as
>>> http://buy.advantech.net.au/ARK-3360L-3S51/ARK-3360L-3S51/system-3545.htm
>>>
>>> If you have a better suggestion, or can be bothered trawling sites to
>>> custom build a box, I'd love to hear from you!
>>>
>>> Bob Adamson
>>> UCC Treasurer
>>>
>>> |"Bureaucracy is a challenge to the be conquered with a righteous        |
>>> |attitude, an intolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary" |
>>> | ---Peter's Laws                                                        |
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> Bob Adamson
> UCC President
>
> |"Bureaucracy is a challenge to the be conquered with a righteous        |
> |attitude, an intolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary" |
> | ---Peter's Laws                                                        |