Hi Iggie. Been a while since I have been here. Got sick of the spammers, I couldn't even recall my login so I signed back in with a new one. Your quite welcome and glad what I posted helped.

Marcell, Thanks for the possible way to get some final value out of my old equipment built as part of a hobby and career. I was in the Naval Air, and Electricians Mate, was an AE2 P1 when I got off active duty and went into the reserves, I was a Chief Petty Office when I decided to get out of the reserves in 1968. I built Eico versions of all the instruments you mention, except the tube tester. That was on my list, I just didn't get to it before transistors took over. I went to college after leaving the Navy and have worked as an electrical engineer for many years - as could be concluded from the date I put on myself above, not to mention the date of the subject of this excursion away from the subject of this CAR forum thread. I have all the manuals to go with the test and signal generation equipment. As I mention the scope didn't work well, the problem there was a poor quality (multi-output) transformer, which had to supply the hight voltages associated with vacuum tubes. A few years back I purchased a dual trace scope from Radio Shack. It is a fully calibrated (time base and amplitude) with multiple trigger capabilities. It looks and functions like the old Tectronics (sp?) and HP scopes I used in my early days as an engineer. I think I paid about $300 for it, I couldn't pass up the buy. I rarely use it, but enjoy seeing it on my electronic/computer workbench anyway. This bench still has projects on it, that I never seem to find time to get around too... could be I'm spending too much time chatting on these forums.

"claimed that it came with a manufacturers warranty" sellers can claim anything. it's called a manufacturer's warranty , and the contract is with the manufacturer - a third party cannot alter the contract without the manuf. written consent which will never happen. storm - let me try and clarify the winds for you. I don't think moja's problem quite meets the vote the free market I was/am talking about. He should not have bought a product from Miele in the first place. By telling people about this he brings the debate forward and can shape the market if he convinces enough people to to not buy Miele gear because they do this or that. Look at the aforementioned Maytag. They used to make superior washers, and no they don't really exist anymore. Enough people vote with their wallets by nit buying their washers because they turned to crap. Re: the Gaggenau / Miele fatherland thing. Gaggenau is highline- high quality - high price everywhere. Miele USA is really a different business than Miele Germany and what I'm saying is they have chosen to position themselves here as ONLY a high quality make. They don't import even half of their offerings to this market, and like I've mentioned to dodge before they are not simply putting a NA plug on their units, shipping them here and jacking up the price over the German/Euro markets. If a product is available both places the prices are very similar after currency variables are considered. Miele simply doesn't offer mid to entry products here. Because they offer a more broad range in Europe their rep. is slightly lower simply because of exclusivity. Benz does the same thing here. You couldn't get a SMART here until they figured out how to distance that brand from MBenz so as not to dilute the mark. They did the same thing with their vans via Freightliner and Dodge. I take exception at your assertion that I bow to the marketing chants or the winds of corp. top floors. I make no bones about being a Miele fan. But I also rec. lots of other makes. It's all dependent on the customer's need/wants. What I really have a problem with is what's moja's complaining about: I tried to save a few bucks by not buying through an authorized distribution channel and now the manuf. won't help me free of charge. The (my) problem is not that he's complaining per se, but that he seems to feel he has no responsibility in this and that it's totally Miele's fault because they are bad or that the system is bad because big government has allowed companies to set prices for their own products and say where they are sold by upholding a decades old practice. My problem with him over the health care thing is his math. Sure an office visit for the flu is cheaper in Canada than walking into the ER here in the USA. No one will rally debate this. ER's are set up for trauma and critical care and that care is very expensive to deliver. My tummy hurts or I have a cough don't really qualify but the public doesn't really feel like waiting because they are soft and or lazy. I saw it in the UK as I worked in an ER for 8 months. Care was no cost out of pocket and people would still come to the ER for sore knees, headaches, whatever instead of making an appointment with their family doctor which was also no cost, simply because they's have to wait several weeks to see him. They wait at the ER too sometimes a whole day while serious stuff like guys that got shot with a nail gun, or wrecked a motorcycle, or broke they arm playing soccer were attended to. Anyway the overall total cost of socialized system is more than a private one and the numbers bear that out. Oh and the CDC doesn't really keep that info, or didn't . It's not in their pervue. If they do now, please point me to the hard data.

I'm with flyleft, jakeabedy, that was freaking *hilarious*. I've never actually been in a RH store, so I can't speak to the quality of their furniture. And I know I may be the only one on this thread, but I do like that lounger, it would fit me, mr. sandyponder, the kid and the canines and I see it as the perfect place to while away a stormy winter afternoon listening to Tanglefoot or John Hiatt and reading our respective books-of-the-moment. However, I am absolutely, positively sure that it's way out of our price range, so we'll stick to the CL sofas that we already own and that are already nicely dog haired. sandyponder