Please help

I know this question has been asked before. Please bare with me I will be traveling on May 1st and I have a gift for my Goddaughter (who hapens to do very well in school.) I want to bring a Computer as her gift however I read here that one should not ship it because of possible brakage, so if I take the CPU with me in a carry on and pack the monitor in a bag it should be ok. Would i have to pay taxes upon my arrival if I say it is for a gift. How does on cope with the power outtage her family is very poor and does not have a generator, how will the PC adapt to the sudden "apagones" will i be bringing joy or headaches to this family?

First of all, how kind of you. You will be giving her a great opportunity. I brought a 13" TV in a large suitcase, well wrapped, of course. But I didn't even think to claim it, I just wrapped all my clothes and towels around it and didn't think twice. I certainly would not ship anything to the DR, I have heard too many horror stories about customs/postal workers and theft. There are power savers for computers (or batteries, I don't know which would be better), so I would seriously check into this before taking the computer if the family does not have a generator. Better to spend a few extra dollars than lose it all, you don't want to take any chances. My husband's stereo blew because of a power surge. Best of luck.

Actually you can can get UPS Power surge over here aswell as protection units! This costs about RD$ 3000.- (USD 181.-) togehter (if the prices are still accurate!). Any computer over here needs this protection!

Henry

For a few extra dollars yu might want to consider getting a notebook computer for her. It'll be easy to carryon and it has it's own battery that'll take over if power goes out. Also if her home is small it won't take up much space and can be easily put away when not in use.

I wonder if they'll be able to get access to the Internet in the area where they live?

Hola Linamia,

Trina, Henry, and Wade are giving you good info. One thing, would a notebook be a problem when considering the possibility of theft? A portable devise makes for an easy to conn. to the internet.

The following are my postes concerning power surges and electrical grounding.

~ ~ ~ VERY IMPORTANT:

DR1 1999 Archive

Re: Electrical outlets

Posted By: CES

In Response To: Electrical outlets (Matt Dahlberg)

Your main concern will be electronic devices that require a grounded outlet to accommodate a surge protection device. Computers, or laptops operating with a modem (and some electronic test equipment) MUST be used with a surge protection device. Other equipment (lo tech. or non electronic) with three wire cords (grounding, 3 prong) are safe to use on a 2 wire outlet. If you are using a 3 wire appliance that requires grounding, you also have to be aware of polarization (the hot wire, and the neutral wire or white wire }}} ***WHICH should be grounded*** {{{ at the building electrical service entrance device (circuit breaker box or fuse box).

If your appliance doesn't require grounding, or a polarized outlet, then as suggested, the 2 to 3 wire adapter should be fine.

Regards, CES

ps . . . Some Dominican electricians do not understand the importance of a polarized and grounded system.

~ ~ ~ and this:

You should >>> ALWAYS <<< check an unknown outlet before using it with equip. that requires a reliable ground, (earth/ tierra) such as PCs, or laptops with a modem and surge protection device. A good way to do this is with a "receptacle tester" (about USD $4.00 at Radio Shack, or a hardware store) that simply plugs into the outlet. Neon lites, on the tester, indicate good or fault, such as; open ground, open neutral, open hot, hot/ ground reversed, hot/ neutral reversed, and correct. The tester is about the size of a 3 wire cord cap that you'd find on a heavy duty extension cord.

Regards ...CES

~ ~ ~ and this one by Keith:

Re: any good techies?

Posted By: keith

In Response To: any good techies? (susannah nesmith)

Susanah,

If your fax machine still turns on but just doesn't seem to get a dail tone, run diagnostics or play with switching the phone lines to check to see if one of your modems is blown. I lived in SD for four years with a complicated hook-up, with a fax, phone & computer modem on a single line (and all those machines hooked into an inversor for uninterrupted power supply). My fax machine at one point stopped being able to send & receive -- I discovered it was a blown modem in the fax, which was the first device in the chain to be connected to the wall phone line socket. Phone lines in the DR are often not grounded (many houses do not have grounded electrical outlets either) and do get power surges, which will blow a modem (happened to me 3 times under different circumstances). Your best protection is a quality surge protector that also protects phone lines (don't buy the cheap versions many stores sell -- if you read the fine print on those, they actually offer no true protection). Also, if you can find a reliable electrician, see if he can ground your phone line for you.

Best of luck.
Regards,
Keith

http://dominican-republic-news.com/2000/index.cgi?read=34033

>>> "Your best protection is a quality surge protector that also protects phone lines (don't buy the cheap versions many stores sell -- if you read the fine print on those, . . ." <<<

>>> "Also, if you can find a reliable electrician, see if he can ground your phone line for you. . ." <<<

Very, VERY IMPORTANT!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

~ ~ ~ and I'll add this:

Because of the unreliable power grids in the DR (blackouts, power surges, and LIGHTING STRIKES!, also the same applies to telephone lines) you are just asking for trouble if you aren't using a high quality power surge protection devise than includes the phone modem when connected to a phone Co. line. I'm including these web sites as my recommendation when shopping for the following:

high quality power surge protection devise

high quality UPS system (has the surge devise built in)

http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=Pro7&language=EN&country_code=US

http://www.apcc.com/products/back-ups_office/index.cfm

http://www.apcc.com/products/

Regards,

. . . CES

Thank you everyone for your help, I thought of buying a laptop but it didn't work out so I already bought a desktop. Maybe she could get the Internet I do not know if they could afford it. Although her dad is a schoolteacher he is not paid all that well by our standards and his salary can only be stretched so far. Food and shelter being the main concern, this is why I thought that a pc would be beneficial to them all because it is not something that they will consider getting for themselves. My goddaughter really deserves to have these tools available, she was recognized by the President as an exemplary student. Anyhow I will bring a good surge protector as well