Regarding FRB Delays
Stephen Dunifer
resources. I committed most of my time and resources to making this
happen. Since probably most of you have never gone through the design
and manufacturing process, you do not have a clue as to how much time and
energy is required to bring just one product to a marketable level, let
alone an entire line of products. In addition to all of the other aspects
of creating a successful campaign to take back the airwaves.
I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
Stephen Dunifer
Free Radio Berkeley
Rick Harrison
>Folks, we are doing the best we can with rather limited staff and
>resources. I committed most of my time and resources to making this
>happen. Since probably most of you have never gone through the design
>and manufacturing process, you do not have a clue as to how much time and
>energy is required to bring just one product to a marketable level, let
Why would you start taking orders for items _months_ before they are
ready to ship, even before they _exist,_ without warning customers that
there would be delays? This would not be surprising if it came from a
large corporation that had a reputation for selling "vaporware." But
it _is_ surprising coming from someone who solicits donations.
David Josephson
Kids, cut 'em some slack. I never saw any promises of when it would
ship except the tell-tale "real soon now" which should tell all of
you that if it isn't vaporware, it's at least still-in-the-ovenware
and you should be patient. Else ask before you send money, when will
I get my kit? If you can't stand the wait, ask for your money back.
And remember to ask the magic questions, same as you would of a
commercial developer: do you have the pcb in stock yet? has it been
through alpha test yet? will i be a beta site or is it mature?
--
David Josephson <da...@josephson.com>
Steve J. Quest
>
>I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
>you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
>done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
>to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
>appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
>
>Stephen Dunifer
>Free Radio Berkeley
"Kiss my ass." Now as a business owner myself, I have often wanted
to say those words to a certain _few_ customers. But as a business
owner, I know that satisfied customers maybe tell one or two other
people, but a DISsatisfied customer tells everyone they see!
Perhaps Stephen is in the wrong business? If you don't want/like
producing electronic kits, perhaps you should offer a buyout to
someone else who would enjoy the opportunity?
Please don't flame me for my comments, but a simple rule of business
is: YOU NEVER SAY KISS MY ASS TO A CUSTOMER! Further, since potential
customers are seeing this posting, maybe they will think twice about
sending money to you, and may send their money instead to another
kit manufacturer, one that has _never_ received a negative comment
(e.g. the manufacturer of the FM-10, I'm sorry, I don't remember who
that is right off hand, Ramsey perhaps?). I know that if I were in
a store and the sales person just yelled "kiss my ass" to the customer
in front of me, I would not feel like doing business with him. Nine
out of 10 small businesses fail- this is just ONE of the resons why.
(it took me years to figure this out, the hard way!)
--
squ...@moonwatcher.avrtech.com \ ( ( | ) ) All opinions expressed reflect
================================> /_\ those of AVR Technologies, our
==> MicroPower FM Broadcasting / /\_/\ staff and Gozur the Destructor
Helen, The Ill-Tempered Ticket Lady
>Folks, we are doing the best we can with rather limited staff and
>resources. I committed most of my time and resources to making this
>happen. Since probably most of you have never gone through the design
>and manufacturing process, you do not have a clue as to how much time and
>energy is required to bring just one product to a marketable level, let
>alone an entire line of products. In addition to all of the other aspects
>of creating a successful campaign to take back the airwaves.
If this is the case, I suggest you start making it clear in your sales
literature that there may be a considerable delay in delivery. Most
mail order houses operate on a 4-8 week schedule, many of them faster.
People just get pissed when they order things in October and they don't
show up by the following spring.
>I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
>you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
>done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
>to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
>appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
Then I suppose you'll be refunding the extra money paid by people for
"Two-day mail delivery"? Offering such an option implies you have
product in-stock and ready to go, otherwise the option offers no
advantage to the customer.
I respect and appreciate what you're doing, but I think a lot of us
have a serious problem with how you're doing it.
>Stephen Dunifer
>Free Radio Berkeley
--
Jason A. Lindquist "Federal regulations prohibit me from
li...@uiuc.edu speaking like an adult to adults."
-- Steve Dahl, 9/24/93
Montana Disaster Relief Account
: Folks, we are doing the best we can with rather limited staff and
Here is proof that you mislead people. Check the date. January 21 you said
my stuff would be sent out the Monday or Teusday of that week. This is
why people get panicy after they don't hear from you people for 4 weeks...
This is downright lying. I would have gracefully excepted the fact that my
stuff would take a while if you had told me so. Instead you prefered to tell
me my stuff was on its way.
Received: from crl.com by astro.ocis.temple.edu (5.61/25)
id AA18542; Sat, 22 Jan 94 02:31:09 -0500
Received: by crl.crl.com id AA13262
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Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 23:28:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Stephen Dunifer <frb...@crl.com>
Subject: Re: your mail
To: Montana Disaster Relief Account <j...@astro.ocis.temple.edu>
In-Reply-To: <940121190...@astro.ocis.temple.edu>
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Mime-Version: 1.0
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Status: RO
X-Status:
The order will be going out on Monday or Tuesday via US Postal
2nd day service. The amp is designed for a power input of 10-15
milliwatts, 70 might be pushing it, you could use an antenuator pad (made
from 4 resistors) to knock it down about 5 dB.
Stephen Dunifer
Roger Lewis
>I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
^^^^^^^
>you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
>appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
I can't believe you'd say this to people who want to be radio pirates.
They don't want everything done for them, they just don't want to
reinvent the wheel and they have sent their hard-earned money to YOU
since YOU suggested they do so.
You filled them with the idea of being radio pirates, you offered to sell
them the tools they need before they can start working at it, and then you
complain that they expect everything done for them.
Let me give you a clue. People part with their hard-earned money because
they expect you to do SOMETHING for them, specifically, what you promise.
You insult them by saying they want EVERYTHING done for them. As far as I
can see, you have done NOTHING for them (but you're working at it).
Hey guys, I got an idea. Everybody send me money and I'll do something
for you. I dunno what, cuz I don't want to make promises I can't keep,
but you'll get more in 4 months from me than an insult. :-)
Heck, send me what you sent Dunnifer, and I'll COMPLIMENT each of you. :-)
--
rle...@isi.edu Power to the People!
Brett Mellor (N1LAG)
: If you can not appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
OK, maybe you know alot about engineering, but a statement like
that indicates your talents stop there. Asking people to kiss your
ass doesn't sound like a viable way to sway potential customers.
But I could be wrong, I'm no economist.
I get the impression that your organization is very far behind
in filling its orders. It is my opinion that you were WAY out of
line in posting to this group to ask people to buy more when you
KNEW you were unable to fill the orders you already had. That's
piss poor practice and it makes an already rotting reputation worse.
-Brett Mellor -- mel...@rpi.edu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York
neal d sacon
>of creating a successful campaign to take back the airwaves.
The best part of Steph's vitriolics is his display of socio-political
righteousness in his justification for screwing people. Hey Steph, guess
what, your skateboard's stuck in the sand.
neal sacon >>> n...@world.std.com
Steve Coletti
> in the words of Stephen Dunifer:
> : If you can not appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
>
> in filling its orders. It is my opinion that you were WAY out of
> line in posting to this group to ask people to buy more when you
> KNEW you were unable to fill the orders you already had. That's
> piss poor practice and it makes an already rotting reputation worse.
Judging by the length of the delay and the broken promises, I get the
impression that the money from the orders is going to pay the lawyers and
the orders are being filled when he gets extra cash. If he gets fined or
goes to jail, those waiting for orders at that time might as well kiss
their money goodbye.
--
< ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
< "Big Steve" Coletti >
< Shortwave Listener, Broadcaster, Computer Consultant >
< and all around nice guy >
< Internet: bigs...@dorsai.dorsai.org ==== S.COL...@genie.geis.com >
< UUCP: Steve...@islenet.com ==== ste...@lopez.marquette.mi.us >
< Fidonet: 1:278/712 US Mail: P.O. Box 396, New York, NY 10002 >
< Voice: +1 212 995-2637 >
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wyatt Cox
-=> Quoting Frb...@crl.com to All <=-
I think the following says it all...
Fr> I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
Fr> you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
Fr> done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week
Fr> trying to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you
Fr> can not appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
Perfect way to win friends and influence people. Now I know
who I'm not working with anymore...
... way down upon the Suwanee River ...
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
Pete Ashdown
>In article <2kr8r4$6...@usenet.rpi.edu>, Brett Mellor (N1LAG wrote:
>> in the words of Stephen Dunifer:
>> : If you can not appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
>Judging by the length of the delay and the broken promises, I get the
>impression that the money from the orders is going to pay the lawyers and
>the orders are being filled when he gets extra cash. If he gets fined or
>goes to jail, those waiting for orders at that time might as well kiss
>their money goodbye.
That's not all they're kissing.
--
Cold hearted Orb, rules the night...
DISCLAIMER: My writings have NOTHING to do with my employer. Keep it that way.
Pete Ashdown pash...@slack.sim.es.com Salt Lake City, Utah
Lorne Covington
with precious little, and it is a job that desperately needs to be
done. Before contacting the postal inspector, you might want to, oh
say, call FRB and ask about the status of your order. These folks are
in the process of trying to stare down the FCC, and are doing a damn good
job of it. Please give Stephen and FRB the benefit of the doubt.
So take a deep breath, count to ten, reread the name of this
newsgroup, be patient and know that you are helping a good cause. I
understand that it can be frustrating, waiting and not knowing what is
going on, but 1) FRB ain't Radio Shack, 2) some government agencies
want to make castanets out of their testicles, and 3) they're doing
the best they can with what they have.
- Lorne
--
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Lorne Covington, Megatest Corp. > Eat dessert first;
lo...@megatest.com > life is uncertain.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
J.D. Cronin
>
>I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
>you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
>done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
>to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
>appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
>
>Stephen Dunifer
>Free Radio Berkeley
Looks like my first instinct was correct - don't send money to FRB.
It smelled like a scam from the first posting. If you wanna do FM
broadcasting, get the Ramsey FM-10A or the DC Electronics Stereocaster.
Then build Mycal's 350 or 800 milliwatt amp. Check out the FM-10
archive site for more info.
I built the 350 milliwatt amp, and it works fine. I have Postscript
artwork for it, suitable for the toner-transfer method of making your
own printed circuit boards. I can post it if there is sufficient
demand.
Anyway, we don't need to put up with the unhappy Mr. Dunifer. Just
shop somewhere else, and the problem fixes itself.
Jim
Rich Winkel
>Looks like my first instinct was correct - don't send money to FRB.
>It smelled like a scam from the first posting. If you wanna do FM
>broadcasting, get the Ramsey FM-10A or the DC Electronics Stereocaster.
>Then build Mycal's 350 or 800 milliwatt amp. Check out the FM-10
>archive site for more info.
Yes, then you can get a toy transmitter with lousy frequency stability,
stero separation and frequency response speedily delivered to your door.
With Mycal's 350mw amp you can at least transmit outside your house,
but the other problems are still there.
I'm content to wait for FRB.
Rich
Scott Adams
>In article <2kllen$1...@crl.crl.com> frb...@crl.com writes:
>>
>>I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
>>you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
>>done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
>>to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
>>appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
>>
>>Stephen Dunifer
>>Free Radio Berkeley
>Looks like my first instinct was correct - don't send money to FRB.
Or not.
There have several posts from people who have ordered from and
received their kits from Stephen Dunifer and Free Radio Berkeley. Somehow,
I doubt that its a scam when people receive what they asked for. The only
reason that this whole thing started was because the shipping took a while.
MONDO 2000, a alternative magazine, mentioned FRB as a place to pur-
-chase radio kits. They also had an extensive interview with Mr. Dunifer.
I find it hard to believe that FRB is a scam.
So, no, your fist instinct was wrong. Free Radio Berkeley *IS*
legitimate. Just because an order takes a while to be received is not
evidence of mail fraud. Which is what you are convicting Stephen Dunifer
of. And I might point out that slander is grounds for a lawsuit.
-Scott A.
PS-I just so happens that Mr. Dunifer is currently in the middle of a lawsuit
because he refuses to obey the idiotic and restrictive FCC regulations regardingFM broadcasting. That's three instances of proof that FRB is NOT a scam. I
have yet to see compelling evidence that is.
Be
--
-- --
+---------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
| "Government Denies Knowledge" |_/_/_/_/ Scott Adams \_\_\_\_|
|---------------------------------------------|_/_/_/ sco...@netcom.com \_\_\_|
| Use Finger For PGP Key and Fingerprint |_/ 73300...@compuserve.com \_|
+---------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
Mark Louis Pearlstein
|>
|> MONDO 2000, a alternative magazine, mentioned FRB as a place to pur-
|> -chase radio kits. They also had an extensive interview with Mr. Dunifer.
|> I find it hard to believe that FRB is a scam.
|>
|>
|> PS-I just so happens that Mr. Dunifer is currently in the middle of a lawsuit
|> because he refuses to obey the idiotic and restrictive FCC regulations regardingFM broadcasting.
I read that article too. Mondo 2000 issue 11 for those interested.
Dunifer and FRB are facing a $20,000 fine.
I figure with all this anti-establishment info I possess that someday I'll be working for the
government.
Mark
Paul W Schleck KD3FU
>jdc...@ultb.isc.rit.edu (J.D. Cronin) writes:
>>In article <2kllen$1...@crl.crl.com> frb...@crl.com writes:
>>>
>>>I resent the allegations that we have lied or mislead anyone. Most of
>>>you are of the typical comsumer mentality who expect everything to be
>>>done for them and are unwilling to put 40-80 hours in every week trying
>>>to change the dreadful state of reality on this planet. If you can not
>>>appreciate this, you can kiss my ass.
>>>
>>>Stephen Dunifer
>>>Free Radio Berkeley
>>Looks like my first instinct was correct - don't send money to FRB.
> Or not.
> There have several posts from people who have ordered from and
> received their kits from Stephen Dunifer and Free Radio Berkeley. Somehow,
> I doubt that its a scam when people receive what they asked for. The only
> reason that this whole thing started was because the shipping took a while.
Anecdotal evidence of "some" people getting their shipments doesn't
necessarily mean that "all" people are getting a fair deal. Also, as
far as the law is concerned, there is a maximum period of time where a
long enough while is, by default, "never."
> MONDO 2000, a alternative magazine, mentioned FRB as a place to pur-
> -chase radio kits. They also had an extensive interview with Mr. Dunifer.
> I find it hard to believe that FRB is a scam.
I see informercials about wireless cable and no-money-down real estate
on TV all the time. I'm not saying Mr. Dunifer is necessarily
dishonest, but glitzy publicity is no accurate measure of credibility.
> So, no, your fist instinct was wrong. Free Radio Berkeley *IS*
> legitimate. Just because an order takes a while to be received is not
> evidence of mail fraud. Which is what you are convicting Stephen Dunifer
> of. And I might point out that slander is grounds for a lawsuit.
> -Scott A.
A mail-order operation can be perfectly honest and conscientious, and
still run afoul of various consumer-protection laws. Free Radio Berkeley
may not be a "business" in the traditional sense of the word, but it
*does* engage in business-like practices such as advertising and
accepting money for merchandise via mail-order (even Mother Theresa
would be expected to toe the line if she sold holy-water and rosaries
in the back pages of "Catholics Today").
Clearly, such a mail-order operation cannot hold onto your money
indefinitely, even if they intend to send you the merchandise. For long
enough delays, this is almost indistinguishable from stealing your
money. The Uniform Commercial Code (which many states have written into
their consumer-protection laws) takes this into account when it defines
a maximum time-limit for completing business transactions via mail-order
(I believe it's 30 days). If it will be longer than that, they either
have to tell you up front how long it will take (something I've never
seen in an FRB advertisement), or notify you at the end of the
time-limit and offer to give you your money back (Again, something I
haven't seen done, although I'll stand corrected if Mr. Dunifer
routinely and promptly processes refunds for those who don't want to
wait).
Mr. Dunifer is not a deliberate crook, just someone who got in over his
head and has no concept of proper business practices and public
relations.
>PS-I just so happens that Mr. Dunifer is currently in the middle of a lawsuit
>because he refuses to obey the idiotic and restrictive FCC regulations regardingFM broadcasting. That's three instances of proof that FRB is NOT a scam. I
>have yet to see compelling evidence that is.
Excuses about his ongoing lawsuit or the "righteousness" of his
political cause are irrelevant in this context, and won't wash with the
people whose checks and money-orders he's sitting on (I've never ordered
anything from Mr. Dunifer, and don't intend to. Even if he processed
orders on time, I don't care to be a party to a misguided movement to
flout the law and cause parts of the radio dial to collapse into anarchy
from misguided and technically-incompetent Mr. Microphone wanna-bes).
If anything, the trouble that he's in seems to indicate that it's extremely
unlikely that you order will ever be processed and you should probably
keep your money.
It would be the ultimate irony if what finally did Mr. Dunifer in wasn't
the FCC, but civil suits from otherwise supportive "brothers-in-arms" of
his free-radio movement who don't care to have spent their money
in expectation of merchandise that never seems to arrive and don't take
kindly to being told by Mr. Dunifer to "kiss my ass" in response to
complaints.
--
Paul W. Schleck
psch...@unomaha.edu
Scott Adams
Though his language may have been a bit harsh, Stephen Dunifer was
definitely justifies in his actions. He was unfairly accused of being a
thief and a swindler simply because the orders took a month or two to
arrive. Here he is, trying to give the ordinary person the chance to do
something extraordinary, to stand up for their rights. And all some people
do is complain that the shipping is slow. Instead of recognizing the
great service Stephen is doing, they insult and criticize his methods
rather than offering suggestions or help. The attitude is an amazingly
lazy and arrogant: You work like a slave while I sit back and critique
every tiny mistake you make.
Stephen has other things he must do besides catering to the whims
of everyone. He also has a day job and a court case to handle. This man
is doing everything in his power to keep FRB running while putting a roof
over his head and food on his table. Give the guy a break.
-Scott A.
Lorne Covington
>
> Looks like my first instinct was correct - don't send money to FRB.
> It smelled like a scam from the first posting.
I can assure you that your instincts are in error. I have no
association with FRB, other than I have seen their operation and met
Stephen, but it is quite obvious that he is very dedicated to this
movement. Instead of just being concerned about being a pirate, he's
trying to make it so that it will no longer be necessary, or perhaps
even possible to be a pirate broadcaster, because the airwaves will be
legally accessible. Instead of just working to put his own voice on
the air, he's working to see that we all can.
- Lorne
--
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Lorne Covington, Cave Wall Pictures > Life is uncertain;
lo...@netcom.com > eat dessert first.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>