[Electronics-Talk] My Microwave Shopping Experience

Sat Nov 5 22:08:45 UTC 2016

BOTH of my microwaves cost about what Gerald paid and the first one I 
think lasted about 15 years with daily use andthe second one i gave 
away in a move, but was working fine after several years/. Good there 
is a talking option if you really need or want it, thanks Gerald for 
mentioning you got it at home depot. They were great to work with when 
we bought our freezer in the spring so we will rememberthem when we 
need a new microwave.
Original message:

> Well, for your information, the conventional Magic Chef microwave that I
> purchased at Home Depot for $59.88 is made by the same company that makes
> the $370talking model, and so it most likely shares some of the same
> components and may even be manufactured in the same Chinese factory.  So
> just because the talking model costs six times as much as the comparable
> conventional model does not necessarily mean that it will ultimately prove
> to be more reliable or last longer.    If you shell out $370 for the talking
> model and it bites the dust, you're totally screwed, even if it's still
> covered by the warranty.  That's because in order to get warranty repair,
> you have to carry the unit into an authorized repair shop.  Good luck
> finding one nearby.  This means that you will need someone to drive you
> there to drop it off and again to pick it up once it's fixed.  At least if
> my cheapo microwave dies prematurely, I haven't thrown out a lot of money,
> and I can just buy another one, which would ultimately be less expensive and
> more hassle-free than having it fixed.

> Gerald

> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Aldrich via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2016 12:47 PM
> To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
> Cc: James Aldrich
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] My Microwave Shopping Experience

> Hi Gerald and all,

> I'd rather not have all those features!  My wife is diabetic and she would
> have problems distinguishng markings by touch!  Our talking microwave  has
> lasted us for some time!  Tell us a year from now whether your microwave for
> $59 is working a year or two from now!

> Jim

> Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 5, 2016, at 5:38 AM, Gerald Levy via Electronics-Talk
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> A few days ago, I posted an announcement on this list that BlindMiceMart had
> the Magic Chef talking microwave oven on sale for $314.49.  By some amazing
> coincidence or maybe just bad luck, that very evening, when I pressed the
> Start key on my 15-year-old Panasonic microwave to reheat some leftover rice
> for dinner, I heard a loud zap like a bolt of lightning, and suddently,
> poof, just like that, this trusty kitchen workhorse went completely dead.  I
> guess some Halloween gremlins must have infiltrated it, and it bit the dust
> forever.  Anyway, because I cannot function well in the kitchen without a
> microwave, I immediately went to work researching a new unit online.
> Fortunately, Home Depot had Magic Chef microwaves on sale, and I was able to
> download and read the PDF manuals for a few models I was interested in from
> their web site.  The following mornig, my sighted lady friend and I and her
> sister, who has been staying with us, proceeded downtown to the Home Depot
> store on 23rd Street in Chelsea, just down the block from Selis Manor, the
> residence for the thblind in front of which a terrorist bomb exploded in
> September.  I figured this particular store had a lot of experience dealing
> with blind customers.  We were greeted by a very helpful salesman who showed
> us the three Magic Chef models I was interested in.  I finally settled on
> the Magic Chef HCD1110B 1.1 cubic foot 1000 watt microwave, which was on
> sale for $59.88.  This model is essentially the conventional equivalent of
> the talking model sold by BlindMiceMart and other merchants.  Although the
> carton was bulky and weighed about 30 pounds, the three of us managed to lug
> it home in the subway.  Really.  I unpacked the carton, placed the new
> microwave on my microwave cart in place of the old one, and plugged it in.
> To my great relief, it beeped immediately to indicate that it was working.
> My lady friend placed tactilemarkers on the Start, Stop,Popcorn, and numpad
> 5 and 0 keys, and I’m back in business.  I can easily set the cooking time
> by touch and make microwave popcorn with a single touch of the Popcorn key.
> By repeatedly pressing the Start key, the cooking time can be increased in
> 30 second increments up to a maximum of 5 minutes.  So to set the cooking
> time for 3 minutes, all I have to do is press the start button six times.
> What could be easier?  I use my microwave mostly for reheating and cooking
> salmon and TV dinners.  Magic Chef is apparently the house brand for Home
> Depot, and they have a range of models from 0.7 cubic feet to 1.6 cubic
> feet.  All models share the same flat membrane touchpad with similar key
> layouts which can be labeled with tactile markers as desired.  Just out of
> curiosity, I checked the instruction manual for the Magic Chef talking
> microwave and was absolutely shocked at its dearth of features.  Unlike my
> new conventional Magic Chef, which had five one-touch cooking keys
> (beverage, dinner plate, pizza, potato and popcorn), plus four auto cook
> keys and an auto defrost function, the talking Magic Chef has no such
> features.  It just has tactile keys to set the cooking time and clock, and
> that’s about it.  It doesn’t even have a display for the benefit of sighted
> users.  And setting the cooking time on this unit sounds like a royal pain.
> So for $315 on sale and $370 when it isn’t, the Magic Chef talking microwave
> is one of the biggest ripoffs in the blindness products arena.  How can the
> blindness merchats justify selling this model for five times the price of my
> conventional Magic Chef microwave, which has more features and is easier to
> use?  As my experience demonstrates, it is still possible to find a
> reasonably priced microwave with a membrane touchpad that can be made
> accessible with tactile markers. There is no need to spend hundreds of
> dollars for a unit with speech output.  If MCA International Inc., the
> Chinese company that produces kitchen appliances under the Magic Chef brand
> name can make a conventional 1.1 cubic foot model that sells for $60, there
> is absolutely no reason why a talking model of similar size and wattage from
> the same company should cost five or six times as much.  This is pure price
> gouging by the blindness products merchants, plain and simple, and we blind
> consumers need not be taken advantage of.

> Gerald

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