WOW. This subject caught my attention and I glanced thru this thread a bit.
I am getting concerned about Neptunes Component Quality since a Friend of mine had his new Model of Apex break while I was watching his tank during a Month away in Europe. It luckily broke few days before he returned, so some manual re-config kept things going. Few weeks later after he got controller repaired, he told me an optical sensor also failed.
I've had apex for over a Decade and it's been the best. Yes there are many modern alternative ways to turn on a outlet.. but that's not the discussion here.
I still have a Apex Jr, and one Apex sys Classic. I have classic eb8 bars, PM modules,etc .....all the original Apex stuff made of Metal.
NOTHING HAS FAILED ME (In a salty, humid fish room, that has been torn apart a few times to upgrade tanks).
However Last Year I did buy a PM2 module to expand my setup and it came with the newer color to match the new apex controller line. It arrived new Dead on Arrival.
Sure Apex Took care of me quickly, and mailed a replacement quickly. I paid for it, but when they got the defective one back, I got full refund. AND I SPECIFICALLY asked to send me the Original Black Colored PM2 module to match my setup (and to ensure I got from the Original Line).
What I learned (not from Apex), is that their cheaper components in that newer PM2 modules fail more than the original legacy PM2 version. Just google rumours, nothing confirmed/proven.
So the message I'm getting is the Old Apex Line was built to last. Their APEX Jr advertizement even stated something like Made of Metal (bullet Proof). Wired for reliability, not Wireless.
This concerns me, and convinces me that I'm keeping my good Old APex Jr, Apex Sys, and all the stuff that has been reliable.
Certainly not interested in Modern Plastic stuff with unknown reliability parts inside.
Not worth upgrading for a DOS , or even to run a Trident (which doesn't run standalone), so the Whole Apex Line is becoming a single point of failure (Controller/PowerBar), and possibly not as reliable.
I certainly hope Neptune improves things, since I've been happy with what I have, and the support I've received.