Alpha and Smartrise are so similar that as a service mechanic l never have issues working on either. Only time I have to call tech support is for confirming suspicions of a bad board. On the modernization side I never had the oppurtunity to install an Alpha, but I've heard good things. For me tech support sucks no matter what company I'm calling. EC, GAL, VAC, Smartrise etc. are all the same. Sometimes they call back quickly, sometimes its hours, sometimes not at all. I'm personally more concerned with access to prints, and manuals rather than readily available tech support.
