Details Update...

Tested in Oracle 9.1.0.2 and 9.2.0.1. Same behavior.

Tried using TO_CHAR(x) on my TIMESTAMP field with no success. Note that I am not updating this particular field (indeed would rather leave it out of my query entirely) but its mear presence in the table at all seems to generate this error.

I validated that if my TIMESTAMP field was empty (NULL) for a given row, I was able to enter EDIT MODE on the TOracleDataset. Likewise, adding a new row also works.

Entering EDIT MODE on a row with a non-NULL value in the TIMESTAMP field generated the ORA-1406 error.

Based on infomation I found in another post, I set my UseOCI7 to TRUE. This has eliminated my problem (yea!). This particular application has no Oracle 8i/9i (OCI8 or greater) requirements.

Going forward however, my customer will likely expand in to OCI8+ features. Does Allround have a stance on support of Oracle 9i relative to this issue? Is it a DOA defect? An Oracle defect? Are workarounds known?