Tech: AC Adaptors

Subject: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Morticia
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 08:40 AM

My step son who lives in Atlanta is coming to us for Xmas and he wants a portable cd player.The mains recharge lead will, presumably, be no good for him when he gets it home.Can he get something that will adapt it for U.S use at home, or should his father re-wire it or try to find an adaptor here?Any ideas?

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: kendall
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 09:25 AM

When I go to Britain I take an adaptor for my shaver. They are available at Radio Shack, and probably many other places. Not expensive either.

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Jeri
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 10:49 AM

Moricia, it ought to be easy to find a charger if the one that comes with the CD player doesn't handle European electricity. Some (most?) already will handle more than one type of electrical input, and you'd only need a plug adapter.

If anyone has one, maybe they could read the label and see what it says. Just 120V, 60Hz, or does it say something like 120-220, 50-60 Hz?

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 11:47 AM

Morty, I seem to reading your question the other way round to Jeri. Are you buying the CD player over here for him?

If that is the case, I am not quite sure what you mean by the mains recharge lead but I am guessing that it is the type with a plug that contains a transformer, stepping the voltage down from 240v to what ever voltage the CD player operates on. Such a transformer is unlikely to have a dual input voltage and to the best of my knowledge would be useless on 120v when he gets home.

This is just a guess on my part but I would have thought that Radio Shack (Tandy to us) would stock an 120v equivilant which supplys the cd player with the correct voltage and has a compatible plug to fit the socket on the CD player.

Jon

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Morticia
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 12:05 PM

yes, sorry for the confusion,we are buying it here (UK).The mains lead is to run the player from the mains rather than batteries when he wants to.

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: catspaw49
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 12:37 PM

Hi Mort.....You need what we call an "AC Adapter." Tell whomever that its going to be used here and they should be able to fix you up. It does have to match up Hz wise. Show Tandy what you have and tell them you're taking it to the States.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Morticia
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 02:15 PM

oh ,okay......seems simple enough.....even for me :)Thanks Guys.

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 08:13 PM

Hope you're lucky. Tandy has recently cut down on a lot of the stuff they used to have in their catalogue and shops - I believe they've been taken over by someone who is more interested in selling mobile phones.

Maplin electronics is another place worth checking via their website, and email.

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Nov 00 - 08:21 PM

That is interesting McGrath, what was Tandy in Llandudno has become a mobile phone shop but under a different name. I wonder if it is the same company.

I had fogotton about the existance of Maplin BTW.

Jon

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Terry K
Date: 27 Nov 00 - 02:06 AM

Why not buy the CD player off the Internet from a US company - then it will be aok without the need for add-ons. Probably be a lot chaeper than in "rip-off Britain" too. Just a thought.

Cheers, Terry

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Nov 00 - 06:02 AM

Terry's idea makes sense - and it'd probably be easy to buy an adaptor to allow it to work in England during his visit, because that way you would immediately know if it worked or not.

Subject: RE: Help from my American Friends Please
From: Micca
Date: 27 Nov 00 - 12:53 PM

Morty, I got a recharger lead for my digicam for about $5 in Toronto when I was over there and it worked fine... so keep the european one for when he visits and get a new one in atlanta