Stateside Query

[Groundrush]

Can i ask our American cousins what power supply you run on over there. I did ask my girlfriend but she just gave me that blank expression "don't ask me I'm a girl, i don't know stuff like that". I know you have a these real funny two pin plugs, but i didn't find out what voltage you run. The reason is I'm soon to be settling in VA and i need to know if all my electrical hardware is going to have to be replaced or can i ship it with me, ie, TV/ DVD/Surround Sound/ Desktop/Laptop and so on. This is something i need to remedy as I've got to either get rid of it all or organize shipping for all my goodies........

[Movie Junkie]

Can i ask our American cousins what power supply you run on over there. I did ask my girlfriend but she just gave me that blank expression "don't ask me I'm a girl, i don't know stuff like that". I know you have a these real funny two pin plugs, but i didn't find out what voltage you run. The reason is I'm soon to be settling in VA and i need to know if all my electrical hardware is going to have to be replaced or can i ship it with me, ie, TV/ DVD/Surround Sound/ Desktop/Laptop and so on. This is something i need to remedy as I've got to either get rid of it all or organize shipping for all my goodies........

Our normal power source (that you would be using) is 120 volts (some people refer to it as 110 or 115 volts) 60hz. The most common types of 120 volt receptacles you will encounter are shown here.

[Groundrush]

Thanks for the info Movie Junkie, that means everything i have here will be no good as we run 240v. I suppose in some ways thats not a bad thing as i now have an excuse to replace everything that is slow and dated

[Movie Junkie]

Thanks for the info Movie Junkie, that means everything i have here will be no good as we run 240v. I suppose in some ways thats not a bad thing as i now have an excuse to replace everything that is slow and dated

It would seem to me that you could purchase converters for your equipment.

[polopony]

Thanks for the info Movie Junkie, that means everything i have here will be no good as we run 240v. I suppose in some ways thats not a bad thing as i now have an excuse to replace everything that is slow and dated

check on the back of the equipment many things have dual voltages. you can choose with a flip of a switch .Most of the Euro stuff is like you say 220 but where its noticable is we run 60hz and you run 50 HZ(cycles )the 50 will run a little slower, electric motors that is .If you're set on getting all new stuff disregard

the above post and you can tell the wife that a reputable source says it wont work we need all new equipment

[Shamus_McFartfinger]

check on the back of the equipment many things have dual voltages. you can choose with a flip of a switch .

That?s what I was going to say. It?s pretty common to see these switches on the backs of portable tape decks, PC power suppies etc over here in the colonies.

[lfcrule1972]

I don't think I have seen such switches on stuff for sale here in England in fact the only item I can ever recall seeing with one was an electric shaver my old man had.....

 

Sounds like the perfect excuse for new gear to me !!

[Groundrush]

I don't think I have seen such switches on stuff for sale here in England

 

 

I have to agree with lfc' in that none of my electrical goodies have an alternate power settings on the back and i don't recall ever seeing said switches/buttons on any items sold here....?

 

The general consensus seems to be " get new goodies ", i may need to work on the missus a bit longer to convince her, if that fails I'll pass her over to my " reputable source ", I hope you are ready for that polopony....... ...........

[Shamus_McFartfinger]

I have to agree with lfc' in that none of my electrical goodies have an alternate power settings on the back and i don't recall ever seeing said switches/buttons on any items sold here....?

 

Weird. The PSU on my PC?s have these switches (110v/240v). As does the VCR, DVD recorder, portable tape decks, mini hi-fi?s etc.. etc..

[Movie Junkie]

I have to agree with lfc' in that none of my electrical goodies have an alternate power settings on the back and i don't recall ever seeing said switches/buttons on any items sold here....?

 

Weird. The PSU on my PC?s have these switches (110v/240v). As does the VCR, DVD recorder, portable tape decks, mini hi-fi?s etc.. etc..

I have those switches on some of my equipment. I believe you'll find that the equipment that is meant to be sold in one country only won't have the switches, but those items that are to be sold in several countries will have them. It also has to do with how new/old the items are.

[polopony]

I don't think I have seen such switches on stuff for sale here in England

 

 

I have to agree with lfc' in that none of my electrical goodies have an alternate power settings on the back and i don't recall ever seeing said switches/buttons on any items sold here....?

 

The general consensus seems to be " get new goodies ", i may need to work on the missus a bit longer to convince her, if that fails I'll pass her over to my " reputable source ", I hope you are ready for that polopony....... ...........

 

bring her on if I cant dazzle her with brilliance then its baffle her with bullshit

[volvofl10]

anyone know of any 240 volt 50 Hz UK spec TV/ DVD/Surround Sound/ Desktop/Laptop's going cheap ??

[lfcrule1972]

Yeah we could have a forum auction for all Groundrush's stuff

[Groundrush]

Yeah we could have a forum auction for all Groundrush's stuff

 

=)) knowing my luck, the missus would log on and start bidding

[Kenadjian]

Now that would be funny.

[Pain_Man]

Can i ask our American cousins what power supply you run on over there. I did ask my girlfriend but she just gave me that blank expression "don't ask me I'm a girl, i don't know stuff like that". I know you have a these real funny two pin plugs, but i didn't find out what voltage you run. The reason is I'm soon to be settling in VA and i need to know if all my electrical hardware is going to have to be replaced or can i ship it with me, ie, TV/ DVD/Surround Sound/ Desktop/Laptop and so on. This is something i need to remedy as I've got to either get rid of it all or organize shipping for all my goodies........

 

 

We use 110. That's the "nominal" rating though and, of course, it varies depending, among many other things, on the quality of the wiring in your house or your apartment.

 

Oh and tho' I'm sure you've probably considered this, remember we use NTSC TV system; you guys use PAL. I believe there are DVD players that will convert between them, but you're probably going to have to buy TV(s) here. Surely somebody on the board's lived in both countries and knows.

 

When I was an exchange student in France they warned us, b4 we left, that we'd need adapters for any electric device we took with us since the Frogs use 220 (which can kill you dead real quick).

 

If you guys do use 220, you'll need adapters. If you use another type in the UK, I'd ask an electrician over there. Hell, you might even try calling the embassy or consulate. The State Dept. is normally as useful as tits on bull, but they might actually prove helpful.

 

Virginia, BTW, is beautiful country. Rains like hell. But its very verdant, lush forest (of course, it also has the usual swarm of bloodsucking insects).

 

My aunt's lived back there for years (she retired from the Air Force a couple years back and decided to stay there).

 

I haven't been to Britain, but I don't think the climate should be that different than southern England.

 

Good luck living on the East Coast. You couldn't pay me to do it. I'm a confirmed Westerner.

Edited May 17, 2006 by Pain_Man

[Pain_Man]

Sounds like the perfect excuse for new gear to me !!

 

 

A man after my own heart.

 

"Yes, dear, I'm sorry, but we're going to have replace the entire electronic suite. I know it's a bitch..."

[Pain_Man]

Our normal power source (that you would be using) is 120 volts (some people refer to it as 110 or 115 volts) 60hz. The most common types of 120 volt receptacles you will encounter are shown here.

 

 

 

I'll readily admit to an aversion to all things electrical (as opposed to electronic) but I've always been told we use 110. In fact, when I was in high school, my parents had a house with a 220 line in the garage for a jacuzzi.

 

And, as I wrote above, the Frogs use 220 (if memory serves, this was 20 years and a bazillion dead brain cells ago). Why one would choose to use a voltage that is definitely deadly--I've done the dance with 110 and while it will sit you down--in my case literally--its not usually fatal unless you're standing in water or sticking a fork in the socket.

 

(I don't know what my British cousins call jacuzzis, they're a kind of "whirlpool bath" to borrow Desmond Elliot's description to Eddie Murphy in Trading Places.)

Edited May 17, 2006 by Pain_Man

[polopony]

and when you get to Virginia you'll be able to tell the married couples real easy there will be tobacco juice on both doors of the pickup

[Pain_Man]

I have those switches on some of my equipment. I believe you'll find that the equipment that is meant to be sold in one country only won't have the switches, but those items that are to be sold in several countries will have them. It also has to do with how new/old the items are.

 

My desktop's power supply has one of these switches. As did my previous one. But I haven't seen one on my set-top DVD/CD player or my HDTV. Given the differences in TV formats, that makes sense. And given that a computer power supply is, well, a computer power supply and most of them are made in China or Taiwan, why wouldn't they make only one model to cut down on production costs?

[Pain_Man]

and when you get to Virginia you'll be able to tell the married couples real easy there will be tobacco juice on both doors of the pickup

 

 

 

That's Texas, land of my mother. Y'all ain't gonna take my family pride away from me, ya damnable Yankees!

 

Tabacky juice, hangovers, panther piss and bar fights--iz the Texas national past-time!

 

 

 

(Which is why I live in Nevada...hookers* and slot machines and the highest smoking rate in the nation--but no goddamned state income tax!!!!!!)

 

 

*Oddly enough, prostitution's legality is determined by all counties with less than 400,000 population. There are only eight counties in Nevada and only one has more than 400,000 people.

 

Guess which county Vegas is located in? $$ + =

 

(Unless you're Anna Nicole Smith or my ex-step-mother-in-law...)

Edited May 18, 2006 by Pain_Man

[lfcrule1972]

I think our power supply is 240v but you will have to excuse me I can't stop laughing at the randomness of PM's post above From power supply to hookers in two pages !!!

 

Oh and as I have discovered a couple of times recently whilst doing up the house the shock of a live wire makes you sit down alright - both times I was lucky I had just been for a piss otherwise I fear there would have been a puddle to clear up !

[spinningwheel]

the shock of a live wire

 

@ LFC...a little hint...IT WON'T HAPPEN IF YOU DE-ENERGIZE THE CIRCUIT FIRST...

 

@ PM...110-115-120 are all acceptable voltages since the NEC mandates a maximum 20% error factor for operating voltages.

[Pain_Man]

the shock of a live wire

 

@ LFC...a little hint...IT WON'T HAPPEN IF YOU DE-ENERGIZE THE CIRCUIT FIRST...

 

@ PM...110-115-120 are all acceptable voltages since the NEC mandates a maximum 20% error factor for operating voltages.

 

 

Thanks, wheel.

 

This explains why my APC Monitoring software for the UPS has a tolerance of 88 to 132, something like that.

 

I HATE electricity. Well, I hate messing with it. I got badly shocked when I was about nine or ten and ever since then... Besides, that's what electricians are for.

 

Thank God my kid never showed any interest in the outlets when she was an infant/toddler.

Edited May 18, 2006 by Pain_Man

[Groundrush]

and when you get to Virginia you'll be able to tell the married couples real easy there will be tobacco juice on both doors of the pickup

 

 

I think our power supply is 240v but you will have to excuse me I can't stop laughing at the randomness of PM's post above From power supply to hookers in two pages !!!

 

@polopony.... when i was last over there i was given some "Dip". I can't see the enjoyment of it as it burned the hell out of my mouth and tongue, although I now see why you spit....... :&

 

@lfcrule... i know, i'm in so much "Pain Man" from so hard