Hopping the pond.

[ChrisFromCanada]

Hey calling all you brits out there. I will be visiting London for a week Beginning tomorrow. My flight leaves tonight. I just have a question I thought you could help me with. I will be bringing by iBook and I only have the North American power adaptor. I saw the international outlet kit but it was $55 and I think I have an adaptor that will work. It is a wall wort power adaptor that looks like it is about 10 - 15 years old. I has two circular prongs spaced about 2 cm or about 0.7 inches apart and they are about 1.75 cm long. It reads "converts 220/240VAC to 110/120VAC, for use only with heating appliances rated up to 1000 watts maximum"

Anyway looks like I might have some crappy weather. But luckily I am only 2 blocks from the Apple store!

 

[swiftaw]

The UK use three rectangular prongs, not two circular ones. See http://kropla.com/!g.htm

 

[~Shard~]

Sounds like you have a transformer to downstep your voltage which is good (otherwise your iBook would become crispy) however you'll still need an adapter for the plug itself so it will fit the wall socket, and I'm not sure if the one you have will do the trick (actually I'm pretty sure it won't). Check out a place like this to make sure your plug will fit in the socket.

Since I'm a world traveller, I just have my own set of adapaters for any country, which really comes in handy and was well worth the investment!

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

Thanks for the help. After looking at it more carefully it looks like it is not intended for chargers or extended use of any kind.

Looks like I gonna head out to Radio shack now and get a kit like yours ~Shard~.

 

[mxpiazza]

man, i'd just spend the money to do it right... its not worth possibly frying the crap out of your iBook..

 

[~Shard~]

Thanks for the help. After looking at it more carefully it looks like it is not intended for chargers or extended use of any kind.

Looks like I gonna head out to Radio shack now and get a kit like yours ~Shard~.

No problem. And yes, the kit is very handy, but I guess it all depends how much globetrotting you do to make the most out of it. But, these things never change, so once you have the kit, you're essentially set for life!

Have a great trip!

 

[Applespider]

You don't need the voltage convertor to use an iBook or Powerbook around the world. Just the normal plug convertor will do - the powersupply brick will do the conversion itself.

 

[~Shard~]

You don't need the voltage convertor to use an iBook or Powerbook around the world. Just the normal plug convertor will do - the powersupply brick will do the conversion itself.

Cool, good to know, I've never had a laptop to know if this was the case or not. Makes sense though, as my new electric razor and digital camera both have downsteppers built into their power bricks.

Nonetheless, Chris will still need the socket adaptors.

 

[nw43]

I've got a similar question but the other way round:

I will shortly be travelling to the States from the UK and will want to charge my iPod (and possibly my mobile phone) over there. What do I need to do this - I'm assuming I only need some kind of plug adaptor?

Cheers,
N

 

[~Shard~]

I've got a similar question but the other way round:

I will shortly be travelling to the States from the UK and will want to charge my iPod (and possibly my mobile phone) over there. What do I need to do this - I'm assuming I only need some kind of plug adaptor?

Cheers,
N

Pretty much the same thing - you'll need a socket adaptor so your gear can fit in N. American plugs, and if your gear is new enough, you shouldn't need any type of transformer.

 

[Applespider]

Again, you should just need the plug socket adaptor for both bits of kit. You can buy them in loads of places - they're often made by TravelGo. Check that your phone charger says 110 - 240v on it just to be on the safe side.

 

[jalagl]

I have a world kit for this kind of situations, but it only changes the plug - it doesn't do any type of voltage conversions. The laptop's adapter should be able to handle that. Just make sure the specs read something like:

INPUT: 100-240V ... 50-60Hz (just read it of my HP laptop adapter)

For all other things, I have USB charging cables, and charge them off the laptop - the PDA, GBA, iPod, phone, etc. That way I only travel with 1 power brick.

The only other thing I plug directly into the wall is my shaver, and it is able to handle all the voltages as well.

 

[CanadaRAM]

I will shortly be travelling to the States from the UK and will want to charge my iPod (and possibly my mobile phone) over there.

Call your mobile carrier before you go to check:
Who they have reciprocal agreements with in the US
Whether your phone is compatible
What (exorbitant) roaming charges you will be hit with for local and for long distance calls.

If you are not expecting others to call you, (except your nearest and dearest) then just buy a pay as you go phone in the states, and let your family know the number. It may be much cheaper than your UK company's charges.

 

[nw43]

Thanks for the replies - it seems I'll just need to get hold of a plug converter then as both the iPod power block and phone charger show 100 - 240V

CanadaRAM, thanks for the advice. My phone is tri-band so will work in the USA. I know that charges are likely to be very expensive but I'm only going to be there a couple of weeks and am not really planning on using it at all - it will just be nice to know that I can if I really need to.

 

[~Shard~]

Thanks for the replies - it seems I'll just need to get hold of a plug converter then as both the iPod power block and phone charger show 100 - 240V

CanadaRAM, thanks for the advice. My phone is tri-band so will work in the USA. I know that charges are likely to be very expensive but I'm only going to be there a couple of weeks and am not really planning on using it at all - it will just be nice to know that I can if I really need to.

Sounds like you're set - have a great trip!