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Old 01-03-2006, 01:56 PM   #1
JerseySchu
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Any suggestions where to get a good converter/adapter for Europe? I'll be in Amsterdam, Belgium, France, Spain, and Italy and leaving in 5 days. Not sure if there are good ones and bad ones or if they're all pretty much the same...
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Old 01-03-2006, 02:00 PM   #2
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Oh yeah and I will be using a hairdryer with it as well as digital camera battery recharger and IPOD. I am a bit worried the hairdryer could blow it out... is it a good idea to maybe buy a hairdryer once in Europe? Are all the outlets there the same?
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Old 01-03-2006, 02:18 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally posted by JerseySchu@Jan 3 2006, 02:00 PM
Oh yeah and I will be using a hairdryer with it as well as digital camera battery recharger and IPOD.* I am a bit worried the hairdryer could blow it out... is it a good idea to maybe buy a hairdryer once in Europe?* Are all the outlets there the same?
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As far as I understand it, a adapter is an adapter, doesnt really matter.

Your Ipod and your recharger should probably be fine because its probably rated for 240 as well as 110 volts. I know my recharger is fo rmy camera.

Your hair dryer will require you to get a converter. So you can do that here, or like you said get a hair dryer over there..

As far as brands or types of converters go, I dont really know, but I'd assume they would all pretty much be the same.

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Old 01-04-2006, 05:14 PM   #4
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For things that are rated for 240v (like camera changers, laptops, and IPod changers)... you can usually find little plug adapters in most travel/ outdoor stores.

My other suggestion is to suck it up, and buy a cheap-o hairdrier at the local stores once you arrive. I found one in Germany for 6.99Euro (rather than having the 40 dollar voltage converter that probably would not have covered the pull anyway). Then you'll have the drier for a later trip.
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Old 01-03-2006, 02:32 PM   #5
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All of the outlets are the same in the European Union Plus some... England has a different type. If you are going to be using a hair dryer it should not be a problem on most of the units just be sure that the watts required of the hair dryer do not exceed the watts listed on the Converter

(Note that 110 volts = 120 volts and 220 volts = 240 volts,, their close enough to be the same)
Remember that in the US we use 110 volts AC on all standard outlets, in Europe Australia and England they use 220 volts AC. Now most of the time you will need a power converter that will drop half of the current from 220 volt down to 110 volts. But on most new equipment with an AC power adaptor that converts AC to DC i.e. Camera, camcorder, computer, DVD player, etc.... you may only need an adaptor not necessarily a converter, an adaptor just modifies the arrangement of the standard North American two spades to the European Two prongs etc. Be absolutely certain this is a possibility if you connect your hair dryer straight to 220 volts when it is designed for 110 volts you could cause serious damage or injury.

The way to tell if it has the ability for 110(120) or 220(240) check on the device for a label and look for a label with input and output. For example my camera charger says:

Input: AC100-240V 50/60Hz
16-20VA .2A 13w
Output: DC5v 1.5A

What this means is that I can run 110 or 240 Volts AC (alternating Current) into the unit and it is going to pull 13 watts it will then convert the power to 5 volts DC (Direct Current)

My recommendation is to go with the power converter that way you know you are safe.

WATTAGE
Another important area is wattage your standard 30 dollar power converter can typically handle around 1600 watts being pulled across it and a standard hair dryer pulls 1875 watts DO NOT USE. I am not sure what a travel hair dryer pulls but look it up because if it is over 1600 than you cannot use it with most Power converters that I have seen.

My advice, buy a hair dryer over there that will plug into their plugs and is rated for their current... PS Hair dryers over there work better because they can pull even more wattage due to the increase of voltage
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Old 01-11-2006, 08:49 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally posted by agriadam@Jan 3 2006, 02:32 PM
All of the outlets are the same in the European Union Plus some... England has a different type.*
I am bringing my Digi Cam charger. Do I understand that I will need 1 type of adapter for Greece, Italy, France and another for the UK???

Where do you find adapters?
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Old 01-03-2006, 03:10 PM   #7
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You can buy a whole set of international adapters at places like Target for $10. As far as hair dryers go, Adam is right on the money. You could spend $40+ on a voltage converter for it, or you can go and spend less than $20 on a 240V hair dryer at just about any drug store in Europe.
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Old 01-03-2006, 05:33 PM   #8
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And my advice is just make sure you actually bring one if you need it...its a lot harder to find a US to Europe adapter once you get here
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Old 01-12-2006, 12:20 AM   #9
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Any electronics store, Radio Shack, or Target will have the adapters.. and they're pretty damn cheap, too.
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Old 01-12-2006, 04:42 AM   #10
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I bought a convertor and multi adapter at radioshack. worked great.
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