powering your gear while in a different country

hey, i'll be running a laptop, a 12v dc adapter, and a helicon voicelive touch 2 from a power strip in my live show when i go to Greece.

could someone help explain what i need to buy in order to power this gear? please explain like i'm 5, i've got a lot on my plate right now and would greatly appreciate the help.

thanks
Nym

Greece is 230VAC/50Hz.

You need to make sure every power supply in/for your gear can auto-switch, or be manually switched, to operate at that voltage and frequency.

If you have something that can not be switched to the correct voltage and frequency, you would need a stepdown transformer.

The power supplies, or equipment if no external power supply, should list the range of operating voltages/frequencies on it.

Then you need to convert your US plugs to their plugs, maybe take a US powerboard, and use an adapter to plug that into the Greek power point, rather than needing a separate adapter for each piece of gear.

Chances are the power strip is the only issue.


America's on 120V, 60Hz. Electrical stuff needs to match in both the voltage and the frequency to not explode or stuff.


Most modern power adapters (i.e. I bet your computer power cable, the 12V adapter, and the touch 2) are good anywhere within 110-240V, and 50-60Hz.
Check the labels, it would say pretty clearly what its input voltage ratings are. If they can handle those ranges I mentioned above, then you're good, I think there might be like a couple countries that are outside those, but they're not countries you're going to be going to.

If all three are good, you've got only one other thing to check: the power strip. That ALMOST DEFINITELY is ONLY good for 120V. I would guess it's one of the surge protector ones, and those are designed to cut out when the input voltage gets above like 240ish or something. So you can't use it in other places.
So you're going to need to buy a foreign power strip, either maybe in a US store (probably not), online, or actually at the place you're touring. As long as its rating matches the mains ratings in the country you're in (voltage and frequency), you're good.

Here's this for reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_elec ... by_country


Oh, also, there's the issue of the physical connectors. Once you've got the issue of the voltage/frequency sorted out, any physical adapter will do if it fits into the socket and the power strip plug.

There are special transformer boxes that actually do the voltage/frequency conversion, but I don't think you'll need those, since you're running things with modern power adapters. (but check, like I said before)



So yeah, first thing, check the ratings of your power adapters (and post them here, that would be helpful)

what i did is buy universal adapters over there that output the correct voltage.

laptop should not be problem, those are usually switching. what you need to do is look for what it needs on the input - if it is switching it will say 120/240 or something like that.

equipment like laptop or mpc power supply support 120/240. you might need step down transformer for the 12vdc adapter, other than that just need adapter to make plug work with their outlets...radio shack got special section for these

konc3pt wrote:equipment like laptop or mpc power supply support 120/240.

Not MPC60/3000/etc., they don't support both.

Best to check each bit of gear to make sure.

SimonInAustralia wrote:

konc3pt wrote:equipment like laptop or mpc power supply support 120/240.

Not MPC60/3000/etc., they don't support both.

Best to check each bit of gear to make sure.

yeah, but anything relatively modern is most likely going to work. These kinds of devices have spread worldwide; it's cheaper to design it to be universal, rather than having separate devices for each power region.

obv still check everything though...

awesome. i knew you guys would come through.


OK here are my power requirements in their entirety. i actually don't have that much to plug in, so much is powered via USB.

TC helicon voicelive touch 2:
External Power Supply Mains Voltage: 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (auto-select)
Power Consumption: < 14 W

Asus Q400 A:
100-240v~ 1.5A 50-60hz

AC adapter for arduino:
120v AC 60hz 8.3w


sound card, quneo, and launchpad are all USB. phantom power provided via focusrite saffire via usb, also.

what's my next step? sorry to need to be handheld through this but like i said, i have a LOT on my plate and not enough time to learn everything properly.

i'm hearing that i should buy a dedicated power strip that won't shut down under inputs of greater than 120v correct? and then the physical adapters as necessary?

the tc helicon and the asus will work straight up - you only need a 'passive' plug adapter...ie no electronics necessary, just convert the plug to the right shape. the '100 to 240v' is what tells me they are 'switching' supplies.
something as simple / cheap as this http://www.110220volts.com/EuropeanShuc ... 7Aod0TYAiQ

the arduino, you could probably get by with just a one-plug travel converter for example these (no experience, first google result) http://www.voltage-converter-transforme ... erter-200w

another option as i've mentioned is to get a universal power supply made for that country that outputs the correct voltage. you say 8.3w but do you know how that breaks down into voltage / amperage?

Nym wrote:AC adapter for arduino:
120v AC 60hz 8.3w

You're going to need a different adapter for that.
I assume the 8.3W is measuring the output. 8.3W at 12V is 8.3/12 ≈ 0.7A = 700mA
Something like this would work http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-120 ... B00417WE2K
(that one has the correct size connector for the normal Arduino barrel jack)
That's rated for 1A at its output, but that doesn't matter, you just need it to be rated at least for what your arduino is drawing. (any normal arduino project would draw way less than 0.7A, so pretty much any power rating 12V adapter would work.)


As for a power strip, this would be fine http://www.amazon.com/VCT-Universal-Pro ... B000784H4K
Seems to have good reviews, and it would be good for Greece (or any country that's 220-240V)
It's also super convenient because I believe the wall plug on that is the kind used in Greece, and all the outlets on the strip have the multi-shape plugs that will fit all of your American plugs.

sciguy wrote:I assume the 8.3W is measuring the output. 8.3W at 12V is 8.3/12 ≈ 0.7A = 700mA

any reason why you chose 12v to do the math, vs say 9?

i understand the math converting watts but never understood if wattage was end-all-be-all or if specific voltage range really mattered.

also if it is dc, will also have to get the polarity correct.

sciguy wrote:you just need it to be rated at least for what your arduino is drawing. (any normal arduino project would draw way less than 0.7A, so pretty much any power rating 12V adapter would work.)

...as long as the power supply is regulated, if unregulated you really want to be close in the amp rating.

tapedeck wrote:i understand the math converting watts but never understood if wattage was end-all-be-all or if specific voltage range really mattered.

Voltage does matter, as does amps, combined they give you the watts.

You don't go off of watts when matching a power supply to device, you go by voltage and amps, and as you say, with DC, when connecting it, polarity.

tapedeck wrote:

sciguy wrote:I assume the 8.3W is measuring the output. 8.3W at 12V is 8.3/12 ≈ 0.7A = 700mA

any reason why you chose 12v to do the math, vs say 9?

i understand the math converting watts but never understood if wattage was end-all-be-all or if specific voltage range really mattered.

also if it is dc, will also have to get the polarity correct.

He said it was a 12V DC adapter. So that's what I'm referring to. Also, I had a bit of a brain fart, the 8.3A could refer to the maximum input power. But that corresponds to the maximum output power, anyway.
What a voltage transformer does is convert voltage, while keeping the power the same. So any change in voltage is balanced by a change in max current rating. If it is rated for, say, a maximum of 1A at 100V (just a random example), the converter could output a max of 10A at 10V. The wattages of both are the same (100W).
Of course, this assumes a 100% efficient power conversion; this doesn't happen IRL, since some energy is lost as heat, but modern converters are pretty efficient, more then 90% I would guess. So, in the above example, the max output current might be only 9 amps or whatever.



And you're right about checking the polarity.
Nym, that one I linked to ( http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-120 ... B00417WE2K ) is the correct polarity for a standard Arduino power jack.

guys, thanks very much, your help is sincerely appreciated. i ordered the items posted.