100V stepdown mess solution?

I plugged a power bar into my converter. Why would I be running all my consoles at once?

 

in some areas in japan you have 50hz and in some 60hz, so our lamp refused to work. other than that, american stuff worked.

 

What people need to realize is that PSUs draw power REGARDLESS of whether the device is on or even connected. That's why you shouldn't leave mobile phone chargers plugged in - it's wasteful. And some have been known to melt.

 

Yeah, they use up to 80% of the normal power consumption even when left like that.

 

I did the same with my Sega Saturn. That should also work fine with PlayStation 1/2. However you should swap the psu's from an identical model.

 

BTW, you guys may want to take this into mind: http://www.gson.org/stepdown/

 

Very wise advice. I had not even considered a power strip with surge protection.

 

Where do you actually buy a 240V->100V converter?

I only see 220V->110V converters which cannot be used safely for Japanese appliances. I know many of you say it will work, but in many European countries the voltage is no longer 220V. It is officially 230V with a 10% margin. With a 2:1 transformer this gives you 230V * 1,10 / 2 = 126,5V max! This means any appliance rated for 100V could blow out!

Now, it is reasonable to assume Japanese outlet have a comparable margin (anyone have the official source for this in English?). Assuming 10% like in EC standards a Japanese outlet would still only provide max 110V. Compare that to the 126,5V it could be getting from a 220V->110V converter.

What is needed for most European countries is a 2,40:1 transformer that gives us 240V->100V. I have one, but it is rated for 100W max which is fine for most consoles, but is not enough to run a Japanese Xbox. If anyone knows where to get a power converter for 240V->100V able to supply 300W or more?

 

More to the point, why the hell would you want a PAL console:noooo:

 

Have you measured the output? You don't want anything with a fixed ratio, if you're worried about getting exactly 100v then you need an adapter that regulates the power no matter what voltage it gets in.

I'm not sure the japanese consoles get a new power supply when they are released in america. It's possible the other way round as I read the voltage in japan can go as low as 84v.

Some interesting points on wikipedia about mains voltages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity

The way it describes it, makes me think it's just a pass through.

http://www.minidisco.com/PHC-JPC-100d

 

Almost all games I own are either from Japan or the US but there is still my small Xbox/360-collection that I don't really have the ambition to "transfer" into US/JP-versions (if I lived in the US). I guess I'll end up with a modded Xbox, but what about a 220V-monitor/TV? Would that require some high-priced converter or are these Watt-amounts still affordable to convert?

 

I was wondering about all this when I got my Panasonic Q second-hand. The previous owner sold the step-down transformer with it, and this gave 125v from 240v supply unregulated (measured with a multimeter).

Seems OK as the internal fuse inside the Q is rated at 120v. Maybe the internal fuse is often a good indicator of the maximum voltage?
I would still feel more comfortable running these devices at their specified voltage of 100v, so I'll probably get a regulated step-down just to play it safe.

 

Modern consoles have very flexible switching power supplies, many of which that operate from <100V->240V, so a few volts is not an issue. In the case of old DC supply consoles, you should just get 220/240V supplies if possible.

 

I use modern compact universal PSU for my NES, and I noticed that if I run it at 7.5V, it hums a bit, if I run it at 9V, the sound is very clear.