Be Excellent To Each Other

Hola.

I'm off to America tomorrow. The missus has some hair straighteners (GHDs) which she wishes to use when over there. Alas, last time that we were over there the straighteners didn't work. They kept on cutting off.

So, what adapter or something do we need to get them to work?

For hair curlers, you'd probably need a transformer, which isn't going to be practical. Take a look at the voltage plate on the applicance. If it doesn't list 110v/60hz, it isn't going to work very well.

IIRC, it's a different voltage in Merkinania.

A transformer, which isn't practical. Unless the device lists 110v 60Hz it won't work well.

Step 'up' transformers are expensive as I came to find out when I went over there with my console collection. I then found out they have no SCART and I could only use my Jap N64.

IIRC in 99 I paid about $70. And that will only run consoles. Anything with a heating element? forget it.

The yanks only use 230v for their cookers and air con, but it's a different type of voltage so is useless to try and run UK appliances.

Yeah are stuff is at 240V so you need to check all your equipment as america is at 110V.

Most chargers are labelled 110V-240V so they'll work. But a lot don't - DS chargers for example are only 240V which is mind bogglingly stupid.

I doubt hair straighteners will work without a transformer, which are heavy as fuck, really expensive and not practical to take on hols.

Curly hair a hoy!

EdIT: Beat beat beat.

Yeah are stuff is at 240V so you need to check all your equipment as america is at 110V.

Most chargers are labelled 110V-240V so they'll work. But a lot don't - DS chargers for example are only 240V which is mind bogglingly stupid.

I doubt hair straighteners will work without a transformer, which are heavy as fuck, really expensive and not practical to take on hols.

Curly hair a hoy!

EdIT: Beat beat beat.

Yeah, forget taking a transformer it'd be pretty expensive and weigh loads. (As the hair straighteners are a heater, they probably need a fair bit of juice so the little plug-top autotransformers won't do the job). What wattage are they?

Are you in a hotel in America or someone's house? If it's a house, you can plug into the range or dryer outlet which contains 2x 120V centre tapped "hot" lines which is close enough. You'd need to change the plug as I doubt a suitable adaptor exists.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2104179

See the weird socket?

And then

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2104184

See also, funny round plug.

My one was similar to the top one. 150w. LOL.

Incorrect.

Cheers for the help, people, even if it is bad news.

I'm not sure where the straighteners are, so I'll check with them, but chances are she'll have to leave them at home.

The other bad news is that this means she'll probably buy more.

Bah.

Maybe buy gas powered ones rather than US electrical ones, so they'd still be useful when you bring them back.

Actually that's your best bet, they're not very expensive: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Braun_MS1_Smoothlin__6366983

Gas powered hair straighteners. Chance of massive death: 87%

Ebay or craigslist them when you are about to leave? Might be able to get some money back from them?

Wuss.

All the ladies used to use gas powered curling irons when they were popular and a couple of my friends had gas powered hair straightners when they first became popular as well.(one of them used to straighten her hair wilst sitting in class.)

And how many suffered massive death?

Also, WTF? Are you 194 or something? I know it took a while before electricity reached you folks up in the mountains, but still.

175 actually

My mum had two sets of gas powered curling irons, they were the same size as electrical ones but took a totey gas cylinder that she bought in Boots. I think the reason for the gas ones was because she did her hair in the bathroom and so electric ones wouldn't suit. The reason for my friends having gas straightners was so as they could do their hair at school and on nights out. We had crimping irons as well (it was the 80s!) when I was younger but they were electric I think.

They were available before electrical ones because they were safer. Also more portable.

MASSIVE DEATH.

But, good looking corpse.

I can't believe that kalmar is trying to cause us MASSIVE DEATH.

Look, transatlantic flights are really bad, ok.

She'll sweat so much out there her straight hair won't last long anyway.

In what way?

The only 230v (note 230v) line in the house was for the Air con. I looked into it and clearly remember being told that it was different. Whether it was the ampage, polarity etc you could not simply plug a UK appliance in there and it not go bang.

Electrical appliances cost bugger all out there any way. IIRC Big Lots were doing straighteners right before I came home for about $8.

Ah but there is no way she is going to go from using GHDs when she is at home to using $8 hair straighteners when she is away. You can buy cheap ones here for about a tenner but I wouldn't, only GHDs for me as well I'm afraid. The difference is actually very noticeable.

For a start, it's 240V nominal in the US, not 230.
There's no such thing as "different types" of voltage - US mains is at a different frequency but it really doesn't matter to domestic appliances.
And finally, it is not useless to try to run UK appliances on it, because they will work.



Well, whoever told you that is wrong, that's all

But it's better than a kick up the arse lol. Sure, a fiesta isn't as good as a porsche, but if it was that or walk I'd soon put my ass in a fiesta

Yes I am not denying she could get cheap straighteners, I am just suggesting I really don't think she will. She is going out there for rather a lovely reason after all.

I have no wish to see your ass in Fiesta.

I'd be OK with it.

Well that's not what I was told. Actually I remember having a Sony phone when I first got there. Useless there of course because back then they didn't even know what a sim card was. I got a converter and plugged it into the wall and it wouldn't charge properly, all I got when I tried to power the phone on from the mains was a loud buzz from the phone's speaker.




Depends what you consider to be wrong. I mean, plugging something in and it not working instead making a lovely buzz is not wrong is it? It didn't work LOL.

I didn't have any problems with multi volt PSUs though, actually plugged a Bell Fruit fruit machine straight into 110 and away it went (even though the caps squealed it worked fine).

The ampage out there is different aswell. My brother found that out the hard way. Brought himself a 110 Dewalt chopsaw plugged it into a 110 transformer (yellow builder's one, he's a chippy) and it caught fire.

Alas, Maria thinks

Then Maria is a spoildy pants

Sounds like the converter was faulty. If you had plugged it directly into the 240 mains, it would have worked fine.


The opposite of right. What I told you is right.



What caught fire, the transformer? Then it wasn't big enough, you'd have exactly the same problem if you overloaded it with a power tool bought in the UK.

Where did I mention using a converter?



I'm sure they'll be absolutely gutted.




But it doesn't work in practice. Whatever.



No the saw caught fire. Burned out the speed control board. Too much ampage apparently.

Where you said




Nope, the current drawn is determined by the tool, and the voltage of the supply.
In the US it's 120 nominal, using a yellow transformer here you get 110.

I've got a couple of US appliances here I've been using for years in the same way, and have had no problems, so your brother either did something wrong or the tool was faulty.

That's no way to speak of his brother.

Cheap straightners have a pretty good chance of doing more harm to your hair than good. There is a huge difference between them and a more expensive pair, and there's no way someone would downgrade; they'd rather go without.

Aye fair enough. I love curly hair, why women burn and singe it trying to straighten it is beyond me

They don't - that's why they don't buy cheap straightners

Curls are one thing, mind. Rebellious waves are another. Also, good straightners get rid of frizz.

*whisper* Your lady bits are showing.

For the lads.

I have five three related questions...

If I bought a Jap or US PS2 Slim would I need a step-up/step-down thing-a-ma-jig? I'm thinking not, as the A/C adapter is external to the console and is (presumably) interchangeable between regions. Can anyone confirm?

Also, I did some research on PS2 mods which are apparently a big no-no. Is it still possible to mod a PS2 in UK and can anyone recommend a reliable personage to mod a PS2 Slim?

Finally, my google-fu is letting me down. I have a small Samsung LE19R7 for games and what not; can anyone confirm if this thing does NTSC?

According to internets, the PS2 does have a region specific power supply for north America (and I guess Japan). So you'd need a step down thingy or buy a UK power supply as you said.

I'm still not certain -

The UK one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virtual-Village ... 847&sr=8-2

The US one:

http://www.amazon.com/sony-brand-power- ... 900&sr=8-2

They both look pretty much the same. Now if Sony have been swines, they'll have changed either the wall socket-to-adapter fitting (my uk one is a figure-8 type) or the size of the PS2's plug. Or both. Otherwise I think the UK one might be good, or just use the US one with the figure-8 wall socket whatsit.

More aggro and cost but zero chance of bricking your PS2.

http://www.modchipstore.com/USB-eXtreme ... 16241.html

Basically you plug in an external hard drive with PS2 games Iso'd onto it and play them from there. PC won't read it without software but that's easy enough to get.

Be careful though, because the loader disc is region and even model specific. But basically that's what I used to use. Saves money on burning dvds (and time) because you simply take an original, NRG or ISO it on your pc and then copy it to the hard drive.

I have a Japanese PS2 and that requires some manner of mains middleman getting involved.