cyclops
24th October 2000, 23:27
I have moved from Singapore (where the power supplies are 220-240V) to the US. I know that the monitor is self adjusting to 120V, and as there is nothing to say otherwise in the manuals I am assuming the scanner (HP),printer(HP)and the main board are the same. Are the power supplies for computers dual voltage or must I purchase a new power supply? When I light up is it going to go boom? http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/confused.gif.
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To define the norm you must sample the excesses
R O Tiree
25th October 2000, 00:23
Look on the back of the power supply on the computer. Somewhere close to the power lead socket there may be a switch marked "230/115" or "220/110", or similar. If so, move it to the lower voltage setting. If there is no such switch, DON'T DO IT!!.
It is highly unlikely that your scanner or printer or any other peripherals will auto-sense the input voltage. If they have a switch to set the voltage, OK, do it. If not, DON'T DO IT.
You can get transformers to change the voltage in the US relatively cheaply. Certainly a lot less cheaply than having to buy a complete new system because you've blown your old one up. I cannot stress this enough - if you connect the wrong voltage to your system, it will not work and will probably be irreparably damaged.
Bird Strike
25th October 2000, 07:10
Make sure you get a really good transformer, particularly for high power items (like if you have a laser printer). I blew a few things up in smoke with cheap transformers!
[This message has been edited by Bird Strike (edited 25 October 2000).]
Ausatco
28th October 2000, 18:42
Anything that uses a plug pack power supply should have a 110/120V equivalent plug pack available from US distributors or service agents.
You can use generic plug packs if you know what output voltage and current capacity to look for. If you go that route suggest you get regulated plug packs - ie the output is regulated to the specified voltage so you won't cook your peripheral. Cheap generic uinregulated plug packs are usually over nominal output voltage, relying on load to bring them down. If your peripheral is a light load the voltage won't come down enough and you risk damage to your equipment. A regulated plug pack avoids that, and usually has a switchable output voltage, so you can use it on other things if you want.
AA