Rockin' in Europe/ World travellers, HELP!

maestro_dmc

maestro_dmc

Uses Paramedic EQ
I am going to be travelling to Europe in about 4 weeks (Poland to be exact) and I need to be able to bring some or all of my guitar rig from the USA.

Does anyone have a good answer for me to adapt the 240v power there down to 120v so that I can at least bring my pedal board and get the sounds I need?

I won't be bringing my amp, and I can't run everything on batteries. Can I buy or build (if its simple enough) a power supply that will convert any V input to what I need? Maybe something I can use in the future if I travel somewhere with even stranger or more unstable power?

All help will be appreciated! :cool:
 
Yeah, just Ebay it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1310&item=2263260521&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I'd advise against buying the really cheap ones that handle very low wattages. It's a very good thing that you're not bringing your amp, because finding one that'll provide the proper amperage and grounding is damn near impossible. Building them isn't too fun either. Anyway, the one I mentioned up there should suit you, and there are a bunch of other ones on ebay too.
 
Besides voltage, you need to convert the frequency of the alternating current. US power runs at 60 Hz, and most European power is at 50 Hz. Do not plug in anything electronic into the 50 Hz current, even if you step it down to 110 volts.

Although, theoretically, if you had an old analog phaser you might get a longer sweep with 50 Hz juice.. hmmm..
 
dirtythermos said:
Besides voltage, you need to convert the frequency of the alternating current. US power runs at 60 Hz, and most European power is at 50 Hz. Do not plug in anything electronic into the 50 Hz current, even if you step it down to 110 volts.

Although, theoretically, if you had an old analog phaser you might get a longer sweep with 50 Hz juice.. hmmm..
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You can't convert the frequency of AC voltage from 50 Hz to 60 Hz without going to considerable expense, and I don't believe it's an issue anyway.

I seriously doubt any of your gear uses the AC power source as a timing reference; more likely it has internal circuitry to generate sweep signals and the like for your flanges, phasors, and choruses.
 
Phyl said:
You can't convert the frequency of AC voltage from 50 Hz to 60 Hz without going to considerable expense, and I don't believe it's an issue anyway.
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I think it is an issue. I remember reading about it when I went to Europe a few months ago, and found some confirmation here.

If your electrical device has a transformer in it, you probably should not bring it to Europe. Lower frequencies require thicker transformers, and transformers designed for 60 Hz operation will overheat and sometimes burn up when used in 50 Hz circuits. Make sure that your stereo receiver is rated for both 50 and 60 cycles before moving it to Europe; we used to have a tape deck which apparently suffered untimely death due to 50 Hz.
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I am definately not an electricity expert, but there might be some concern with 50Hz electricity.
 
He is trying to get his pedal board to work. Everything will be converted to dc anyway. The 50hz thing shouldn't be a problem.
 
Farview said:
He is trying to get his pedal board to work. Everything will be converted to dc anyway. The 50hz thing shouldn't be a problem.
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What he said.

Look at the back of your devices, there is usually a plate that says 115VAC, 50-60Hz.

I lived in West Berlin, Germany for 4 years. We brought all our 110 VAC appliances over there and never had any problem running them through a step down transformer.
 
Thanks, guys. I'll look at each device and see what will work.

One of the pedals is a Tube Overdrive with a 3 prong usa plug, I guess it transforms to DC internally.

I think I'll be ok with a step down transformer.
 
I took a US Boogie (110v) to England, bought a transformer and played gigs with it for a couple of years - no problem.

Used the fx loop on the Boogie and ran my US fx (110v) from the power out on the back of the Boogie - no problem.

Nothing burned out, nothing burned down (except one pub where we tore the roof off one night :D )
 
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