Bought a VF80 from US;do I need an adaptor for use in Australia?

[Guitar Jim]

I recently bought a Fostex VF80 secondhand on Ebay. It was made for the US market and I live in Australia. It's just arrived. I've been told I need an adaptor of some type because of the different voltage systems. I then emailed Fostex in the US and was told the VF80 will accept AC voltage from 100V to 240V and will adjust by itself and that 50/60Hz line frequency difference does not matter. They said all I need is a power chord that fits an Australian AC outlet ( which is different from a US outlet ).
I just thought I'd ask the knowledgeable folks here about this, just to be sure. I don't want to plug it in and damage anything.
Thanks.

 

[Rokket]

Yes. You can contact Fostex international on the web and find a dealer or distributor who sells the AD12 adaptor with the proper voltage...

 

[billisa]

I recently bought a Fostex VF80 secondhand on Ebay. It was made for the US market and I live in Australia. It's just arrived. I've been told I need an adaptor of some type because of the different voltage systems. I then emailed Fostex in the US and was told the VF80 will accept AC voltage from 100V to 240V and will adjust by itself and that 50/60Hz line frequency difference does not matter. They said all I need is a power chord that fits an Australian AC outlet ( which is different from a US outlet ).
I just thought I'd ask the knowledgeable folks here about this, just to be sure. I don't want to plug it in and damage anything.
Thanks.

The manual says that you shouldn't connect the VF80 to voltages other than stated as accepted in the manual specs. Then the manual specs say that 120/230Volts are acceptable, and that 50/60hz is acceptable. So it sounds like the email you got is right. But double-check with the rep in Australia. I forget the name, but there is a good one in OZ.

 

[arjoll]

I recently bought a Fostex VF80 secondhand on Ebay. It was made for the US market and I live in Australia. It's just arrived. I've been told I need an adaptor of some type because of the different voltage systems. I then emailed Fostex in the US and was told the VF80 will accept AC voltage from 100V to 240V and will adjust by itself and that 50/60Hz line frequency difference does not matter. They said all I need is a power chord that fits an Australian AC outlet ( which is different from a US outlet ).
I just thought I'd ask the knowledgeable folks here about this, just to be sure. I don't want to plug it in and damage anything.
Thanks.

Check the voltage rating on the unit - if its listed as '100-240VAC' or similar you should be ok. Many pieces of equipment are autoranging and can accept both 100-120 and 220-240 volts. If this is the case all you need to do is either head to Dick Smith and buy an adapter to fit the Aus/NZ standard plugs or, if the mains cord unplugs, just get a new cord - it probably doesn't need to be a Fostex.

If the unit itself doesn't show the voltage its designed for then the best option is to talk to Syntec International, the Aussie distributors - 02 9417 4700.

Cya
Andrew

 

[cellardweller]

As much as I hate to be the bearer of ill news, I'm afraid you are all wrong about this.

He'll have to move to the states to use his VF80...

(ignore this, I was only kidding!)

 

[arjoll]

As much as I hate to be the bearer of ill news, I'm afraid you are all wrong about this. He'll have to move to the states to use his VF80...

If its a voltage issue then no problem:
http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.filereader?421448dd022d9d40273fc0a87f9906b1+EN/catalogs/CTG0000479

Or, because he's an Aussie:
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.filereader?421446af0fe099922740c0a87f9c074b+EN/catalogs/CTG0001186

Frequency almost certainly won't be a problem - I can't think of any reason why putting in 50 Hz instead of 60 Hz would be an issue!

Cya
Andrew

 

[Guitar Jim]

I've just found out the answer. I was able to finally contact the Fostex service dept. here in Australia. What the guy from Fostex in the US told me was correct.
All I need is a simple adaptor to match the Australian power socket or I can simply buy a new cord here. That's all I need. The recorder will work with either Australia's 240v system or the US 120V system and will self adjust.
Even though it has "120V" written on the machine it will definitely work with Australia's 240V...... 120V is stamped on it because it conforms to US law, they are not allowed to stamp 230V on the recorder. The extra 10 volts for Aust. 240V system presents no problem, the recorder will still work fine..

 

[arjoll]

The extra 10 volts for Aust. 240V system presents no problem, the recorder will still work fine..

I thought you guys were a nominal 230 volts like we were over here?

If not so much for all that dual standard AS/NZS stuff stamped on everything!

Anyway a few volts over isn't going to hurt. Have fun!

Cya
Andrew
(over the ditch)

 

[Rokket]

I thought you guys were a nominal 230 volts like we were over here?

If not so much for all that dual standard AS/NZS stuff stamped on everything!

Anyway a few volts over isn't going to hurt. Have fun!

Cya
Andrew
(over the ditch)

Probably the only thing you will have to watch is that it will get hot a lot quicker. Just have to turn it off and let it cool down every once in awhile. I am running a power adaptor from Japan on my MR-8 (50 cycle, 100v), on US current, and that's what happens to me. I just let her cool down to room temp and then start up again. But I can go for about 2 hours before it gets too hot...

 

[Guitar Jim]

Rokket, I think you may be right about that. I have just plugged my VF80 in for the first time, and after about 1 hour I felt the machine and on the bottom side it was very hot indeed.