Wall Wart Conversion

R

rathpy

New member
I am considering the feasibility of using USA products in a country where the mains power supply is incompatible (Australia, which has 240V 50/60Hz). Here are my thoughts. Any answers or suggestions would be appreciated.

Replacement Power Supplies Option

For gear which has external power supply plugpacks ("wall warts" I think you call them), I could replace the power supply with a local one that accepts 240V in.

Issues are:
  • I could stuff up the item if I plug something incompatible in
  • Extra cost $10-$25 for external power supply from electronics store
  • I could have trouble finding a unit that matches the power output required, eg.15V-500mA. (At least this information can usually be obtained before purchase).
  • I could have trouble matching the size of plug that connects into the item being powered. The exact dimensions aren’t usually made available before purchase. General wall wart kits usually have a range of plugs but these might not always fit. I could cut off the plug from the 115V original and fit it to my own, but this would void any warranty.

Specific Questions:
  • So long as the voltage is matched does it matter if the wall wart is capable of supplying more Amps than the item requires?
  • Is there any way for me to know whether the item requires Regulated power (where the voltage will not increase if less than full current is drawn)?

Isolated Stepdown Transformer Option

I could introduce a transformer pack that converts my 240V mains into 115V required by the USA wall wart.

Issues are:
  • More expensive than a replacement wall wart, eg. $65 for 2.2amps.
  • So long as the transformer is big enough I could plug a (USA) power board into its output plug to supply several USA wall warts at the same time.
  • Electricity wastage higher (how much?)
  • Should definitely work for all gear. No fiddly plug sizes or output DC voltages to match up.
  • This is a clean solution, Yes?

I’m not thinking of doing this for all my gear. Just some of the stuff that is hard/impossible to source here and/or is way overpriced.

Regards,
rathpy
 
It is kewl

I am in South Africa and it is also 240v 50hz, I have a whole hoast of USA things, mixers, recorders etc.

You have two options that work:

1) get a transformer and use that to go from 240 to 110 then plug evything into that transformer so you will have something like this: 240v auz -> 110v USA -> 15v mixer (that is what I do)

2) replace all the equipmet transformers so you have something like this: 240v Auz -> 15v mixer insted or 110v USA -> 15v mixer like it was designed.

You can normaly get the different power supplys from the dealer/manufacture.
 
Thanks. Someone else mentioned that the 240V-115V transformers don't convert the line frequency from 60Hz to 50Hz like the American power packs expect. But you haven't found that to be a problem, huh?

Regards,
rathpy
 
HMMM

Hey,

I am no electronics expert or a master sound engineer but as far as I know it is not a problem. :)

It will be good if you just what to do it for home use.

did you look at the manufactures, they suppky different power supplys for different contrys
 
Most gear today comes with variable PS (they either detect the correct voltage by themselfes or you have a switch that sets the correct voltage).
Equipment with wal warts is easy to handle, too. You just buy the apropiate wal wart from an electronic supplier and plug it in. Be careful to check if you need a AC-DC or simply an AC-AC walwart, ie if you need a rectifier circuit included or not.
50hz instead of 60Hz shouldn't cause a problem either, only if the regulator is poorly designed (ie underdimensioned smoothing caps, inadequate ripple filtering) you may experience a little bit more hum.
I will very soon be in the same situation, moving back to Germany (230V/50hz) from Mexico(0-115V/60Hz). I have only one piece of gear that could cause problems, everthing else is absolutely fine.
 
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