AW: Using your USA gear in Europe (voltage adapter concerns)

["Rainer Thelonius Balthasar Straschill" <rs@moinlabs.de>]

Hi Margaret (and everyone here),

I have not dealt with your actual problem but with the symmetrical version 
of it (using German gear in the U.S.). Summarizing my experiences, I have 
found the following.

Most of the gear you will be using is low power and will be using 
low-voltage DC current internally. That means you normally have not to 
deal with the problem of 50 vs. 60 Hz at all. A possible exception are 
highly-optimized power amplifiers - check your manual for those.

I would classify gear in the following scheme:

I. GEAR WITH INTERNAL POWER SUPPLY
a) gear which adapts automatically to 100-240V and 50/60Hz (e.g. Behringer 
BCF/BCR, Eventide Eclipse...)
b) gear which has some sort of switch to switch between 110 and 230 (e.g. 
Behringer FCB1010)
c) gear which will only work with one kind of voltage

II. GEAR WITH EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY
a) gear with a power supply which automatically adapts (e.g. all laptops)
c) gear with a power supply which only works with one kind of voltage 
(e.g. Presonus Firebox)

Strategy:
It's obvious that you won't have problems with I.a) and II.a) at all. I.b) 
can also be used iff you remember to switch to 230V when you go to Europe 
(I believe Zoe once killed a FCB1010 when she forgot to do so), so 
defining a clear checklist for your "gear preparation for Europe" is a 
good thing.

II.c) usually can be dealt with by finding an external power supply which 
delievers the correct output voltage (or can be configured to do so) and 
is an "adapting" power supply (usually so-called SPS). When I toured to 
the U.S. the first time, I got some of those for my stompboxes and also 
for my Firebox - they cost about €5-7 apiece. A place to look for those 
would be either something like RadioShack or a store which sells laptop 
accessories. Important figures:
        * output voltage: usually selectable, but it needs to be able to 
supply the voltage your gear requires. Usually, this is mentioned in your 
gear's documentation.
        * power rating: again, the power rating (in mA or A) needs to be 
equal or bigger than the power rating of the device you're using it for. 
Again, consult your manual.
        * plugs: those universal power supplies usually come with a 
selection of plugs that fit in any of those devices which have a "normal" 
connector (i.e. round - either like a mini headphone jack or cylindrical 
with a hole in the middle).
        * polarity. Polarity is indicated usually either on your gear or 
on its power supply, and your new power supply needs to match it.

Note that those devices which have a very "peculiar" plug need to be 
treated according to I.c) below, unless you want to start making your own 
power leads.
Also note that with your new power supply, you can also operate your gear 
in the U.S. Fail-safe

ATTENTION: By using the wrong (too high) voltage or by using wrong 
polarity, it's possible to damage your gear. If you're unsure, ask the 
tech guy of your choice.

I.c) these are the ones with the biggest problem. As somebody already 
mentioned, you need a special external transformer for them which will 
transform 230V to 110V. There are special devices sold for this purpose - 
the important figure is again the power rating: the power rating of the 
transformer needs to be higher or equal to the total power rating of all 
the devices you're connecting.


As a computer-based musician with a stompbox backup rig, I'm happy to say 
that most of my setup is nearly completely foolproof to this regard. The 
stompboxes (DD20, G2.1u - in the future perhaps also EH SMM w/Hazari) have 
SPSs, as has the audio interface. The laptop has a SPS from the start, as 
has the BCR2000. The only weak point is the FCB1010 - I always have to 
remember to switch back to 230V before returning to Germany.

Hope this helps,

        Rainer