Xref: utzoo rec.travel:19087 rec.radio.amateur.misc:1728 sci.electronics:19308
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!nitrex!rbl
From: rbl@nitrex.UUCP ( Dr. Robin Lake )
Newsgroups: rec.travel,rec.radio.amateur.misc,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: large 110->220 transformers
Message-ID: <549@nitrex.UUCP>
Date: 14 Apr 91 12:01:04 GMT
References: <gbwV9z_00jVM4FsFs9@andrew.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: rbl@nitrex.UUCP (Robin Lake)
Organization: BP Research - Warrensville Research and Env. Sci. Center, Cleveland, OH
Lines: 26

In article <gbwV9z_00jVM4FsFs9@andrew.cmu.edu> dh1s+@andrew.cmu.edu (Donn Hoffman) writes:
|>I am moving to Spain and want to bring several appliances (eg:
|>macintosh, fax, blender, stereo).  
|>
|>Power in Spain is 220v/50hz.  The appliances are all 110v.  Some are
|>labeled 60hz, some are labeled 50/60hz.
|>
|>I have a couple of questions: 
|>
|>1. I am reluctant to trust my fax and mac to the cheap travel
|>transformers sold at Akbar & Jeff's Luggage Hut.  Is there some sort
|>of larger, reliable transformer I can get to plug all (or several) of
|>my appliances into?
|>

Don't bother with plugging your Mac into the transformer.  Macs use switching
power supplies which run on anything up to 240v.  Just get the appropriate
physical adapters for the line cord plug to fit into the wall socket outlets.

Depending upon your clock radio ... it may or may not lose time on 50Hz.
Mechanical ones will, almost certainly (10 minutes/hour).  Some digital ones
may, depending upon the label on the back/bottom of the clock radio.

Rob Lake
BP Research
lake@rcwcl1.dnet.bp.com