Re: [tlug] power adapters in Japan (and US)

[jep200404 <jep200404@example.com>]

Scott Robbins wrote:

> My wife just arrived in Yokohama 
> Googling indicated that she shouldn't need an adapter for her
> Aspire One, which uses a standard 3 prong laptop adapter, but she said
> that she did need one, and purchased one when she arrived--apparently
> paying close to $50 USD.  

This does not smell right. 

It's _possible_ that she needs a _voltage_ converter, 
but it's not likely. $50 USD is about the price of a 
"travel" _voltage_ converter. 

There has been a slow trend toward using _universal_ power 
supplies that run on anything from 100 VAC (for Japan) to 
240 VAC (for most of world especially Europe) at either 50 Hz 
(most of world and "western" Japan or 60 Hz (North America, 
"eastern" Japan (including Yokohama?)). 

Because of their travel use, laptops were the first thing for 
which such universal power supplies became standard issue. 
That was over ten years ago. I would find it _very_ surprising 
and quite disgusting if an Aspire One did not have such a 
universal power supply.[1]

If you're just talking about a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter, 
those are at most a dollar at Dollar Tree in the US. 
Even though they really should not do so, 
many non-technical folks just break off the grounding prong 
to make their 3-prong plugs fit into 2-prong outlets. 

> She says, however, that doesn't fit and also says that the 3 prong one
> she has won't work.  Can anyone confirm or correct this?  If true, what
> sort of adapter should she get?  

Need more info. Please post URLs of pictures of: 

1. The 3-prong plug. 
2. The outlet. 
3. The boilerplate of the power supply. 

By the way, I was recently in an area where the normal 
power was 100 VAC at 50 Hz (certainly not Yokohama). 
They had a big variable transformer to run the European 
version of their product at 240 VAC, 
and I needed to connect to it for some diagnostics on it. 
It was fun to watch the locals, who had seen me use my 
laptop for days at 100 VAC/50 Hz, try to dissuade me from 
plugging my laptop directly into the 240 VAC power supply 
for the European version of the product. 

[1] Nevermind laptop power supplies, which have the most 
    obvious need for universal power supplies, 
    I'm surprised at how common universal power supplies 
    have become for small (less than 10 Watts) wall warts. 
    I've been buying them up and replacing old simple 
    transformer wall warts. For business trips, 
    having universal power supplies for all the accessories 
    greatly eases the power supply issues when traveling. 

    Universal power supplies are almost always switching 
    power supplies. Switching power supplies are usually 
    more efficient than the old simple transformer wall 
    warts, so even if travel is not an issue, the cost of 
    electricity can make switching power supplies attractive 
    for 24/7 use even if they are not the universal kind.