Re: American Only (was: charge an american device in Europe)

Interesting article in todays Wall Street Journal. It seems that
>manufacturers are shipping equipment with region-specific power supplies >lately. It seems that want to prevent folks in Europe (and other places) >from taking advantage of the cheap US dollar and buying here instead of >at home. > >They pointed out that although it is cheaper to build one version of a >product with a multi-voltage power supply (particularly if its an SMPS), >that lets too many people buy products on the gray market. > >There was a sad example of a guy in Fiji who plugged in a brand new iMac >G5, only to discover that Apple no longer provided multi-voltage power >input. >

Have to say that we have bought DVD players etc in California for use over here, having first of all had a look at the manual for PAL output availability and then a quick look inside to make sure the switch-mode supply is rated at 240V, plus a further test on our friends 110/240V step up tranny.

Works well, but you need to know what to look for first. Seems that it is another way of reducing choice for the consumer.

It must make the operation more expensive for them though, as the electronics is pretty standard throughout the world, and making a region-specific version is going to slow the manufacturing process down some.

Regarding the guy in Fiji, presumably he read the manual first..... ?

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email Address: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Web Pages for Engine Preservation:

formatting link