How best to use US equipment in the UK

[nicka2604]

Hi,

I've just bought some DJ Decks (2x Vestax CDX 05) from the US (equipped with US power adapters) and am now wondering how best to use them in the UK. They cost me £400 so I want to make sure they are well protected. The power adapters for the decks have the following details on them:

Input: 120V~, 60Hz 35W
Output: 8V, 2000mA


I currently know of 3 possible options:

1) Buy two UK adapters from the manufacturer (cost = £50)
2) Buy two cheap step down transformers (cost = £10)
3) Buy two more expensive step down transformers with thermal fuses (cost= £40)

Basically I guess the question i'm asking is whether or not my decks will have adequate protection (coming from the us power adapter itself) if I bought the two cheap step down transformers and they ended up developing a fault.

I'm sorry if this doesn't make much sense but i'm not too electronically minded! If you need any more information, please ask.

 

[eblc1388]

13A square pin power sockets are used in UK.

If the Decks are fixed installations, then it is alright to use a single 240V/120V step down transformer for both as someone can not mess up the power arrangement once properly setup.

If you ever have to move your deck around for use in another location, then the obvious choice would be a correct UK adapter to plug straight into the UK mains.

If you try to save money by using the original 120V adapter with a 240V/120V step down transformer, then you will need to always bring along both the adapter and the stepdown transformer as a combined unit. Some days or someone clever would then forget to use it and plug the adapter(using a socket adapter) straight into 240V.

 

[mneary]

With £400 at stake, £50 sounds to me like cheap insurance against your creative DJ's. You have income at stake if it all gets broken at a gig?

There's also the risk that the 60Hz transformers will run hot at 50Hz.

 

[arunb]

Firstly don't change the plugs to the UK format, this way newbie users will know that the system is a non-standard device and may also need a different volatge level.

Secondly use a step down transformer to get the desired voltage. It may be possible to change the frequency, but this will require a different approach.

You should also the consult the technical documents that came with the device. It is likely the device is built to operate on different frequencies.

I know this because I myself use an imported Bose music system. The system accepts a wide range of frequencies.

thanks
aa

 

[nicka2604]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Decided I'm going to buy a step down transformer as I will only be using the decks at home as a hobby however, I was wondering if there's anything I should look out for when buying one apart from the input and output voltages it is designed for and the maximum power. I've done a quick search in amazon and there seems to be different prices for what appears to be the same product.

 

[john1]

Hi,

The decks may run slow on 50 Hz as they were intended for 60 Hz.
That depends on how the motors are driven.
***
If the motors rely on the supply frequency for their RPM, they will run slow,
but they may have stepped diameters to accomodate this by moving
something on the shaft.
***
The motors may not rely on the supply frequency for their RPM, they may
have some different speed regulation altogether,
in which case you should not have a problem with that.
***
The difference in construction of 60 Hz transformers and 50 Hz transformers
is very slight. I have never known it have any noticeable effect on small
supply transformers like the ones you refer to.

John

 

[matc]

John makes some good points. Also ...... even if the motors are driven at the right speed, the LED that shines onto those little dots on the turntables may be driven from the mains. If you care, it's easy enough to make a 60 or 120 Hz flasher

 

[mneary]

It boils down to whether your power adapters put out AC or DC.

There's usually a symbol for the low voltage plug; it may have a + and/or - marking the core or the outside. That would be OK.

If instead it's marked with ~~~~, you have AC and the frequency will be a problem.

 

[Hero999]

The adaptors output 8V@2000mA, whether the frequency is important depends on whether they are siwtching regulators or just standard transofrmers, a switching regulator will stand 50Hz much better than a transformer.

I would search for an alternative power supply that outputs 8V and can supply at least 2A if possible. I would also check to see if the supply needs to be regulated, if your supply isn't regulated then the chances are it'll be alright with a 9V supply.

 

[Styx]

a couple of us recently on the GEntoo-linux OTW forums advised a couple of people on exactly this thing

What we ended up advising was going through every piece of equipment and grouping them into 3 groups

1) the dual-voltage/freq appliances <= no change needed
2) those with external ACC power bricks <= cheaper to get a new brick
3) those that seem to be direct-AC ONLY <= the real problem-parts

since #3 is the real pain resulting in an transformer needed it was a case of weighing up the cost of shipping the goods & buying a transformer to replacing the part (microwaves are a good example)

There were (in this case) a couple of expensive items where an XFMR was the better choise and it took a while to chose the right one (load regulation and all that)