Electronics from Europe/Asia

brettw22
brettw22 Posts: 7,624
edited December 2002 in Electronics
Can you, or has anyone ever done this, buy/bought any electronics either directly from, or that were designed for, overseas. (follow that one?)

I wanna know if there would be any forseeable problems with that equipment. I have a buddy that's over in Hong Kong for a lil bit and have thought about askin him to shop around........just wanted to see what y'all knew about this one......
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  • jrausch
    jrausch Posts: 510
    edited December 2002
    Equipment is pretty much the same except the power over there is 220V. Make sure your friend checks the voltage requirements and checks to see if the warranty is valid in North America. I'm not sure if customs is a hassle though. I know G.I.'s tend to bring stuff back on military aircraft.

    Good Luck.
    "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited December 2002
    I don't have a specific model that I'm looking at, but i was scanning through a few sites really quick and one of them the power supply that's indicated is AC 230v, 50 Hz. That wouldn't work over here?
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  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited December 2002
    That wouldn't work over here without a converter.

    Lots of overseas electronics do have voltage switches. I have a turntable from the UK that switches between 110 and 220v. All you need is a plug adapter.
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited December 2002
    Any guesstimate on how much a converter would run if I was to buy a 220 unit?
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  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited December 2002
    It's been a while since I looked, but I think they start at around $50 or so and go up into the hundreds.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,592
    edited December 2002
    Make sure that you can convert not only the voltage, but the Hz cycle too.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • weavercr
    weavercr Posts: 289
    edited December 2002
    Stick to speakers , no fuss about power, Coral is a good brand over there in the asian market. They used to make drivers for Sansui and JBL in the 70's.
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited December 2002
    You can always make it a 'laundry room' rig, and plug it in with the dryer.

    Cheers,
    Russ
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited December 2002
    Originally posted by RuSsMaN
    You can always make it a 'laundry room' rig, and plug it in with the dryer.

    :D Apartment dweller.........no can do......I know that ya don't have to deal with the whole power thing with speaks, but provided the receiver is doable and it'll work over here and is not so expensive, I might if the price is right......who knows....just a thought.
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  • kn505
    kn505 Posts: 380
    edited December 2002
    A friend of mine just came back from his Hong Kong trip. He bought some DVD movies for $1.50 each in Shang Hai.
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  • audionutt
    audionutt Posts: 97
    edited December 2002
    It seams that over seas gear is way cooler then the stuff we get here.:(

    joe
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,519
    edited December 2002
    I've felt 220v before, it's not that bad......really.


    Peace Out~:D
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited December 2002
    If the item is low power then the converters could be reasonable but if you buy a power amp or receiver make sure it can be switched or wired for 110v/60hz because a large enough converter would cost a lot.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

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  • jdavy
    jdavy Posts: 380
    edited December 2002
    I have been to Hong Kong and Main Land China just a few months ago. Here is a few comments:

    DVD movies for $1.50.
    True but not the quality of US releases and not all DVD-9's will play on our US region 1 players. However, they will play on virtually all computers.

    220 volts at the Dryer socket.
    220 plugs in HK and China are not the US twist type.

    KH & China = Great Prices.
    China does not have much in the way of high end machines but HK does. Prices are about the same as the US if not even higher.

    Conclusion:

    Skip the electronics and get some DVD's for your PC. If they work with your player it is a bonus. Hey what is $1.50 a throw. They even have titles that we do not have like the Indiana Jones series. Do not know if they are licenced by Lucas and Spielberg though.

    Have fun.

    Cloths are a different story.
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