Travel Technology - Power Strip & Voltages

Hey there,

I'll be traveling to Asia, and I have a question in regards to power strips (power bars).

I'm interested in purchasing one of these:
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738

However, I'm worried that the 220v will trip the surge protector in that power strip?

Will I have to buy a transformer (from 220v > 110v)?

I'm also planning to use one of those multi-heads prong adapter
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3583


If you know a product that will solve all these non-sense; a power bar that will switch voltages from 110 ~ 220v, and has USB port(s), that will be awesome!

I plan on using the following:
MacBook Pro (has 85W 110~240v power adapter)
Canon battery charger (110~240v power adapter)
AA batteries Charger (110 ~ 240v)

and an iPhone (I can either plug it in to the MacBook Pro, or to a power strip that has USB ports).

Your instincts are right - you need a transformer for the Belkin strip. From the not-too-terrific specs Belkin gives, it appears that this is a power strip with a 5 volt USB power supply. I see nothing that suggests it is a universal (110-220) 5 volt supply. Plugging it to 220 would likely fry the 5 volt DC supply, or cause it to put out excessive voltage

From your list, it appears that all your power supplies work 110-220, so it is only your iPhone that has the problem. You can buy a universal USB power supply (http://www.google.com/products?q=iphone+universal+usb+power+supply&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd) for it or just charge it off the Macbook Pro.

The surge suppression in a typical power strip kicks in well above 220v so I don't think that will be a problem. The danger in taking a conventional 110 power strip and hooking it to 220 is that it is very easy to forget and plug in something that is 110v only - which will likely destroy the device.

My suggestion would be to test the system before you leave by hooking it to 220 and measuring the various outputs.

This adapter is multi-voltage and has a USB port:

http://www.travelonbags.com/2042.html

You'll find at at places like Irv's and Magellans for about $40.

That Belkin is 110 only (I have it here).

Your instincts are right - you need a transformer for the Belkin strip. From the not-too-terrific specs Belkin gives, it appears that this is a power strip with a 5 volt USB power supply. I see nothing that suggests it is a universal (110-220) 5 volt supply. Plugging it to 220 would likely fry the 5 volt DC supply, or cause it to put out excessive voltage

From your list, it appears that all your power supplies work 110-220, so it is only your iPhone that has the problem. You can buy a universal USB power supply (http://www.google.com/products?q=iphone+universal+usb+power+supply&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd) for it or just charge it off the Macbook Pro.

The surge suppression in a typical power strip kicks in well above 220v so I don't think that will be a problem. The danger in taking a conventional 110 power strip and hooking it to 220 is that it is very easy to forget and plug in something that is 110v only - which will likely destroy the device.

My suggestion would be to test the system before you leave by hooking it to 220 and measuring the various outputs.

I guess I'm better off with one of these: http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=4646. In case I need to plug in an extra 220 ~ 110 transformer.


Or I could just get a standard 4 ports powerstrip, and just use my iPhone's USB-to-Walloutlet adapter. amicorrect?

I guess I'm better off with one of these: http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=4646. In case I need to plug in an extra 220 ~ 110 transformer.

You could use one of these Monster strips (or the Belkin strip that you first mentioned) if you plugged it into a 220-100 transformer (http://www.220depot.com/p-312-0-200-watt-Step-Down-Transformer.aspx?CatID=14). Then you could plug your MacBook and iphone into the Monster strip, up to a total of 200 watts. You would need a travel plug adapter so that you could plug the transformer into the various strange local 220 plugs that you might encounter.

Or I could just get a standard 4 ports powerstrip, and just use my iPhone's USB-to-Walloutlet adapter. amicorrect?

On the Apple site there is this discussion (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7811226) about 3G iphone adapters working on 100-220. As mentioned on the Apple site, you should be able to check the fine print on your iPhone adapter and see if it supports 110-220 volts. IF it does, then you could take a cheap power strip, plug it into a travel plug adapter and plug it into the local 220. You could then plug any power brick that you have into this 220v strip - AS LONG AS THE POWER BRICK IS RATED 110-220.

The 220Depot.com site (http://www.220depot.com/index.aspx) is a good source for travel adapters, transformers, etc and the folks there are very helpful.

right!

Thanks wdwright! I just want to avoid carrying too many prongs and plugs. I guess I'll just bring a standard, power strip (nothing fancy) with some prong-converter. No need for power transformer since all of my chargers are 100~240v.


Cheers mate!

I'm still slightly chaffed that no one has made a power converter with interchangable prong, and surge protection, and USB ports. I mean, how hard could it be? streamline everything just to one device.

I'm still slightly chaffed that no one has made a power converter with interchangable prong, and surge protection, and USB ports. I mean, how hard could it be? streamline everything just to one device.

What is wrong with the one I posted? It does all of the things you want. :)

I stopped carrying all these silly chargers and switched to the following:

1) Apple USB charger for iPod (classic): This allows me to plug in any USB connector, so I use it to charge my iPod, my Nokia phone and my G1/Google phone. The latter two have USB charging cables. I then have the Apple adapters for this (to be honest it's a standard two prong notebook plug) for Europe and the UK + the US one which works in Taiwan and Japan. This is the one here: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB051LL/A

2) I carry ONE Fuji World Travel Adapter core; (this one here http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/consumer/digital/digital-accessories/power/world-adaptor-plus-usb-charger - this one is the most solid I found and has none of the shorting out problems the older Belkin ones did: http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8E449-Universal-Travel-Adapter/dp/B00008O393 ). The Fuji one is really only available in Europe - and it is an OEM design of a pretty standard adapter but it works well and can convert to similar function as the one ScottC showed.

3) My Apple MacBook Magsafe adapter + an airplane magsafe adapter.

I stopped carrying all the silly chargers for each device. This just left me with one generic USB charger and my notebook charger. I can use the USB ports on the Mac to charge anything but if I need I have the standalone USB charger.

Hint: If you are in the UK and don't have a UK plug but you have a European plug it will still work. Just insert something safe into the ground plug (the one on the top) this will open the prongs to allow you to plug in a European plug. We do this all the time now and avoid carrying proper UK plugs for ungrounded equipment. A laser cut car key (e.g .VW, Audi, etc) works good as the thing to insert into the ground pin :) WARNING: Not responsible for anything you may do wrong.

What is wrong with the one I posted? It does all of the things you want. :)



Oh, I just need more ports. But I'd probably daisy chain one of that you linked, with a powerstrip!

[QUOTE=evanhindra;10723974]I guess I'm better off with one of these: http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=4646. In case I need to plug in an extra 220 ~ 110 transformer.

I have one of the North America 4-plug Outlets to Go. I bought it for use on cruise ships where there is usually only one outlet available.
Now, is the English/French/Spanish version really one that I can use in Europe without any converter? My hardware is all dual voltage, so I am looking for just the power strip.

I love my Igo. http://igo.com It allows me to power all my electronics with one adapter, it doesn't matter what the power source is. I have the "Juice" it has adapters for 110VAC (US) and 12VDC(auto) and the power ports on airplanes. If you are traveling overseas you can get the proper cord from their web site. It does the incoming voltage adaption and then feeds your device the proper voltage it needs through a special tip. You can find the tips at RadioShack, airport giftshops as well as on-line. It can power your computer and cellphone/ipod at the same time.

Based on personal experience I would recommend a converter rather then just an adapter if you want to use 110v equipment in 220v+ outlets.


This adapter is multi-voltage and has a USB port:

http://www.travelonbags.com/2042.html

You'll find at at places like Irv's and Magellans for about $40.

That Belkin is 110 only (I have it here).


I dont see this when I search for "Travelon" on Magellan's website.

edit: found it on Irv's
http://www.irvs.com/Travelon/Adapters/Converters

They have 2 both look the same! What's the difference?

Hey guys,

I'm back with the same question again. This time I'll be traveling to Europe.

I still have a similar set of crap to carry:
• Laptop (100~220v adapter, standard apple magsafe adapter)
• iPhone + BlackBerry (each has its own adapter. both are 100~220v. Both are capable of drawing 5v off the wall, standard USB interface)
• Charger for my camera (Canon CA-PS400, will work with 100~220v)

Last year, I carried way too many adapters and prongs. I want to be able to minimize that this year.

As a result of that, I'm back looking for a powerstrip that has two USB ports (so I can charge my iPhone and BlackBerry via the powerstrip's USB ports), and has three ports or so to charge my camera batteries and laptop (standard type-B, North American/Japanese, ports).

A few of my questions/concerns:
• The powerstrip has to be able to regulate the power (stepping up-down power coming from the wall outlet) to accommodate the 5V USBs
• Size that is small enough for me to pack it efficiently
• Surge protection would be nice to have, but it needs to work with 100~220V (and does not trip the power).

I already have the Belkin Powerstrip (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738). But I asked Belkin's support, bringing it to countries with 220V will cause the surge protector to trip.

So, I'm thinking of getting Monster's Outlets To Go™ Power Strip (http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=4646) instead. Since it has no surge protection built-in, there's nothing that will cause the powerstrip to trip even if it's plugged in to a 220v. But I don't know if this will cause any issue if I plugin my cellphones via the USB ports in the Monster's outlet, since I don't know whether this outlet will regulate the power from wall (whether it's 100~220v) and adjust it for the cellphones (5V, USB standard).


Any tips/products?

Check these guys out: http://www.europlugs.com/.

I've gotten their power strips and they seem to have quite a range of products. May have what you want.

Check these guys out: http://www.europlugs.com/.

I've gotten their power strips and they seem to have quite a range of products. May have what you want.


Thanks for the link. I cant' seem to find one with USB ports :(. And they're kinda big. But I might have to settle with one of those.

Any more suggestions?

I travel with a similar array of items, but instead of using a power strip with USB plug-ins (usually quite expensive), I just plugin my Macbook Pro and then use the two USB ports on there to charge up my stuff. I believe that you can put your laptop to sleep and the iPhone will still charge, but the blackberry will not (at least that is the case for me).

When I travel, I usually just carry a power strip (regular old one), a USB plug adapter (for charging iPod Touch/Blackberry/Nintendo DS separately), and my camera battery charger, along with one universal plug adapter. I find that generally lets me charge everything I need.

Most all-in-one items are expensive, heavy and take up a lotta room. I buy and carry the individual items and substitute an extension for the power strip surge thingee.

MisterNice

I don't have much to add as to reducing clutter with all of the power adapters and so on, but I will share a recent experience with traveling with a power strip. All of my devices that I travel with are universal voltage, but there's still the issue of physically plugging them in. I have a couple of plug adapters I travel with, and can usually borrow another one from the front desk, but that's a hassle. Plus, there's the issue that oftentimes, there are very few power outlets available, and those that are, are often in an inconvenient location.

So I thought I'd be really smart by packing an extension cord, power strip, and plug adapter. I'd plug the extension cord into whatever outlet was available in the room using the plug adapter, then the power strip near the desk, and then set up all my gear. It worked great in Japan (100V), but when I plugged it in in Hong Kong (220V), I immediately got a loud "pop," the lights went out, and there was a little smoke coming from the power strip and that electrical smell. Oops. Even though I buy cheap power strips and consider them just to be outlet multipliers, I guess even the cheap ones have some form of surge suppression.