safe to recharge ipod?
 

Is it safe to recharge a (US) ipod using a radio shack quality power transformer while in Italy and Greece?

Hard to say without knowing what transformer. I use an iPod-to-USB cable that I plug into one of those wall warts (rated for 120/220v 50/60hz). That works fine. Alternatively, I'll just plug it into my computer.

You don't need a transformer, only the plug adapter. Used mine in Germany, Austria, France and Italy with only the adapter.

I'm with Lydia - I recharged mine in Australia with just a plug adapter. iPods are designed for people who travel so you should have no problems.

The electrical unit will have somewhere on it the voltage it can handle. Usually it is molded into the plastic of the charger or on a sticker of some kind. Look for the heading "Input" and it should say something like 100-240V. As long as that's the case, then just plug it in using the adapter as stated above.

Most new electronics need only a plug adapter. Double-check to make sure.

My 8100 phone charger has a USB plug, and I have been wondering if I can swap the USB plug for the IPOD USB and charge away. I can't find anything on my iPOD that specs charging voltages, but the output of the Blackberry charger is +5V @ 0.5A, which I have to assume is standard on the USB geared chargable units.

Am I correct in thinking I charge away on the iPOD?

5V and half an amp fits the USB spec, so it ought to work.

A USB is a USB, so that is fine. The important part is for the INPUT to be capable of 240v AC as well as the typical 120v for N. America.

Carrying a power transformer is usually a waste. They're heavy and unnecessary for anything most people need to take on a trip. What you need is the adapter plug(s), to change the prongs to the right configuration.

The Blackberry and iPod bricks (or any other generic brick that plugs into the wall and gives you a USB port) should have a power spec on them (not the devices themselves, look on the power supply brick). Take whichever one says it allows for something like "108-240v AC 50-60Hz" and is smaller and lighter. The 240 is the operative number. If it stops at 120, it will be fried by European circuits.

The standard Apple ones for the iPod (and all their laptops) are rated for the dual voltage, so if this is an Apple part it should be fine, but it's always good to double check on the brick.

This was the closest thread that I could find to my question...

Can I use an old US 2nd generation ipod 'brick' (I think it has a firewire adapter to connect to the brick) to charge my 5th generation vidio ipod in Belgium with the appropriate adapter? I don't want to bring my laptop but will need a recharge if I want to watch video (and maybe if I don't!). I am fairly sure that it should work, but thought I would ask just in case.

Thanks

Dr. PITUK

I charge my iPod in France using my iPod USB Power Adapter (Input 100-240V-50/60Hz, Output 5V 1.0A) and a simple plug adapter. No transformer needed (however I do plug it into a surge protector).

Test it before you go; it won't hurt anything. As long as the dock connectors are the same, I think you're set. (I can't remember when the dock connectors were introduced. The earliest iPods did not have them if I remember correctly.) The fact that it's FireWire doesn't matter for the charging aspect. What no longer works with FireWire on the later iPods is syncing to a computer. If you have a brick and a cable that ends in a dock connector, you should be good to go. Make sure the brick is rated up to 240v AC as I noted months ago in above post, but I'm pretty sure all the Apple ones always were, and in that case you'll only need the plug adapter for western Europe.

Thanks CrazyOne. I'll give it a go tonight.

Dr. PITUK

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You're right. I charge my 5G iPod with a FireWire brick/cable from my old 3G iPod (the one which introduced the Dock connector, and also the last one to support FireWire sync). The iPod supports both the 5V USB and the 12V FireWire power lines.