US xbox in the UK

Fuzzywhale

So ive decided I'd like to procrastinate a bit more with my coursework and get my xbox360 up and runing. I was under the impression that I could just buy a European xbox360 power brick and my American xbox would work fine. However:

my console says it takes 12volts DC at 14.2 amps and some handwavy physics tells me i should look for a brick with 170Watts. Everything on Ebay seems to be either 203Watts or 175Watts.

Any suggestions? I'm wondering if the .4 extra amps would make a difference, and that I'm just being a bit too rough with my math.

Szechuanosaurus

In all probability the best option will be to use the existing power transformer and plug it into the UK three prong socket via a travel adapter plug (a neat trick if you are studying abroad is to buy a single travel adapter plug and then a multi-socket (surge protected) extension bar from your home country, then you can plug the bar in via the travel plug and instantly have a bunch of US sockets).

You should check the rating on your existing power converter, rather than on the xbox itself. The converter will step down the voltage to the required amount for the xbox (which will likely be less than the actual mains supply. On a UK Xbox360, the power brick is rated to accept a range between 200v and 240v (UK power supply is typically around 230v) and a frequency between 47 - 63 Hz (UK supply is 50Hz). North American standard Voltage is around 110v at a frequency of 60Hz, so you should check if the range on your brick extends up to 240v and down to below 50Hz frequency. If it does, it's good. If it doesn't, just buy a UK power brick which should cover the correct ranges for a UK power supply and will drop the voltage to the required amount for the xbox.

This seems to be a pretty good primer on traveling with electrical equipment. Wikipedia also has some informative articles on the differences between power supplies in different countries for reference as well.

Fuzzywhale

thanks that's really helpful!

Are uk bricks sold separately in stores? I've looked around and not seen any.

Szechuanosaurus

Not sure, possibly not. Can't find any myself.

Spam

Fuzzywhale wrote: »

Are uk bricks sold separately in stores? I've looked around and not seen any.

Nah, not usually - ebay is your best bet.

You can use a power brick with a higher wattage/Amp rating btw, just make sure the connector & Voltage is right. There's at least 2 different types of 360 power brick in the UK - they changed the power ratings at some point, so make sure and get the right one for your model.

Fuzzywhale

wonderful thanks again guys, ill check out ebay.