Adaptors for travel in Europe?

SkyGheNe

I'm heading to Ireland/Spain and have been googling info on what kind of adapters I would need to charge my camera and laptop, but there appears to be a lot of options. Does anyone know what exactly I'm looking for? Does spain/ireland sockets have differences that would require additional purchases?

vonPoonBurGer

Most places in Ireland should have a type G plug, but you may also find type D in older buildings. In Spain you'll find type C and type F, which are totally different from Ireland obviously. Both countries use 230V @ 50Hz, so you'll need to check the power adapters on your gear to make sure they accept that voltage. Note that some North American electronics gear (e.g. the Nintendo DS's power adapter) only accept 120V, and you'll need a stepdown transformer for those.

SkyGheNe

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

Most places in Ireland should have a type G plug, but you may also find type D in older buildings. In Spain you'll find type C and type F, which are totally different from Ireland obviously. Both countries use 230V @ 50Hz, so you'll need to check the power adapters on your gear to make sure they accept that voltage. Note that some North American electronics gear (e.g. the Nintendo DS's power adapter) only accept 120V, and you'll need a stepdown transformer for those.

Holy crap that's complicated.

Yeah, I've got a DS, nikon d40 recharger, zune, and my girlfriend has a hair straightener and a few other things.

So there's two things I need at this point, correct? An adapter that plugs into the wall and a converter to convert the wattage. But in the case of my ds I also need a transformer?

This looks like it could run me quite a bit haha.

Sir Headless VII

you can get a universal travel adapter that looks like this that will work in both places. It may or may not have a ground though so if the power is unreliable in either of the place your going (it shouldn't be) you should keep that in mind. Check the electronics you want to use they should have a place with a whole mess of tiny writing. on there is should say something along the lines of Input Voltage or maybe just Input and have something that specifies the voltage range it will accept. If it says something like 110-240V and 50-60Hz then you are ok, if the range is smaller (doesn't cover at least to 230V and 50Hz) then you will need some sort of transformer. Most electronics I have are ok in other countries.

Willeth

I imagine that for everything except the straighteners you can power them from USB. That way, you only need to power one thing like a laptop and run everything else off that.

Willeth

Also, I really doubt you'll find Type D anywhere any more in the British Isles. I've only ever used G plugs and the only time I've ever seen a G is in a box of junk my grandad had in his garage.

It's also worth noting that in my experience, the European C and F types are interchangeable, but I would get confirmation on that by someone who knows more instead of taking my word for it and blowing yourself up.

Willeth

Ugh, that was meant to be 'only time I've ever seen a D'.

poshniallo

Plenty of old places in Ireland have the two-pin plugs (D). My Nan's house has about half G, half D.

Willeth

poshniallo wrote: »

Plenty of old places in Ireland have the two-pin plugs (D). My Nan's house has about half G, half D.

Wow, really? I thought they'd been phased out years ago. My mistake.

wyld_thang

Willeth wrote: »

It's also worth noting that in my experience, the European C and F types are interchangeable, but I would get confirmation on that by someone who knows more instead of taking my word for it and blowing yourself up.

They are interchangeable. Type C fits into Type F sockets and type F plugs should fit in a Type C socket. They are used intechangebly in Germany for example.

saint2e

Get an adapter that changes the voltage for your girlfriend's hair straightener, or have her buy a cheap one when she gets over there. Europe uses higher voltage and will fry your gf's hair straightener if you just use a straight adapter without a voltage converter.