US electronics in the UK

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Hi,

I have some electronics that I bought in the US and im planning on shipping them back to the UK, but I dont know what I need to get them working safely?

A friend told me something about a step down transformer? I've tried looking at these on the internet but their seems to be a lot of different types and the prices range from £20 to £200. Also they only seem to have 1-2 sockets?

This is the stuff I want to bring back,

My PC
NEC 2490WUXI Monitor
Bose Companion 3 2.1 Speakers
Samsung Plasma TV (can't remember the model)
Playstation 3
And my TV surround sound system

I also have an UPS that i was using for the PC, monitor and speakers, would that be safe to use in a step down transformer? since it would protect my items and also solve the socket problem.

I think this is the UPS I have,
http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1500LCD&total_watts=200

Also i've been told the TV won't work in the UK since we use PAL and america uses NTSC, but is there anyway to get around this? with a converter or something? If not I guess I could still use the TV as a monitor for my PS3... :(

Anyway please help, Thanks :P
 
You'll find that many home electronics products are autoswitching anyway, have a look on the label and see if they can accept 110-240v. If they can then you should be fine just by changing the plug but you may want to wait for confirmation on that.
 
It depends on the power adapters with the devices. I'm no expert and will be happily corrected on anything I get wrong, but most modern deviced (at least ones I have come across) come with switching power supplies. As long as the lable states the power can be supplied 110-220v then all you should need is a travel adapter.

...I think :P
 
PC should be fine, but there will probably be a switch on the PSU to change from 110V to 230V.

Monitor - check the power brick to see if it will accept 230V, if so it will work

Basically, it'll really depend on the individual items, if they are rated for 230V you will be fine, if not then you'll need a step-down transformer. :)
 
PC should be fine, but there will probably be a switch on the PSU to change from 110V to 230V.

Monitor - check the power brick to see if it will accept 230V, if so it will work

Basically, it'll really depend on the individual items, if they are rated for 230V you will be fine, if not then you'll need a step-down transformer. :)

oh ok so if they accept 110-230V I just use a normal plug adapter? and thanks for the fast replies btw :P
 
oh ok so if they accept 110-230V I just use a normal plug adapter? and thanks for the fast replies btw :P

Yep, should be fine. With things that use a kettle type lead such as the PC, HDTV and the PS3 you can just get hold of some with a UK plug, this saves messing around with adapters and rewiring. Anything that uses a power brick typically has a detachable power cable, you should be able to find UK replacements for those as well.

As for the TV being NTSC, that is only regarding the built in tuner (much like a UK TV with a Freeview tuner wouldn't work in the US). You should still be able to use all the other inputs fine, you will just need an external source for broadcast TV such as Sky/Virgin/Freeview/Freesat and a suitable piece of equipment to receive it.

Step down transformers are not a great solution, you'll find that the very cheap ones are only suitable for small electronics such as shavers and toothbrushes so you would need the more expensive ones for most of your equipment.
 
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With things that use a kettle type lead such as the PC, HDTV and the PS3 you can just get hold of some with a UK plug

Actually if the OP has a slim PS3 then it'll use a figure 8 connector (although I'm guessing that the fat models use the same connector as well).
 
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