calvados_boulard Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Hello, will someone please tell me for certain exacty what kind of protection i will need to protect my gear from voltage peaks and valleys or anyother type of electrical dangers i may encounter while traveling in India, Nepal, Vietnam, and Thailand. Will a simple surge protecter do the job, or do i need to find something that will completly stabalize the voltage?? The devices i will be using will be the battery charger for my Canon 10D, and charging the battery in my Tripper portable hard drive (both of which are auto swithcing between 110 and 220). I'm located in Canada. My last post on the same topic generated a couple of replys to go to Radio Shack or Best Buy to look for such a device, but unfortunatly both those stores in Canada have different stock compared to their US counterparts. Could someone please point me in the direction of a web site or Canadain retailer that stocks such a device, or enlighten me with another solution that I haven't yet thought of. Thankyou for your input with this matter. Cal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 You could try a web search for the country that you plan on visiting. The embassy of each country (in Canada) should also be able to provide you with general information on the current, cycle, and electrical power 'features' of each country you plan on visiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonang Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 "Will a simple surge protecter do the job, or do i need to find something that will completly stabalize the voltage??" I have no experience on the electrical dangers in the countries you've mentioned, but I can tell you that any "simple" surge protector below $100 CDN is likely useless to prevent real surges. Also bewary of high price "voltage stabilizers" home theatre stores try to sell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank uhlig Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I believe that the uncoupled windings of a charger from the mains will make it pretty unsinkable in power surges. Moreover there are multivoltage chargers around, and if they can handle 300V and 80V all by themselves, I would not worry about the charger or charging at all, but an electrical engineer around here might clarify this much better than I can. Any electrical Es on phnet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvados_boulard Posted October 7, 2003 Author Share Posted October 7, 2003 Thankyou for your responses thus far. Sorry Frank, but I don't exactly understand what you are trying to say. I'm sure that someone here on photo.net has traveled to the parts of the world that I'm heading, and that they too had to deal with this problem. I'm sure I'm not the first to have to deal with this. I'm not sure why I can't find any info on this subject in the archives or for that matter on the net in general. Could someone with experience please come forward and tell me what I need to do. Thankyou again for your help. Cal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 I don't think you need to worry, assuming that you are just talking of battery chargers. I'd probably avoid direct powering of a sensitive device. Batteries are very sturdy on their own. While the filtering power strips will probably catch the odd spikes safely during the charging process, you need a real stabilizer to really stabilize (which would be to raise low voltages or reduce high voltages, etc.). That usually involves a battery or regeneration. And you don't need that level of preparation to charge batteries (or weight while traveling). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvados_boulard Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Hello, yes I will be using the 10D battery charger to charge the batterys for the 10D, but when it come to charging my Tripper then i will have to plug the device itself into the outlet to charge the battery, and as this is my only storage device for 8 months of travelling I would like to be sure that by plugging it in with a 220volt surge protector that my Tripper will be sufficiently protected from all things electrical that i may encouter in the countrys i have mentioned. If anyone has a link to a product that one has experiece with please let me know. I really don`t want to leave this to chance...i really want to be sure. Thank you all for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyamal_datta Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Hi Calvados, I cannot give you a specific website but in India any electrical appliance or electronics shop will store a 220V surge protector covering a range of choices, and it may even be cheaper, in Indian Rupees, than in Canada. You can then use it in all of the other countries you mentioned. Dont think it would be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott aitken Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 You are worrying too much. Last fall I traveled for more than 2 months in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Myanmar. I was carrying a Canon D60 and an Apple Tibook laptop computer. I had no problems charging them, even in the cheapest hotels. Carry back-up batteries for both devices. The problem isn't the current as much as the ability to get power at all. In Myanmar, their power grid is in horrible shape, and some hotels were off the grid entirely, relying on generators for power for a few hours a day at dusk. I ran in to similar problems in parts of India in 1996. Depending on how remote you are, you may have to go a couple days without charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neelphoto Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 In India, the big cities like New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Bangalore have pretty minimal voltage fluctuation. But if you travel to the smaller towns, you may need some kind of a stabilizer. As Shyamal mentioned, it will be easier to buy a stabilizer in India. Also, you will need to attach some kind of adaptor to the charger's power cord plug to make it compatible with the power outlets in India. Have a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckk Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 This is off base from your question, but relying on a single electromechanical storage device for an 8 month trip is ill-advised. Buy another one for backup (and download images to both) and/or find a place to burn two CDs or DVDs every month or so--one to mail home and one to keep with you. It sounds like a wonderous opportunity. Murphy is fairly specific about when his Law will be applied: whenever it is least convenient or most damaging. Best wishes, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel rainville Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 http://www.dcacpowerinverters.com/ These guys probably have all you need. I have bought numerous articles from them, from small plug adapters to power converters to use 220v european appliances here in Canada, and everything is top notch quality. It's in NY, but ordering and shipping is fast, and you can call them to tell your story and have someone figure it all out for you. I'd trust them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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