voltage question

[LinuxMan]

Hi.

Thanks, just checking...

But is it worth having the thing (is it any good)?

Cheers
LM

[sir_modulus]

Is what worth having?
1)transformer:Overseas - yes
2)soldering iron(as in not having one before): YES
3)soldering iron(as in not having a good one before): pretty worth it if you do lots of different circuits and can spare a bit(or chunk) of change.

[niftydog]

I can't atest to the product, but Jaycar wouldn't be selling it if it wasn't any good.

It's worth having if you really want to get that soldering iron working!

[LinuxMan]

Heh...

That certainly killed two flies at the same time...

Anyhow what I originally thought was if the station is worth having... I
start drooling just looking at it (since I use a crappy 10$ iron now)...

Oh, I'm so tempted....

BTW, I can't even get these soldering stations here (Slovenia) but the
older model is avaliable (at a whooping price of 250$).

Speaking of whooping prices... Just heard how much the reissued TS-808
are selling for... A whooping 200$. Now someone please tell me effects
building doesn't pay off... :roll:

Cheers
LM

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Just heard how much the reissued TS-808
are selling for... A whooping 200$. Now someone please tell me effects
building doesn't pay off... LM

Well, maybe *advertising* pays off, is what you mean, because thanks to the wonderful people on this board, anyone can build a clone 808, no sweat! I expect to see a stomp-box led economic revival in Slovenia, god knows there are enough qualified engineers there!

[bwanasonic]

Have you tried contacted the manufacturer directly? They might have some useful info. They might even offer to mod it for you?

Kerry M

[talking_goat]

Have you tried contacted the manufacturer directly? They might have some useful info. They might even offer to mod it for you?

Kerry M

I'll look into it, although sending it to get modded might end up costing more than the step down transformer.

[talking_goat]

Niftydog is correct, get the Jaycar one, at least there is a chance at Jaycar that the staff are interested in electronics!!
I'm using a 2KW stepdown & a USA plugboard for my gear from across the Pacific..

What does this look like and how much does it cost? I'm thinking of getting a mesaboogie poweramp and the only affordable way is to get one from the US. the mesa 2:90 runs at 117VC though.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

What does this look like and how much does it cost? I'm thinking of getting a mesaboogie poweramp and the only affordable way is to get one from the US. the mesa 2:90 runs at 117VC though.

According to the specs in the catalog, it takes 1 amp at 117V, so that is about 120 watts., which the Jaycar MF-1080 stepdown will give, $99.95A.
125W, 74D,90mm High. Weighs 2.4Kg.
Allow for freight & customs & GST in your calculations for importing.

[talking_goat]

Ok, I'm still trying put my rack together and due to budget considerations I'm looking at getting some gear from the US. The problem is powering the US bought stuff cos of the voltage difference, I already have the step down transformer (jaycar one) for the BBE, but I'm also looking at a mesa power amp and some other stuff and don't really want to have to use a step down for each item. So I was wondering if it would be possible to power all the US units using this furman conditioner (see link below) and plugging the furman into the step down transformer?

http://www.furmansound.com/pro/pwr_cond_seq/PDF/SeriesII_15A_Manual.pdf

[talking_goat]

:arrow:

[niftydog]

sure it's possible. But you need to carefully add up all the individual devices maximum current requirements and make sure you get a suitably large step-down.

Be warned though, it could be a mighty heavy transformer!

[talking_goat]

sure it's possible. But you need to carefully add up all the individual devices maximum current requirements and make sure you get a suitably large step-down.

Be warned though, it could be a mighty heavy transformer!

How do you go about doing this? So if there are two units that are both running at 110VC would that mean you mean you need a 220VC step-down?

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Sure, you just run the output of the stepdown into a USA plugboard, just be sure the transformer can supply the total watts.
I can only just lift my 2KW transformer, if that is an indication..

[niftydog]

No, nothing to do with voltages.

Look for each devices wattage rating, add them all up and get a transformer that is rated to cope comfortably with the total, plus a little safety margin.

Say you add them all up and you need 200W, don't go out and buy a 200W transformer because it will run very hot and fail sooner. Double up for example, buy a 400W transformer and it will cruise comfortably running at half capacity.

Those "budget considerations" could easily be blown out of the water by the cost of a decent step down transformer. Do some research first! (not to mention freight etc.) Also, make sure the gear is happy with the difference in frequency.

[talking_goat]

It's starting to sound like a total nightmare! I think I'm just going to have to keep saving! Why does stuff have to be so bloody expensive! :cry:

[niftydog]

because people pay the prices. Blame the rich!

[talking_goat]

because people pay the prices. Blame the rich!

Damn SCUMBAGS! :twisted:

[talking_goat]

Ok, what if I was to get a US furman power conditioner, plug all the US gear into that and then plug that into a single step down transformer like this one:

http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MF1084&CATID=19&keywords=&SPECIAL=&form=CAT&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=449


Would that eliminate a lot of the problems?

[niftydog]

the only real "problem" is that you have to be sure that you're not going to overload the step-down. This means you either have to check each devices specifications (in the manual) or physically measure each devices current draw.

You then add it all up, add a bit for a safety margin and get a suitable transformer.

Using a US power conditioner is just ANOTHER thing that's loading the transformer. Probably best to have as little as possible on the step-down because the bigger the transformer, the more money it's going to cost and the heavier it's going to be.

But I say again, make sure that the money you're saving by going for US gear is not offset by the cost of a suitable step-down transformer! You'll also need a way of distributing the 115VAC to each device, which requires a US style powerboard or similar.