info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) (08/29/84)
From: Gavin_Eadie%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
We received a letter a few days ago from a staff member who had
taken his Consortium Mac to Europe and who reported Bad Things.
I'll report the salient parts of his letter here for your comments:
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"As you can see, my Mac works this side of the Atlantic. [the
letter was written with MacWrite of course] However, this was not
the case a week ago. Equipped with a voltage converter supplied by
Best's, I connected my Mac to 240 volts in Ireland. It spluttered,
sparked and made black smoke before I managed to turn it off. Then
it was dead.
"Many phone calls ascertained that no Apple dealer in Ireland
carried a spares kit (Mac was introduced in Europe in May, and
relatively few have been sold yet). However, in Hemel Hempstead,
near London, England I found Apple Computer Ltd. They put me in
contact with a dealer in London who could replace the analog board,
so I arranged to call there on my way to Norway. Apple's policy is
to replace like with like; I could only get a 110 volt board; the
cost was $180 [converted] plus labor. To get a 240 volt board would
have cost "an astronomical amount", I was told. The damage was due
to my fault, but had it not been, the guarantee would not apply
anyway, because it only applies inside the borders of the country
the machine is bought in.
"I got the analog board and the machine worked again using a
stepdown transformer. The printer also works and running on 50Hz
has no noticeable effect. This brings me to the point of this
letter: cheap voltage converters are NOT suitable for computers ...
they are only suitable for hairdriers and other "course" equipment.
A transformer is essential and it will be heavy.
"So next time you get customers who are going to 240 volt areas,
make sure they understand the difference between a voltage
converter and a transformer. A more practical solution would be to
persuade Apple to make 240 volt analog boards available in the USA
to people who want to travel. Even better would be to make the
computer dual voltage ... or is that too simple?
"I hope this information will be of use to people who may be
thinking of taking the Mac abroad. It was an expensive lesson for
me, and cuts into my planned software budget rather severely. I
should add that machine attracts a lot of attention at the
University of Bergen where I work, and with the right marketing
could be very popular.
"With many thanks for your help when I was in Ann Arbor,
Paul Riordan
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I hope I transcribed this letter accurately. Gavin