cathy@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Cathy Smither) (08/03/89)
A friend of mine is moving to Australia in December. The Australian dollar, being what it is, makes it economical to buy some things here in the states rather than waiting till he's there. Is it possible to buy a Mac here and be able to use it in Canberra without too much hassle? The voltage, of course, is different -- is it possible to used a voltage converter, or is there some way to fix up the Mac to run off 240V? Or should he wait and spend the extra $$$ in Australia? Any helpful hints, useful information, etc should be mailed to me at: cathy@seismo.gps.caltech.edu no matter what it says at the top of this posting (I don't know if our SysAdm fixed this bug yet) Thanks!! Cathy Smither Seismological Laboratory cathy@seismo.gps.caltech.edu California Institute of Technology
rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) (08/06/89)
The voltage problem is a minor one. A separate transformer
will do. It may not be strictly legal, but there you go.
A bigger problem is import duty. If he is only staying
for a while, he can sign something to say he'll take
it out of the country (he may have to pay a refundable bond).
Definitely check it out. If you have to pay duty, the saving
may not be worth the risk of a new Mac without warranty.
Software on the other hand he should bring. I think duty
hasn't been applicable since last Christmas. Upgrades
may be a hassle though.
Hope this helps
Rees
_________________________________________________________________________
Snail: Mr Rees Griffiths, Marine Science Centre, U.N.S.W.
P.O. Box 1 Kensington N.S.W. 2033
Phone: (02) 697 2216 Facsimile: (02) 662 2918
Int. +61 2 697 2216 +61 2 662 2918
ACSNET and EAN: "rees@bio73.unsw.oz"
JANET: "rees%bio73.unsw.oz@uk.ac.ukc"
ARPANET and CSNET: "rees@bio73.unsw.oz.au" <<<<<>>>>>
BITNET: "rees%bio73.unsw.oz@uunet.uu.net" <<<43.2>>>
UUCP: "uunet!munnari!bio73.unsw.oz!rees" <<<<<>>>>>
*************************************************************************
"There you stand like a duck in a thunderstorm again,
aren't you ever going to understand". W.A. MOZART.
*************************************************************************stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) (08/09/89)
In article <392@usage.csd.unsw.oz> rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) writes: >The voltage problem is a minor one. A separate transformer >will do. It may not be strictly legal, but there you go. The Mac has a switching Power Supply. You do not need a transformer, Rees. Stu. __Paths to my door:_______________________ microsoft!stuartb@beaver.cs.washington.edu - Usual disclaimer, that all microsoft!stuartb@uw-beaver.arpa - the above is pure fantasy microsoft!stuartb@uunet.UU.NET - and Microsoft only [DE01HB]stuartb@DASNET# {from AppleLink} - gave me the Mountain Dew stuartb@microsoft.uucp {well connected} - to dream it all in a D2012 {@applelink.apple.com - shared acct} - caffeine haze :-) __________________________________________________________________________
captkidd@athena.mit.edu (Ivan Cavero Belaunde) (08/10/89)
In article <7303@microsoft.UUCP> stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) writes: >In article <392@usage.csd.unsw.oz> >rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) writes: >>The voltage problem is a minor one. A separate transformer >>will do. It may not be strictly legal, but there you go. > >The Mac has a switching Power Supply. You do not need a transformer, Rees. No, you don't need it, but IMHO it is a good idea. When you're running the Mac at 120V with a power supply with a tolerance of up to 250V, a small power spike (30-40V say) won't cause you trouble. When running off 220-240V though, a power spike of that magnitude can toast your power supply. Add that to the fact that you are in a foreign country (meaning of course expensive repairs) and it's worth the security. I speak from experience. It happened to me once. Then I put a transformer on the damn thing and it survived every spike thereafter. -Ivan Internet: captkidd@athena.mit.edu
MIKEA@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Michael Antolovich) (08/10/89)
In article <13392@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>, captkidd@athena.mit.edu (Ivan Cavero Belaunde) writes: >In article <7303@microsoft.UUCP> stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) writes: >>In article <392@usage.csd.unsw.oz> >>rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) writes: >>>The voltage problem is a minor one. A separate transformer >>>will do. It may not be strictly legal, but there you go. >> >>The Mac has a switching Power Supply. You do not need a transformer, Rees. > >No, you don't need it, but IMHO it is a good idea. When you're running the >Mac at 120V with a power supply with a tolerance of up to 250V, a small >power spike (30-40V say) won't cause you trouble. When running off 220-240V >though, a power spike of that magnitude can toast your power supply. >Add that to the fact that you are in a foreign country (meaning of >course expensive repairs) and it's worth the security. > >I speak from experience. It happened to me once. Then I put a transformer >on the damn thing and it survived every spike thereafter. > >-Ivan > The power supplies used in Australia are the same as the ones used in the US, yet no-one uses step down transformers. The tolerences are higher than 250 V (I could be wrong ?) and believe it or not, the power supplies in Australia are MUCH more stable than in the US (at least from what I've seen of New Jersey !) Michael. #What #wrong #with #repeating #and #article #that #is #longer #than #the #reply #anyway! really !
stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) (08/11/89)
In article <13392@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> captkidd@athena.mit.edu (Ivan Cavero Belaunde) writes: >In article <7303@microsoft.UUCP> >stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) writes: >>The Mac has a switching Power Supply. You do not need a transformer, Rees. > >No, you don't need it, but IMHO it is a good idea. When you're running the >Mac at 120V with a power supply with a tolerance of up to 250V, a small >power spike (30-40V say) won't cause you trouble. When running off 220-240V >though, a power spike of that magnitude can toast your power supply. >Add that to the fact that you are in a foreign country (meaning of >course expensive repairs) and it's worth the security. > >I speak from experience. It happened to me once. Then I put a transformer >on the damn thing and it survived every spike thereafter. > >-Ivan Then what you are saying is that Apple Australia should indeed be supplying Transformers with every Macintosh that they sell!.. I'm sure they'll buy that one :-) :-) Stu. __Paths to my door:_______________________ microsoft!stuartb@beaver.cs.washington.edu - Usual disclaimer, that all microsoft!stuartb@uw-beaver.arpa - the above is pure fantasy microsoft!stuartb@uunet.UU.NET - and Microsoft only [DE01HB]stuartb@DASNET# {from AppleLink} - gave me the Mountain Dew stuartb@microsoft.uucp {well connected} - to dream it all in a D2012 {@applelink.apple.com - shared acct} - caffeine haze :-) __________________________________________________________________________
kent@lloyd.camex.uucp (Kent Borg) (08/12/89)
In article <7303@microsoft.UUCP> stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) writes: >In article <392@usage.csd.unsw.oz> >rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) writes: >>The voltage problem is a minor one. A separate transformer >>will do. It may not be strictly legal, but there you go. > >The Mac has a switching Power Supply. You do not need a transformer, Rees. > Ah, but not the Macintosh Plus. For the Plus (or earlier) you either need the 220v version, or a step down transformer. Another point: "switching power supply" does *NOT* mean that it automatically switches between different input voltages. It refers to how it steps the volts down to what your ICs want. It does just so happen that it is easier to make switching power supplies accept liberal input voltages, than with convertional supplies, but that is not how they get their name. There are plenty of "switching power supplies" which will go up in smoke if you plug them into 220v. Like the US Macintosh Plus power supply, for instance... Kent Borg kent@lloyd.uucp or ...!husc6!lloyd!kent
rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) (08/13/89)
In article <2880@mace.cc.purdue.edu>, du4@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Ted Goldstein) writes: > In article <7303@microsoft.UUCP> stuartb@microsoft.UUCP (Stuart Burden) writes: > >In article <392@usage.csd.unsw.oz> > >rees@usage.csd.unsw.oz (Rees Griffiths) writes: > > > >The Mac has a switching Power Supply. You do not need a transformer, Rees. > > > > Well, I wasn't following this discussion, but my brother has decided to > up and move to France and has asked me to send him his Mac+ and find > out what he needs to run it. I was under the impression that only the > Mac SE and higher could run on 240V 50Hz with no modification. If I remember the original article correctly no model was specified. As friends had a US Mac+ and ran a transformer I forgot about the SE and upwards universal power supply? Sorry. The Mac+'s here are marked 220-240 V, 50-60 Hz etc. However, back to the original point, which I'm aware was closed. The thing I didn't know was that you only get a Ninety day warranty on Apple products in the US. Those very same products are under warranty for TWELVE Months here. Think about that. Rees _________________________________________________________________________ Snail: Mr Rees Griffiths, Marine Science Centre, U.N.S.W. P.O. Box 1 Kensington N.S.W. 2033 Phone: (02) 697 2216 Facsimile: (02) 662 2918 Int. +61 2 697 2216 +61 2 662 2918 ACSNET and EAN: "rees@bio73.unsw.oz" JANET: "rees%bio73.unsw.oz@uk.ac.ukc" ARPANET and CSNET: "rees@bio73.unsw.oz.au" <<<<<>>>>> BITNET: "rees%bio73.unsw.oz@uunet.uu.net" <<<43.2>>> UUCP: "uunet!munnari!bio73.unsw.oz!rees" <<<<<>>>>> ************************************************************************* "There you stand like a duck in a thunderstorm again, aren't you ever going to understand". W.A. MOZART. *************************************************************************
pfr654@csc.anu.oz (08/17/89)
In article <11457@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>, cathy@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Cathy Smither) writes: > A friend of mine is moving to Australia in December. The Australian > dollar, being what it is, makes it economical> here in the states rather than waiting till he's there. Is it > possible to buy a Mac here and be able to use it in Canberra without > too much hassle? The voltage, of course, is different -- is it possible > to used a voltage converter, or is there some way to fix up the > Mac to run off 240V? > DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO AUSTRALIA!!!!!! Prices of Macs here are horrendous unless you can get Consortium prices. Some Samples (In $A, which is about $0.75 US at the moment) Mac Plus $2800 Mac SE/30 $7500 (2 MB, 40 MB HD) LaserWriter IINT$7000 ImageWriter II $1100 HP DeskWriter $2600 (consortium prices are about 20 to 30% less) Software is the same. Take the US price and at least double it, if not triple it (e.g. WriteNow at MacWarehouse USA is $109, in Australia it is $A290 at a cheap place). Macintoshes from the SE onwards can be plugged into the Oz voltage no problem, probably LaserWriter II's can also. Even if a particular item cannot be, the transformer is only $20 - $50, as compared to $1000s. Most stuff is OK with the different frequency of the power, (Oz is 50 hz, US is 60 hz). It is because of this huge price that IBM compatibles are outselling Macs in Australia at the rate of about 20 to 1 - we are closer to Taiwan, Japan and Korea, so a PC/AT with 40 MB internal, 80386, colour, sells for around $4000, versus the $7500 SE/30. A Cheap clone is can be much less. BUY IN THE USA, many people in AUSTRALIA do so also, and have stuff AIR FREIGHTED, and it is still cheaper than the Australian price. Australia is a great country, but we do not have cheap Macintoshes. Hope this advice is useful to people. Phil Ryan ANU Dept of Physics and Theoretical Physics CANBERRA AUSTRALIA (p.s. my SE, 2DD, cost me $4000 in 1987 through the consortium, my 40 MB HD internal cost me $2000 in 1988, but has come down to around $1400) pfr654@csc.anu.oz