mehl@cs.iastate.edu (Mark M Mehl) (09/28/90)
peter@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Bill Peter) writes: >Do all CD players have DC motors? I'm asking this question >because my new Magnavox CDB630 CD player is gonna be taken to >Israel, and I want to make sure I can just connect a step-down >transformer . . . [and] that the AC 50 Hz won't bother it. I can't say. Appreciate, however, that the power transformer was designed for 60 Hz, so running it at 50 will cause it to draw more current. You really need a transformer with more iron and larger capacitors in your power supply. Perhaps it would be best to swap the entire power supply for another. >I also assume that my Toshiba VCR won't work, because I do >believe that VCRs run on AC motors, . . . ^^ ^^^^^^ Like the old floppy-disk drives (8" ones), they originally used synchronous motors 15 years ago, but VCR now use DC motors (for the video heads) so the unit can vary the speed of the spinning head to better track the sync pulses on the recording. Nevertheless, you will _not_ be able to use 60-Hz video equipment in a 50-Hz environment under any circumstances. This is because the vertical scanning rate runs at 60-Hz (interleaved to an effective 30-Hz) rather than 50-Hz. So, as far as video equipment goes, you're out of luck. I've cross-posted this to sci.electronics; perhaps somebody there can finally answer your CD player question. -- /\ Mark M Mehl, alias Superticker (Supertickler to some) <><> Internet: mehl@atanasoff.cs.IAstate.edu \/ UUCP: {{mailrus,umix}!sharkey,hplabs!hp-lsd,uunet}!atanasoff!mehl Disclaimer: You got to be kidding; who would want to claim anything I said?