ukohli@rcsuna.uucp (Upkar Singh Kohli E3) (08/14/90)
A friend of mine wants to know if he could move the following computer equipment from United States to England: An IBM compatible (Fountain brand) computer (8086 chip) An EPSON LX800 printer If any of you have any experience regarding this or have any ideas please respond by e-mail at: upkar@wsu-eng.eng.wayne.edu You may simply reply to this posting, although the e-mail will be more convenient to me. Upkar Singh
slbg6790@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Mephisto) (08/14/90)
ukohli@rcsuna.uucp (Upkar Singh Kohli E3) writes: >A friend of mine wants to know if he could move the following >computer equipment from United States to England: >An IBM compatible (Fountain brand) computer (8086 chip) >An EPSON LX800 printer > upkar@wsu-eng.eng.wayne.edu >Upkar Singh I recently posted something to this effect on sci.electronics, and here's a summary of the replies I received: Your monitor is probably designed to run on 60 Hz, and won't work on England's 240V/50Hz, even with a voltage transformer. The electon beam sweep rate is sync'ed to the line frequency, and the screen is sized for 60 Hz. The computer might have a switch on the back for use on 220/240 V. My computer, a 286 clone, did. The printer probably doesn't. If you use electronics designed for 60 Hz that have internal power transformers, the reduced inductive impedance draws significantly more power, and you will probably fry the sucker unless you take pains to cool it. I had a lot of other unique electronics that I didn't want to leave behind, and one option I might consider is a portable Honda-type emergency generator, a gas-powered 60 Hz power generator. This is just a little 4-cycle engine with power outputs, designed for use in power failures. I don't know anything about their cost, but it can't be more than the price of my electronics. It might be an option for you, otherwise there are reputedly stores that sell voltage transformers (120V is supposedly popular in England for outdoor equipment/power tools). Bon Chance, Mephisto slbg6790@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
rlr@bbt.UUCP (rader) (08/21/90)
In article <1990Aug13.201559.13019@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> slbg6790@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Mephisto) writes: >ukohli@rcsuna.uucp (Upkar Singh Kohli E3) writes: > >>A friend of mine wants to know if he could move the following >>computer equipment from United States to England: > >one option I might consider is a portable Honda-type emergency generator, >a gas-powered 60 Hz power generator. This is just a little 4-cycle engine >with power outputs, designed for use in power failures. I don't know >anything about their cost, but it can't be more than the price of my >electronics. > >Bon Chance, >Mephisto >slbg6790@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu With all due respect to Mephisto (cool handle!), and whoever supplied the original information, DO NOT repeat *DO NOT* use a small gasoline generator to supply power to sensitive computer equipment!!! I tried this very same thing as an experiment (with a relatively expendable old PC), and found that if I could run at all, I'd get VERY weird transitory errors. Thanks to the extremely "dirty" power produced by these generators, just chock full o' glitches and brownouts, you do this at your own risk. Maybe they're OK for your TV, but not for your PC. I found no permanent hardware errors in the PC as a result of the generator, by the way, but I carefully used a good surge supressor. Results will vary, depending on the power supply you have in your PC. Does anybody know of an auxiliary device that would be able to "clean up" a portable generator's power? Cheers... -- ron rader, jr rlr%bbt@rti.rti.org = Opinions are my own and do not | | i gotta six- rlr%bbt$rti.rti.org@CUNYVM = necessarily reflect those of | | pack, & nothin' to do ...!mcnc!rti!bbt!rlr = BroadBand Tech. (SO THERE!) *** Punk ain't no religious cult, punk means thinking for yourself - DKs ***