Voltage Converters: Four Electronic Devices that May Need Them
Traveling to another continent? If so, you should probably be checking out voltage converters. You’ll definitely want to pack one along with your essential electronics and small appliances.
Few people today travel without bringing along their own personal electronics, such as cell phones and MP3 players. Similarly, personal appliances such as hair dryers and electric shavers are a must-have. While travel agents used to suggest that travelers leave their hair dryers, clock radios and curling irons at home to avoid dealing with the differences in electrical voltages, those days are gone. Today, business travelers and those travelling for pleasure would be lost without their cell phones, laptop computers, PDAs and other personal electronics. Voltage transformers and voltage converters are a travel necessity if you’re taking along one of the following devices or appliances.
Cell Phone Chargers
If you can’t charge your cell phone, why bring it? However, plugging your charger into the wrong outlet could destroy both them charger and your phone. While manufacturers now offer a wider range of 110v to 220 volt consumer electronics, devices that have their own built-in voltage converters still only use a single voltage. If you’re not sure about your cell phone charger, check the label on the bottom or back of the device. If the label says “110v-220v” or something similar, it’s a dual voltage device and you’ll be able to use it on your trip without a voltage converter.
Notebook Computers
Similar to cell phone chargers, laptop chargers today are often dual voltage devices. However, most of them still require voltage converters if you’re going to use them overseas. If you’re traveling from the US to Europe or another region that uses 220v electricity, you’ll need a step up converter. If you’re traveling from a 220v region to a 110v region, you’ll need a step down converter.
Hair Dryers
While it’s typical for nice hotels to supply hair dryers, most women carry their own hair dryers, hot rollers and curling irons with them when they travel. Some high-end European hotels provide special outlets in the bathroom that supply the right voltage for US hair dryers, but that isn’t a guarantee. Carrying a voltage converter with you will ensure that you can always style your hair perfectly – without damaging your hair dryer.
Coffee Makers
Americans in particular are known to travel with a small coffee maker – particularly if they’re traveling to a country whose primary beverage is tea. The fact is, Americans want to start their mornings off right in their hotel rooms. If you’re one of these folks, you’ll need a converter between your coffee maker and the electrical outlet to avoid damaging your machine or, even worse, shorting out the electrical system.
A further note on voltage converters and voltage transformers: while many people use the terms voltage converters and voltage transformers interchangeably, they aren’t the same. Electronic devices that use circuit cards, such as laptops and cell phones, need voltage transformers, which modulate the current differently. Electrical appliances with motors or heaters, such as hair dryers and coffee makers, can use either voltage transformers or voltage converters. If you’re traveling with both, there are step up and down voltage converters-transformers that can handle virtually any conversion your electronics and electrical appliances require.
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the world’s MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
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