Author: Dan Honeycutt
Date: 00:54:21 06/05/04
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On June 04, 2004 at 17:20:47, K. Burcham wrote: > > >I am wanting to ship a PC to a foreign country and now I am curious. >For those outside US--what is your standard household voltage for homepc? >Is the plug three prong as in US? >Is your voltage single phase? >Is this also 60 cycle? >I am curious about all countries. > >kburcham The whole world is 3 phase for power distribution but single phase for small utilization devices (like a computer). Branch circuits (what you plug in to) are 120 V., 60 Hz in the US but 220 V., 50 Hz in most parts of the world. Adapters can adjust the voltage but not the frequency. Power supplies in most appliances (including computers) are generally OK if the voltage is right even if the frequency is wrong. But don't take this as gospel lest you, as we say in the trade, let the smoke out. In the US receptacles are 3 pole if code-compliant and built in the last 20 years or so but plugs are still mostly 2 pole (though computers are mostly 3 pole). In most other places both are 3 pole but this varys a lot so if you are planning a trip you need to investigate. Pin configurations are all different - if you find a 3 prong, 220 Volt plug at your local Home Depot and think it will work in Europe - it won't. Dan H.
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