DocAndersen
Over the many years I traveled, I always wondered about plugs. I understand that in some parts of the world, the voltage provided to a home, and then within the home is 220 volts. In the US, it is 110 volts, but 220 is provided to the house panel. The thing that I never understand was the reality of the different plugs used around the world. You see, a power supply, the brick, can modulate the power. It can use the power in full (220) or stepped down (110), so why the different plugs? One of the things a good friend of mine says is that (and he loves starting conspiracy theories) that the various TV, toaster oven and Microwave manufacturers wanted to sell different ones to different countries.
We both, when he says that laugh because that isn’t a good business model. The reality of a Microwave bound for Indonesia is that in the end, it operates the same as a Microsoft sent to the US. The difference is the plug. I’ve been to Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Australia, India, and many other Southeast Asian countries, and no one ever used a Microwave differently. Even though, in most cases, there were often different plugs. When I was cleaning my office over the holidays, I realized I had 12 post plugs. Not 12 US plugs, but 12 international power plugs. They adapt to any input. Plug them in and away you go! For the most part, phone lines and phone plugs are similar worldwide.
(except the UK)
I have to admit sometimes I think about strange things. I did decide to keep two of the power plug adapters as we are planning a 2021 trip to Europe and will need them, I did take 10 to the Goodwill facility. That way, ten people that have to travel can do so at a much-reduced cost. Now what I wonder is how long did I carry 12 of those in my bag. One of them I know I purchased in 2016, but the other 11 are all from 2011 or earlier. I guess I was carrying a lot of them for a while. There were times, traveling when I would need two converted plugs (one for my camera, one for my laptop). I could charge my phone via the USB on my laptop, but the cameras of that day changed batteries separately.
There are other things I have multiples of as well, but only power plugs made me stop and wonder!
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Question of
do you think i carried at least 10 power converters for more than 5 years?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Have you ever needed a power converter?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Asia, Europe and the US all had different plugs when I traveled. interesting?
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Yes
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No
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I bring along universal adaptor and extension wire whenever I travel because of that and the reality that sometimes there is not enough power outlet to charge the gadgets
Or too many gadgets to charge and too little time.
I travel with one adaptor plug and an extension with multiple outputs. For the last couple of decades, all my trips have been to Europe, Africa or West/South Asia, where the current is 220V same as here, and the format is the socket is pretty much identical.
over the course of my travels, I forgot to pack that adapter a few times!!!
going from the US to Asia and Europe often, i did carry one universal plug, I just had 12 of them 🙂
Fantastic information. Lucky me I discovered this post.
thanks! did you post get published? I looked but that was a couple days ago.
Thanks for your concern. Not a single post published yet…Even drafts are empty. I don’t want to write again and again.:-(
i saw you had published in the past. was there something different about the post you just made?
Yup..I am trying to publish new posts…but facing an issue with no edit button and drafted posts to resubmit ….
sorry what i meant was your articles you have published are about travel. Are the others different? about another topic?
Yup..All are on different topics…
i am not sure what happened then. Honestly, i have never heard of this before. Did you get a response from support?
I carry 1 universal plug that works in most countries … (as in it has 3-4 type of plugs in one, I just need to push out the plug type I needed)…
Usually, the plus are divided into 3 common types – EUR, US, UK. If you have these 3, you USUALLY can go anywhere! That’s what I heard from a guy at the hardware shop! I hope he is not just trying to sell me the plug :p
that is correct with one proviso. In some South American countries, they use a US plug, but the power is supplied at 220 volts not the 100 volts used in the US!
Your trip sounds interesting. Since I don’t travel much, never really thought about different converters.
it is all about what you need.
i donated a bunch of them. I didn’t need 12!~
They are very useful for people who travel abroad a lot. I hope I’d need one (or 12, lol) soon.
realizing I had 12 was a little embarrassing!
Better to have and don’t need than to need and don’t have.
or in my case, have and not back them, buy them, then go home. Leave again, don’t pack them, buy them.
can’t win sometimes!
I haven’t traveled to a country where I needed a converter yet
i like your yet! that is the way I look at things!
We say: never say never. We do not know what lies ahead in life ?
that is very true, tomorrow sometimes brings a new view of the world!
I’ve already used the converter..I think in the UK and Malta …. maybe where else I just don’t remember
i had to have two adapters in the UK in the early days, phone and power!
I believe, dear friend … for that matter, the English are something special … it’s all upside down
it is all different from the US maybe we are the odd ones!
Otherwise you have certain differences from us, I just think the English are bigger freaks
It is always interesting to me.
Imagine if Tesla hadn’t thought up the alternating current. It would be a very different world now.
I always wear not only them. Cameras, laptops and phones. I always delay customs control with these things.
it is true, they tend to cause metal detectors to go crazy!
No never needed any power converter
have you ever traveled to the rest of the world>?