British gear in OZ

[NYMo]

Hi there,

Here's my stupid question of the month......

If I bought a console from England running at 220v...if I plug that into our 240v is
possible to damage it by running the slightly higher voltage ??
Do the components get hotter ??
Is there stress put on the componentry ??

Cheers
N
Y
M
OP

[Chris H]

Something will fry..........that's as techy as i get. The transformer to the power supply will have to be changed or tapped differently. Often there is just a selector switch or internal jumpers or taps on the transformer that need to be re wired. If it's a common brand name in Oz then there will be an Oz 240 volt version around somewhere as spares. What brand desk is it?

[NYMo]

Hi Chris,

Thanx for your reply...something starting with N !

Cheers
N
Y
M
O

[Mac]

Something will fry..........that's as techy as i get. The transformer to the power supply will have to be changed or tapped differently.

Not necessarily, depends how the PSU is set up. Could be as simple as being switchable PSU - worst case scenario new transformer - or bypass the internal PSU (assuming it is internal), and provide a new custom external supply (which may be preferable for noise issues).

Mac

[rick]

neve...?
220v ? it will be rated higher then that i think your worried about wrong end of the snake ,

if you want something to worry about i would spend time worrying about all the hard to source broken bits your going to have to fix in all the channels and summing amps the ten million caps your going to have to replace and the missing bits of worn out paint that are going to slowly but surely drive you mad because you cannot fix them without reinventing the wheel ...


actually truth be told i dont spend too much time getting worried at all .. if its a neve supply it will be fine power wise in australia
and somebody somewhere will have the bits and the knowledge to sort you out with everything neve wise

feel better now ...?

[NYMo]

Hi there,

Thanx Doctor Rick....I feel much better now

Cheers
N
Y
M
O

[rob]

you sure it is 220Vac?

if so, then you could still be fine, the heatsinks on the regulator power device will run a bit hotter. So keep ventilation in mind.

and who knows what your mains voltage is up there anyway! Could be wobbling anywhere from 210 to 250V.

Ideally, well designed equipment can usually cope with 10 to 20% variation...But sometimes there are issues at high and low extremes of the mains supply variation...hum when then mains is low, excessive heat leading to component degradation in older gear or temperature sensitive overload shutdown in more modern power supplies.

I wouldn't sweat on it at this stage.

[Ben M]

you sure it is 220Vac?
Could be wobbling anywhere from 210 to 250V.

Have we (Australia) switched to 230v yet? I thought this was on the move.

Anyway, if it's an old neve it will probably hum away on anything that shows it some love. The extra current will probably keep it standing to attention.

[chribble]

Restarting this thread.

ive grabbed a couple of v72s and wondering if i need someone to rewire them to 240v?

Theyre currently sitting at 220v

[rob]

oz mains is nominally 230Vac but varies considerably from this.

V72s ideally want 220Vac

They will work fine off 230Vac, but what if your mains goes to 250Vac, then they will be less happy and the tubes which are very expensive will get stressed.

There is a simple trick to dropping the mains voltage to put the supply to the V72 into the ball park.

Or buy the last issue of silicon chip magazine and see a more verstatile mains dropping DIY kit.

[Chinagraf]

I had mine modified internally by Ross Giles to drop the mains.I don't know what was done, but it was a simple thing, no changing transformers or anything.

[ChrisW]

Edit: Sorry I didn't realise it was now a single V72 info request.

----------------
Yeah, I'm no tech but I think UK gear hovers between 220, 230v and maybe Oz is 230 anyway.
One things for sure. Almost all my studio is either direct from the USA (on UK power adaptors) or from the UK, mixture of vintage and contemporary studio gear...... and nothing has failed me yet (in at least a couple years Oz use).

[chribble]

cool didnt want to start a new thread on this. who do you recommend in sydney?

[Ben M]

As Rob said... the voltage is important because the tubes will stress out. Running at higher voltages will dramatically shorten their life. Best to have the voltage where they like it.

As for who to send them too?
Send them to Dr Squire.
It's just a small postage fee away.