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Thread: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

  1. #11
    Philippe Grunchec's Avatar
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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    May be we could meet!
    "I believe there is nothing more disturbing than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept!" (Ansel Adams)

    https://philippe.grunchec-photographe.over-blog.com/

  2. #12

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Merci bien, I will contact you privately Phillipe

  3. #13

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    I've never taken converters on my trips to Europe. Proper voltage electrical appliances are wisely supplied by the hotels and americans with voltage converters are about as welcome as Attila the Hun. You may want to contact whomever made your cell phone and lap top to see what they recommend and if your hotel in Paris has compatible charging station. With all the trans Atlantic business going on I wouldn't be surprised if your hotel already has what you need.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  4. #14

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Just a short note : I recently bought a 9V DC supply for a DSLR, and discovered that the "black box" will accept any AC voltage on input, 50 or 60 Hz, from 100 to 240V AC; the plug & chord is supplied according to your zone of residence however.
    i.e. if you find such a modern DC supply for your mobile phones & other devices, with the proper plug or plug-converter accessory, for anything electronic using DC@low voltage, you'll be all set for the Whole Planet except may be Antartica, where electricity is hardly found except at scientific & military bases

    Looks like AC-to-DC technology has made tremendous progresses since my heavy 110/220 transformer I had to buy in order to continue using a few electrical appliances bought in the US in the '90s and brought back to Europe ...

  5. #15

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Quote Originally Posted by John Kasaian View Post
    I've never taken converters on my trips to Europe. Proper voltage electrical appliances are wisely supplied by the hotels and americans with voltage converters are about as welcome as Attila the Hun. You may want to contact whomever made your cell phone and lap top to see what they recommend and if your hotel in Paris has compatible charging station. With all the trans Atlantic business going on I wouldn't be surprised if your hotel already has what you need.
    John, if you find a US-style plug in an accomodation here, I offer you the travel :
    The Land Of Attila The Hun
    or "printemps en Margeride"
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	printemps_en_Margeride.jpg 
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    Half way from Paris to Avignon, but not by the most straight route.
    Last edited by Dominique Cesari; 23-Apr-2012 at 06:43.
    D.C.

  6. #16

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Thanks for the recommendation. I will be traveling by train, so I won't be able to explore very much.

  7. #17
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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Emmanuel BIGLER View Post
    Looks like AC-to-DC technology has made tremendous progresses since my heavy 110/220 transformer I had to buy in order to continue using a few electrical appliances bought in the US in the '90s and brought back to Europe ...
    Nearly all power supplies use a switching design with regulated DC output voltage. With the switching design, it's easy to change the shape of the AC waveform (using the switching circuit) to average to the correct output voltage, and then rectify it for DC output. In the old days of linear power supplies, a higher input voltage would have burned out the output DC voltage regulator.

    Power bricks for laptops have served wide input voltage ranges for longer than a decade. I went to a conference in Copenhagen probably in 1997, and every power brick I needed for that trip accepted 240VAC input at 50Hz. When we traveled to London in 2008, I took plug adapters but not transformers. Some places require a certain flexibility--Brazil had two different plug and voltage standards when I was in Sao Paolo in 2010.

    These days, phones will charge from USB supplies, so if you can charge your computer, then just bring the USB-phone cable to charge the phone. Another approach is to bring a backup battery. I have a Lenmar PPU916 that will charge my iPhone and my Kindle several times each through its USB output plug, and it charges from the same power brick my laptop uses (using a small plug adapter). Thus, I only need the power brick for my computer and the battery charger for my camera.

    If you take your personal phone, however, check the international roaming data rates charged by your supplier. It might be cheaper to rent a phone over there.

    Rick "who has had more trouble finding a usable outlet in some U.S. hotels than abroad" Denney

  8. #18

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Here's the short answer:

    All you probably need is a plug convertor. There are a million of them. The Europe side will look like http://users.telenet.be/worldstandar...ty.htm#plugs_c or http://users.telenet.be/worldstandar...ty.htm#plugs_e

    Get two since sometimes the fuse inside will blow.

    Then buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Outlet...5193581&sr=8-1

    Best travel power bar. That way you just need one adapter and you can charge up your phone, laptop, and cameras all at the same time. Daisy chain two (for a total of seven open plugs) if you are traveling with family.

    Just double check all your gizmo's "bricks" to make sure they can handle 240. All of them will, no doubt, but check anyway.

    Hotels will usually have adapters but sometimes they will be clueless or just hand you a variety box of adapters for you to figure out.

    Final word, I believe the plug in France varies (thus the two link, above). Paris is one plug, the countryside who knows. They look the same but they are not. But you can (almost) always buy adapters locally, though you'll pay $$.

    --Darin

  9. #19

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Darin Boville View Post
    Final word, I believe the plug in France varies (thus the two link, above). Paris is one plug, the countryside who knows. They look the same but they are not. But you can (almost) always buy adapters locally, though you'll pay $$.
    --Darin
    No : "la République est une et indivisible" (the Republic may not be split). But the Monster Outlet could be a good wariness.
    Anyway, I hope that Ken wil be very pleased.
    D.C.

  10. #20

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    Re: Electricity in France - adapter needed if travelling from USA ?

    You need to tell that to the B&B in Normandy we stayed at last summer! Plug adapters were fine in Paris, oh so close but not quite right in Normandy...

    -Darin

    P.S. The English owner left a lot to be desired in terse of hospitality--so bad it was funny. At least it is funny now Maybe the quirky plug was just another aspect of the level of service?

    Quote Originally Posted by Dominique Cesari View Post
    No : "la République est une et indivisible" (the Republic may not be split). But the Monster Outlet could be a good wariness.
    Anyway, I hope that Ken wil be very pleased.

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