borispol airport?plugconvertors?

[keithandkatya]

I was wondering if they have a electronic shop in the airport.. I dont remember much about the place from 3 years ago... I need to get a plug convertor from american 110 to their plug... I bought something from wallmart but I have a feeling it will not fit the ukraine plug system...
keith

[MarkInTx]

... in response to borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by keithandkatya on May 22, 2004

Keith,

I can't speak for everywhere... but I can tell you about England, Poland, St. Petersburg, Sao Paulo, and Kiev.

If your power supply lists a range of 110-240 on it, you will ONLY need an adapter plug to get it to work in the places I mentioned.

I have a Sony DigiCam 8mm. It's power supply lists 110-240, and I was able to charge my battery, and use it as often as I liked. No problem, and no transformer needed.

Same for my laptop, CD player, and DVD player.

The only time you need an Transformer is when your power supply doesn't handle voltage ranges. Most do. The reason for that is that Sony, IBM, JVC, etc are INTERNATIONAL companies who sell their products everywhere. It is much simpler (and cheaper) to use a transformer that is the same for their whole market, and then all they need to do is manufacture different plugs which go on during assembly.

The only thing I have ever taken that NEEDED a transformer was an electric shaver.

But, bottom line, 90% of the things you will (probably) want to use will ONLY need a plug adapter.

This was a big concern for me the first time I went over, too... I had convertors, invertors, transformers... everything. All I needed, though, were plug adapters.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by keithandkatya on May 22, 2004

It probably will fit, actually.

I don't know if Borispol will have it... but where are you laying over?

I know Chicago airport had it, and CD in Paris, and Gatwick and Heathrow...

I'm sure you'll find it...

[romachko]

... in response to borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by keithandkatya on May 22, 2004

I bought an electrical converter kit (American Tourister brand) at Wal-mart and used it in Ukraine. The kit includes various types and sizes of plug adapters and a 220/240VAC-to-110/120VAC transformer. The adapter plug which worked in Ukraine has the following dimensions: two round prongs with diameter=4.8 mm (3/16 inch); distance between the centers of the prongs = 18.9 mm (3/4 inch). The transformer has the U.S. standard receptor holes.

You have to use the transformer. When the voltage doubles, the power consumption quadruples. Therefore, most equipment, which is designed for the domestic use, will burn when plugged in 200V. During my first trip, I accidentally plugged my battery charger directly to the end of the adapter, forgetting to plug in the transformer in between. Boom! The batter charger was gone. Very fortunately that was the last day of the trip.

One more problem: When you plug in the adapter, the transformer and the battery charger, they fall off the wall. You need some kind of support or buy an extension cord, sold at any electric shop or univermark in Ukraine. However, any industrial product sold at univermark is more expensive than at Wal-mart, which unfortunately they don’t have.

[keithandkatya]

... in response to Re: borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by romachko on May 22, 2004

Thanks... I bought an international convertor set from Travelwise at the local walmart superstore. It has a northern europe and a  s.europe,africa,middle east,asia plug to choose from that have round plugs... both seem to have the dimensions you say are correct-but one of them must be the correct one... I guess the one that fits into the wall is the right one eh.

the transformer... after your advice I will probaly try to get one somewhere today or tommorow-I didnt see it at my daytona bch area wallmart...I STILL THINK IT IS NOT LOGICAL FOR MY battery charger to list a rating of 110/240 50/60hz and for it not to work without a transformer. The plug adaptor states that it inputs 220-240 and outputs 110-120- so if it outputs 110-120 vac how would it fry my battery charger... it does not make sense to me.
Keith

[T P Cornholio]

... in response to thanks everyone... still have questions ..., posted by keithandkatya on May 23, 2004

But if you have other things that are not rated for 220V, then you will need a converter along with the prong adapters.  You can find the entire set (including 1600W converter) at

www.target.com

for $20 + shipping (search on "voltage converter").

Although our camcorder recharger is 120/240, I got one of the above so we can charge our toothbrushes, and use our standard battery charger for the batteries to all our other stuff.

I could not find a converter at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, or Fred Meyer.  I didn't look in any hardware stores, or Radio Shack.

Was only able to find the small personal fans at Walgreens for a couple bucks each, definitely needed in summer on the trains.

[romachko]

... in response to thanks everyone... still have questions ..., posted by keithandkatya on May 23, 2004

If your battery charger is rated for 110/240 VAC, it can be plugged in 240 VAC but make sure whether there is a switch. If there is a switch, you have to use it. All of my battery chargers list 110~120 VAC as limit. The plug adapter itself simply alters the geometry and dimension of prongs and holes, not voltage. So, 220 VAC in; 220 VAC out. You need a transformer to the plug adapter to step down the voltage. The transformer consists of two coils wound around the iron core. The primary coil is to be connected to the input side, 220 VAC, and the secondary coil to the output side, which gives resulting 110 VAC. The number of winding on the secondary coil is one half of that of the primary coil. Whatever comes in will be halved.

The battery cahrger rated 110~120 VAC could be one of several designs. The simplest type consists of a transformer, which lowers the voltage from 110 VAC to a lower voltage, usually 24 VAC or 12 VAC, followed by a rectifier diode and possibly a capacitor. This type is the most dangerous device when plugged in 220 VAC because the output DC is approximately doubled, which is then fed to a battery or whatever is connected as a load. More expensive type consists of a transformer, two or four rectifiers (or an integrated bridge circuit), a capacitor and a voltage regulator chip (integrated circuit). The voltage regulator steps down a higher DCV to a lower DCV. Also, the regulator somewhat smooth out ripples to give a quite clean flat DC voltage. If the regulator can take a large range of input DC, there is a possibility that the battery charger is rated for 110 VAC AND 220 VAC. Otherwise, it is dangerous because the power consumption of the load becomes four times that originally intended. All of my battery chargers state 110~120 VAC as their limitation. If you are in doubt in any case, don't hesitate to show it to an electrician or electrical engineer. Never do a guess work.

Either you exactly follow the manufacturer's statement or you have a good working knowledge of electricity. As I wrote before, I blew my battery charger by plugging it  directly in the adapter without the transformer in between in Ukraine. There was a small explosion. I was lucky because it occured on the last day of my trip there. I taught electronic instrumentation classes at two universities for nearly 30 years. Yet, I still make such a stupid careless mistake, for which I used to penalize the student.

If you would like to know more about it, I am more than happy to explain further if you contact me by E-mail. I can explain much better if I can use drawings.

By the way it is highly advisable to carry a small inexpensive digital multi tester. You can buy one at Radio Shack or Wal-mart. I always carry one. It eliminates a lot of doubt and guess work. Pay a little more for "auto range."

[AllenB]

... in response to thanks everyone... still have questions ..., posted by keithandkatya on May 23, 2004

YOU DON'T NEED THE TRANSFORMER!!!  What your charger lists shows that it has a transformer built in.  The others that say you need a transformer experience what they did because the transformer was not built into the unit.  Most units built today of good quality include the transformer.  Generally, only older model devices or of questionable quality will not have the transformer built in.

I have been to Ukraine many times and have plugged my notebook, shaver, cell phone & PDA directly into the outlet with only the adapter without any problem because in each case I checked to make sure it was labeled 110/240 50/60hz.

[Rags]

... in response to Re: borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by romachko on May 22, 2004

[This message has been edited by Rags]

When you double the voltage, the amp draw DROPS by half and the consumption (watts) remain the same. (That is unless the device you are using was designed for the lower voltage in which case you fry transistors and meltdown leads.)

P.S. Be careful when plugging in the Euro adapters 'cuz if you get your finger in there between the prongs you'll wake up against the far wall. I don't know why they haven't figured out a better system of plug connections as the two round prongs never seem to fit securely in the socket and do tend to work their way out. Also be aware that there is no neutral (ground) on their system so keep all appliances away from water and watch out for frayed insulation on the wires. Each lead has 110V on it.

It seems so strange to walk down the street and see bare exposed wires hanging out of buildings and light poles. But then it is a whole different world over there. Both my MIL and FIL have fallen into open manholes walking down the street in the winter.

I'll never forget going to Gorky Park on my first trip and riding on a fun house ride there. We started off on the ride and headed towards a low overhang. I'm pretty tall but this would catch even someone of average height right in the forehead. I thought, well I'll duck anyway but I know that the ride will make a sudden drop before we get there. WRONG! I learned many an important lesson that trip. Keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

[romachko]

... in response to Volts x amps =  watts, posted by Rags on May 23, 2004

I'll explain basic circuit theory a little more to show why the power quadruples when the voltage only doubles. Power=voltage*amp=voltage*(voltage/resistance)=voltage^2/resistance because amp=voltage/resistance, where resistance is fixed. Therefore, the power is proportional to voltage sqared. Also you can state that the power is proportional to amp squared. Let P=power, V=voltage, I=current and R=resistance. V=R*I, I=V/R, P=V*I=V*(V/I)=(V*V)/R=R*(I*I).

It could be very dangerous to use an electric device rated for 110V in Ukraine without using a transformer. In fact I blew up my battery charger by directly plugging it in 220V by mistake. In a few seconds a big sound was heard and smoke went up!

Let me explain with a simple practical example. I have an immersence coil heater. The heater has a resistance of 77 Ohm. At 110 V, the current is I=V/R=110/77=1.43 amp. The power is P=V*I=110*1.43=157 W. If you plug this heater in 220V source, the current is I=220/77=2.86 amp. The power is P=220*2.86=629 W. Thus the power consumption quadruples.
(Of course inductance is ignored for simplicity in the above explanation.)

[cherokee]

... in response to borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by keithandkatya on May 22, 2004

and ask them, if you have that option.
That's what we did.

Radio shack sells a kit at this link:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F009%5F001%5F004%5F000&product%5Fid=273%2D1405

that should cover it.

[tko24]

... in response to borispol airport?plugconvertors?, posted by keithandkatya on May 22, 2004

They have them at Radio Shack.