# The English and their crazy voltage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2001, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930 "2001-06-24T02:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rmat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rmat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rmat)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930/1 "2001-06-24T02:44:49Z")
Ok, perhaps that was a little provincial of me, but I wanted to get your attention. I am traveling (from USA) to Great Britain shortly, and I’d to take along my digital camera (Sony), which runs on a Lithium-ion battery pack. The battery, of course, comes with a charger, and the charger, of course, is equipped with one of those very sensible looking two-prong (American)plugs. My question is simple: What will I need to make the darn thing work in England? The answer, evidently, is not quite so simple I have posed the question to persons, each of whom assures me that he is “absolutely certain” of the correct answer. One says that I will need a voltage converter and an adapter plug. The other assures me that all Sony products are “dual voltage,” and that I will just the adapter and no converter. The documentation that comes with the camera does not answer the question–at least not directly. It does, however, recite the following specifications: “BC-V615/V615A battery charger Power requirements: 100 - 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz Output voltage: DC OUT: 8.4 V, 0.6 A” So what’s the deal? Mere adapter, or adapter AND converter? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930/2 "2001-06-24T02:49:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rmat \* > \*\*Power requirements: 100 - 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz > \*\* There’s your answer - it handles 240 volts. Adapter only. ---
**Author:** ![Rmat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rmat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rmat)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930/3 "2001-06-24T02:58:28Z")
Why, thank you. I take it that 240 volts is what they’re running these days in the UK? Is that all of the UK? Does any part of the world use voltage outside the range of my Sony? And what’s with variation in plug design? Is there some reason no one has bothered to standardize these things? Are there safety considerations? Why would one country prefer one plug design and/or voltage standard over some other? ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930/4 "2001-06-24T03:06:56Z")
almost everyone runs on 115 or 240 – I have a sony camera as well, all I needed was an adapter for a 3 week trip in Belgium. have a great time! ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930/5 "2001-06-24T04:01:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rmat \* > **Why, thank you. I take it that 240 volts is what they’re running these days in the UK? Is that all of the UK?** All of Europe runs on 50 Hz 220-240 Volt. > [@](#): > > **Does any part of the world use voltage outside the range of my Sony?** Not that I know of. If you can get the physical plug to fit, your camera should work around the globe. > [@](#): > > \*\*And what’s with variation in plug design? Is there some reason no one has bothered to standardize these things? Are there safety considerations? Why would one country prefer one plug design and/or voltage standard over some other? \*\* Well…the plug physical design is a topic of great debate. Note that the UK is different from most all of Europe. Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, etc. all use the two little round prongs. The UK uses the great big plug with 3 rectangular prongs. Much of South America uses the US style plugs and voltage. As to why people use one design, voltage, frequency, etc. over another…that is a long story. I recommend searching here, as it has been covered before and my hands hurt too much to type more. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-and-their-crazy-voltage/69930/6 "2001-06-24T12:19:02Z")
I do a lot of traveling, and I’ve had to deal with this problem with my electric razor. Here’s what I’ve noticed: \*Hotels will usually have voltage converters which you can bring up to your room, plug in, and get 120. \*With expensive electrical components, better safe than sorry. So, if you’re staying in a hotel, I’d say it’s worth a quick call to find out if they have one, and if they do, no matter what your plug says, I’d use it.