AC Adapters - Know Where You Are Going!
So you’ve got the plane tickets, packed all the things that
you need, but did you know that if you are going to another continent - or even
just another country - you may need ac adapters to plug in any electrical items
you may have packed. Without these foreign plug adapters your electrical
appliances are only going to be as good as doorstops.
In North America (and South America, Japan and some parts
of the Caribbean) we use an ungrounded electrical plug that has two flat prongs
(See Fig.1 Power Adapter examples below) or a grounded plug that has an
additional third prong (Fig.2). In most of Europe, the Middle East, Africa,
Asia and other parts of the Caribbean they use a plug with rounded prongs. (Fig.
3 + Fig.4). If you want to be able to plug a device from another country into
an outlet you’ll need an ac adapter.
I’ll outline the other kinds of
power adapters you may
need. Most electrical adapters come in a both grounded and ungrounded versions
but some counties only use three pronged plugs so the only travel adapter listed
will be a grounded adapter.
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Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and China use a slanted two prong adapter
(Fig.5 + Fig.6)
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Great Britain, Ireland, Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore
use a three prong plug, with
two flat prongs in line and one perpendicular (Fig.7 + Fig.8)
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South Africa and India use
the plug in Fig.9
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Some places in Asia, the
Middle East, Africa, Central America and the Caribbean use a grounded
adapter pictured in Fig.10
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Italy uses electrical
outlet with 3 rounded in-line prongs (Fig.11)
Power Adapter examples:
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Fig.1 |
Fig.2 |
Fig.3 |
Fig.4 |
Fig.5 |
Fig.6 |
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Fig.7 |
Fig.8 |
Fig.9 |
Fig.10 |
Fig.11 |
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