panhead_pete 27 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Evening all It just struck me that I will have to sort a few other things out, like powering my little laptop and charging my camera, which also requires power to download from it. How do I go from Aus 240 to the Japanese power? Secondly Im planning to leave the Blackberry in the bottom drawer at work with the work lap top Id like to still have a phone with me to be able to text people and have a number for emergency contact. I understand that there is a different network in Japan so am presumning the really basic Nokia I have for indo wont work??? What would be the best way to hook myself up? As always thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 you can use am adaptor to plug your stuff in the wall, although at lowere voltage it'll take longer for your batteries to charge up. If you've been to america then you can use the same adaptor. If you have international roaming function on your phone then you will be able to use your mobile phone in Japan (it doesn't matter if its Nokia as this is only the phones maker, contact your network to find out if you can use it abroad) Link to post Share on other sites
modern_messiah 0 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Go to Dick Smith - they sell Au to JP/US adaptors for $14 (or there abouts, I need to buy one myself). Don't worry about power, its only high power devices like hair straightners and irons etc that will have issues. Lower power devices like laptops, mobile phones and electric shavers will be fine. I'm not sure what network you're on but my Nokia phone is with 3 mobile and I used it when I travelled to Singapore and Vietnam in 2007 - I just rung 3 up and made sure global roaming was activated. That way when you land in the country you just get a text message from the network providers and all you do is reply to the one you want and you're connected to their network so long as you have a signal (lose the signal and it'll start all over again...not hard though) So long as your phone is fairly new-ish this should work fine. I did this on a Nokia N70 and now I'm using an N73 so I hope it works lol!!! Pricing for global roaming charges in Japan can be found (3 have them anyway) on you're respective Aiustralian providers website. They're not mega cheap but it's not as bad as people would have you believe. Just be aware you will get charged even when people call YOU. You can probably check if your phone will work in Japan by ringing your network provider. God so sick of saying provider! Hope some of that helps lol. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 aren't your notebook, phone, camera chargers on 110-240 auto convert transformers? All you need is the 2 pin adaptor. Link to post Share on other sites
s3phis 0 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 The biggest problem I found with power adaptors is the third, grounding pin. Due to the high voltage, a lot of Australian products require a grounding/earth pin. On the other hand, Japan does not have a 3rd pin (although they've started polarising their two pins). By Australian law, retailers cannot sell an Au/Jp adaptor which has a slot for the grounding pin (as it will not actually be earthed when used in Japan). If you have something that uses the three pins (mobile phones, some laptops etc), then get a EURO adaptor and then buy a Euro->Jp adaptor or try find an adaptor that has a third pin (I think China uses unpolarised 2 pin but usually has an adaptor for an earthing pin). Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 you better source some before you go. I think it was last season, some people couldn't get an adaptor in Niseko and they were moaning about it here. Link to post Share on other sites
modern_messiah 0 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 ok...mobile phone and laptop chargers are all 2 pin. If they are not then it's the exception to the norm. The Dick Smith adapter is clearly legal to sell because if it wasn't I doubt they'd be selling it lol. I'm not sure Dick Smith Exist in Perth come to think of it... Like I said in my reply above unless you're running some heavy power devices it wont be a problem. Link to post Share on other sites
gareth_oau 2 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 dick smith does exist in Perth and competitors Dick Smith and Tandy are now both part of the woolworths group Link to post Share on other sites
s3phis 0 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Mattaus: Not really, most high-end notebooks by ASUS, LG etc use three pins. My LG phone uses three pins for the charger , my other phone has only 2 pins though. Dick Smith only sell 2 pin adaptors; they do not sell a 3 pin Japan/Australia adaptor. I've found that Dell sell 3 pin to 2 pin 12v notebook adaptors which is what I use for my notebook (the third pin is just an exposed cable that you can ground). I also found that my LG phone charges alright but the battery just doesn't last a day if I charge it in Japan . Link to post Share on other sites
modern_messiah 0 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 To be honest I went and checked my Macbook before and it has a 3 pin plug as well. Then again I can buy a US adapter from the apple site for cheap... I can't see why the battery wouldn't last long? I'm probably missing something. I think for your basics the 2 pin might be alright. But I guess I will find out myself in a few weeks. Link to post Share on other sites
s3phis 0 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Yeah it puzzled me for a while, I left it charging for days and it'd only last 24-25hrs at most. Really useless when I'm using it for an alarm clock . I just gave up and bought a new phone in Japan. I also suspected a dead battery... but when I took it back to Australia and charged it there, it was fine again. *shrug* Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 its the different voltage, slows down the charge. My roomate (who was american) brought an alarm clock from home, and although the voltage is almost the same (I think the US is 110 and Japan is just under) the clock actually ran slow, he was late for work so manytimes before he realised it was because of the electricity Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 Got my adaptor from Dick Smith today. Thanks for the heads up. Link to post Share on other sites
modern_messiah 0 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hope it works well! I have no problems with my phone not lasting the night when used as an alarm clock...it wakes itself up if an alarm is set and you turn it off. Nokia are he best IMO. Link to post Share on other sites
aquablu 0 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 We took a power board from AUS and broke off the earth plug, bought a Japanese adaptor, plugged the adaptor into the plug then plugged in the power board, this enabled us to charge up all our equipment at once. Also took a universal charger which charged all our different camera batteries. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
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