Using Canon Battery Charger in SA

I plan to take my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) to South Africa.

The battery charger CB-5L is designed for the US. The Canon website
says that the charger can be used internationally. The charger has the
following notation printed on it:

Input 100V-240V AC50/60Hz
22VA(100V)-30VA(240V)

Does anybody have any experience using this charger in SA or know what
I will need to plug in into an electrical receptacle in my hotel room?
There is no switch on the charger to change the voltage. The plug is an
American two prong style.

I have used my Canon battery charger in South Africa. It is not the same
one, mine came with the 60D. Yours indicates it can handle 240 Volts. That
is the important number.

All you need is an adapter plug that has the three South African prongs on
one side and a socket for the North American plug on the other. I picked
mine up at Radio Shack, but a lot of travel places sell them.

Check any other electrical appliance you may be taking to ensure they can
handle the 220 or 240 volts in S.A. I usually try to buy only things that
will handle 110-240 volts if I might want to use them when travelling.
Adapter plugs are cheaper and easier to use than voltage converters.

Scott

You don't need a more expensive voltage converter.
"Odysseus" wrote in message news:gGuTd.53294$tl3.16287@attbi_s02...
I plan to take my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) to South Africa.

The battery charger CB-5L is designed for the US. The Canon website
says that the charger can be used internationally. The charger has the
following notation printed on it:

Input 100V-240V AC50/60Hz
22VA(100V)-30VA(240V)

Does anybody have any experience using this charger in SA or know what
I will need to plug in into an electrical receptacle in my hotel room?
There is no switch on the charger to change the voltage. The plug is an
American two prong style.

You can definitely use the charger here in South Africa. (We use
220-240V, 50Hz) Johannesburg is nominal 220V.

The charger you have is a pretty standard switch-mode power supply
that will automatically select the input voltage, and will adjust
itsself accordingly.

You will need an adaptor to our plugs. I'd suggest that you buy one in
South Africa. They are readilly available at all travel shops, most
large supermarkets, hardware stores etc.

If you let me know which hotel you'll be in, I will be able to tell
you exactly where you can get an adaptor.

Regards,
Marc


On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:53:33 GMT, Odysseus wrote:

I plan to take my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) to South Africa.

The battery charger CB-5L is designed for the US. The Canon website
says that the charger can be used internationally. The charger has the
following notation printed on it:

Input 100V-240V AC50/60Hz
22VA(100V)-30VA(240V)

Does anybody have any experience using this charger in SA or know what
I will need to plug in into an electrical receptacle in my hotel room?
There is no switch on the charger to change the voltage. The plug is an
American two prong style.

My first hotel will be the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town.


Thank you for your help.


You can definitely use the charger here in South Africa. (We use
220-240V, 50Hz) Johannesburg is nominal 220V.

The charger you have is a pretty standard switch-mode power supply
that will automatically select the input voltage, and will adjust
itsself accordingly.

You will need an adaptor to our plugs. I'd suggest that you buy one in
South Africa. They are readilly available at all travel shops, most
large supermarkets, hardware stores etc.

If you let me know which hotel you'll be in, I will be able to tell
you exactly where you can get an adaptor.

Regards,
Marc


On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:53:33 GMT, Odysseus wrote:

I plan to take my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) to South Africa.

The battery charger CB-5L is designed for the US. The Canon website
says that the charger can be used internationally. The charger has the
following notation printed on it:

Input 100V-240V AC50/60Hz
22VA(100V)-30VA(240V)

Does anybody have any experience using this charger in SA or know what
I will need to plug in into an electrical receptacle in my hotel room?
There is no switch on the charger to change the voltage. The plug is an
American two prong style.

"Scott Elliot" wrote in message
news:hCwTd.597$hN1.224@clgrps13...

You don't need a more expensive voltage converter.
"Odysseus" wrote in message
news:gGuTd.53294$tl3.16287@attbi_s02...
I plan to take my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) to South Africa.

The battery charger CB-5L is designed for the US. The Canon website
says that the charger can be used internationally. The charger has the
following notation printed on it:

Input 100V-240V AC50/60Hz
22VA(100V)-30VA(240V)

Does anybody have any experience using this charger in SA or know what
I will need to plug in into an electrical receptacle in my hotel room?
There is no switch on the charger to change the voltage. The plug is an
American two prong style.


I have used my Canon battery charger in South Africa. It is not the same
one, mine came with the 60D. Yours indicates it can handle 240 Volts.
That is the important number.

All you need is an adapter plug that has the three South African prongs on
one side and a socket for the North American plug on the other. I picked
mine up at Radio Shack, but a lot of travel places sell them.

Check any other electrical appliance you may be taking to ensure they can
handle the 220 or 240 volts in S.A. I usually try to buy only things that
will handle 110-240 volts if I might want to use them when travelling.
Adapter plugs are cheaper and easier to use than voltage converters.

Scott

Correct you are, sir, and you bring up another important point. ALWAYS READ
THE VOLTAGE RATING on your electrical items! The OP saw that his charger
said "110V-240V" which means it can accept the US standard (120V) as well as
the international standards (220V, some with 240V). The 50/60 Hertz (Hz,
frequency or 'cycles', same thing) means that will run on US standard (60Hz)
or the rest of the world (50Hz). Most folks ignore the Hz thing, which is
mostly fine. More on Hz in a second.

To prevent having to completely redesign for world markets, most
good-quality electronic equipment is rated for either 110V to 220V (it says
'110V-220V') and 50-60Hz, and as such you can just use an adaptor. If your
equipment only says "input 110V/60Hz, then you MUST use a transformer, not
an adaptor. Pretty much every world traveller has fried something in the
early days from using an adaptor, not a transformer, because they did not
read the input rating. If you are not sure which it is, use the transformer
as it will not harm anything.

For those who don't want to admit that they get confused, and are spooked
about plugging precious things into the wall when they go to other
countries, here are some guidelines and definitions:

ADAPTER a little lightweight plastic thingy that will accept one type of
plug in its female (recieving) end, and has a different type of plug in its
male end. It has no internal electronics or wiring, just a straight
changeover from one type of plug to another. This will enable your plug to
physically fit into a socket, but unless the item is designed to be able to
accept the current that is in the wall, you WILL burn it out instantly. And
often dramatically, with sparks, bluegreen smoke, and darkness in the
neighborhood.

TRANSFORMER or VOLTAGE CONVERTER (these are the same things): a heavier
electronic gizmo that transforms current from one voltage to another, like
from 110V to 220V, or vice versa. (Transformers do NOT transform Hertz,
FREQUENCY CONVERTERS do, but they are expensive and no one uses them outside
of businesses with expensive tools that require them.) Transformers tend to
be big and heavy, and have a range of power capabilities. Smaller ones are
about the size of a golf ball and can be only for 10 or 20 watts, and are
only good for things like pocket radios, or camera chargers. Bigger ones can
be 2000 or 3000 watts, are as big as a canteloupe, weigh about 5 pounds, and
can run your refrigerator. (Giant ones for running commercial devices are
big enough to fit in a truck.) That little black box that plugs into the
wall and has a long wire that plugs into your Walkman or laptop is a
transformer. It transforms the wall power (110V) into 12V, which is what
battery powered things really run on.

Sometimes these have the same type of plug in the female and the male end,
sometimes not. If not, you may need an adaptor also. Its completely okay to
plug something tiny like a battery charger into a transformer designed to
run a tank, but not vice versa. As a result, many folks who move
internationally carry a few 750W or 1000W ones with them, plug a powerstrip
into it, and run a bunch of stuff off of it at once. If the item is
important to you, its better to overkill and use a big transformer like a
500W one. I run my US-wired stereo, CD player, tape deck and desk lamp off a
single 750W transformer with a power strip.

(Don't be fooled by those little white things that are about as big as your
fist and say they are rated for 50-1600 watts. They only will work on things
like irons, coffee makers or other items that have a lot of internal
resistance. If you plug your stereo (or computer) into them, you'll lose it.
I don't use those things for anything)

If you have an item that has its own transformer (like your laptop computer
does), then read the power rating on that item, NOT on your computer! Its
that transformer you are plugging into the wall, not your computer. Usually,
you only need an adaptor for that thing, and all is well (if it says 'input
110-240V")

Back to Hertz...some items have little clocks in them (like your alarm
clock, d'uh). Those usually run on the pulses of the cycles in the current,
so if you use one in a different country, even with a transformer, it will
run slow. Just buy one locally.

Hope this helps.

--riverman

Well, if you're staying at the Table Bay Hotel, there are several
places inside the V&A Waterfront where you can buy an adaptor.

Try the CNA, or Cape Union Mart, or any of the audio/visual stores in
the Waterfront. The CNA is probably the cheapest.

Rgds,
Marc



On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:32:35 GMT, Odysseus wrote:

My first hotel will be the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town.


Thank you for your help.


You can definitely use the charger here in South Africa. (We use
220-240V, 50Hz) Johannesburg is nominal 220V.

The charger you have is a pretty standard switch-mode power supply
that will automatically select the input voltage, and will adjust
itsself accordingly.

You will need an adaptor to our plugs. I'd suggest that you buy one in
South Africa. They are readilly available at all travel shops, most
large supermarkets, hardware stores etc.

If you let me know which hotel you'll be in, I will be able to tell
you exactly where you can get an adaptor.

Regards,
Marc


On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:53:33 GMT, Odysseus wrote:

I plan to take my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) to South Africa.

The battery charger CB-5L is designed for the US. The Canon website
says that the charger can be used internationally. The charger has the
following notation printed on it:

Input 100V-240V AC50/60Hz
22VA(100V)-30VA(240V)

Does anybody have any experience using this charger in SA or know what
I will need to plug in into an electrical receptacle in my hotel room?
There is no switch on the charger to change the voltage. The plug is an
American two prong style.