Swerwer Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 I have been looking at which power plugs are being used in which countries, and here are some links showing the different power plugs, voltage levels and frequencies:South Africa Type M Plug 220 V 50 Hz Australia Type I Plug 230 V 50 Hz As of 2000, the mains supply voltage as specified in AS 60038 has changed to 230 V with an allowed tolerance of +10% -6%[2]. This was done in the interests of voltage harmonisation - however 240 V is within tolerance and is commonly found. Mains voltage is still referred to as "two-forty volts".List of countries with mains power plugs, voltages and frequenciesWORLD ELECTRIC GUIDEAustralian 3-Pin Electrical Mains PlugAnother plugtypes guide Mains electricity What I want to know from you guys in Australia....do they sell adapters that convert the round pin plugs which are common with cellphones etc. in Australia? I have a lot of things that make use of these 2 pin pligs and I was wondering if 2-pin to australian 3-pin adapters are easy to come across? Round pin attachment plug = Type C (Europlug also used in South Africa) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john-gill Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 WOW you've done your homework!! I don't know all the technicalities, but I can offer this suggestion: Bring a good few SA Multiplugs which also have the 2-pin option. Then all you need to do is change the one plug on the multiplug, and you can take your time on changing the plugs on all the appliances - including 2-pins (and next to your bed for cell phones etc). This is REALLY helpful in the kitchen especially - where you will be amazed how many plugs you will need!!!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riekie Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Kyk na hierdie threads oor "plugs" en "adapters" en die elektrisiteit in Aus: http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?showt...969entry19969http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?showtopic=2452&st=0&p=17877entry17877http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?showtopic=427&st=0&p=2741entry2741 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart and Jill Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Excellent, thanks. Now I need to try and figure out which appliances to take and which to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swerwer Posted March 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 WOW you've done your homework!! I don't know all the technicalities, but I can offer this suggestion: Bring a good few SA Multiplugs which also have the 2-pin option. Then all you need to do is change the one plug on the multiplug, and you can take your time on changing the plugs on all the appliances - including 2-pins (and next to your bed for cell phones etc). This is REALLY helpful in the kitchen especially - where you will be amazed how many plugs you will need!!!!.Thanx....this is an excellent idea....I will make sure that I have at least 1 or more for each room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matman Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Excellent, thanks. Now I need to try and figure out which appliances to take and which to leave.Stuart/JillWe packed a 20ft container and took everything with us to Aus. We bought a few SA2Aus adaptors. I think we bought them at the AA or possibly even at the airport. 6yrs ago - we had the adaptor that did not cater for the 2 pin - so what we did is plug a SA 2pin adaptor into an SA2Aus adaptor and that worked fine.However now days you can buy these super fangled multi all country adaptors - some of them even come with built in fuses and power convertors to switch voltages.This is what we did - we found a small electrical shop and got them to replace all our plugs on our appliances and we have not had any problems at all. Over time we have replaced appliances as they have worn out because one of the issues you will find. Very few S.A. brands can be repaired here due to lack of parts. Can cost you more to repair than just buying a replacement appliance. Bear in mind white goods are getting cheaper and cheaper all the time and there are also plenty of auction houses to buy cheap white goodsGrays Online cheap way to buy things.Suggesiton on what to leave behind - any appliance that has already had to be repaired or caused problems - refer my comment above. any item that is old and is most probably not going handle being bounced around in a container. We even brought out our iron, toasters, kettle, juicer, sandwicher etc - however these items are pretty inexpensive so if short for space or if they are old ad due for replacement then leave behindDOnt bring old tvs. We had a fairly new tv so we brought that over and have not had any problems at all. However this is the one item that we do have an SA2Aus adaptor because it had a special power adaptor.We left the mower&weedeater behind - 2 hard to clean and were worried it may slow customs process down.Hope this gives you some ideasRgdsmatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart and Jill Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 Thanks Matman,Great suggestion with the lawnmower - that would be terrible to try and clean up to the required standards.Being a bit of a technophile I have more gadgets than is probably good for one - I'm a little worried about the camera's, video cameras, iPods etc... Think I'll just pack a box of multiplugs - seems to be the easy initial solution.I was going to buy a new laptop and GPS here but will hold off until I am there as warranty is the big issue.Thanks for the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swerwer Posted March 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 (edited) Thanks Matman,I was going to buy a new laptop and GPS here but will hold off until I am there as warranty is the big issue.Thanks for the suggestions.Have a look at the Navman N40i - you can take 2MP pictures and tag them with the GPS location. Later you can be voice navigated back to that exact same place with voice directions. I'm surely going to buy me one when I get there - 1st on my list.Read a review here Edited March 23, 2007 by Swerwer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart and Jill Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 wow! that is incredibleI was looking at the Garmin Nuvi 660; but the photo tagging option on this unit is fantastic. I wish you could stack these items against one another on a website in order to best make your choice. The nuvi has really nice road-navigation software - I may start a job in Oz in the next few months and not overly keen to be fumbling my way around with a map book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swerwer Posted March 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 Have a look at this site.But prices are in US$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnone Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with electrical appliances which are telephone instruments ? stuff like like answer machines, cordless phones & fax machines ... what about built in modems on the laptop ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matman Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 Thanks Matman,Great suggestion with the lawnmower - that would be terrible to try and clean up to the required standards.Being a bit of a technophile I have more gadgets than is probably good for one - I'm a little worried about the camera's, video cameras, iPods etc... Think I'll just pack a box of multiplugs - seems to be the easy initial solution.I was going to buy a new laptop and GPS here but will hold off until I am there as warranty is the big issue.Thanks for the suggestions.Stuart - dont worry - I am a technophile as well and I brought everything with us and have just got used to using adaptors and overtime switching out as I bought new stuff. I would recommend as you have suggested - dont buy anything new especially if it is a pricey item - none of the warranties will be valid here. Something alot of people dont know and dont check - but on those warranty cards we get with our purchases and which we dont read and just throw away - very often there is a clause that stipulates warranty only valid in country of purchase - need to read the fine print. I bought a camera a Sony camera once while in the UK and the salesguy pointed this out to me. I still made the purchase as it was cheaper than buying in S.A. and worked on principle that a name brand product I should not have problems - touch wood I never did I need to have a look at this GPS item - I have been loooking at one for use on the golf course, but struggling to make the purchase as I am a bit of a tradionalist when it comes to golf - no aids allowed RgdsmatmanHas anyone had any experience (good or bad) with electrical appliances which are telephone instruments ? stuff like like answer machines, cordless phones & fax machines ... what about built in modems on the laptop ?I use my S.A. fax machine without any problems. Cant remember what we did with our answering machine (we did not have cordless phones) However answering machines and cordless phones are cheap here. In fact you get combined answering/cordless phn machines here so you dont have to have separate items.You can buy these at Dick Smiths, any Phone shop. With some of the phn packages there are options for an answering machine service.Rgdsmatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnone Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 I use my S.A. fax machine without any problems. Cant remember what we did with our answering machine (we did not have cordless phones) However answering machines and cordless phones are cheap here. In fact you get combined answering/cordless phn machines here so you dont have to have separate items.You can buy these at Dick Smiths, any Phone shop. With some of the phn packages there are options for an answering machine service.RgdsmatmanThanks for that Matman,I have (amongst various other gadget things) a 'dual phone' cordless system which uses Skype & landline it works brilliantly would be a shame to leave behind.I think I read on the british expats website that there were some problems with telephone instruments when plugged into the Aussie network but I can't think why as the POTS system is pretty standard worldwide. Seems as though from your reply that there is no problem with SA systems. regardsBarnone another "gadget guru" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrica Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 HiMost telephone carriers offer a message service with their line rental. Some you pay for and some you dont.You also only need 1 phone line and you can get a fax stream duet , which splits the line and you have a dedicated fax line and number. Cost per month for a fax stream duet is $6.00.You can also patch thru your land line to your mobile phone ( at a cost per diverted call as well).Regarding the plugs......when we came on one of our LSD TRIPS my husband bought 40 Aussie plugs. When we packed the container he changed the plugs on fridges and all the appliances. When we unpacked on this end it was a case of " plug and play" beats trying to look for tools amogst all that paper and card board.CheersEnrica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesV Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Before you leave SA buy yourself a couple of those extension boards that take 5 plugs and have a short extension cord on them then when you get here you can cut off the SA plug and put an ausiie plug on it and you wont have a problem with all your adaptors etc.in answer to our question, in Aussie you cant get an adaptor for an SA plug however at the airports you can buy a SA plug to take Aussie plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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