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Old 22nd Oct 2003, 9:52 pm   #1
g4spz
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Default Using a 240volt set in the USA

Hi... a friend moved from England to the USA and has recently inherited his late mother's English 1950's domestic superhet. He wants to use it on 115 volts mains power, and has asked me what rating 115-240 volt step-up transformer to buy.

Help... I don't know the model of his set, but let's assume it's a typical 4-valve plus rectifier model like my Ferranti 347 console. I can find no record anywhere of the power consumption of this type of set. My friend says that 50 watt transformers are available over there. Will that be enough?

Any advice would be very welcome! Thanks in advance,

Phil G4SPZ
 
Old 23rd Oct 2003, 12:14 am   #2
joe
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

Hi Phil

I would have thought that 50w might be pushing it a bit.
Why not go for a 100w transformer, it won't be much bigger physically & shouldn't cost much more, but it will be safer.

Joe
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Old 23rd Oct 2003, 2:53 am   #3
Norm_Leal
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

Hi Phil

You can use an isolation transformer rather than more expensive step-up. Connect the secondary additive with primary.

For small radios you can use a Triad N51X. It's only rated at 35 watts but in this configuration that would be 70 watts.

Norm
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Old 1st Nov 2003, 8:37 am   #4
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

Tell your friend to go hustle down to a lighting supply shop or good independent hardware store.

Look for a 200 watt transformer. That should be more than enough.

I got mine for 20$. But then again I have the luxury of living in New York City where the market is flooded with cheap Chinese stuff and close-out, one-off type stores and weird things like that. If he's living in the middle of nowhere (the area of land between New York, Chicago and Los Angeles), then he may have to resort to searching on Google.

 
Old 1st Nov 2003, 12:43 pm   #5
paulsherwin
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

My apologies if this is stating the obvious, but if the radio is a transformer set the transformer probably has a 120V tap on it already. If so you just need to change the voltage setting and you can plug it straight in.

Best regards, Paul
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Old 1st Nov 2003, 8:01 pm   #6
g4spz
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

Thanks Joe, Norm, Sven and Paul for your replies. My friend Brian lives in Summit, NJ and bought a 100 watt transformer, and all's OK. The set has only 210, 230 and 250V tappings. It is a Pye Fen Man 1 from 1955, two years younger than me!

Thanks again and 73 till next time,

Phil G4SPZ
 
Old 1st Nov 2003, 9:40 pm   #7
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

Hi Phil.

Doesn't surprise me that it hasn't got a 120v tapping. Most UK sets only had 200-250v taps. Sometimes you were lucky, if the set was designed for export, but they were few and far between. Glad it's all OK now.

Cheers for now. 73's

Rich
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Old 17th Nov 2003, 7:25 pm   #8
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

I have a British-made Philco Tropic AC/DC radio hat is only for use on 105-120 volts according to the label.

I bought it when I was in Colombia some years ago for about $12 from a pawn shop. The valves are marked with American codes. Go figure....

Anyway....if I have a multi-tap 120/220 volt radio that has values like 105, 110, 125, 150, 200, 220, 245, I usually set it for the highest version of the local voltage.

My local voltage is 117/118 , so I would set the radio to 125 instead of 105 or 110. 150 may work...but then again may not. It doesn't put as much strain on the transformer primary.

If you live in a country with an average voltage of 230 volts, the nset the radio for 245 or 250 instead of 200 or 220.
 
Old 17th Nov 2003, 8:53 pm   #9
g4spz
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Default Re: Using a 240volt set in the USA

Sven's advice about under-running old sets by using the higher mains voltage tappings is good in general. I do the same myself. His AC-DC set would have a dropper resistor, I guess - they can run extremely hot as I have found with my Eddystone 870A!

Regards to all,

Phil
 
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