Voltage

[Brad Goodman]

Heading off to Japan in a couple of weeks, where the electricity runs at a lower voltage than Australia.

To those in the know, do I need a transformer as well as an adapter or just an adapter? I will be using electricity to charge my phone and camera batteries while I'm over there.

 

[CF]

You'd need an adapter but most likely, not a voltage converter for your phone and camera chargers. Most chargers of portable electronics (cameras, mobile phones, iPods, MP3, etc) come with an automatic voltage converter these days. Read the label on your charger and if it says 100V to 240V, then all you need is the plug adapter. The adapter should look like the US plug except it should not be polarized (so one pin is not bigger than the other)

But always remember when asking these questions...Google is your friend

 

[Rod Stroker]

^^ This.

Although I would recommend this site which I've been using for years, tells you the voltage, adapter and modem type for each country:
http://www.korjo.com/Adaptor-Guide.aspx#

 

[Borgsta]

You'll be fine in Japan, esp. for your mobile phone. No need to take a charger, just walk into a mobile phone shop and charge it there for free.

 

[Rod Stroker]

You'll be fine in Japan, esp. for your mobile phone.

He'll be fine to charge the phone, but he might not necessarily be able to use the phone. If he only has a 2G/GSM phone (and let's face it, not everyone has a 3G/WCDMA phone yet) then it won't work in Japan as they don't have GSM networks there.

 

[Brad Goodman]

Got a 3G so no dramas there, I picked up a Korjo adapter for $10 so all sorted.