[BC] 1950s' transistor radios pointed to more tech, changes

[Mark Humphrey]

I just returned from a trip to central Europe and all of the outlets I
found in Germany and Austria were round pin and mostly of the
nonpolarized "Schuko" design, which does provide a safety ground.
Photos here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko

For an adapter, I just brought along a Schuko line cord (the extra IEC
cord supplied with Omnia products) modified with a North American NEMA
5-15 type receptacle.   The battery chargers for my camera, laptop,
etc. all have universal switching supplies, so the 240 volt input was
not a problem.

Switzerland uses a slightly different round pin receptacle that
accepts smaller diameter pins with the same 19 mm spacing.
Fortunately, my hotel loaned an adapter to convert this to the Schuko
type.

Rectangular pin plugs are still the standard in the UK and Ireland,
and as Bob mentions, most of these have a cartridge fuse installed
within the plug housing to protect the cord.

There is also a kludge known as the "Europlug" which can be made to
fit a UK outlet if the pins are bent:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug

Mark

On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 8:09 PM, <RichardBJohnson at comcast.net> wrote:
> http://www.electronix.com/catalog/popup_image.php/pID/351
>
> That's a straight-away (as the Brits say) adapter if your item will take 220 volts (like most lap-tops).
> It has two pins.
>
> Here are more adapters:
> http://www.amazon.com/SIMRAN-PLUG-ADAPTER-CONVERTS-PLUG-GERMAN/dp/B000WFYUGI/ref=pd_sim_hi_3
> The rectangular pin ones with the ground are used in Germany, but you can't always count on that, either, if you are traveling.
>
> Very few UK hotels have anything like the grounded outlet to which you refer.
>