Re: Electrical Adapters

David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate schrieb:
Tom Peel <notreallytandp@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate schrieb:
Tom Peel <notreallytandp@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the royal duchy of city south and
deansgate schrieb:
Tom Peel <notreallytandp@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the royal duchy of city south and
deansgate schrieb:
tim (back at home) <tim_back_home2006@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"RV" <rphotor@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:rmr5g2lrgpru7r4pab1qco5i8ssll55bcj@xxxxxxxxxx
i've researched this but found conflicting information,i'd like to
know what electrical adapters i will need in hungary,poland,austria
and the czech republic.
'German' ones work perfectly well in all those countries

tim
Though worth pointing out that the standard 'continental' euro adapter
you buy in the UK won't.

Please elaborate.
Easy- they won't fit into the following type-

http://www.kropla.com/!e.htm

I wasn't able to use them in Poland, Latvia and Slovakia. (That includes
one of the countries mentioned by the OP.)

I'm sure such adapters (i.e. UK plug- to Type E receptacle) exist, but
they're not what you see here advertised as 'continental' adapters.

The illustration shows a plug and socket of the type used in France. It
would seem that for the UK, the 'continent' starts at Calais and ends
somewhere behind Paris.
I don't know why you'd say that, as I just wrote that the standard euro
adapter sold here (in airports for example) _won't_ fit into a type E
receptacle.

It's those wretched French sockets with the earth pin sticking out.

Not just French, as I pointed out. If you have a german (2 pin) socket,
won't that fit? The problem with the UK adapters you find is that they
are more like a solid block- wouldn't the 'slimmer' German plug fit?

Unfortunately, the German 'Schuko' plug doesn't fit. Firstly, the earth pin on the French socket gets in the way. Secondly, the pins on the German plug are slightly thicker than the French ones. That means even the thinline style German plugs (no earth contact) don't fit either.
However, the good news is that the plug used on phone chargers, laptops etc does fit both. The pins are thin like the French ones, but angled inwards slightly, so that they will also make contact in German sockets. I don't know what the official title for this kind of plug is.

I must admit I had completely forgotten that the French style sockets are also used in Russia - I haven't been there for several years - and so possibly other ex USSR states. It would be interesting to research the history of how French electrical fittings wound up in the Soviet Union. Colonial history has some strange side effects. My biggest surprise was to discover that UK style plugs are used in the United Arab Emirates.

T.


Somewhere on my travels I picked up an adapter with a hole that fits over the earth pin and takes the 'C' type plug, to use the Kropia terminology. Of course, the equipment is then unearthed, but for chargers and laptops etc that's no problem.

In the US you often have to do this, and yes, it's not a big deal. My
study in Boston didn't have a single grounded outlet, but most of my
electronic equiment used ground plugs- I just used adapters!



--
J'ai rêvé qu'on pouvait s'aimer
au souffle du vent
.

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