Hey,

So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..
and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround
system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually
like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown
it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?

Many thanks,



--

"John Galt" wrote in
message oups.com...
Hey,
So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..
and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround
system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually
like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown
it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?

What is the voltage where you are at ? It may be 240 volts. You could have
blown the adapter if it is not rated for the current of the sound system.
See if you may have just blown a fuse on the sound system.

On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 23:44:02 +0000, John Galt
wrote:

Hey,

So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..
and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround

I don't know what your simple adapter piece is. Details?

By phone, do you mean cell phone? Don't hold back these things or make
us beg for information to solve your problem.

How do you know the adapter piece made the computer and phone work?

Computers, desktop or laptop, have been designed to run both on 120 or
240 (or anywhere in between) for at least 10 years. So have cell
phone chargers. You could see this by looking at the label on each
device, where it say model, serial number, voltage, and amperage and has
some text too.

system (120v 60hz).

I don't know what an american surround sound is either. A dvid
player? But if it only runs on 120V, you're going to burn it out with
240. Does your adapter piece change 240 to 120?

It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually
like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown
it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?

Before you buy something, I'd plug your sound into 120 and see if it
works. If you don't know anyone with 120, I'd go to the store where
you plan to buy power converter (which can mean a lot of things, but I
gather you mean to change 240 v to 120) and see if they will let you
plug it in and plug your sound into it. To see if it works. But my
guess is that it won't. That doesn't mean it can't be fixed, but
you'll have to tell everyone the make and model of your sound, and ask
on sci.electronics.repair, where more than half the answers will be
beyond your comprehension, and mine, but that doesn't mean they won't
answer your question in laymen's language.

Many thanks,

On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 23:44:02 +0000, John Galt
wrote:

Hey,

So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..
and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround
system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually
like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown
it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?

Many thanks,

And don't put relevant information only in the subject line. Put it in
the body of the post where it will be seen. If you wrote a paper for
publication, would you put one of the facts only on the title page and
not in the paper itself?

John Galt wrote:
Hey,
So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..
and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround
system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually
like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown
it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?
Many thanks,


Hi,
You should've used step down x-former, not dinky tiny adapter.

On Tuesday, June 17, 2014 9:29:36 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 23:44:02 +0000, John Galt

wrote:



Hey,



So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..

and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround



I don't know what your simple adapter piece is. Details?



I would think "simple adapter" means that it converts the socket
so that you can plug the device in, but does nothing about the
voltage, freq, etc. That's fine for devices that use their own
walwart that is designed to work with 120/240, 50/60hz, etc. But
if you use one on an appliance like a stereo, that typically is not
designed that way, then POOF! Sounds like that's what happened here.
If he's lucky it might just be a fuse.




By phone, do you mean cell phone? Don't hold back these things or make

us beg for information to solve your problem.



How do you know the adapter piece made the computer and phone work?



Computers, desktop or laptop, have been designed to run both on 120 or

240 (or anywhere in between) for at least 10 years.

I wouldn't assume that all have, I'd check to be sure. AFAIK there is no
reqt for it and who knows for sure what every manufacturer is doing.
I'm not so sure about the in between part either. I've seen
desktop PCs that have a switch on the back for 120 or 240V. I would
think it might not like 160V on either, but IDK for sure. And if
the switch is set to 120V and he did what he just did with the surround,
I would think the result might not be good either.



So have cell

phone chargers. You could see this by looking at the label on each

device, where it say model, serial number, voltage, and amperage and has

some text too.



system (120v 60hz).



I don't know what an american surround sound is either. A dvid

player? But if it only runs on 120V, you're going to burn it out with

240. Does your adapter piece change 240 to 120?



It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually

like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown

it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?



Before you buy something, I'd plug your sound into 120 and see if it

works.


And before he plugs anything in, he should look on the
back of it. A surround sound almost certainly has a label on the
back that says what voltage/freq it will accept. And if not, the
documentation is available online.

On 06/17/2014 06:44 PM, John Galt wrote:
Hey,
So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..
and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround
system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually
like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown
it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?
Many thanks,




If it's a standard desktop or tower, there is a switch on the power
supply to change the input to 240 so you would not need an adapter for that.


Also: If the monitor and phone operate off a so called "power brick"
read the label carefully as some are designed for 115/230 volts
automatically.

The less hardware you need connected to your 115/230 transformer, the
less the chance of you exceeding it's rating.

trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, June 17, 2014 9:29:36 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 23:44:02 +0000, John Galt

wrote:



Hey,



So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..

and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround



I don't know what your simple adapter piece is. Details?



I would think "simple adapter" means that it converts the socket
so that you can plug the device in, but does nothing about the
voltage, freq, etc. That's fine for devices that use their own
walwart that is designed to work with 120/240, 50/60hz, etc. But
if you use one on an appliance like a stereo, that typically is not
designed that way, then POOF! Sounds like that's what happened here.
If he's lucky it might just be a fuse.




By phone, do you mean cell phone? Don't hold back these things or make

us beg for information to solve your problem.



How do you know the adapter piece made the computer and phone work?



Computers, desktop or laptop, have been designed to run both on 120 or

240 (or anywhere in between) for at least 10 years.

I wouldn't assume that all have, I'd check to be sure. AFAIK there is no
reqt for it and who knows for sure what every manufacturer is doing.
I'm not so sure about the in between part either. I've seen
desktop PCs that have a switch on the back for 120 or 240V. I would
think it might not like 160V on either, but IDK for sure. And if
the switch is set to 120V and he did what he just did with the surround,
I would think the result might not be good either.



So have cell

phone chargers. You could see this by looking at the label on each

device, where it say model, serial number, voltage, and amperage and has

some text too.



system (120v 60hz).



I don't know what an american surround sound is either. A dvid

player? But if it only runs on 120V, you're going to burn it out with

240. Does your adapter piece change 240 to 120?



It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually

like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown

it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?



Before you buy something, I'd plug your sound into 120 and see if it

works.


And before he plugs anything in, he should look on the
back of it. A surround sound almost certainly has a label on the
back that says what voltage/freq it will accept. And if not, the
documentation is available online.

Hi,
Sorry to say this, is OP dumb or stupid or drunk or what?

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 9:27:38 AM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 06/17/2014 06:44 PM, John Galt wrote:

Hey,

So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc...

and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround

system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually

like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown

it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?

Many thanks,









If it's a standard desktop or tower, there is a switch on the power

supply to change the input to 240 so you would not need an adapter for that.





Also: If the monitor and phone operate off a so called "power brick"

read the label carefully as some are designed for 115/230 volts

automatically.



The less hardware you need connected to your 115/230 transformer, the

less the chance of you exceeding it's rating.

If you guys would read the subject you would see he is talking about a surround sound system.

To the OP,

Most likely what you were using for the phone/computer/etc was a simple plug adapter. These days almost all computer and phone power supplies are rated for 100vac to 240vac 50 or 60 cycles. So you can plug them in just about anywhere in the world if you have the right adapter to make them fit the socket.

Larger appliances like stereos, tvs, etc generally are designed for either 110-120vac or 220-240vac. A few of these will have a small switch in the back that lets you select one or the other. So you have most likely ruined it. You can certainly test with a real 220 to 110 converter or by plugging it in back in the states. It's possible you only broke things in the power supply section but it's also possible that the power surge damaged other components as well. If it's a entry level system and you are not capable of doing the repairs yourself then bin it. It won't be worth fixing.

On 06/18/2014 11:02 AM, jamesgang wrote:


If you guys would read the subject you would see he is talking about a surround sound system.




And in the message itself he said computer and phone

On 06/18/2014 01:05 PM, jamesgang wrote:




And in the message itself he said computer and phone

That was for the purposes of describing other things he had successfully been running in europe with plug adapters. His primary concern was the surround sound system he ruined.




At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it
was the surround sound system

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 4:37:56 PM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 06/18/2014 01:05 PM, jamesgang wrote:









And in the message itself he said computer and phone



That was for the purposes of describing other things he had successfully been running in europe with plug adapters. His primary concern was the surround sound system he ruined.









At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it

was the surround sound system

I think he probably would have figured that out when he when to use the adapter for his computer or phone again.

We don't know anything for certain but let me put it to you this way. Lat's say that's a $600 surround sound system. Would you give him $100 for it right now as is based on what we know?

On 06/18/2014 04:27 PM, jamesgang wrote:
On

At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it

was the surround sound system

I think he probably would have figured that out when he when to use the adapter for his computer or phone again.

We don't know anything for certain but let me put it to you this way. Lat's say that's a $600 surround sound system. Would you give him $100 for it right now as is based on what we know?




Nope.


If the adapter is suspected to have blown the sound system I can see
that he'd be hesitant to test his phone or computer on it

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 4:37:56 PM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 06/18/2014 01:05 PM, jamesgang wrote:









And in the message itself he said computer and phone



That was for the purposes of describing other things he had successfully been running in europe with plug adapters. His primary concern was the surround sound system he ruined.









At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it

was the surround sound system

It's apparently not a "converter". He called it a
"simple adapter" and said it worked with his PC and phone,
but made a whoomp and then nothing with his sound system.
All that strongly suggests to me that it's just an
outlet adapter that allows you to physically connect
a US plug to a European outlet, but does nothing to
convert electrical voltages.

That's a common problem with people traveling internationally.
The voltage in many countries is 240V, the simple physical
plug adaptor works fine for devices that can take 120V or 240V,
eg a notebook, cell phone charger. But it doesn't work with
most other appliances, like a surround sound system. He likely
at least blew a fuse in it, very possibly fried more than that
and if that's the case, it's probably headed to the scrap heap.

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 5:34:07 PM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 06/18/2014 04:27 PM, jamesgang wrote:

On



At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it



was the surround sound system



I think he probably would have figured that out when he when to use the adapter for his computer or phone again.



We don't know anything for certain but let me put it to you this way. Lat's say that's a $600 surround sound system. Would you give him $100 for it right now as is based on what we know?









Nope.





If the adapter is suspected to have blown the sound system I can see

that he'd be hesitant to test his phone or computer on it

The adpater has worked with the computer and phone, most likely
because those two accept either 120V or 240V as input. Typical
notebook PC or cell phone charger can take either, or as Tony said,
anything in between. That's great because then all you need is the
"simple adaptor", it's small, cheap and does the job. It's not so great
if you don't understant the above,
because then you can make the mistake of plugging some other appliance,
eg a surround sound into 240V in Europe, when it can only handle 120V.
By all indications, that's what happened here.

On 06/18/2014 04:56 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 4:37:56 PM UTC-4, philo wrote:
On 06/18/2014 01:05 PM, jamesgang wrote:









And in the message itself he said computer and phone



That was for the purposes of describing other things he had successfully been running in europe with plug adapters. His primary concern was the surround sound system he ruined.









At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it

was the surround sound system

It's apparently not a "converter". He called it a
"simple adapter" and said it worked with his PC and phone,
but made a whoomp and then nothing with his sound system.
All that strongly suggests to me that it's just an
outlet adapter that allows you to physically connect
a US plug to a European outlet, but does nothing to
convert electrical voltages.


Aha! Since that seems to be the case he's blown his expensive sound
system. It *might* have an internal fuse that blew.

On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 09:02:27 -0700 (PDT), jamesgang
wrote:

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 9:27:38 AM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 06/17/2014 06:44 PM, John Galt wrote:

Hey,

So I've been using a simple adapter piece for my computer and phone etc..

and all have charged fine. I've used that piece for my american surround

system (120v 60hz). It initially turned on, made a "whomp" noise, usually

like when I turn my amp on, however it didn't come back on. Have I blown

it? if I get a power converter, will it work again?

Many thanks,









If it's a standard desktop or tower, there is a switch on the power

supply to change the input to 240 so you would not need an adapter for that.





Also: If the monitor and phone operate off a so called "power brick"

read the label carefully as some are designed for 115/230 volts

automatically.



The less hardware you need connected to your 115/230 transformer, the

less the chance of you exceeding it's rating.

If you guys would read the subject you would see he is talking about a surround sound system.

To the OP,

Most likely what you were using for the phone/computer/etc was a simple plug adapter. These days almost all computer and phone power supplies are rated for 100vac to 240vac 50 or 60 cycles. So you can plug them in just about anywhere in the world if you have the right adapter to make them fit the socket.

Larger appliances like stereos, tvs, etc generally are designed for either 110-120vac or 220-240vac. A few of these will have a small switch in the back that lets you select one or the other. So you have most likely ruined it. You can certainly test with a real 220 to 110 converter or by plugging it in back in the states. It's possible you only broke things in the power supply section but it's also possible that the power surge damaged other components as well. If it's a entry level system and you are not capable of doing the repairs yourself then bin it. It won't be worth fixing.
I have had several experiences where, due to a bad neutral, among
other things, I have had to check and repair equipment that had high
voltage applied to the line - and in most cases it just blew the
internal fuse.

On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 11:44:53 -0500, philo* wrote:

On 06/18/2014 11:02 AM, jamesgang wrote:


If you guys would read the subject you would see he is talking about a surround sound system.




And in the message itself he said computer and phone
Which were not damaged.

On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:37:56 -0500, philo* wrote:

On 06/18/2014 01:05 PM, jamesgang wrote:




And in the message itself he said computer and phone

That was for the purposes of describing other things he had successfully been running in europe with plug adapters. His primary concern was the surround sound system he ruined.




At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it
was the surround sound system
Except it has been pretty well established that his "converter" was
not a voltage adapter - just a plug adapter.

replying to philoÂ* , John Galt wrote:
philo wrote:

At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it
was the surround sound system




Alight, well can't really say thanks to everyone, ( if i wrote a
publication? seriously? what kind of website is this?) It seems like
there are some smart guys around here, so if you want to show it.

It is an Altec Lansing Model 251 (120V 60Hz)
(http://www.manualslib.com/manual/478...51.html#manual)

The adapter piece accepts american male prongs, which allows it to be put
into 240V european€¦ sockets. This adapter piece, as referred to from my
last sentence, (no pronouns here, no sir) effectively facilitates
electricity into an Macbook Air and Samsung Galaxy cell phone. This
adapter piece, as now referred to in the last two sentences, has no power
conversion.

Methods:

Subject X placed said american device (120v 60Hz) with fastened adapter
piece, that has no power conversion in a 240V socket.

Results:
Device initially turned on and made the patented "whomp noise" (John
Galt, 2014) however did not produce further sound. Subject X repeated the
process, that was described in Methods section, however the whomp did not
return.

Analyses: Subject X opened the back panel of the Altec Lansing Model 251,
removing 6, not 5, 6 screws and examined the inside. No foul or burnt
odor (odour to those, whom may not understand american english.) was
detected.

Discussion:

Subject X may go to hardware store and test device with a power converter.


I hope this has properly served the greatest of Pedants and those with the
severest cases of OCD.




--

On 06/18/2014 10:44 PM, John Galt wrote:
replying to philo , John Galt wrote:
philo wrote:

At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if
it was the surround sound system




Alight, well can't really say thanks to everyone, ( if i wrote a
publication? seriously? what kind of website is this?) It seems like
there are some smart guys around here, so if you want to show it.
It is an Altec Lansing Model 251 (120V 60Hz)
(http://www.manualslib.com/manual/478...51.html#manual)



Since it's now been made clear, the bottom line is that you plugged a
115 volt only device into a 230v outlet.


Check your surround sound system to see if it has a fuse.

On Thursday, June 19, 2014 7:28:02 AM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 06/18/2014 10:44 PM, John Galt wrote:

replying to philo , John Galt wrote:

philo wrote:



At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if

it was the surround sound system









Alight, well can't really say thanks to everyone, ( if i wrote a

publication? seriously? what kind of website is this?) It seems like

there are some smart guys around here, so if you want to show it.

It is an Altec Lansing Model 251 (120V 60Hz)

(http://www.manualslib.com/manual/478...51.html#manual)







Since it's now been made clear, the bottom line is that you plugged a

115 volt only device into a 230v outlet.





Check your surround sound system to see if it has a fuse.

I agree. I'd do that before wasting time hauling it over to
a store that has 120V. It's almost certain that either a fuse is
blown, if he's lucky, or worse if he's not. He could also see if he
can find a schematic for it that would show if it has a fuse. If
it were me, I'd just take the cover off and look.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2014 03:44:01 +0000, John Galt
wrote:

replying to philo* , John Galt wrote:
philo wrote:

At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it
was the surround sound system




Alight, well can't really say thanks to everyone, ( if i wrote a
publication? seriously? what kind of website is this?) It seems like
there are some smart guys around here, so if you want to show it.

It is an Altec Lansing Model 251 (120V 60Hz)
(http://www.manualslib.com/manual/478...51.html#manual)

The adapter piece accepts american male prongs, which allows it to be put
into 240V european… sockets. This adapter piece, as referred to from my
last sentence, (no pronouns here, no sir) effectively facilitates
electricity into an Macbook Air and Samsung Galaxy cell phone. This
adapter piece, as now referred to in the last two sentences, has no power
conversion.

Methods:

Subject X placed said american device (120v 60Hz) with fastened adapter
piece, that has no power conversion in a 240V socket.

Results:
Device initially turned on and made the patented "whomp noise" (John
Galt, 2014) however did not produce further sound. Subject X repeated the
process, that was described in Methods section, however the whomp did not
return.

Analyses: Subject X opened the back panel of the Altec Lansing Model 251,
removing 6, not 5, 6 screws and examined the inside. No foul or burnt
odor (odour to those, whom may not understand american english.) was
detected.

Discussion:

Subject X may go to hardware store and test device with a power converter.


I hope this has properly served the greatest of Pedants and those with the
severest cases of OCD.
There is a 1 amp 250 volt slow-blow fuse on the circuit board a few
inches from where the power cord connects. It WILL be blown. Replace
it. If it works then, good. If not, throw it away because it won't be
worth futzing around with.

On Thursday, June 19, 2014 5:03:49 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jun 2014 03:44:01 +0000, John Galt

wrote:



replying to philo� , John Galt wrote:

philo wrote:



At this point we don't know for sure if his converter failed or if it

was the surround sound system









Alight, well can't really say thanks to everyone, ( if i wrote a

publication? seriously? what kind of website is this?) It seems like

there are some smart guys around here, so if you want to show it.



It is an Altec Lansing Model 251 (120V 60Hz)

(http://www.manualslib.com/manual/478...51.html#manual)



The adapter piece accepts american male prongs, which allows it to be put

into 240V european� sockets. This adapter piece, as referred to from my

last sentence, (no pronouns here, no sir) effectively facilitates

electricity into an Macbook Air and Samsung Galaxy cell phone. This

adapter piece, as now referred to in the last two sentences, has no power

conversion.



Methods:



Subject X placed said american device (120v 60Hz) with fastened adapter

piece, that has no power conversion in a 240V socket.



Results:

Device initially turned on and made the patented "whomp noise" (John

Galt, 2014) however did not produce further sound. Subject X repeated the

process, that was described in Methods section, however the whomp did not

return.



Analyses: Subject X opened the back panel of the Altec Lansing Model 251,

removing 6, not 5, 6 screws and examined the inside. No foul or burnt

odor (odour to those, whom may not understand american english.) was

detected.



Discussion:



Subject X may go to hardware store and test device with a power converter.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:49:26 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:


=20
Since it's now been made clear, the bottom line is that you plugged a=20
=20
115 volt only device into a 230v outlet.
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
Check your surround sound system to see if it has a fuse.

I agree. I'd do that before wasting time hauling it over to
a store that has 120V. It's almost certain that either a fuse is
blown, if he's lucky, or worse if he's not. He could also see if he
can find a schematic for it that would show if it has a fuse. If
it were me, I'd just take the cover off and look.

You're right. I should have thought of a fuse.

They can be mounted in the back metal panel with some sort of black
plastic cover (although I don't know if they do that anymore) or they
can be inside the main cover.