lamps - i've several lamps that i would like to bring with me. one is a hello kitty accent table lamp. the maximum bulb it can use is 60 watts and it's 120V~AC 60Hz only. the second lamp is a clip on desk lamp with the same specifications. the third lamp is this handmade, ceramic-like turtle lamp, but it's in storage at the moment so i can't give its specifications, but it is likely the same as the previous two. i also have three turtle accent night lights/lamps. the sort with the removable shells that uses a 15 watt bulb. if i used a transformer or had the plugs switched, would my lamps work fine in the UK?
If they all use regular filament lamps then they would be fine with a transformer to step 240V down to 120V, as the frequency difference is of no consequence. You might want to bring a supply of spare lamps as well though, as you won't find suitable 120V replacements easily here.
As for converting them to run directly on 240V you would need to change all the lamps for equivalent 240V types. However there is an issue in that some lampholders and switches on U.S. lamps are not rated for the higher voltage. Many people "get away" with it, but it's not good practice to use switches etc. rated only for 120V on 240V systems. If you want to convert to 240V, you would need to consider replacing the lampholders and switches with U.K. types. Keep in mind also that regular filament lamps in the general 40/60-watt ranges are due to disappear from the shelves later this year, replaced entirely with "energy saving" types such as compact fluorescents.
telly - i've a purple 13' rca colorview television that i'm quite attached to and i don't want to get rid of unless it's absolutely necessary.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your television is not going to work in the UK. You might be able to plug it in using a power converter, but that would be pointless because it still won't properly display a UK TV signal.
Definitely. It will almost certainly be quite useless for receiving signals directly off-air, since the broadcast standards are different. That goes for both analog and digital broadcasts, although the former are already in the process of being withdrawn and will be gone completely within a few years.
With everything going digital you won't be able to pick up the signals without a box which has scart leads ( http://www.tvcables.co.uk/images/items/detachable-scart-plug.jpg) that won't plug into your set because US sets aren't manufactured with them, plus your TV is NTSC meaning it wouldn't be able to use the PAL data from the box anyway.
Remember that SCART connectors are only the physical type of plug & socket though. The signals carried on them are conventional video signals such as may also be found on RCA jacks. You can buy a SCART-to-RCA adapter which will allow either the composite video or component RGB video outputs on the SCART socket of a digital receiver to be connected to the corresponding RCA jacks of the TV.
Composite video brings with it the NTSC vs. PAL color encoding problem, and the set is unlikely to support PAL. However, it
might run perfectly well with direct video inputs, since these bypass all the color encoding issues, leaving just the different scanning rates to contend with. Most modern TV sets will happily synchronize onto the slightly different frequencies.
Unfortunately, the component video outputs on most U.K. digital receivers is RGB, while component inputs on many U.S. model TVs are color-difference (Y/Pr/Pb or Y/Cr/Cb), which are incompatible.
What direct video inputs do you have on the back of the TV?
The cost of shipping it would more than pay for a new tv.
Undoubtedly, for something like that.
detrola record player/am/fm radio/cd player/cassette player - i'm not too fussed about the differences in frequency range
The main AM and FM broadcast bands are similar ranges, and the tuner in your unit should cover them. The exception is the LW (long wave) broadcast band which is used in Britain but not in North America, although only a couple of British stations use it and many radios sold in the U.K. do not have LW anyway. The FM stereo system is similar, although frequency compensation is slightly different. A tweak of the tone controls is usually enough to compensate for most people.
Be careful of the tuning system though: Is it a continuously variable dial, or does the AM tuning jump in 10KHz steps and the FM band in 0.2MHz steps? If it isn't continuously variable, it will not tune to all U.K. stations.
i couldn't get through paul's explanation of synchrous vs. asynchrous (that type of talk goes right over my head unfortunately!), but it ws manufactured in 2005 so it isn't very old. the power supply is AC 120V/60Hz and the power consumption is 18W and i don't know if this makes a difference or not, but it states that it's a 'class 1 laser product'. will i be able to use my record player in england at all?
Most of the newer all-in-one units which still incoporate a turntable have a type of motor which will be unaffected by the difference in supply frequency. Without details of the model or looking at it more closely it's impossible to say for certain though.
The CD side of the unit will be fine, since there is no difference in standards between American & British CDs.
As noted already, you'll need a transformer to step down to 120V. As with the TV, unless the unit really has some sentimental value it would probably be much easier to find it a new home before you leave and pick up a similar unit here.
