Plug adapter search

This is driving me insane.  I cannot find 3-prong US to UK plug adapters ANYWHERE.  I can only find 2-prong US to UK.  An idiot at Radio Shack tried to sell me a 3-prong US to European one today by telling me that the European one is the same as a British 2-prong plug 

Electronics stores, Radio Shack, nowhere seems to have 3-prong to UK adapters.  I absolutely need one upon arriving in England for my laptop.  Does anyone know where might sell a 3-prong US to UK adapter in the US?  I'm in Memphis if that helps.  We're leaving on Wednesday and I don't want to order online.  Most of them don't tell or show you whether the adapter takes a 3-prong plug anyway.

*waves*

Well I'm a newbie but I got mine at Circuit City for my trip to England last week and my trip to Rome next week.  I purchased this Kensington model and it worked great for my laptop which is also a 3 prong plug. Only warning I'd give is that for the plug in from your laptop, they tried to generalize the ground into a rectangular UK ground that is mostly big enough for a round US ground. Getting the computer plug out the first time took some shimmying, but after that it was a breeze in and out.

Wow, that thing's huge!  Thanks for the recommendation.  Unfortunately, one of the first reviews on it says the guy's Macbook Pro adapter won't fit in it, which is what I need it for, so it's a no-go.  I think I might wind up having to bite the bullet and just buy the Apple travel adapter kit for $40.

Considering I have a MacBook Pro I think someone who wrote a review is full of it. And it fits in my dainty little hand.

And the Apple travel kit is only swapable plugs for your brick, so it'll only replace the 2 pronged brick plug with a UK 2 prong plug. If you want some length from the wall, you don't want the Apple Kit.

Yeah, that was my apprehension about getting the Apple branded one because it takes ALL the length away from it.  I'll stop by Circuit City and give that one a try.  I'm going to have to see it to believe it, because there are a bunch of reviews of it on other sites that say it won't take 3-prong plugs.

Does the MacBook have a cord that separates from the brick?  If it does you can just replace that part of the cord.  That is what I have done with my laptop, the end that goes into the brick is like a 8 on its side, or an infinity symbol.   

My old Wall Street Mac laptop had a cord like that, but I don't have a MacBook.

You can get them at the airport. Also, stores like Brookstone have them.

I tried the "change the cord" route (UK eBay from US) and ended up with a plug that didn't fit my Dell brick.  

When I got here, I went to Curry's and got one for 7 pounds 99.  

I tried the "change the cord" route (UK eBay from US) and ended up with a plug that didn't fit my Dell brick.  

When I got here, I went to Curry's and got one for 7 pounds 99.  

My husband had a bunch in the house for older laptops and other stuff, I just stole on of his.  HA HA!

My husband had a bunch in the house for older laptops and other stuff, I just stole on of his.  HA HA!

Free is good!  

I should clarify that I bought an adapter at Currys for 7.99 - not another cord.

When I needed a second one, I looked elsewhere (Wilkinsons - a great discount store) but they didn't have any in stock. 

When I got mine a few years ago, I ordered them online at Magellan's travel store- http://www.magellans.com.  Easy peasy, inexpensive and they were just what I needed.

Yeah, that was my apprehension about getting the Apple branded one because it takes ALL the length away from it.  I'll stop by Circuit City and give that one a try.  I'm going to have to see it to believe it, because there are a bunch of reviews of it on other sites that say it won't take 3-prong plugs.

The easiest thing to do is, as others have said, to get a figure-eight lead when you are in the UK.  That plugs straight into a MacBook / Pro power brick.  What you can't use is a three-prong grounded lead (like what plugs into the back of a desktop PC.)  Although the Apple extension cord you have in the US is three-prong, there's nothing stopping you using a generic two-prong figure-eight cable even in the US.  I do this all the time.

(Some of Apple's two-prong cables won't fit a MacBook power adapter, but that is their own fault.  A generic cable will.)

If you really want to use your three-prong US cable, three-prong adapters aren't hard to find in the UK.

i got mine at either boots or curry when i arrived in scotland. i could only find two prong adapters in america as well.

The easiest thing to do is, as others have said, to get a figure-eight lead when you are in the UK. 

Or even pick up a spare cord in the U.S. to bring with you, then just cut the plug off and fit a U.K. plug when you get here.  Rewireable U.K. plugs are available in DIY chains, hardware stores, corner shops, supermarkets, etc., so you'll be able to find one very easily, and it really isn't hard to do.

3-conductor adapters U.K. plug to U.S. receptacle can also be found once you get here fairly easily from places such as Maplin Electronics, which now has outlets in many different towns:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=29828

I found 3 pronged ones at the luggage store in Terminal 3 of Heathrow just outside arrivals, I think they were on offer too, so I got a good deal, like £4 for each.  In the US I only 3 pronged ones.