22 Apr
2002
22 Apr
'02
1:09 p.m.
You could buy a 110-220 step-up transformer, and that
usually has
the
european two prong plug built in. I myself would see
if the power
supply has a split primary for the mains power; then rewire/flip
the
switch for 110 operation and just use a US style power
cord.
No doubt you can get a suitable two-prong plug
with an IEC on the other end of the lead, but
in the UK (and the beeb is, after all, a UK box)
the standard plugs are three-pin.
Monitor: If it is an RGB with seperate outputs, the
NTSC/PAL
question
is moot. I know that US RGB monitors for the Amiga
will sync to
PAL
rates (625 lines, 50Hz) with no problems. The conflict
arises only
when
the video is composite, as the color information is
encoded
differently. I have seen small converters for sale, that change
PAL
video to NTSC and vice versa. I've never seen how
good/bad they
work,
but that is a viable alternative, if your only output
is composite
video.
A small cub monitor cannot be much
harder to ship than a beeb can it?
The real problem is possibly going to
be the 50Hz/60Hz issue. I know that
in the lab (in the UK) we used to have
a 110/120V 60Hz supply specifically
for the oddball US kit we used to end up
with, but that was (IIRC) done with
something a little beefier than
a stepup transformer. The small
(but very, very) heavy step down
transformer we also had, did nothing
to convert the frequency (not a problem
if all you want is juice, but if anything
is trying to generate an approximate
clock from the line frequencey ....)
Antonio