World-wide power adapters

["Robert George" <george@holmes.cs.nps.navy.mil>]

On Mar 4,  1:42am, KD Williams wrote:
> Subject: Greetings!
> Second, I am co-owner of a company called InComm that specializes in
> marketing products specifically for mobile professionals.  Our products,
> include Inverters, Telephone Loop Current Testers (these identify digital and
> analog lines and also identify reversed polarity on analog ports), and most
> importantly -- mobile travel kits.  The travel kits include a variety of
> tools such as a super lightweight parallel cable, worldwide power adapters,
>-- End of excerpt from KD Williams


KD,

    In reference to the world-wide power adapters, are these the run of the
mill transformer types, or do they use some sort of power silicon.

    Transformer power adapters, like the ones you find in Sharper Image, do not
compensate for the source power frequency, so you get a big legal disclaimer on
the package somewhere that clearly states that you should NOT plug electronic
devices into the adapter.  They are intended strictly for hair dryers and
curling irons.  While I've used these adapters with my ThinkPad all over the
world, several power supply engineers have told me that I've just been lucky.

     I've never found a true frequency compensated, power silicon-based power
adapter, but I would love to purchase one.


-- 

| Robert George            |  Army Research Laboratory              |
| robertg@assb01.arl.mil   |  AMSRL-SS-IC                           |
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