Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

Hi guys .. I hope you are all enjoying your N900's :)

Anyways, I had a question about the charger that comes with the US N900 Pack. Is the charger compatible with 220v, which is used in Europe, etc .. (fyi, US uses 110v)

The above can be easily determined by simply looking at the charger and seeing what is written on it. For example, here is a picture from my N73's charger:

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6439/061220092504.jpg

Notice that it says that the accepted voltage input is 110v to 240v. I just need to know if the same is true for the wall charger that comes with the N900. If possible, I would prefer if someone can post a picture of the N900 like the one I've posted above. It would really put me at ease :)

I need to know this because I would soon be going into the 220v region of the world for the holidays and need to know if my N900 (which I should have soon hopefully) would need any converters or not.

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

100-240V 50-80Hz 180mA/16VA

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

From my experience, it'll get fried.

Plugged my PS2 US version into European power socket => a bop sound and smoked it up.

Although if I remember correct, there wasn't any transformer with the PS2 cable, it was direct.

I doubt there's a transformer in the N900 chargers.

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

Yes.. it says input 100 - 240 v

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

PS2 is a different case .. Transformers for relatively more power hungry devices are not so cheap, which is why the manufacturers often leave out the transformers from their power portion .. I dont specifically for the PS2, but I heavily looked into this very issue when I was buying my first PS3 .. PS3 also doesn't have a converter in it (although the early models did)

however, for small devices such as mobiles, making a small transformer is very cheap, and so nearly all mobile phone chargers are voltage universal ..

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

Are you sure it says 50-80 Hz .. !? afaik, only 50hz and 60hz standards are followed, be it anywhere in the world ..

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

Not quite.

Of course there is a transformer in there. Your N900 cannot handle 100V or 240V for that matter If there wasn´t a transformer in there you wouldn´t be getting a adapter but just a cord with a prong on one end and a micro usb socket on the other. The N900 takes in 5-9V, which is why you can plug it into your computer and it´ll charge.

Always check your chargers before plugging in, but yes Nokia ships universal voltage chargers with their devices and have for the last 3-4 years at least. 110-240V, is fine for the charger.

Was that trip abroad your first one venom? :cool:

That must have hurt a little inside to see it go puff!

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

it's prolly typo, mine says 50-60hz

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

Not quite. From the current trend in these things, and from the weight of the charger, I'd say that the N900 charger brick is a switching power supply. There's no transformer in there.

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

On further reading, these may have a transformer in there for isolation from the mains. It's a much lighter transformer that operates at tens of kHz, not at mains frequency. It's a different beast than the old-style iron-core transformer types.

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

EDIT: This reply was to your first posting.

@Nexus7: No, that's not correct. There is a transformer there, it's just that it's smaller. That's the major point of using a switch-mode charger: You can use a much smaller transformer.

A switch-mode charger works by first converting AC to DC, then chopping up the DC to a high frequency AC again (that's the 'switch' part), then transforming this high frequency AC to a low voltage AC, then finally converting to DC (5 volts, in this case).

The size of the transformer is proportional to the frequency: A 50Hz (or 60Hz, in the US) transformer needs a lot of iron. Increase the frequency and you can reduce the size and the amount of iron. Very small switch-mode power supplies/chargers are simply switching to a very high frequency, thus the transfomer can be made extra small.

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

I'm a little confused about this all, so sorry in advanced if I'm needing a second explanation. But I read a few posts back that the n900 charger cannot handle 100v or 240v? I'm going to Australia next week and I read that it uses the 240v, does that mean I shouldn't use my US charger there with an adapter?

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

It can handle it, all you need is a plug adapter.

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

All new switch-mode chargers from Nokia are multi-voltage (100V-240V) as far as I know. The N900 one certainly is, as is the N800 one, and any other I've seen. Switch-mode chargers in general are usually 100V-240V, not only Nokia ones. I have lots (Palm, Sharp, TomTom, Sony Ericsson, and more) and they are all 100V-240V.

For technical reasons it's much easier to design a switch-mode supply as multi-voltage, compared to older non-switch-mode chargers. The old, cube-shaped, heavy, non-switch-mode Nokia chargers weren't multi-voltage, at least not the old low-voltage ones (3.7V output instead of 5V).

Re: Is the N900's US version wall charger 220V compatible ?
 

Hopefully this thread has been answered. Considering the question could have been answered by reading the instructions that ship with the phone or even the label on the charger itself, I think it is safe to assume the device will work on either voltage setting. I have the US version in germany. The charger has been working since day one.

Most electronics nowadays with a global appeal are manufactured with an auto switching power supply as a way to cut fabrication cost amongst regions.

If your charger pops, blows up, etc. then you've misread the label on it, and it was never intended to be used at that voltage. The transformer issue mute point in this thread. No transformer is necessary.

If you ever wonder with any of your electronics just look for the 110(120)-240V sign (sometiems the - is a wavy line instead, means teh same thing) and you'll know it's auto switching. You just need a plug adapter and your set.

2d