I have couple of japanese players waiting for testing and usage but as I live in europe I need to drop the voltage before wiring them up. The problem is that all of those machines are made originally for japan-only markets so they're rated strictly for 100V, but all the step down converters available at local shops are ment for US electronics with 110-120V rated output. What kind of experiences people here have, are the internal power 100V supplies of the players capable to take such a load or should I start to scavenge eBay for properly rated converters?

Also, when I already took a peek on international marketplaces I found several types of (probably chinese bulk) converters which looked good by the specs, but for some reason their product descriptions said they are "not suitable for electronic devices or computers". I just wonder what's the reason behind this, in most cases they had rather high watt rating so do these units produce too unstable output for other devices than simple motor-based things like hairdryers or what's the fuzz?

i had to find a 110-220 to 100 step down converter.
it was hard to find and cost 3-4 times the amount the regular 110-220 cost.
i think i paid around 60 bucks for mine over 10 years ago.

get the right thing unless you have a R7G type player, then all you would need would be the 110-220 step down.

________________________________
the rein-o official signature:

The adapters not rated for computer use probably don't either provide a stable enough voltage, and/or change the cycle rate from 50 to 60.

terve terve

i have one of these Tacima stepdown converters, it works great on my Pioneer R7G.
mine is a Tacima 300VA, this one on Ebay is Tacima 500VA maybe an overkill for you but what the heck, this is HQ stuff!
however I had to buy an adapter plug to fit my svenska outlet.

get a quality stepdown converter it will pay off for long time.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tacima-500VA- ... 4d2b4b140a

Modern power supplies can be quite forgiving. The Japanese electric system is a strange mixture of 100V 50hz and 100V 60hz, so anything Japanese designed has to suffer a fair variation of supply.

I've actually run a 240v spec CLD-D925 on Japanese wall power, and it was fine until it hit the side change, at which point it froze until I fed it with stepped-up 220v, which unfroze it.

I've never run Japanese players on 110-120v, but I wouldn't lose that much sleep about trying it.

On the other hand, if you are worried, you can always buy a Japanese specific converter like this.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A0%E3%83%A9-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%83%E3%83%97%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9-100V%E2%87%94AC220V~240V-150W-TI-29/dp/B00170GJHA/ref=sr_1_2?s=home&ie=UTF8&qid=1421579837&sr=1-2&keywords=100V%E2%87%94AC220V~240V

Most of them are bi-directional - i.e. 240v to 220v ->100v and vice versa. Amazon jp has an english language mode or you can just run it through chrome in translate mode.

I have most of my Hifi gear composed of Japanese devices (from Japan market) so I bite the bullet and got myself the proper 230 -> 100V converter at 1000VA power. No need to worry now.

In Singapore I could find the proper converter that has both 220 -> 110V and 220 -> 100V modes.
In Europe I couldn't easily find one and had to ask a Paris electronic retailing shop to order a custom 230 -> 100V transfo for me.

I couldn't pass on the "real" 100V because the HLD-X9 really doesn't like working on 110-120V, you will get all kinds of weird video and sound glitches.

Not recommended.

Julien

Thanks for all the advices, after a bit of digging I managed to find singaporean eBay seller who had proper 100V converters in stock and placed an order for a pair: I already got 110V one from local markets but I'll keep off from testing the devices with it for now. Meanwhile, here's the list of players just for the case that someone has already checked whether the transformers inside have different rating markings, I'm limping with sticks due the recent accident so I don't feel like carrying them on my work table for autopsy purposes at the moment.

- Pioneer DVL-9
- National DiscLord DP-300
- Victor HD-9500

I have hand made a few toroid transformers for laserdisc fans in sweden, winding the secondary side to customers specifications but you can also buy
the bare transformer from link below if you have knowledge with electricity and can find a suitable box and US output connectors for it.

https://www.elfaelektroniikka.fi/elfa3~fi_fi/elfa/init.do?toc=18841&pageSize=10&filterClause=COL_2%253D50%2520VAC(2x)

Connect the two 50V windings in seriell and you will have 100V out.

//Birdie

I cannot confirm it, but it's very likely the DVL-9 will handle 110-120V just fine, it was made around the same time as the R7G. You'll have to open it up and get the part # of the power supply to make it easier to confirm.

I even saw a picture online of a multi-voltage DVL-9 that wouldn't need a transformer at all!

My soldering skills are on the same level with any given national disaster so I prefer to steer away from anything that can cause a big smoke in the case of failure, but thanks for the tip


I know such a beasts exist but mine isn't one of them, first owner imported it from Japan - IIRC those "multi" versions were manufactured for other regions - and there's no voltage selector or any indication about variable input voltages in the type plate.