buying electronics in Florida

**letournerie** · 07-12-2009, 20:23

I just don't know anymore. I know certain electronics can be bought in Florida and they will work in Europe. Some things will not work here, like dvd's.
How about: Wii games, iPod Nano, buying a laptop, Nintendo DS, camera?
Does that give problems?
Thanks, Renee

**CERICROWLEY** · 07-12-2009, 20:30

Wii games: no
Ipod nano yes as you plug it into your usb port
laptop they should work. put you need to check the transformer to see and the keyboard layout will be different
Nintendo ds, havent a clue.
camera, you will need to change the transformer probably, you can get these from the camera shops as replacement etc, although may work with an adaptor

**mfairhurst** · 07-12-2009, 20:36

We have a Sensco coffee maker in our villa does anyone know if we brought it back with us can you get a plug to change voltage into the UK one ?
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

**Dads_Taxi** · 07-12-2009, 20:51

Most things these days are supplied with power supplies and chargers that can cope with supply voltages of 100 - 240 V. That will cover most of the world! If you buy anything, check the input voltage marked on it. Don't forget plug-top power supplies and chargers will be useless even if they are multi-voltage as they will be USA plugs.

The main issue therefore is display standards - so anything that is designed to be displayed on a TV - DVDs, console games, will not be 100% compatible with European equipment. lots of European TVs will display the American TV standard, and DVD players can be modified to play American discs, but unless you know for certain your kit can cope with non-European discs it's not worth the risk.

Ceri's comment about laptop keyboard layout is a very good point, it would be very different.

I'm intrigued myself about Nintendo DS compatibility, I may research that some more!

**SDJ** · 07-12-2009, 21:03

Nintendo DS work in UK if purchased in US. I brough 2 back last Xmas. You just need to buy an adaptor when you are in UK. No problems.

**Katys Grandad** · 07-12-2009, 21:16

When you say "in Europe" Renee I'm far from sure that the answers you've been given related to UK use are relevant to "Europe" as a whole.

Judging by your profile, I'm assuming that the main use will be in France so I'm not qualified to answer your question but it is definitely worth checking out whether the savings (if there are any) are worthwhile. It's by no means always the case.

**letournerie** · 07-12-2009, 21:34

Thanks Katies Grandad, I think I learned what I needed to know. My daughters want to look for an iPod so that shouldn't be a problem. I also learned that I don't have to buy Wii games, what a shame. Nor dvds.
As for a keyboard, we use a qwerty (being Dutch) but my girls use azerty (being in a French school), I am curious to see what they look like in the US.

I think that most modern appliances will work on 110 and 220 volts. I am actually considering buying a machine to clean the floor with over there. It should fit in my suitcase nd it doesn't weigh much either, but I'll check when we're there.
Thanks for your replies!
Renee

**Sniff** · 07-12-2009, 23:47

Actually there is very little difference between a US keyboard and a UK keyboard. They are both QWERTY layout, and although the US keyboard will not have a UK £ sign this is not usually a problem (often Alt 0163 will work). It is certainly not different enough to make it a problem - in fact I am typing this post on a US keyboard, and at work I use a German QWERTZ keyboard. Only special characters like £ and € are an issue, and these are used so infrequently that it's easy to work around it with the keyboard shortcuts.

Take a look here for more info on various keyboard layouts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout

As for DVDs, almost any TV made in Europe in the past 10 years can handle a NTSC signal (or PAL, or SECAM). You need to consider if your DVD player will play Region 1 discs, but many will. Ironically this is more likely on the cheaper models...most models from China/Taiwan will be multi-region out of the box, or hackable via a few simple commands on the remote. Models from more mainstream manufacturers tend to adhere more to the film studios insistence on regional coding, but even here they can be hacked via simple (albeit guarantee-breaking) hardware changes.

**Laurel Oak** · 08-12-2009, 00:21

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by mfairhurst
We have a Sensco coffee maker in our villa does anyone know if we brought it back with us can you get a plug to change voltage into the UK one ?
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

[/quote]

I bought an adaptor from Radio Shack which drops the voltage down to 110 volts when I bought an illuninated Tinkerbell for the top of the Christmas Tree. It will work anywhere in Europe.