Do you use a step down converter for Japanese consoles?

[ianoid]

Obviously I live in the US, and I know I COULD plug in those weird Japanese consoles (and not so weird ones) and they would work , but is it safe to do so? Will my 110v wall current cause problems for the milder voltaged 100v Jap stuff?

Any suggestions for a converter, if you use one?

[DDCecil]

I've been using my Japanese Saturn for 5 years and my PC Engine for 2 years, and they haven't had any problems yet...

[BenT]

I've heard some people say that, over time, appliances become conditioned to the electrical traits of the region they're used in. This line of thought then stipulates that a newly manufactured Japanese console will do fine in the US, while one that's been used a lot in Japan may benefit from a stepdown converter when brought to the States.

Myself, I don't bother with stepdowns, and have had no problems so far.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I have a U.S. PSone and a Japanese PSone sitting side by side, and swap the power, controller and A/V cables when I want to play one console or the other. I've been doing this for quite a while, no ill effects.

[Charlie]

For Famicom games, I just use a Famicom clone. For Super Famicom games, I use a SNES Game Genie with the tabs broken off (and I don't put codes in, I just press start). For the N64, I have a converter. For the DC, I use a Gameshark.

Everything else I have imports don't have territorial lock out.

[Sylentwulf]

Charlie? Power. Electric Current.

I wouldn't worry about it, I've always used straight US current.