American SNES in Europe? Need some help...

[Choopar]

I just recently moved to Germany, and brought my SNES along with me. I tried to hook it up to a simple US-European plug adapter, but it didn't work. I did some googling and found an older thread here that suggested buying a 50 watt stepdown converter. I bought one the other day, and still no luck...I'm beginning to think that it could have been broken on the way over here, but I still have some hope that I bought the wrong thing or could be doing something wrong. I know nothing about this kind of stuff, so I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm really dying to play it again, and I'm hoping I don't have to wait until I'm back in America to do that... :/

I hope I posted this in the right place. If not, would the mods kindly move it where it should be? :)

[theclaw]

If you plugged it into a 240v power source (I dunno about Germany), that might be what broke something. Units expecting 120v aren't likely to survive long that way.

[Mayhem]

Yeah, Claw might be right, you could have blown something inside or the transformer itself. Sadly PAL SNES power supplies don't work on US SNES either (different plug into the SNES), so you'll probably need to find a US replacement to cross that off the list.

I run a US SNES here, but using a UK Megadrive power supply with adapter, which was apparently a reasonably common solution back in the early 90s.

[Choopar]

Yeah, Claw might be right, you could have blown something inside or the transformer itself. Sadly PAL SNES power supplies don't work on US SNES either (different plug into the SNES), so you'll probably need to find a US replacement to cross that off the list.

I run a US SNES here, but using a UK Megadrive power supply with adapter, which was apparently a reasonably common solution back in the early 90s.Well crap...is there any way to know that's what happened for sure? I tripped the circuit breaker in the apartment as soon as I plugged it in, and never even had a chance to try to turn it on. Dunno if that makes a difference...I'm still hoping I might have just bought the wrong kind of stepdown converter or something.

On the back of the SNES power cable, it says:

Input: AC120V 60 Hz 17 W
Output: DC10V 850mA

and on the back of the stepdown converter, it says:

Input: 220/240V AC 55W 50 Hz
Output:110/120V AC 60 Hz

Like I said, I don't know anything about this, so SHOULD it work? If I didn't blow something inside and hopefully just bought the wrong thing, I did find a power cable for a European Megadrive for even cheaper than I bought the stepdown converter. Also, what kind of adapter do you need to use it?

Thanks so much for your responses.

[Choopar]

Double post, sorry.

[tom]

It is not wise to plug in a 120V device into a 220V socket (that's what we use in DE), if you turned it on, either the PSU is blown or worse, some chips the SNES are fried.
So you should have bought a stepdown converter first before trying out the SNES with just a US/EU plug adapter.

Something like that seen on the right:
http://roomofdoom.powweb.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=193638&g2_serialNumber=2

[Choopar]

It is not wise to plug in a 120V device into a 220V socket (that's what we use in DE), if you turned it on, either the PSU is blown or worse, some chips the SNES are fried.
So you should have bought a stepdown converter first before trying out the SNES with just a US/EU plug adapter.Phew! Well I never even got the chance to turn it on before I tripped the circuit breaker, so that's a good thing. Any other ideas on what it could be?

I never knew I could do any damage when plugging something to the wrong type of socket, so that's really good to know. Pretty stupid of me coming to another country not knowing that, but at least I do now, lol.

[tom]

So you probably just blown the PSU by plugging it into the 220V socket, did it smell a bit burned-like?
Try what Mayhem said, get a Megadrive PSU (maybe even from UK via ebay, with a UK/EU adapter you should be fine).

Here's hoping.

Second thing is, make sure the German PAL-B TV has a NTSC option.

[Choopar]

So you probably just blown the PSU by plugging it into the 220V socket, did it smell a bit burned-like?
Try what Mayhem said, get a Megadrive PSU (maybe even from UK via ebay, with a UK/EU adapter you should be fine).

Here's hoping.

Second thing is, make sure the German PAL-B TV has a NTSC option.Nope, nothing smelled burned at all. Also does it have to be from the UK? Because I saw a Megadrive power cable on eBay for ten bucks, and I guess that would mean I wouldn't need an adapter to go with it. I just want to be sure that it would work. Would this (http://cgi.ebay.de/Stromkabel-Trafo-Netzteil-Sega-Mega-Drive-MegaDrive-/320688340040?pt=de_entertainment_games&hash=item4aaa83bc48#ht_2314wt_991) do the trick?

And about the NTSC option on the TV...I also brought my American Xbox 360 along with me, which works fine on the TV, so I guess it does have the option. Thanks so much for all the help so far!

[theclaw]

So you probably just blown the PSU by plugging it into the 220V socket, did it smell a bit burned-like?
Try what Mayhem said, get a Megadrive PSU (maybe even from UK via ebay, with a UK/EU adapter you should be fine).

Here's hoping.

Second thing is, make sure the German PAL-B TV has a NTSC option.

Perhaps but he owns an American SNES. You know, the one with Nintendo's strange connector. Where would he find an adapter to use a Megadrive plug?

[tom]

True.

[Enigmus]

The Mega Drive PSU is for the European SNES, an US one needs either the official box or a splice job using a PSU with the needed voltage/polarity and the power connection cord from a Dell laptop's PSU (my PSU for splicing is a LA65NS0-00, plug fits in the US SNES- not sure on the middle pin).

Post # 1,994- drummers start setting up for the drum roll.

[Parodius Duh!]

you need an NTSC television anyway if you want to see anything. At least with PAL gaming shit in America thats usually the case. Id assume its the same over there. Especially older stuff, thats prob why the Xbox works but not your SNES.

[Mayhem]

The stepdown would work fine from those specs, so if you're not getting a picture, it either means the SNES isn't working, the transformer is now not working, or you're not connecting it to the TV properly. 99% of TVs in Europe made in the last 10 years can handle an NTSC signal through AV perfectly fine, as you noticed trying to use your 360 here. So I'm ruling the third option out as you can obviously connect consoles to the TV without issue, which leaves either of the first two.

Just to note so I can clear up the confusion, when I bought my US SNES here, it was supplied with a Megadrive power supply with an adapter to enable it to be plugged into the console. Apparently that was a common solution back in the early 90s for imports. Sadly as I said, the PAL SNES transformer doesn't work with the US model due to different connections at the back of the console. The reason the US 360 was fine is because modern transformers are multi voltage, whereas back then, they were not. So just using a plug adapter on the 360 transformer to use it in Europe works fine.

So really the first step you need to diagnosing what's gone wrong is getting another US SNES transformer, plugging it into the wall using the stepdown and see if you get it working...

[Parodius Duh!]

why is Europe using such high voltage anyway?

[pixelsnpolygons]

Hope you get it resolved - seems like there's some pretty knowledgeable replies here.
I remember when I imported my Dreamcast from the US to Australia and had no idea about step-down converters or even that different countries used different voltages. I plugged it in excited to play some Soul Calibur and... something blew, some little piece I never found went flying out and plumes of black smoke seeped out of it. There was some sort of liquid all around the inside of lid, too. I felt sick to my stomach. I went and purchased a step down converter in hopes that it wasn't completely destroyed and to my surprise it actually kept working for well over a year. There was seemingly nothing wrong with it despite suffering what must have been some sort of decent damage. So I'm sure everything will work out for you - you had no smoke, leakage or projectiles flying out so that's a plus.

[tom]

example picture,
step down transformers on my Teradrive (seen on the right hand side in the pic):
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=193638&g2_serialNumber=2


There's a multi voltage SNES PSU on US ebay at the moment, but for $40, phew...
http://cgi.ebay.de/AC-ADAPTER-POWER-CORD-FOR-SUPER-NINTENDO-NES-SNES-US-/190465210497?pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item2c589c7881

[Oldskool]

Tom, you just posted a picture of your Tera Drive to make me drool didn't you.. not nice. Not nice at all!!

[Choopar]

The stepdown would work fine from those specs, so if you're not getting a picture, it either means the SNES isn't working, the transformer is now not working, or you're not connecting it to the TV properly. 99% of TVs in Europe made in the last 10 years can handle an NTSC signal through AV perfectly fine, as you noticed trying to use your 360 here. So I'm ruling the third option out as you can obviously connect consoles to the TV without issue, which leaves either of the first two.

Just to note so I can clear up the confusion, when I bought my US SNES here, it was supplied with a Megadrive power supply with an adapter to enable it to be plugged into the console. Apparently that was a common solution back in the early 90s for imports. Sadly as I said, the PAL SNES transformer doesn't work with the US model due to different connections at the back of the console. The reason the US 360 was fine is because modern transformers are multi voltage, whereas back then, they were not. So just using a plug adapter on the 360 transformer to use it in Europe works fine.

So really the first step you need to diagnosing what's gone wrong is getting another US SNES transformer, plugging it into the wall using the stepdown and see if you get it working...Yeah, I'm 100% sure I'm hooking it up right, but I just can't even get it to turn on. Plus my TV is brand new, just got it a few weeks ago, so I'm sure it can handle an NTSC signal.

And now I know what you mean...I didn't know what kind of adapter you meant with the Megadrive power supply you have, but now I know it was for the console. So now it wouldn't make sense to buy one of those. And my 360 was the same actually, only the problem was easier to fix. I plugged it in and tripped the circuit breaker. Luckily my fiance had an extra European power cable, and unlike the SNES, the European cable fit the American Xbox and vice versa. Sigh...why can't it be that easy now?

Also, thanks for the link, Tom...I'd probably buy it if it wasn't so expensive.

I'm honestly thinking of buying a whole new SNES now. I'm still afraid of buying this and that to try to fix the problem, only to have the problem continue. It's a SNES I found at a thrift store like 5 years ago, so I can't know how well it was taken care of before I got it...probably not very well since it's all discolored and gross. It's always worked, but I could bump it or move it ever so slightly while it was on and have it shut off again. I've been worrying from the start that it could have been thrown around too much at the airport and they broke it...I don't know what I'm going to do. I didn't expect to get so many helpful replies, so thank you all so much for all your help! I'll update again when I buy what I need...or a whole new SNES. :/

[Ed Oscuro]

why is Europe using such high voltage anyway?
Long-range line transmission considerations, I believe.

Some information you might find interesting:
120v Vs 240v Power Input (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24176276-120v-Vs-240v-Power-Input) - "why not use 240v for the increased efficiency?
240v vs 120v equipment wiring? (http://www.rittercnc.com/metalworking/240v-vs-120v-equipment-wiring-419657-.htm) - "What are the benefits of running the tools at 240v"

And finally...Thomas Edison's War of Currents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents#Competition_outcome) against Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse. This is distinct from the question about 240V vs. 120V for line transmission, but you get some of the same arguments, i.e. "it's dangerous!" Orson Welles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um6bxoFUSO8) recreated the dramatic meeting between Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla (dunno why this is subbed; the version I saw before didn't have the introductory bit).

[Natty Bumppo]

The transformer is likely fried. In a case like this (higher voltage being fed into it instantly) it likely melted a wire leading into the coil - a transformer is pretty much just some copper wire wound up in a roll. It would likely not smell burnt since it didn't have a chance to overheat and melt the casing (which is why defective transformers smell and sometimes will have a
housing box that is deformed/melted.

Whether the SNES suffered any damage depends on what in the SNES is in line before the power switch. I am guessing that since the transformer went instantly the SNES is likely ok. (Some game systems have fuses in them located inline before the power switch - not sure if the SNES has one or not - if so it would have likely burned out.)

(The transformer would still have drawn some power even though the SNES was off (think of it as a water pipe that fills even though the faucet is turned off) - that fries the transformer
which causes a short circuit which then trips the circuit breaker. )

[badinsults]

If you plugged in the standard power supply into a raw 220 V power source, chances are your power supply is screwed.

I live in Australia, I bought 50 Watt transformer, and it works fine on my NA SNES. Chances are, you will need to buy a new power supply. Or you could possibly find something that connects to your SNES and provides the 10 V DC that it requires (PAL SNES requires 9V AC, so don't think you can just use a PAL SNES power supply).

[Choopar]

Problem solved! I asked my dad if he'd send me the power cable from his old SNES that he hasn't used since I was little. Just got it in the mail today, tested it, and everything works perfectly! I wouldn't have had any idea what could have been the problem or what to do without the advice from you guys. Thanks again so much.

Now I'm off to play some Donkey Kong. :)

[theclaw]

If you plugged in the standard power supply into a raw 220 V power source, chances are your power supply is screwed.

I live in Australia, I bought 50 Watt transformer, and it works fine on my NA SNES. Chances are, you will need to buy a new power supply. Or you could possibly find something that connects to your SNES and provides the 10 V DC that it requires (PAL SNES requires 9V AC, so don't think you can just use a PAL SNES power supply).

Yeah, no can do. The power plug won't even fit. PAL and NA SNES have a very different shape.

[Harmik]

Yeah, Claw might be right, you could have blown something inside or the transformer itself. Sadly PAL SNES power supplies don't work on US SNES either (different plug into the SNES), so you'll probably need to find a US replacement to cross that off the list.

I run a US SNES here, but using a UK Megadrive power supply with adapter, which was apparently a reasonably common solution back in the early 90s.

Do you know where to get an adapter now, I live in Autralia 240v and have some spear MD power supply's that I would rather use than the bulky step down I currently use.

[Mayhem]

I've no idea, sorry. The guys I bought my US SNES from way back bundled the UK Megadrive transformer and adapter with the console at the time. I never got a US power supply for it.