Safest way to use Japanese consoles in the US?

[SuperMew98]

Hi everybody,

I have a question. I own a Famicom, along with a few other Japanese consoles, and being in the States, I was wondering what the safest way to use these 100v electronics in 120v sockets would be. I don't use these things on a daily basis, but I don't want to have them taking in more voltage than they need to on the days I do use them.

Just recently, I stumbled upon this Amazon link for a 100v-120v step up/down transformer (http://www.amazon.com/VCT-VT-1000J-Japanese-Transformer-Converts/dp/B000PC4SVU) and was curious if this would be the best way to go. It is fairly expensive, but I would rather pay for that than to have to pay for another AC adapter for my stuff.

Best regards,
SuperMew98

[HVC-Man]

Safest way would be to skip the extra transformer and use American 120v AC adapters that are compatible with your Japanese consoles.

The only significant harm in using Japanese adapters in USA wall outlets is an increase in heat generation and possible shortness of life expectancy in the equipment in question.

[UglyJoe]

Just recently, I stumbled upon this Amazon link for a 100v-120v step up/down transformer (http://www.amazon.com/VCT-VT-1000J-Japanese-Transformer-Converts/dp/B000PC4SVU) and was curious if this would be the best way to go. It is fairly expensive, but I would rather pay for that than to have to pay for another AC adapter for my stuff.

I'm no electronics expert, but I'm fairly certain you're not going to need to worry about your game consoles pulling 1000 watts.  I use a step down transformer rated for 100 watts and have had zero issues.  I have a power strip plugged into it so that I can protect the Famicom and the Disk System (and occasionally a PC Engine).  The ones rated for lower wattage are usually less expensive, too.

Mine is a PowerBright VC-100J, for reference, although I don't know if they make this exact model anymore.

[P]

Yeah Power (in watt) is just Current (in ampere) x Voltage (in volt). You don't need to be worried that it's higher than what the console uses. Just worry that it's not lower. So Famicom with stock AC-DC adapter only needs 10 V x 0.85 A =  8.5 W, so a 100 Watt step-down is more than enough power for Famicom (PS4 probably needs more than 100 W though) and should be safe to use.

You can increase the current (for example Everdrive may need more current), and use a 1 A AC-DC adapter (10 V x 1 A = 10 W, the 100 W step-down is still more than enough), as long as the voltage output is 10 V.

[SuperMew98]

Ah, I see. Thank you all for your help! I just wanted to make sure before losing a console or power adapter