Stepdown converter required for 100V cabs?

[Nick Goracke]

Noob question, but I'm scared to power up the Blast City that I just received... I use a stepdown transformer for the rice cooker we brought back from Japan... am I crazy to think that the cab needs one too?

(Located in the US, PSU rated 100V)

 

[cgbartek]

I have had several Japanese cabs for years and have never used a transformer. I've had people tell me it's sorta like overclocking a PC... you're giving the monitor and PSU slightly more juice than it's rated for, and might shave a year off its lifespan at worst, but it's nothing really to worry about. AC appliances are generally designed to take 90-130v comfortably. That said, it wouldn't hurt to use one, but you may not even make the investment back on the transformer in the long run.

Short answer, fire it up and have fun.

 

[lantus360]

Just plug it in - 100v is perfectly fine

and welcome to the club

 

[Nick Goracke]

Thanks folks. I would like to pick one up a transformer in anticipation of picking up at least one more JP cab in the future (trying to find out how many "watts" the PSU is rated for - if anyone has this info I would appreciate it)... but at least I feel OK about firing it up now.

 

[Tacitus]

It's a 10% difference, not terribly. Ad.

It would affect older cabs more than new ones.

I believe it may have contributed to one of my monitor chassis' blowing, but it was already on the way out.

 

[cgbartek]

A Blast City should be no more than 140w, and I think you need at least double the rated watts on your stepdown for breathing room. So if you plan to buy multiple cabs, I guess go ahead and get a 1000w one so you have room to grow. It'll cost you, but at least it's peace of mind. This thread is actually making me think about buying a stepdown....

 

[ChuChu Flamingo]

I would make sure you have a good surge protector first (no not the ones at wal-mart), as that would be my first priority.

120V to 100V doesn't sound like a lot but it is 20% (+- 10% depending on fluctuation) more power than normal. So the power supply and monitor is gonna be working that much harder when it is using that voltage.

I do know a lot of these power supplies/monitors usually have a input voltage of like 90V-133ish. One has to keep in mind that these power supplies and monitors are getting pretty old and not in the best shape to take that punishment.

So yeah if I had a few candy cabinets, I don't see why it would be absurd to buy a $100 step down converter. I also know some cabinets are picky about input voltage (AWSD comes to mind).