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    I need a hand From Aussie and North American T61 owners!

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by shein_98, Jun 13, 2007.

  1. shein_98

    shein_98 Notebook Guru

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    I'm from Canada and have ordered a T61 online. I am moving to Australia for a few months and am concerned about voltages. A Lenovo rep told me the T61 powerbrick handles 110V-220V. Problem: I've read that Australia is 240V. The rep tells me that the Aussie power cords are identical to the North American ones - they just have a different plug. I'm skeptical.

    If you live in Australia and own a T61: Can you tell me what the voltage range on your powerbrick reads?

    If you are a North American T61 owner: Can you tell me if your voltage range is 110V-220V or if it goes up to 240V?

    If you're just plain badass, and know your sh!t: If I use a 110-220 powercord in a 240 plug, am I going fry my laptop?

    Thanks a ton!
     
  2. Jeff

    Jeff Notebook Retard

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    240v in oz will run a 220v cord, it will just be at a slightly higher current which the laptop should rectify with series resistors :D thats what the psu's for desktops do, so i would assume laptops would do the same thing. to further justify this, australia is a comparitively small market, and they couldn't be bothered making a few laptops for 240v so they will just make the 220v ones run on 240v. i'm about 99% sure anyway.
     
  3. shein_98

    shein_98 Notebook Guru

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    Ok that would be awesome. Is there anyone else who can confirm this or shed any more light on my inquiry?
     
  4. cobalic

    cobalic Notebook Evangelist

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    All I can say is my sister tried that with awful results.

    She owns a Gateway, and lives in Israel. She just bought one of those adapters - not a converter - and plugged it in. Long story short, the battery is wrecked and the machine runs very hot.

    Buy a converter and spare yourself the headache.
     
  5. shein_98

    shein_98 Notebook Guru

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    Converters weigh like 4.5 bloody pounds...I don't want to carry that around law school. If the cord won't work, then I'm canceling my order and buying an ASUS :(
     
  6. cobalic

    cobalic Notebook Evangelist

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    I dunno. It might be type-specific, but I doubt it. I find it unlikely that essentially doubling the voltage will have a negligible effect on your laptop. Sucks. :(
     
  7. xefitnop

    xefitnop Newbie

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    shein - Your T61 adapter will work on 240V. You will need a new power cord for it. Order IBM P/N 42T5050 or 42T5135 if you want to play by the book, or just drop by the nearest electronics store when you're in AU and pick up a cord.

    FYI - The adapter most likely uses either an IEC C5 or C7 connector. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_connector

    lordgoof - Modern PSUs don't use series resistors - they simply adjust the switching duty cycle to compensate for variations in the line voltage. But you have it in principle.

    In general - avoid any small or light 'switching' converter for your laptop. If they're poorly designed they can throw off enough noise to wreak havoc on a laptop. This may have been what happened to cobalic's sister. Either get the proper local power cord for your laptop's "universal" AC adapter or get one of the heavy transformer-based voltage converters.
     
  8. Jeff

    Jeff Notebook Retard

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    i don't recall saying anything about doubling the volatage, 240/220=1.09 quite a small difference. all i know is that the settings on my psu are 140v(somewhere around there) and 220v, and i use 220v on the 240v supply.

    Edit: i just did some research and your sales guy is right. 220v american power cords and 240v aussie power cords are the same. you can buy adapters that you plug your american cord into that will then go into our power points.
     
  9. shein_98

    shein_98 Notebook Guru

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    I don't know man, I just checked out Lenovo Australia's website and the voltage on their adapter for the T61 is 100-240V. http://www-604.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...goryId=13865532&productId=4611686018425067971

    Did your research indicate that Oz-Lenovo was simply printing 100-240V on the identical cords as the North American cords which read 110-220V?
     
  10. shein_98

    shein_98 Notebook Guru

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    I hate to do this, but I think I'm going to have to go for the Asus W3J. As much as I want the T61, I can't afford to piss around trying to get the right cords when I get to Australia, nor can I risk frying the system.
     
  11. spike229

    spike229 Notebook Consultant

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    it would be interesting if there are regulations in the us that say they have to put 110/220V as opposed to 240V. aren't there 220V lines in most homes for washing machines and/or clothes driers? could this be why they say 220V so as to not confuse their customers?
     
  12. Jeff

    Jeff Notebook Retard

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