# Electronics US to Dubai



## SoccerMom (Jan 12, 2012)

I know nothing about converting boxes, adaptors and voltage. Reading other threads regarding bringing my US electronics has completely confused me. So many answers are contradicting each other!

We just bought a new a huge Plasma HD 3D TV, a small LED HD Tv and a bluRay player less than a month ago. (before Dubai was offered) We spent a bunch of money so I will be extremely sad if we need to leave them at home. I would love to hear that we can use these items without damaging them with the high voltage. So, If we bring them what do we need to make them work safely? 
Please Help, Our kids will be lost without their dvds.

Also on smaller kitchen electronics such as coffee maker and panini press would a large step down converter work well? The panini press says 12VAC 60Hz 1500w and coffee maker says 850w.


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## Use Caution (Aug 12, 2011)

What you will need to do is look on the back of each item you want to bring for the specifications list. It could be underneath - look for the Input number: The voltage is what you are checking. Newer items such as your TV's etc should read something like the following:

Input (or Power Rating): 220v to 240v

This is for electronics I have purchased in NZ and Australia. Now your items should state they are capable of handling anything from 100 - 240v. If they do you are good to go. No need for power transformers etc. The only issues you might find are that your american wall plug may not fit. I always take a handful of universal wall plugs with me, to play the mix and match game with the wall sockets.

In summary - UAE uses voltage of 220v - so you need to ensure your items will handle that electricity by reading the specs of the individual item. If it can handle anything over 220v you are fine. If you don't you will get the familiar sounding 'pop' and then some smoke. I have blown about 3 american brought Xbox's, by forgetting where I was in the world.

Link for info: http://www.voltageplugregion.com/countries/u


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## indoMLA (Feb 6, 2011)

SoccerMom said:


> I know nothing about converting boxes, adaptors and voltage. Reading other threads regarding bringing my US electronics has completely confused me. So many answers are contradicting each other!
> 
> We just bought a new a huge Plasma HD 3D TV, a small LED HD Tv and a bluRay player less than a month ago. (before Dubai was offered) We spent a bunch of money so I will be extremely sad if we need to leave them at home. I would love to hear that we can use these items without damaging them with the high voltage. So, If we bring them what do we need to make them work safely?
> Please Help, Our kids will be lost without their dvds.
> ...


You got a couple of issues that need to be addressed here.... the first one is the fact that you have some electronics big and small that you want to bring over and the good news is that you can with little difficulty. Yes, you will need to buy a step down converter that can handle all your units, but in most cases you might need to buy multiple step downs (can't really use one unit to power the living room and kitchen electronics - would be cables everywhere). As the other poster said, you will need to check your devices and see if they need to be on a step down. Some electronics can handle both 110 (the US voltage) and 220 (the rest of the world's voltage). Most laptops, computers, cellphone chargers, hard drives, etc. can handle both 110-240v (basically, any device that is made overseas for an overseas market will handle both). Now your other small electronics (hair driers, clippers, home telephones, toasters, etc. may not be able to handle it) they will need the step down. 

How to pick a step down is easy (or at least I am told). Add the wattage from all the units you are looking to put on one step down and that is the size of the step down you will need. For example, your panini press is 1500w and the coffee maker is 850w, so 1500w+850w=2350w. If these are the only two units that need to be powered then you need to find a step down that can handle at least 2350w (most likely you will buy a unit that is rated at 2400w).

The other issue you are going to run into is about the TVs and bluray players. I know you spent a lot of money on them but this might be a loss. In the US the encoding system we use is NTSC, the rest of the world uses PAL. As such, most of the movies we buy, rent, etc. back home are encoded NTSC which our tvs and bluray players can handle and decode (since they are the same way). The tv signals (cable and satellite) are broadcast in PAL in Dubai. Since you are saying that this tv is fairly new check to see if the tv has a built-in converter (some modern televisions have the ability to handle both PAL and NTSC). Also check to see if your bluray player can be unlocked (i.e. removing the region code lock) thus enabling you to play all types of discs from multiple regions. If none of the above works, then you can buy a NTSC to PAL converter (from the US, forget about 'trying to find' it here) and you might need to get a new bluray player.

Good Luck and I hope I helped (in any small way).


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Always get a larger step down. Like I have a 1000w on a 250 watt aquarium light. And a 1500 on a 800 watt coffee machine. I dont plug all my american stuff in at once. Bring a crock pot if you use it. The cheapest I found was 200 dirhams! And was no better then a 20$ one from walmart.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

Are step downs readily available in Dubai or should I bring one with me?


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

They are available. I just paid 80 AED for a 500 watt one with 4 plugs at Geant the other day.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

fcjb1970 said:


> They are available. I just paid 80 AED for a 500 watt one with 4 plugs at Geant the other day.


Thanks, I was bringing a desktop to use in my apartment but noticed yesterday the computer and monitor are both 120/220.

I don't think I will be bringing anything else that I am worried about but good to know.


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

I would bring the transformers from US. I particularly do not like the quality of the power transformers in the UAE. Better buy something good even pay more more back home because you might burn your devices down the road.


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