Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Voltage/Power Issues

Hello all....
Long time reader of the forum but first time posting.
Just wanted to start out by thanking all of you for all of the valuble information gathered here in helping me pick the right speakers for my HT.
My Axiom M60s and VP150 are absolutely incredible.....very happy ....QS8's down the road!!!
Now maybe some of you can help me with my technical question.
My wife is in the Air Force and we have just received orders to go to Germany (BEER!!). I know that they are 220 voltage over there. There will be transformers provided by the military (we plan to live off base). Will these transformers provide enough protection for my HT gear or do you think that I should buy higher quality equipment here.
Would a Panamax 5300 surge protector or maybe a Monster Power AVS2000 help in this situation?
Anybody ever have a similar situation???
Any help is appreciated....
Thanks

Howdy, I would love to help you but I don't have a clue on power as far as Germany goes. If they have problems with spikes and surges etc, get the Panamax. Better safe then sorry! Will the Panamax do 220?

My experience in Germany is (yikes) 20 years in the past, but we were living on base and never had a problem with any appliance, equipment, etc. The transformers worked fine.

With friends in Germany/Denmark and all over Western Europe with computers and other fine electronics, I'm sure their power is just as reliable as in the 49 states that aren't California.

The one thing to mention is that the US has a lower "at the outlet" voltage for nominal 120v than Canada (and possibly other countries) does... by 6-8 volts. So I was told by the E/E at the arena when I was laughing about the American made light fixture I just put up that is rated for three 60s in the US and three 40s in Canada. I thought the CSA were just being extra cautious.

Anyway, back to Europe... remember - your NTSC TV is no good there on a PAL system (or SECAM in France), and I'm not sure about Germany in particular, but most of Europe runs AC at 50 cycles (Hz) instead of 60Hz here... so appliances that clock relative to AC will run slow.

Bren R.

I was in the Air Force for 20 years and lived most everywhere. I found that Europe had pretty reliable voltage, but I would recommend that you have some protection. You have a large investment and they like us have issues at times.
I had a multi-system TV and VCR then, and since I traveled so much I always made sure that most equipment was 110/220. I found most electronics still worked, (Using a transformer) but the clocks were always slow, if they were not rated for 50Hz.

And while you're in the fatherland, send me back a new Bayern München Champions League jersey.

Bren R.