OT: 120/240 converter?

[Ben N]

It looks like I will be living abroad for a bit, so I will be needing juice for amps, pedalboard, variac, etc. (not to mention kitchen appliances ).  So I would like to make a power supply unit for the music room with a big honkin' step-down transformer rated high enough to handle a couple of amps, a small PA and a small stereo, and buiild in a circuit breaker, heavy duty power strip, and maybe some kind of AC filtering/surge suppression.

Can anybody give me some info/links as to how to design/build/wire/lay out such a thing safely and effectively?  Leads for the right parts (transformers, Euro plugs, circuit breaker)?  Other than home lights, I haven't done much with mains voltage, and I want to make sure I have it right before mucking around with this sort of thing.

Also, can someone tell m how to calculate the power rating I would need?

Thanks,

Ben

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

www.jameco.com have a good range of reasonably priced converters.
One thing to remember: take powerboards with you. Because, you will NEVER get a USA plugboard outside USA!!4444444444444`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`4`````
Right, the cat just stood on the keyboard.. how did it do that? Anyway...
I have a large 220 to 110 transformer here (Australia) that I use for testing USA stuff.
The power rating, is equal to the total power rating of the stuff you are using , so if you are talking amplifiers, it can get BIG and HEAVY. How long are you away?
Some of your stuff might have internal switches for 230/115.

[Hal]

if you need a lot of high wattage stuff, you might want to look into a 120v - 12vdc supply, and a 12vdc "inverter" up to 220v.  A lot of the transformers I've seen have been extremely expensive, and some of this stuff isn't too bad.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

That's an ingenious solution, Hal. Assuming that the 120 to 12V dc was switchmode, you could save some weight there. But the inverter part would have to be fairly sophisticated, or else the iron in it's output transformer, would weigh as much as a straight step up transformer.
Plus, anythin might happen when you connect the two together, unless there is a battery there to smooth the DC out. An inverter isn't going to present a 'well behaved' load to anything!

[Ben N]

Thanks for the responses, guys.  Paul, I wasn't able to find anything at Jameco--maybe I wasn't looking in the right place?  Also, anyone know where to find Euro-style plugs?

Also, I was hoping someopne could point me in the direction of a wiring diagram or the like.  In particular, I'm a little nervous about how the in and out grounds are handled.

Ben

[Ben N]

Maybe this is one of those things that don't make sense to DIY?

http://www.dvdoverseas.com/store/index.html?catalog7_0.html

Whadd'ya think?  They also have 100 and 500 watters.

Ben