ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades "Esoteric" countries and their wiring practices?

I'm trying to improve my list of voltages. I just got a reply from the Maltese standards organization: Malta is now 230V too. This means that all new EU members are on 230V already. The possible exception is Cyprus, from which I expect to get a reply soon.

The Sony list has some interesting things.
What kind of thing is the Korea plug, Euro plug with 4.8mm pins? Do they use NEMA 1-15/round pin combo outlets?
And what is the D type plug? How can it be polarized with 2 equally sized prongs? It seems to be used in China.
Interesting they don't show any dimensions of the 13A plug!
What is the DRIT TV system??????? I only know NTSC, PAL and SECAM.

DRIT - North Korean, I'd hate to guess!

The symetrical polarised plug got me too. I'm sure they meant to say 'non' and not 'new'.

Help!
Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia is still on that list! And Spain has 127/220. Okay, Okay, I'm ready to believe anything!
Very accurate, good idea to have put that disclaimer on the top page!

The "Chinese" plug is obviously a typo.

It's the same as the American un-polarized plug, both are widely available here in NEMA-land. Of course they're all made in China now...

Check the dimensions of the unpolarized plug pins with the narrow pin of the "American" plug.

--

Spain:

I didn't know Spain had dropped the 120-volt system?

My mom lived in Spain for a while...in the 1970s while in school. She remembers having to switch the voltage on her portable radio depending on what area she was in at the time.

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N. Korea TV (DRIT):

Deceptive
Repulsive
Institutional
Television

[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 01-09-2003).]

Ermm... The Chinese plug has different manufacturing tolerances than the American or Japanese plug and it has no holes in the blades, as you can see. And yes, the Japanese plug is different from the American too. Otherwise it wouldn't meet the "barrier to trade" requirement that is imposed on all national technical standards. Electrical equipment sold in China must carry the "Great Wall" mark, just like you need a UL in the US. (They are working on this to allow any approval agency to use any mark.)

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 01-10-2003).]

Ragnar: Yes, the pins on the Korean "Euro"-plug ("Koro" plug???) has for some reason the same diameter (and pin spacing) as the Schuko plug. South Korea has seen the light and come to understand that the right way is Schuko and 220V, not NEMA and 110V.

Sven: Perhaps, PAL - Pay A Lot, had to be renamed in the socialist state of North Korea?

Seriously, guys, I have tried to find some information about North Korea, but I haven't. I have found out that 220V is used in Pyoungyang, but not which system it is derived from nor the frequency. The Sony site lists 60Hz, but I'm not overly impressed by the accuracy of the information.

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 01-10-2003).]

C-H:

Re. two-pin Chinese plug:

Welll....yes.

But if you compare the two, the difference is fractions of a millimeter. The "Chinese" version will fit a NEMA outlet and will make proper contact.

I The holes in the pins are optional. According to a NEMA document I found on-line that gives plug-blade dimensions and various configs, they're used for manufacturing purposes (to hang the little pins from a wire or clamp them while molding?)

Loads of stuff gets sold here with that plug. Myself, I have a 110-volt charger for a an electric shaver, a night light and a small glue-gun with that exact plug (with no holes). None of these are UL listed.

I've also seen extension cords with plugs with no holes in the blades and even some very old appliances (American made with American-made cordsets) that also don't have those little holes in the plug pins.

China also uses the Australian-style plug for appliances that require grounding I found out.

As far as the USA requiring UL.....hmmm....well....to be honest....it's optional.

It's a good MARKETING practice to get a UL symbol (and some places, like do insist on only using/having UL listed devices), but it is not necessary. Otherwise we wouldn't have all these non-UL listed appliances in the USA.

My computer stereo speakers are also not UL listed and these work directly off the 110-volt wall sockets with no "power-pack".

The weird thing is that the speakers are stamped with the CE logo!!!

To take the China plug discussion a step further: I think these plugs will have holes too soon or at least the same length as the American, since the US version is what was adopted as IEC standard and China are converting to IEC standards.

Thanks for your info, I never heard of the DRIT TV system before.
New or non... easy to mix up for a hard-working web admin
Well, at least one more country on the right side of power
My guess is that the "Koro" plug is designed to work with receptacles that can take either NEMA 1-15 or round-pin plugs, like used in Thailand. I have one of those, and Euro plugs just fall out of it, whereas NEMA plugs and the contour plugs with thicker round pins work well.
Well, "pay a lot" is still better than "Never Twice the Same Color"!
What's wrong with the speaker working off the 110V supply? They mus have an internal transformer, they can't possibly operate internally on 120V! Maybe they're also produced for European markets, and I don'T think they use a different casing for these markets, so that's where the CE mark comes from.