this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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Mildly Interesting
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Does China use a compatible electrical system to us?
No. 220v/50hz in china, 120v/60hz in North America.
The plugs are similar though, with china using the non-polarized and un-grounded version of the plug used in North America. (two flat blades, same width as Americas live pin) If you didn't know better, you could plug in the wrong things in either country.
Thus what is shown can not be for China, because there is ground?
Yup, that's a North American plug.
The grounded outlets that they do use have slanted live/neutral pins like Australia:
Taiwan actually uses the North American plug design too, but at 110v/50hz.
Some electronics may tolerate that, but many won't function or may even be damaged by the change in frequency.
Type B looks like an ape that just got some bad news
I lost my manufactured-for-the-US Surface Pro charger while living in Taiwan, got a replacement Taiwan 110V/50hz adapter that I’ve used for years with no issues. Is that the norm? No idea.
(And, never fear, the Surface Pro runs Linux now so no Microsoft hate needed at this particular moment.)
Most (no all) first party chargers will run on 240v or 120v. Read the fine print on the plug or power brick to see what range it's in.
This is also why laptop charger for example will work as long as you have the adapter for your plug or the OEM cable with the correct plug for your power brick.
Good to know thank you.
AFAIK most "chargers" can deal with a wide range of voltage and frequency. They're basically transformers that are transforming AC to the desired DC voltage and the mechanism at least my Ankor chargers use seems to work at pretty much any reasonable range (read any country's implementation) of AC voltage and frequency.
I see thanks for the explanation.