Joe -
I'm no engineer, but I have some familiarity with the issue since we use equipment manufactured in a variety of countries.
Most (all?) European countries use 240 V, 50 Hz, power. I believe that there are a variety of connectors, according to the standards of the country. The US and Canada use 120 V, 60 Hz.
Devices which use a transformer may or may not work with a simple plug adapter, depending on how conservatively designed they are. Most would not, and many could be destroyed by the attempt.
Devices which do not use a transformer will most likely be destroyed by trying to use them with a simple plug adapter.
A step-down transformer would help quite a bit, but some (few) devices still won't work because the 50 Hz doesn't allow quite the same efficiency in conversion as the 60 Hz does. I can also imagine that some circuits may use the power line frequency to get a timing signal, and those would run slow.
Your safest course of action is to contact the manufacture of the device(s) you're taking and asking them directly.
Enjoy the trip.
|