I am travelling to australia, is my laptop dual wattage, I have an
inspiron 6400, What converters do I need?

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Request for Question Clarification by rainbow-ga on 19 Jun 2006 12:57 PDT

According to the Dell website, the Inspiron 6400 specifications are
"Input voltage: 90 to 264 VAC." This means that it will work on any
voltage between 90 volts and 264 volts.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_6400?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=specstab


Normal USA household mains power is delivered as 115V 60Hz AC. 

Normal Australian household mains power is delivered as 240V 50Hz AC.

http://www.pigtailproductions.com/stacey/aus-us-power.html


This may also help:
http://forums.vnunet.com/thread.jsp?forum=7&thread=85690


Please let me know if this sufficiently answers your question.

Best regards,
Rainbow

Hello erick880-ga,

Thank-you for your question.

The first thing we need to know is whether your laptop power supply
will work within Australia, we can work this out by checking the
specification on the adaptor.  As I do not have access to that I have
checked the Dell website and it states the following information for
your laptop AC adaptor:

"Input voltage: 90 to 264 VAC
Input current (maximum): 1.5A at 90 VAC, full load
Output current: 3.34A (continous): 4.34 maximum at 4-sec pulse
Output power: 65W standard
Dimensions (H x W x D): 1.11-inch (28.2mm) x 2.28-inch (57.9mm) x
5.4-inch (137.2mm)
Weight (with cables): 0.9 lbs."
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_6400?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=specstab

This means that the laptop can be used where the mains power supply
provides a voltage of between 90 and 264 volts.

In Australia the mains provides 230 V ± 10% (it has recently been
changed and is still often quoted as 240V as this is within the
tolerance level of the new value), therefore your AC adaptor is
suitable to be used in Australia.

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_mains_power_plugs%2C_voltages_%26_frequencies
http://users.metro2000.net/~purwinc/seec2_2.htm
http://kropla.com/electric2.htm

The second thing we need to know is the plug on the end of your laptop
AC adaptor.  As you are in the USA it is probable that you have either
a 2-pin or 3-pin plug.  This plug will probably not be compatible with
the type used in Australia and you will need to purchase a suitable
adaptor.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_socket

The following picture is from the Wikipedia site and indicates what an
Australian plug and socket look like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:I_plug.jpg

The following pictures (also from the Wikipedia site) indicate the
standard US configurations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A_plug.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B_plug.jpg

Adaptors are usually commonly available in the country you are
visiting or can be purchasing online from a number of retailers (or
somewhere like eBay).

To summarise, the additional equipment you will need to buy to make
your laptop work in Australia is a US-to-Australia power adaptor plug.

If you require any further assistance on this subject please do not
hesitate to ask for clarification.

Additional information:
http://www.avalook.com.au/gadgets.htm#power
http://www.vidcam.com.au/sales/mains.html

I would also recommend you buy a "power board with surge protection"
and plug your laptop into that first, rather than straight into the
wall outlet.