American wireless router

chabsey

Would a wireless router bought in the states work here? I mean from the point of view of power, would it just be a matter of getting a plug adapter?

THanks

watty

It depends.
If it is kind with 5V or 12V jack, then you need a power supply designed for Ireland/UK or at least mainland Europe to replace the USA power unit. US plug PSUs (walwarts) do not meet 230V safety and may need expensive power converter. It tends to be only non-USA and/or larger equipment that is designed to be true dual voltage. Also the US blade connector is illegal for 230V. It should only be used via 2:1 step down isolation transformer.


There may be other issues.

The US allows less WiFi channels than EU.

Buy a CE marked unit for safety & compatibility.

Also you are liable for customs & 21% VAT on US price

MickLimk

If you're talking about a brand name one (Netgear, Belkin, etc.) then most of the safety issues raised by Watty should be taken care of as they are often the exact same product just packaged or programmed differently.

I've brought many bits of electronic equipment home from the US (including 3 wireless routers and a couple of gigabit switches) and all work perfectly. I usually just buy a new power supply for a couple of €'s in Argos or Maplin. A multi-voltage one usually does the trick but make 100% sure it can provide the current required. You also need to make sure that the polarity of the connector is right before you plug it in or you may just blow up both the PSU and the router...

chabsey

Thanks guys. It's a netgear and to be honest it only works out about 20 euros cheaper than here so maybe for the sake of the hassle involved I'll just leave it and pick one up here.

Thanks!

watty

MickLimk wrote: »

If you're talking about a brand name one (Netgear, Belkin, etc.) then most of the safety issues raised by Watty should be taken care of as they are often the exact same product just packaged or programmed differently.

I've brought many bits of electronic equipment home from the US (including 3 wireless routers and a couple of gigabit switches) and all work perfectly. I usually just buy a new power supply for a couple of €'s in Argos or Maplin. A multi-voltage one usually does the trick but make 100% sure it can provide the current required. You also need to make sure that the polarity of the connector is right before you plug it in or you may just blow up both the PSU and the router...

Indeed as you say you NEED A NEW PSU. That is the safety issue. You can easily waste the difference in price.
The US netgear, Linksys, Dlink come with PSU that must be binned to recycling centre.

It's not worth it. Check prices in Argos, Komplett.ie etc and bear in mind you can be hit for customs + 21% VAT on total price including shipping.

Also if you need warranty?

I'd only buy higher value items with bigger savings that have universal PSU and you put UK/IRL IEC plug cable on instead (AKA "kettle plug").

It's seriously not worth the hassle on a router. Some take 5V at 2A, which is a very expensive PSU compared with 12V 1A.

MickLimk

watty wrote: »

Indeed as you say you NEED A NEW PSU. That is the safety issue. You can easily waste the difference in price.
The US netgear, Linksys, Dlink come with PSU that must be binned to recycling centre.

It's not worth it. Check prices in Argos, Komplett.ie etc and bear in mind you can be hit for customs + 21% VAT on total price including shipping.

Also if you need warranty?

I'd only buy higher value items with bigger savings that have universal PSU and you put UK/IRL IEC plug cable on instead (AKA "kettle plug").

It's seriously not worth the hassle on a router. Some take 5V at 2A, which is a very expensive PSU compared with 12V 1A.

True. Unless you happen to be visiting the US and buying it yourself, there's often little enough in it cost wise if you replace the PSU. For me it was a no brainer as they had been used in the US and I was just bringing them home in a suitcase anyway.

However, the chances of picking up electronic stuff like this in the US while it's on a special offer is much higher and in that case it can be worthwhile. One example right now is the Netgear WPN824 108Mb/s wireless router. Available in Frys (US) for $59.99 and on Komplett.ie for €96. Don't think a PSU would cost you €56 but then there will always be the issue of a warranty...

It comes down to economies of scale and how much you're prepared to risk it I suppose. Even on list price without offers, an example of a Harman Kardon AVR347 surround sound receiver: $799 versus €899 which is about €366 of a price difference. Given that I have a big CE-certified 220v-110v transformer with the proper US output sockets that cost me about €100, I know I'd risk bringing it through the Green Channel in Shannon (waiting for Customs to call to my house...)!

watty

They are getting very efficent at checking post & courier.

All my packages from Hong Kong are now opened by customs. Fortunately it's low value non-consumer parts and thus they arn't hitting me for customs & VAT. But I know someone that got a really cheap camera and after customs & VAT was same price as Pixmania.