Pc Hackery

[Lawrence]

So in a few weeks I'm gonna be moving to Australia, a country of 240volts.  The initial move will be seriously light, with nothing we don't need dragged around the globe.  One of the first things I'm bringing though is my computer.

Since the computer has 5 and 12 volt outputs, I picked up some 2-pin connectors and started cutting up all my power cables.  The music player, PSP and DS all have splices in the middle of the power cords now, so I can charge them from the PC.

The music player and the PSP have 240volt compatible adaptors, but...  It's more fun to do it this way.  

Still to come: Cutting a hole in the front of the case and putting a nice 5/12/gnd plug in it, and making a few more connectors for a few more cables.

Sadly it's just dawned on me that this little plan will fall completely to pieces when I travel within australia without my computer...  But hey!  it'll reduce clutter on my desk if nothing else.

Pics to follow.

[atom]

Genious! I was thinking of doing something similiar with bannana Plugs, or even phono jacks (cuz theyre cheap). I did manage to settle on one idea, the CAR CIGGARETTE LIGHTER!  Cell phone? Bam! Plug it in. Game Gear BBWOAT (biggest battery whore of all time) plug it in. You get the idea. Will need to create circuirty to prevent too many amps coming across the wire though.

[bcforn]

you Will need to create circuirty to prevent too many amps coming across the wire though.

you mean a fuse    

[atom]

Yes but I would prefer to limit rather then having to replace a fuse every time, of course there will be a fuse too.

[Aidan]

Polysilicon fuse - they reset themselves after the overload has been removed.

[phreak97]

i've had the gameboy end of a gba sp charger cable coming out of my pc for a fair while now.. after i couldnt find a male usb plug..

stepdown converters are pretty cheap off lik-sang i think.. most of them dont come with an australian plug, but thats an easy fix.. oh, and if you have something like a 240v ps2 and a 110v one, dont keep them next to each other.. the mistake will happen eventually.. i know from experience.. you think youll check every time, untill you forget. then you get to know what a ps2 in pain smells like. thankfully mine worked again after i got a new psu. now i have a 240v japanese ps2.. lol, the shop only had australian psu's.

one good thing about australia, is almost every new tv you buy will be dual format, and will run both pal and ntsc.

anyway, lawrence, where you moving to? if its not the east coast, youre gonna get bored eventually.. im in adelaide, and theres NOTHING to do here, though you could be into completely different stuff.. i dunno

also we have piles of living things that can kill you:D though you've probably heard.
do you like 2-4 inch spiders? cos youll get those on the walls in your house:) but dont worry, those are harmless, leave them alone, and theyll leave you alone.
i love telling people all the nasty things thell find here, theres a fair bit of it too:P

overall its a good place to live, better in the eastern cities though.


btw. you can buy cigarette lighter transformers which have a switch on them to select various voltages, and one of those ends with like 5 diff plugs, so they fit most things. i have one which has gameboy (classic),  gamegear, and lynx mentioned on the box, plus has a few other standard connectors. my car gets up to 14-16V, depending on if im accelerating or not, so it wouldnt be wise to plug it straight in..

[Adeptus]

small world phreak... I'm in Adelaide too  

I quite like the place... having lived in Pt Augusta & Whyalla ('regional centres' ie big country towns), the 'nothing to do' factor is way lower here!
I don't have enough time to do all the things I want to anyway, so I don't need more things to do that I also wouldn't have time for...  if that makes sense :blink:
(can't think of anything you can do in other towns that you can't do here anyway)

And having visited Melbourne, Sydney, & Brisbane... I wouldn't want to live in any of them. The rat race is in a much higher gear there...

[phreak97]

lol.. theres better arcades and stuff in all the eastern states:P plus theme parks and crap

[Lawrence]

I'm very fond of the 'rat race'.  The sedate country life is only fun if you're within an hour or so of a big city, otherwise you have all the solitude and none of the amenities.

So I've got 4.4 cubic meters of gaming gear on its way to australia right now.  It'll arrive about four weeks after I do, and then I need a giant fucking truck to get it to wherever I live at that time.

[Adeptus]

I didn't say Adelaide was country (though some Eastcoasters describe it that way  <_< )
It's a smaller city, with a more European feel than the east coast. Not out of the rat race, just slower rats...  :lol:

hmm... a truckload of gaming goodies... might have to have another look at what you've got for sale after you get here, since postage will be so much cheaper  B)  

[Aidan]

I'm stuck in Sydney at the moment, for the next three weeks (AKA, forseeable future - I can't plan anything beyond one week right now).

Doesn't seem too bad - at least compared to London!

[Lawrence]

Well if you kids are in the Brisbane area in about 6 weeks you're invited to drop by and help me dig through 4.4cu. meters of super-cool game stuff.  Or go mountain biking.  =D

[atom]

Great, you aussies are really outnumbering us on these forums now. I think me and SegaSonicFan are the only United Statesians. Lawrence, just move to Canada and get it over with, you know, the other United States? You would need a passport to visit the 'great atom' now though, in the great hole of Southwestern New York State. I guess now that you have picked up all the cool japanese games and snagged a hot asian babe your going to Great Britain's deluxe prison. Oops, I mean Australia. Say hello to a kangaroo for me.

Disclaimer: It is always to have an open mind and a good sense of humor when reading forum text. It is often difficult to pick up a person's wise cracking scarcasm.

[phreak97]

haha, if i wasnt so short on time i'd say some stuff back about the us..
unfortunately it looks like im going to be stuck in this place for a loooong time.. i's love to sort through a gigantic pile of game stuff more than you'd believe! but the only place i'd possibly be going would be canberra, and not for months..
anyway, you chose a good place if youre into freaking hot summers.. youll be getting like 35-40C or more! fairly regularly.. lol.. enjoy queensland, one of the hotter states.. with beaches containing the hotter girls:P (or so i've heard)

[atom]

Well at least you guys use the metric system.  We have the American (stupid) system. Id say "you picked a good place if you like freaking hot summers, its always 110F there!"

[Adeptus]

anyway, you chose a good place if youre into freaking hot summers.. youll be getting like 35-40C or more! fairly regularly.. lol.. enjoy queensland, one of the hotter states.. with beaches containing the hotter girls:P (or so i've heard)

Not that hot in Brisbane usually. My wife grew up there, she says it rarely gets above 30C. It's humid, but if you're coming from Japan, it's nothing in comparison... I had a stopover in Japan on the way to USA one time (I think it was about September). Stepped out of the airport & it was like being underwater. Spent the rest of my 24 hour stopover in the hotel.

Adelaide is very dry, & gets to 35-40C. Personally I'd rather 40 & dry than 30 & humid.

[Lawrence]

Well here I am in australia!

...

Now what?

[Adeptus]

Some suggestions...

Go find the local drinking spot ('pub') and try the local brews... in the case of Queensland, that'd be XXXX beer ('Fourex') or Bundaberg rum ('Bundy').
 :rolleyes:
(and if you like ginger beer, Bundy do the best I've ever tasted)

Go to the local tourist spots... WB Movie World, etc

umm... go to the beach?
go on the internet & do all the stuff you'd do wherever else in the world you were?

go on a short drive to Adelaide [size=8](24 hour...)[/size]