Electrical requirments for charging in London, UK

ecoquant

ecoquant

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Name
Jan
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Hi!

I have an OM Systems mirrorless OM-5(i), which is powered by BLS-5 / BLS-50 batteries. In the
United States I have Watson chargers which charge these on standard 115v circuits,

The question is what is the appropriate thing to use when I want to charge same on London circuits.
I have British adapter plugs but I don't know if those have the circuitry to adapt the British grid to
these batteries.

I am looking for a recommendation by model and designation for an adapter that'll work and be safe
which I can buy from a photo store in the United States before we leave.

Thanks for any suggestions. I typically use B&H Photo Video in NYC or one of the photo stores around Boston.
Need enough specificity to find the item and have it shipped to me. I have no way of testing until I get to London.

Thanks much.

-- Jan
 
Can you not use a usb lead to charge your battery, I was faced with this problem a few days ago as I never took my charger away and simply plugged in a usb lead to recharge my om1
 
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The Watson units look right with the 100v-240v markings.

Unfortunately my "Travel Universal Adaptors" with "SURGE PROTECTION" don't initially seem to fit the Watson plugs.
Found a way that seems to work.

Any suggestions anyone?
 
ecoquant said:
The Watson units look right with the 100v-240v markings.

Unfortunately my "Travel Universal Adaptors" with "SURGE PROTECTION" don't initially seem to fit the Watson plugs.
Found a way that seems to work.

Any suggestions anyone?
Click to expand...
Sounds typical, 'universal' often means some examples of multiple types.

Four relatively cheap options:
UK to USB adapter/cable readily available in the UK, but maybe not in the US.
A specific UK to US plug adapter (check your charger fits, the UK socket is very standard here so a standard 3 pin plug will fit that)
A UK shaver adapter, which the euro plug should fit in (often a bit tight)
Charge your batteries using the shaver plug at the hotel (via the euro plug)
 
Any phone shop in London (they are numerous) will sell you a UK wall charger that you can use with a USB charger unit (as above).
I can understand why you would want to bring a 'hard to find' item from the US but these will be super easy to find locally - even get delivered to your accommodation if you have Amazon. :)
 
realspeed said:
Avoid London it is a tourists rip off trap. Get on a train .and see what the UK is all about
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London is a good city but is too expensive - Khan is talking about a tourist tax which will make it worse (and it would be morally wrong to tax British citizens for visiting their capital.)

Saying that for history other places are better like York or Willshire, for natural beauty - a lot of places - Northern Ireland possibly the greatest natural beauty.

To the OP for the UK trains are good but..... you have to book in advance unless you're a millionaire and google fare splitting on UK trains - there's a guide here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ but it's down so I can't give the exact link
 
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davholla said:
London is a good city but is too expensive - Khan is talking about a tourist tax which will make it worse (and it would be morally wrong to tax British citizens for visiting their capital.)
Click to expand...
Tourist taxes are common all over Europe and N America, I’ve been paying them for a couple of years visiting another uk city, but sure ‘Khan’.

Surely you can do better than that. :(
 
Fella just wants to charge his battery, I've always found it easiest to just buy the plug my my destination, is your charger the standard 2 pin into the charger itself, I'd simply buy a 2pin to UK plug lead
 
Phil V said:
Tourist taxes are common all over Europe and N America, I’ve been paying them for a couple of years visiting another uk city, but sure ‘Khan’.

Surely you can do better than that. :(
Click to expand...
Which UK city has tourist taxes? I thought it was just Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

But if you want to pay taxes visiting London fair enough. But if you don't like my original post. The mayor of London is talking about London hotels having a tourist tax, I don't think it is fair that UK citizens have to pay even more than 20% VAT to visit their capital city.
 
davholla said:
Which UK city has tourist taxes? I thought it was just Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

But if you want to pay taxes visiting London fair enough. But if you don't like my original post. The mayor of London is talking about London hotels having a tourist tax, I don't think it is fair that UK citizens have to pay even more than 20% VAT to visit their capital city.
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And Manchester, but Aberdeen and Edinburgh are definitely part of the UK.

And I’ve paid them in Edinburgh and Manchester, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Hong Kong (possibly elsewhere I’ve forgotten).


But y’know ’Khan’
C’mon Dave, time to admit you were sucked into a dodgy narrative.

BTW the City of Westminster has some of the lowest council tax in the country due to massive subsidies from central government, so whether Brits visit London or not, we’re all subsidising its upkeep. A strange thought, but wouldn’t it be fairer if tourists paid some of that subsidy rather than care workers in Stockport who’ve no desire to go to London?
 
Phil V said:
And Manchester, but Aberdeen and Edinburgh are definitely part of the UK.

And I’ve paid them in Edinburgh and Manchester, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Hong Kong (possibly elsewhere I’ve forgotten).


But y’know ’Khan’
C’mon Dave, time to admit you were sucked into a dodgy narrative.

BTW the City of Westminster has some of the lowest council tax in the country due to massive subsidies from central government, so whether Brits visit London or not, we’re all subsidising its upkeep. A strange thought, but wouldn’t it be fairer if tourists paid some of that subsidy rather than care workers in Stockport who’ve no desire to go to London?
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I changed Khan. I don't want to get into a discussion about subsidies although tourists do pay 20% VAT already.



I didn't know about Manchester thanks.
Putting a tourist tax on hotels in Aberdeen as the amount of visitors decline because of decline in hotel visiting caused by less oil workers seems a strange idea - but up to them - it is not in operation yet though.
 
davholla said:
Putting a tourist tax on hotels in Aberdeen as the amount of visitors decline because of decline in hotel visiting caused by less oil workers seems a strange idea...
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The fine old Glasgow dialect word "bampots" seems to sum up the Aberdonian council's approach to this idea... :thinking:

Aberdeen City Council

Aberdeen City Council
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
 
davholla said:
although everyone do pay 20% VAT already.
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FTFY
Tourist taxes are a fact of life. If I want to visit somewhere interesting I expect to pay a tourist tax, I’ll expect the hotel to cost more than visiting Grimsby, and I’ll expect to pay more for drinks, food and everything else than I would if I’ve stayed at home.
We all pay VAT, I presume you appreciate the difference between VAT, council tax and other taxes? And what a tourist tax is for? A local authority has to keep the streets clean and safe, the money to do this comes from local residents. But where the local population is swamped by tourists, surely it makes sense for the tourists to pay something into that pot too?

More importantly, London compares favourably with most tourist destinations with cheap transport (subsidised by all British taxpayers) and dozens of free attractions rivalling the best in the world.
davholla said:
I changed Khan. I don't want to get into a discussion about subsidies although tourists do pay 20% VAT already.
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Were you even slightly concerned that it came across a bit racist? Though you don’t appear to have any contrition.
 
Phil V said:
Were you even slightly concerned that it came across a bit racist? Though you don’t appear to have any contrition.
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I and most people in London have always said the London Mayor's surname instead of the term "London Mayor" or "Mayor", or "Mayor of London." Despite the fact that in the case of Livingstone it was easier and quicker to write or say "the Mayor," than Livingstone.
Same with the prime minister, was it racist to say "Sunak," rather than the prime minister?

So I am concerned that you don't know that.
 
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Phil V said:
So you called the last one Johnson?

I’m concerned you expect me to believe that ;)
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Sorry my mistake we called him Boris. But Livingstone we always called Livingstone or Ken Livingstone or Ken. (It makes more sense to call politicians by their names in my opinion and IIRC you're the only person ever to object to such a custom.)
 
I always buy region specific power cords from Amazon before I travel, so I have a selection at home for Europe (which covers most of the globe) UK/Ireland and N&S America... no need for adaptors....
 
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