advertisement


Converting Japanese Denon to UK voltage?

P

pqpq

pfm Member
I'll shortly be taking delivery of a vintage Denon HA500* to use with my Midas bodied 103. Unfortunately I couldn't find one with a UK spec - this one is Japanese, so runs on 100V. I can buy a converter easily enough for £30, but I'd prefer to get it converted if that's possible and economic.

Any thoughts?

Would prefer someone in the midlands to do the work so that I don't have to post it,


Thanks,


Peter

* It's a head amplifier - converts an MC signal to MM level.
 
There are two possibilities.

1) The transformer has windings for 240V, and it is just a matter of opening it up, and connecting that winding rather than the 100V one.

2) The transformer is 100V only. Then you either need to get a 240V one from Denon, or as spare from somewhere. Good luck! Swapping the new part in should be small job for any competent tech.
 
There are articles and pictures on AOS of a 240v model Marco sold a while ago. The transformer is potted and had the numbers 2335189005 98-60 printed on it. I somehow doubt this part will still be around. Getting a replacement to fit will be the biggest challenge but it looks do-able. However if you use a transformer off board then size is no limitation and feeding a cable with the appropriate AC would be no problem at all. Just a thought.
 
Thanks both.


CableMonkey, I'm sure you're right that the part won't be available, the HA-500 clearly didn't sell in large volumes and went out of production 30 years ago. If I use an outboard transformer, is there any issue with using one of these:

http://www.airlinktransformers.com/japanese-transformers.asp

Obviously it'll work, but will the unit sound better with something else?

I've found the pics of Marco's HA-500 - the transformer just looks like a black box to me, so unless I can get into the box and find 240V connections it's not going to work. Not sure I want to mess with it myself at all though...

Thanks.
 
The transformers you link to will step down to a voltage that should be ok. Frequency should not be an issues as Japan operates at both 50 and 60 hz. You will not need to spend on massive transformers as that stage should only pull a very modest current. All in all it should be fine and as long as the step down is decent quality and not noisy sound quality shouldn't be affected.
 
OK, well I'll wait till it arrives, have a look to see if the internal transformer can be wired for 240V, and if not, buy one of those step-downs.

Irritatingly, I did manage to find a Euro spec one in Holland, but the seller convinced himself that I'm a Nigerian skam artist so the deal fell through.

Many thanks,


Peter
 
Well the HA-500 has at last turned up from Japan - looks pristine.

The seller said it's 100V, but there's a big sticker underneath which is clearly a proper Denon one from when it was new saying 220V, 50/60Hz. I've checked it out and it seems Japan can be either 100V or 220V, so that makes sense.

So can I just cut the Jap plug off and put a UK one on? Or do I still need to worry about the slight voltage mis-match.

Cheers,


Peter
 
I don't know the exact details of your purchase.

But I would take a look inside first. It might well be a " dealer modification".
Many hi-fi components have a transformer with multiple taps on the windings. You might have to change these - easy task with a soldering iron.

In a very few cases there is an internal switch to change the voltage.

It is very unlikely that a piece of equipment from that era would have such a wide range of voltage possibilities.

Good luck
Julian
 
I've already had the back off looking for whether the transformer can be altered to suit - it was then that I noticed the sticker on the bottom. The transformer is in a black box held in place by screws which I can't get at - buying a screwdriver which can access screws like that would solve it but I didn't have one to hand.

Obviously I don't know the history of the unit, and I doubt the seller does either, being a dealer, but the sticker looks factory applied to me. The printing is all Japanese, but except it has Denon HA-500 and info about voltage, wattage and frequency in English: AC220V, 10W, 50/60 Hz The serial number of the unit is handwritten.

So the question is, can I just run it as is because the voltage is near enough, or do I still need a transormer of some sort?
 
Going from 220 to 240 volts should not be a problem. But don't just plug it in until you are absolutely sure it is not set for only 100 volts.
 
OK, some more developments. I've been in touch with the dealer in Japan and he says it's 220v and will be fine in the UK, although he suggested I "test" it first. I've also tried plugging it into the 115V shaver socket in my bathroom (the Jap plug fits) and the LED comes on. Getting enough gear to actually see whether it's working into the bathroom would be pretty difficult though!

Have sorted out some pics. They're here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71727737@N05/

The transformer has no voltages written on it, just a serial number: 2330123008 88-60

Googling that turns up nothing.

So do I risk plugging it into the mains?


Cheers.
 
So, impatience got the better of me and I went through the bizarre process of fixing a vinyl playing system up in the bathroom while Mrs pqpq laughed and took photos of the spectacle.

Anyway, the results seem to back up what the dealer said. With the HA500 off, I got sound but very quietly as you'd expect from an MC cartridge through an MM phono stage. With the HA500 switched on, I got lots of hum and very quiet music - clearly not happy. Hopefully that means it is 220V and all will be well, but I haven't plucked up the courage to plug it in to UK mains yet...
 
Photos are in the link a few posts back.

Anyway, last night a few glasses of wine made me stop worrying about it. I cut the Japanese plug off, put a UK one on and plugged it in. It works! It sounds great!

All this stress and hassle and that's all I ended up doing.

Thanks for all the advice,


Peter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top