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Anonymous Poster

Japan electrical

02/26/2008 10:51 AM

I'm in need of a little conflicting advice to further confuse me.

When exporting an consumer electronic device (or subassembly therein) to Japan, must it specifically be labled for "100V" operation? That is, can it not be labled for "120V" provided that the device does in fact operate effectively at Japan's 100V line voltage. (Well technically it must work at 90V since that accommodates 10% undervoltage). As example: A motor in a vacuum cleaner or in a window fan. Or a discrete off-the-shelf switched-mode power supply in a Godzilla detector. Etc.

I've been told that to achieve Japan regulatory marking the device as a whole and all such subassemblies must be labled 100V. This seems a little hard to believe given the scarcity (yes?) of things so marked. So...any opinions?

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Guru
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#1

Re: Japan electrical

02/26/2008 8:39 PM

In my very humble opinion, this is a question to be asked on a Chinese Engineering Forum. I doubt that there is anything that requires 100Vac only (and God knows how I wish that I was wrong) that it is manufactured in these U.S of A. Designed? Oh, yes, but not manufactured.

As for the of the shelf power supplies, they have a wide range of input voltages, covering Japan (100V) to the glorious old England (240V I was told). By extension, any electronic equipment will be OK in any outlet around the world.

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Power-User
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#2

Re: Japan electrical

02/26/2008 11:23 PM

Well, the snide remark would be if you want to sell to the Japanese, the Manual should be in Japanese, and not Icelandic.

Seriously, every country (well, most every country) follows a set of Electrical Codes and standards. This means that anything sold in that country must comply with those requirements. If Japanese Codes specify 100 Volts then that's what must be supplied. Forget the 10%. The devices you export to Japan must bear labels that say "Supply Volts - 100 V" or equivalent, and they must be approved by an agency acceptable to the Japanese authorities.

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#3

Re: Japan electrical

02/27/2008 8:25 AM

Japan gets a bit more interesting than just 100v. In "eastern" Japan the frequency is 50Hz and in "western" Japan the frequency is 60Hz. The break is between Odawara and Kyoto somewhere. I don't have a map to hand.

We've all made the mistake of plugging a 60Hz unit into the 50Hz outlet in the lab and wondered why the thing was timing out on start up. Then somebody would check...

The typical power plug is a flat two prong unpolarized deal. Sort of like the old US lamp plugs, if you are familiar with those.

I would get the code from JISC. Be very aware that if you are going to be successful in Japan you have to be either a luxury good or accepted as understanding how things work in Japan with specific detail to your product and how it is marketed in Japan. If you're not down with the "wa" you aren't going to get anywhere.

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#4

Re: Japan electrical

02/28/2008 12:43 PM

Japan has different voltages.They also have 3phase 200V and 3 ph 220V in some areas.As far as the question is concerned if u want the equipment to be accepted label it 100V as required though it may work on 120 and 90 V as well.

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