How should foreign consoles be powered in Britain?

Solution 1:

You shouldn't need anything additional to power your N64 in Britain. I've found a few sources to back this up https://forums.the-elite.net/index.php?topic=19934.0 and https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/running_ntsc_consoles_in_europe.html (you can find more by searching "EU N64 Power".

Essentially, they are powered by an external PSU that converts the AC voltage to a D.C. voltage for the console. Just make sure the PSU is rated for the socket you're using (should be rated for both EU and NA standard power).

Solution 2:

As far as i know, you would need a step down transformer of some kind in order to get the voltage from 220v to 110v or lower.

Depending on what sort of power you need will change the price of the transformer for example, a 300w device (Should be more power than most retro consoles need) will cost around £40 from maplin.

The best example i can find is here. It seems as though it is specifically for the UK to USA switch as it goes from a 3 pin plug to a 2 pin plug.

As far as japanese systems are concerned, they seem to use 100v and 50-60hz which will work with an american plug without damaging the device.

The only thing i would advise would be research how much each one of your devices uses in watts and see if a 300w converter is really necessary (As far as i can see most consoles range between 18w -> 175w)

Maplin is a reliable source for electronics based stuff and i would suggest looking for devices on there or another retailer you trust.

• Modern console wattage
• Retro console/device wattage

Hope this helps.

Edit: Included this link from a comment by @Memor-x to give guidelines on what transformer to buy LINK HERE