Has anyone taken a small powerstrip with them to recharge batteries/ipods/harddrives, etc. Use with an adaptor. What do you think?

Yeah, basically. I take a short power cord (about 3 feet long) that has a small 3 place (female) outlet end. Like you're thinking, sometimes in rooms/huts you are lucky to find even one convenient wall power outlet. So some kind of a powerstrip, multi plug capability is very useful.

regards - tom

Yes, I did. Actually it was also surge supressor as I was a little concerned about voltage spikes at lodges and didn't want to fry my electronics. Of course I had to get a 240 V version.

Should I try to find a 240v version or is an adaptor sufficient?

Thanks

Hmmm, a simple power strip or "relocatable power tap" is nothing more than a cord with multiple outlets. Like a "cube tap" or "three way plugs" - but - with a cord attached. In fact, my "power strip" I mentioned above is just a short extension cord with a cube tap on it. I like it because it is smaller and lighter than a typical power strip.
Power strips, cords, cube taps, etc do have a voltage rating (very high breakdown voltage) but it is not like the voltage rating for a battery charger or hair dryer. The more important rating for cords is the current rating, amps. 15 amps probably being typical. This is a lotta amps and your battery charger or laptop PC is well within the amp limit.
So, go ahead and use the typical USA power strip, or extension cord, with an adapter (not transformer) on the plug end to fit into the foreign outlet.

regards - tom

Cheweyhead,
I do exactly as Tom does, he is quite correct. You simply need an adapter plug to conver the host main outlet to the U.S. format and then plug either a simple mutiple cube tap or a short cord-multiple tap (without surge supressors) directly into the conversion plug. This will work for all your dual voltage appliance devices. This is one of those times where simple really is better.
Regards-Chuck

Thanks for the very helpful answers.
Power strips - I know what they are.
Cube taps (not sure what they look like) - Do they work better with the Canon Battery chargers being so wide?

I would beg to differ. I use a surge supressor to protect my valuable electronics in the USA and the chances of have a damaging spike are much higher when traveling in Africa. Without going into detail, some lodges often are switching load from one generator to another, lightning strikes are more likely, etc. If I have a problem in the USA and my camera, computer, camcorder are knocked out, I can buy new ones that day. If it happens on safari, that's the end of the story. The size and weight of the strip and supressor are similar. If I am going to bring along a powerstrip anyway, it makes no sense to me for it not to be a surge supressor.

Cheweyhead - you'll have to look at "cube taps" and such along with the Canon chargers or whatever you are going to plug into them and see how it all fits together. I know what you mean about the Canon plug in chargers being wide.
tuckeg - I basically agree with you about using a surge suppressor type power strip. But I don't have a lot of confidence in them really working. Why not, I'm not sure. I may look around and see if I can find a really small one. My electronics bag is too big with too much stuff already so size is important for this application. BTW, I do have/take duplicate battery chargers because they can still fail whether or not using a surge suppressor. Like I say, too much stuff.

regards - tom

I travel with a LOT of electronics. A powerstrip is esential for me because most rooms/camps in Africa have only one outlet often in inconvenient locations behind the bed, etc.

But often 2 charges will take up a whole 6 plug strip! And I prefer some surge protection.

I use a Philips Powersentry Squid Surge with 5 tentacles. It is flexible, pack small and I can power 5 devices of any size.

Serarch Amazon - B000IOKLAM

Cheweyhead,
The cube tap is a simple square mutiple outlet adapter with four (4) female outlets and one male (U.S.) plug. You can buy these at any harware store of Home Depot (less than $2.00). You can always plug two and sometimes three divices in at one time.
Although I have never seen or heard of a gnerator surge at one of the camps causing damage to a simple charge device, you still might want to take purchase a power strip with surge supression. They are of dubious value, most will only protect once and most have no way of letting you know if they have ever been called into service. If you do buy one make certain it is rated for 240 Volt service, not the 120 Volt supressors sold in the U.S.. Carrying an extra battery charger for your camera batteries (see SterlingTek.com) is probably wiser. Any charger can malfunction and the aftermarket charges are quite inexpensive. If your ever in doubt about the camp electrical, recharge using one of you less expensive backups. I have used this protocol all throughout Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana and Zambia without ever a problem. Some of these aftermarket charges even have the option of working off a 12 Volt automobile cig. lighter. I never had to recharge this way but it's always nice to have options.
Cheers-Chuck

I am still confused a bit. Can I plug a cube or power strip rated 120v into a 240v outlet? According to PowerSquid's homepage it is not to be used in Europe...is that just for bigger electrical appliances rather than just battery chargers? I understand the strips are just conduits but does one run the risk of blowing it out.
Thanks,
Eric

You might find these useful...

We have a bunch of these stored in Maun and take them as part of our equipment on the Digital groups... they work great.

http://www.europlugs.com/Wonpro_cata...Power_Bars.htm

James

Thanks James, is there a specific power cord for Botswana that couples with the universal power strip or do you use the S. Africa one (or US) and an adapter for Botswana's outlets?
Thanks,
Eric

Eric,
As I understand from my EE engineer friends, the surge protectors made for U.S. 120 Volt power will see the higher African (240 Volt) as a surge and not operate at all. So.....it is their recommendation to use only surge supressors rated for 240 Volts. These are hard to find unless one finds an importer or other internet seller. If you think you need one of these devices I imagine you might be able to pick one up at one of the mega-stores at an international airports during a layover.
Regards-Chuck

Thanks Chuck, that helps quite a bit.
Regards,
Eric

Chuck - that is my understanding also re 120 vs 240 volt surge protectors.
I also wonder how a device (e.g. charger) made to run on 120-240 is well protected by a surge protector designed for 240. The 240 surge protector probably having an even higher "clamping voltage" than a 120 surge protector. I know just enough about this to ask a lot of questions with few good engineering answers. And I don't know where to find the answers either. There are a lot of surge protectors available from your local hardware store with several different IEEE and UL ratings. Which ones are worth dragging along on a trip is the question. Anyone know of a really authoritative source of information on this?

So for now I will carry an extra charger. In fact, should both of my Nikon chargers fail, I have a AA battery box setup so that 7 or 8 AA batteries can charge a Nikon specialty battery. Such is the life of an electronics/camera tinkerer

regards - tom

Tom,
Even though I carry extra chargers for my cameras (Canon) and my Epson PSD, I resist the temptation to plug them all in at the same time, just in case the power is bad. If I'm at all suspecious, I charge using one of the cheaper aftermarket chargers. So far, no problems but tomorrow, who knows? I have been taken on tour of several camp generator setups by various managers. They love showing off their systems and I have some knowledge os how these things work. I have a whole house back-up system and use a similar system on a boat. For example, the generator system at Kwetsani (a Wilderness Camp) was so sophisticated that I suspect the power was "cleaner" than I get at home here in the U.S.. People do talk of surges but all they are really experiences is a very brief power outage when the camp generator switches on or off and the deep cycle storage batteries go on or off line. So, I'm with you, an extra charger and I'm good to go.
Regards-Chuck

Sorry for all the typos, I really must get an Apple.
Chuck

I don't know where you get your surge protectors Chuck but the ones I use employ circuit breakers so they certainly tell you if they have been used and the breaker can be reset so they can be used repeatedly. The link jweis gave is one place to buy them and at $19.95 for one that accepts three plugs the price is reasonable. As to whether you need them, I've seen the back of the house at many lodges, and at some I was glad I had it. In addition a lightning strike can occur anywhere. Yes, replacement chargers are cheap in some cases (but not always) but try getting one while on safari.

This is beginning to sound a little like a seat belt debate, I don't wear one because I won't have an accident and even if I did they don't work, etc.