adapters for electronics

[Jessica]

Because some of y'all know a lot more about this than I do...

This is a question about electronics. The adapter for my Garmin Forerunner (a GPS-enabled running watch - taking geekery to a whole new level) is 120v (input: 120vac, 60hz, 10w output: 5vdc 400mA). My limited understanding is that in order to use this adapter, I would need both a plug adapter (from blade to pin) and a step-down transformer. The other option would be to get a new AC/DC adapter here. Am I correct in assuming that I would need to make sure that the output matches? Is this output something that is pretty standard?

Basically, I REALLY don't want to mess up the Forerunner with an experiment (I fried the AC adapter for my battery charger my first week here). I think it might be easier/cheaper to find a new adapter rather than finding a transformer, but I don't really know.

Any thoughts on the easiest way to go?

[Scott]

I don't know much about the converter situation but you can buy 220 to 110 converters (with blade plugs) at E-mart for around 20,000.

Which model of Forerunner did you get? I have a Timex Trail Runner (with GPS) but it's been nothing more than a REAL expensive watch since I got to Korea. The air here makes my lungs die. Where do you run?

[ricardo]

i fried my 120v hair clippers trying to use the simple adapter. do NOT cheap out for such a cool geek device...crossing your fingers and plugging it in will make you cry.
the simplest solution would be to buy a 20,000W transformer at e-mart. the specs on the back sticker of mine read: "1500VA, 220v, 110v, 13.64A, 60Hz, 10A, 95% ??, date". i think most transformers that look like korean to american (and other countries) would be of this type but you may want to check the sticker to be sure.
there may be other solutions but this is the one i know.

any chance that watch can upload your running routes to a computer?

[Jessica]

I checked in the regular (read: non-electronics section) of Homeplus and found a step-down converter - thanks for the suggestion or I wouldn't have looked as closely. And would have only looked for electronics in the electronics department. Silly me. :)

I have the 201 - not nearly as cool at the 205/305's, but it works. For me, it wasn't worth the extra $ for the heart-rate monitor - with the watch and the mp3 player, I have enough stuff strapped on and I knew I wouldn't really use it. If I live in a big city or in someplace heavily wooded in the future, I'll probably look at mods to the nike/iPod thing and find a way to hack the pedometer/accelerometer (I never remember which one that uses) to use with shoes that aren't Nikes.

Until recently, I had been doing most of my runs inside, which just sucked. I just discovered if I can just suck it up for about a kilometer of mountain (the day I can run all the way up that thing will be a day of great celebration!) I can get to some really great areas where the traffic isn't so bad and there is a shoulder wide enough that I can run on the asphalt most of the time. Of course, I live in a fairly rural area, so that probably makes a difference in terms of traffic and air quality (HA, running near one of the largest steel mills in the world is better in terms of air quality than running in Seoul!) I have held a signal here more easily than in my parents' neighborhood in the US.

any chance that watch can upload your running routes to a computer?
you can upload data (I'm not sure how much), but it was the old-style pin adapter instead of USB and wouldn't work with my Mac, so I left the adapter in the States. And it IS such a great geek toy! I'll try to remember to bring it the the next climb.

And speaking of geek toys, while it doesn't work here, have you seen www.mapmyrun.com?