Hey all. Im thinking about purchasing a used TASCAM Portastudio 424 MKII from the USA. I live in Australia. I am aware the power supply that comes with it will not be compatible with Australian power but will the unit itself still work fine if I buy an Australian power supply and plug it in through that? Thanks.
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TASCAM Portastudio 424 MKII
- Thread starter Joronamo
- Start date
Ah, I did some quick Googling and see the issue. Here is what I found:
The original 424 had a tip/sleeve type of power adapter, like any standard wall wart.
The 424mkII had an internal power supply and an attached AC power cable.
The 424mkIII has an inline power module with a 5-pin connector on the end.
If that is correct, for the mkII you do need an external 240 to 120 stepdown transformer.
The original 424 had a tip/sleeve type of power adapter, like any standard wall wart.
The 424mkII had an internal power supply and an attached AC power cable.
The 424mkIII has an inline power module with a 5-pin connector on the end.
If that is correct, for the mkII you do need an external 240 to 120 stepdown transformer.
The original version--not the MkII or MkIII-- would work anywhere IF you bought the correct wall wart. You need 12VDC supplied to the Tascam, most likely, so you buy a wall wart that can supply 12VDC, make sure it has enough current to supply the tape recorder. Also make sure the wall wart has the right size plug on the end of it to plug into the tape recorder
No, I don't think it's an issue. The incoming AC is converted to DC and everything internally runs off of DC, so you would be OK (as long as you have a 220 to 110 volt transformer for the incoming power).
You would need something like this Invalid Link Removed (I think that's enough power) And you may need an adapter plug like this Invalid Link Removed
You would need something like this Invalid Link Removed (I think that's enough power) And you may need an adapter plug like this Invalid Link Removed
No, they are universal format, I use TDK SA (if they are still around) or Maxell XLII. These are high bias.
Why not buy the 424 MKIII? I know that the MKII seems to get more play on the boards (pro-Japan anti-Chinese mentality?), but IMO the MKIII sounds just as good and best of all for you its power supply is external. That would make it way easier for you to get around the power issue as you could just buy an Australian power supply and plug and play.
Why wouldn't an AUS AC adapter work? The TASCAM doesn't know what supply is feeding it--it's just looking for the DC voltage. This isn't one of those AC to AC cases where there are other variables like current and the like. It's direct current--it's either there or it isn't. If there's more to it than that, I'd be interested to hear the explanation. Not saying I'm 100% sure or an authority on this, but I'm pretty sure you'd be ok with the right transformer.
I ended up buying the Tascam M424 MkIII from America and it works with that transformer from radioshack. Just wondering, I;ve decided to go all out and build a little home studio by connecting my portastudio to a peripherals amp, mixdown tape deck and reference monitors. If I by these components from Australia, and my portastudio is American, will that cause any problems if I connect one to the other whether it'd be via the line-out or something?
It will work out fine. Audio signals are the same. Power and video signals are different.
