Coming to BA soon from the US?

[sinagua980]

I just arrived in BA myself and have forgotten to bring something with me. I have a Mac laptop and need the World Travel Adapter Kit from Apple.

If you are willing to help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[citygirl]

Just go buy the 3 peso converter in your neighborhood hardware store and you can use your US powercord You can buy the more expensive plugs as well but seriously, the super cheap ones work perfectly fine with my laptops.

 

[sinagua980]

I have two of those. The problem is that even with them a shock is running through my laptop. It's the weirdest thing. The computer works fine, but when I touch it, a low electrical current passes to me and my arm eventually feels numb. I can't handle it! I think the ground is not working properly. This laptop is my livelihood, so I'm willing to pay top dollar! Maybe I'll look around and test a few out.

 

[El Duderino]

I've found some 10 peso adapters here that work great. They have a green LED light.

As a rule of thumb when you're plugging the adapter into the wall, have your laptop power cord UNPLUGGED from your laptop. Plug the power cord into your laptop afterwards. I'm not sure if this helps, but I like to think it does.

 

[citygirl]

That's very strange - I have 3 laptops (mac, lenovo and dell) and never had a problem with any of them. If they're not working for you for some reason, I would recommend going to one of the big casa de transformadores and getting a heavy duty one.

Or you can always go to the Mac store. It will be quite expensive but maybe worth it for you for peace of mind.

And yes, always plug in to wall, then plug in to the computer.

 

[bebero]

i have several computers and never had an issue. in fact, the charger IS the power adaptor. nothing will change with an international travel kit.

 

[Sleuth]

I had this problem with my Mac laptop and it turned out to be the power strip. I bought a better one, and have not had a problem since.

 

[sinagua980]

I had an electrician come by the apartment today and he told me the whole apartment isn't "grounded." On my Mac, I use the grounded connector for extra length, and forgot the other piece. Since my Mac is assuming there is a ground and in fact there is not, I'm in trouble. He said there's nothing I can do about it. The building has to be grounded or I will get shocked.

I told the landlord and we'll see what she does. But in the meantime I have to charge my computer then work on it after it has battery life. This sucks.

Oh, and I took the Mac to a coffee shop and the same thing happened there. The electrician said that many of the older buildings in BA don't have grounding wires.

 

[Sleuth]

Yep, I was wrong. This was my problem too. I converted the 3 prong adapter to a 2 prong adapter so it would work in the wall. I got a small shock when touching the MacBook Pro aluminum body.

I'm pretty sure I solved it though but can't remember exactly how. It might have been by buying an estabilizador (http://listado.mercadolibre.com.ar/estabilizador).