Tech Tips – On my international travels, I have stayed in hotels that, for the convenience of travelers from the US, have 110 V. outlets installed. These are really great to have, but generally, they are only non-grounded receptacles. This was the case recently when I was in Tokyo, Japan. I was traveling with my MacBook and the power cable includes a ground pin making it incompatible with the provided 110V outlet.
This is where having a ‘cheater plug‘ can save the day. The ‘cheater’ is simply a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter that allows grounded plugs to be used in non-grounded receptacles. Having heard about Akihabara Electric Town, we dropped in while out exploring Tokyo. After asking in a few shops we found and purchased a few of these adapters to add to our travel kit.
Back in the States, we could easily have picked them up almost anywhere. Looking at them on Amazon they are about $4 or less each. If you are going to be traveling with any electronics that has a 3-prong grounded power plug, adding one of these ‘cheater plugs’ to your travel kit may be just what you need to keep yourself in operation.
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