[CQ-Contest] Int'l Plug Adapters

[Rich K2WR]

Those of us who travel internationally have to worry about having the right plug adapters for where we are going, without lugging around large varieties of such adapters to cover all possible combinations.

For several years, I've mostly been using the "Wonpro" adapters, which are sometimes available in Radio Shack, but usually in limited quantities and selection.  I believe these are made in Taiwan, and in my experience are of very high quality and durability.

(Note I am not referring to voltage adapters... I rarely need these, since almost all laptop supplies, cell phone chargers, and digital camera chargers are multi-voltage, usually 100-240v.)

I've just found a website that sells these adapters direct, with a complete selection, along with outlet strips, cords, etc., for almost any country you could think of.  It is www.europlugs.com

The "WA" series of adapters have a very clever universal input (female side) design, with the male side type-specific.

The ones I use most are:
WA-5 (universal female side), U.S. (grounded) male side.
WA-7 (universal female side), U.K. (grounded) male side. 
WA-9 (universal female side), Western Europe "Schuko" (grounded) male side (also compatible with non grounded receptacles)

There is also the WA-6, which has a 2-pin U.S. male side, but I don't know why you would want to use this and risk killing yourself, since most devices you'd be plugging into it are transformer-less.  It's no different from using a "3 for 2" adapter, which IMHO should be banned from sale anyway.

73, Rich K2WR