For every solution there is a problem, or when does a $15 alarm clock become $50+?

Ok, so in Uruguay the appliances I bought are working out with mixed results here. The bug killers work great through step-up transformers that put out the 220v. No more fly paper. The occasional sizzle of a bug getting cooked but that's about it. These things are small, great, cheap to operate - but they would never sell here. There is just physically not enough room on the device to put all the warning stickers that the lawyers in an American product distributor's insurance company would require.

However, I've recklessly plugged them in and am using them. I don't have kids in the house, they are too high for my dog to be curious about ---- and most importantly I'm not STUPID about how they work.

The clock has been another story. A step-up transformer cannot alter that the AC power in the USA is just too fast, and the clock is a cheap design that uses the AC power for timing. What to do...

Return it is out of the question. Yeah, it was $15.00 for the clock. We've only just begun. I bought a step-down transformer that produces the equivalent of a car dashboard outlet inside the house. Then from Hong Kong I ordered this puppy:



Ebay rocks for crazy crap like this. Just like you can get a gizmo that puts a household outlet in your car here at Target or Radio Shack, they're available overseas. AUD$20.48 (that's australian dollars) later (or $17.80 in yankee money) inlcuding shipping, this gizmo is on the way. It'll output that 220v 50Hz power that the clock needs to keep time.

Fingers crossed that it produces a stable frequency over time. Yeah damnit, its rube goldberg but its fun.