Buying Amigas from the US - for the UK

[dandelion]

Hi all..

I've been looking into getting an a3000, however in the UK they are rather few and far between. Looking on EBay.com shows just how many more there are in the States.

Should I find a nice american chap who's willing to package the Amy up for emigration to Britain, what should I look out for?

Things i've thought of...

a) Power. American Amys have been used to a paltry 120v. What will she think when suddenly I attempt to pump a British 240v through her veins?
b) PAL/NTSC. I know that I can select NTSC/PAL from the early startup on my UK a4k - is this the same on American models? Is this going to be a problem?

And that's it. Oh yes, the keyboard, but I have a few a4000 keyboards with British keymaps here.

Anything else?

Thanks

[Ilwrath]

Power. American Amys have been used to a paltry 120v. What will she think when suddenly I attempt to pump a British 240v through her veins?

You very definitely _MUST_ switch out the power supply for a regional appropriate one.  The 120v stock North American power supply will cause severe damage if connected to 240v.  You might be able to get away with a 240v -> 120v converter, but, personally, I wouldn't recommend it.  Computers are sensitive equipment.  Clean power is very helpful to stability.  

Get yourself a good 240v power supply for it.  I'm sure you have a local vendor that could supply it, or docs on how to make your own out of an AT or ATX style supply.

PAL/NTSC. I know that I can select NTSC/PAL from the early startup on my UK a4k - is this the same on American models? Is this going to be a problem?

No problem.  There's a jumper on the motherboard to change the default.  (J200)

Oh yes, the keyboard, but I have a few a4000 keyboards with British keymaps here.

You'll need the adaptor to plug it into the 2000/3000 style keyboard port.  (A2000/3000 has a larger keyboard port than the 4000)  Other than that it should be fine.

[mikey2001]

There could possibly a pricing issue. The cost to post an Amiga from the US to the UK would be quite high. I was quoted over £100 for postage of an A4000T a while back.

[Matt_H]

Yep. Shipping costs could be more than the system is worth; it's definitely so going from the UK->USA. I got a cheap A600 for 15 quid and ended up paying another 40 or so to get it shipped. Pricey, but still probably cheaper than buying one locally (600s and 1200s are in high demand, low supply over here). Mind you, this was before the $US became worthless.