Fuses

Today was a triumphant day.  I bought fuses!  Apologies to my dad who just put some in the mail for me. 

To back track...I brought with me a region free DVD player, knowing that the US is region 1 and Turkey is not and in order to play any DVD I want, I would either need multiple DVD players or one that looks the other way when it comes to region.  (I am not sure how much this would matter here, since most DVDs are pirated and are not on commercially produced discs anyway, but it is good to be ready.)  The down side of this DVD player was that it has an American plug (easy) and only takes 110V (hard).  At first this didn't matter, because I didn't have a TV, but when one sort of fell into my lap, it was good that my dad had packed me a transformer that will take 240 from the wall and give the DVD player the 110V it wants.  (Of course this wasn't coincidence at all, since my dad got the DVD player for me and he is the kind of guy that would check to see what power it takes, unlike me, who blithely plugged in my alarm clock radio without checking and now has a very dim clock that I have to keep and take home with me since it is on my bill of lading.)

The first issue to resolve was the connection between the DVD player and the TV.  The DVD player has the familliar red, white and yellow VGA co-axial cable connectors, but the TV has a SCAART input.  Once I knew what I was looking for (thanks again to my dad) I printed a picture of it and went out into the world.  (I think I have written about that adventure, looking for a likely store and showing them the picture.)  The adapter in hand I was ready to watch my first movie. 

What was cool about this transformer was that it had two outputs, one 110V and the other a pass through of 240V.  This was particularly handy since I didn't have a power strip and if I plugged the transformer in, I couldn't plug the TV in, which some what defeats the purpose.  It took a couple of tries to get the correct plugs in the correct holes before I realized that I wasn't inept at reading 'video out', but that the VGA-SCAART converter I had so bravely purchased had a faulty connection in it.  I am not totally useless (thanks for the 16th time to my dad), I used a knife to cut the bad connector off the converter and off the cable that came with the DVD player, stripped the wire and then used electrical tape to put it back together.  Feeling very much like MacGiver, I was ready to rumble.

I have a very small table, just about the size of the DVD player, so my first thought was to put the DVD player on the table and the TV on it.  When I tried this and watched a movie, success!  All of these contortions were worth it.  Next time I try to watch a movie, it is a no go.  No power comes from the transormer.  I had seen the fuse screw cap on the back and I check, sure enough the fuse is melted.  No problem, I put the other fuse in, and just in case the TV was putting too much pressure on the DVD player such that it was drawing more power, I put the DVD player on the ground and the TV on the table.  Movie number two!

Some time later, I am ready for movie number three.  Again, no power eminates from the transformer and this time, I am out of fuses.  Movie watching is then on hold until I figure out how to get another fuse.  For awhile I carry the dead fuse around with me every time I go off campus, except of course, the times I actually go some where I might find a fuse, those times, I realize I have forgotten the fuse at home in another pair of pants.  I remember to bring it with me while I am exploring during the bayram, but then the electronics shops are closed. 

Finally, I ask my dad to send me some, since it doesnt look like I am ever going to get it all together to buy them myself.  This week he sends me an email, the fuses are in the mail! Great, but I have been practicing my Turkish question to ask for a fuse, well almost.  "Bu var mi?"  Literally means: "does this exist?"  But it is enough and I want to use it.  Tonight I decided I should go for a walk rather than just sitting around my apartment for the evening.  I headed out and right, past the grocery store (where I got some desparately needed hand lotion.  (How did I bring three tubes of sunscreen but no lotion?)) and to Ortakoy, two bus stops later or maybe a mile away from where I live.  I had explored this area just a little with the other newbies earlier in the year, but I wanted to give it another look.  (It would be a whole blog post just to talk about how different even my local 4-5 neighborhoods are from eachother.)  I was half way up the street when I remembered I had the fuse and it was during working hours on a week day.  I went up to the top before I found a likely looking shop called something eliktrik, which sounded promising. 

I went in to the shop, which was long and narrow as so many shops are here (limited road space I guess), before I even got to the shop keeper, I noticed the music.  It was very dramatic, like in a sappy movie where the actors aren't quite up to getting you to feel the way you should with their performances, so the music gives you the clue.  I walked up to the counter, holding out my fuse and said, "Bu var mi?" He took it and looked at it and indicated to me that he wanted to know what it said.  "How many watts?" (yeah, most people here speak at least a little English) I looked hard at the fuse but all I could find was FAIL 250V, which I told him.  He went to a box full of drawers and pulled out a fuse.  He handed it to me and it also said FAIL 250V.  "Evet!" I said, with a big grin.  "Uc tane lutfen."  (Three pieces please) But he took my fuse plus the broken one back behind his counter and started rummaging through a drawer.  I had several more minutes to think about how out of place this music sounded for an electronics shop, but at least it isn't Christmas music, I suppose.  Finally he found a magnifying glass and carefully inspected each fuse, verifying that they all said FAIL 250, before handing them to me.  I asked, "Ne kedar?"  (How much?) and he reponded, "Two Lira." I gladly handed over the coins (about $1.10) and chose to ignore that he spoke to me in English, when clearly I have at least 10 words of Turkish by now.  I took my prizes back through the long shop and just as I was reaching the door, the music swelled triumphantly and I realized that I am in a sappy movie with bad actors (who dont really know the language, but are trying really hard) and I left the shop quickly before I cracked up. 

Anyway, I got home, still feeling triumphant, I installed the fuse, plugged it in and all works.  Too bad I dont have time for a movie tonight.