Nord User Forum

Hello all,

I recently purchased a Nord Stage 3 Compact from a dealer in Europe and had
it shipped to me in Canada. It did not come with a power cable, but that likely would not
have been compatible with North American outlets anyway. I did end up using
a 10A 125V spare cable I had, however, the OLED screens flicker or fail to
display anything when both are on (and even when only the middle screen is on sometimes). Here is an example video:


I am thinking (and hoping that it's not a deeper issue) the Nord is not able to draw enough power from the cable I am
using - what specification of cable would I need for this? The different
power standards between North America and Europe may complicate this further,
but any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

What is the local voltage of the mains where you live?
Did you manage to change the transformer setting AND the fuse?

I believe the local voltage in Canada is the same as the US so 110V. I didn't do anything with the fuse or transformer, just plugged it straight into the outlet.

JVSalazar wrote:I didn't do anything with the fuse or transformer, just plugged it straight into the outlet.

Hi JV,

I‘m still not quite sure whether I envy your juvenile greenness or admire your braveness.

The transformer needs to be adjusted and the fuse to be changed. I guess finding the right cable is the easiest task.

Good luck and cheers from Germany, one of the European 230 V countries.

Your cable sounds fine. But a European Stage is made for 220V use, so in your case, it won't get sufficient voltage.

There are two ways to make it fit for 115V use. But be careful: There is no voltage protection circuit. The only protection is a fuse.

a) buy an adaptor that will convert 115V into 230V. It might need to meet some special specifications so that you get clean AC input. In this case, you leave the NS3C untouched;
b) have the NS3C opened and get the power unit switched to 115V (there is a little switch inside); that way, you probably loose your warranty. And would need to change the fuse (see other threads in the forum: post143708.html?hilit=fuse#p143708, post140032.html?hilit=fuse#p140032). And don't forget to mark that modification on the type plate on the back of your NS3C - where it's written that it's a 230V model!

If ever you come to Europe, don't plug your gear into a power socket unless you're sure it's able to automatically switch the power unit by itself! Otherwise you'll grill what you paid for.

JVSalazar wrote:I believe the local voltage in Canada is the same as the US so 120V. I didn't do anything with the fuse or transformer, just plugged it straight into the outlet.

I'm surprised it worked at all. The EU version is set to run at 230v not 110v. The stage doesn't draw any significant amperage, under 0.25 amps nominally. You have to open the Nord, switch the power supply to run at 110v (there is an internal switch to do that), and change the fuse. Proper rating is 300mA 250v

The advice above is all fine and correct, but you want an fuse which is: 300mA 250v "Slo-blo" (or "Slow-blow"). Make sure that you buy the same size of the one in the fuse holder at the back of the keyboard. And please do not switch it on again until you have sorted all this out.

Thanks for the information everyone. Will open up the board and flip the switch and also change the fuse. Much cheaper than buying a transformer I'd reckon. At t his point I'm just glad the situation wasn't reversed and I plugged in a US board into an EU outlet.

JVSalazar wrote:At t his point I'm just glad the situation wasn't reversed and I plugged in a US board into an EU outlet.

Yeah that could have been a unique experience - a blown fuse at most .....

Schorsch wrote: Yeah that could have been a unique experience - a blown fuse at most .....

I like your optimism! I would rather say "at least".