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Need help wiring a power button
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Hituro:
Alright, I've been working on my arcade for a while now.  I have three main power sources in it.  One is for the Speaker amplifier, another the monitor, and the third is the power supply to the PC.  I originally had these all on a power strip and then had that plugged into the wall.  But what I want to do is wire the power strip so that the power strip is connected to a button on the back of the cabinet.  And when the button is pressed, the main power will turn on.  That way I can conceal the power strip inside the cabinet, and only have one plug running out the back.  Does anyone have any suggestions for this?  I tried taking apart a power strip to hard wire the button that way, but the button on the power strip is soldered to its circuit board.  There really isn't a whole lot on this subject online, which is why I thought I'd ask.  If anyone has any suggestions I'd be very thankful!
PsychoMikey:
I use a master/slave power strip with the PC as master. Then wired the pc to a button on top of my cab so when i press that button everything powers up. When i press it again everything shuts down.

You could ofcourse just rewire the cable to the power strip and place a switch in between. Then you need a pc that will boot as soon as it gets power.
Hituro:
You know... I actually figured out a way to rewire and resolder the button.  But your method sounds much safer and easier :D  I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before.  This way I can just have 1 button on the Arcade and not have to flip two.  Thanks so much!  I'll just have to go and get my hands on one.  Any brand suggestion or are they all pretty much the same?
newmanfamilyvlogs:
Another thing to consider is something like this:
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPS01&Show=ExtInfo

You wire it up to a USB or other +5V source on your PC (such as the (probably unused) floppy disk power) and then when the PC is on everything plugged into the powertail turns on. You'd just run a second power strip off of it for your amp, monitor, etc.

This would also allow you to put your PC into standby mode instead of full shutdown. It uses minimal power, but allows for near instant-on operation. This is how I've had both of my cabs configured.
severdhed:
Get a smart power strip, it is easy and safe, and not too expensive.  i have a craftsman autoswitch in one of my cabinets, i picked it up at Sears for $20.  in my other cabinet, i have a Phillips smart power strip i got at walmart for $20.  both of them work very well, however the Philips unit has more outlets on it, so i like it better.  i turn on the PC and it turns on everything else, when the pc shuts off, so does everything else.  then you just wire a pushbutton to your pc power switch and you are good to go
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