UPDATE: Good news on BitsLtd Smart power strip...

[1UP]

I got my SmartStrip (www.bitsltd.net) in the mail the other day and just got it hooked up to my cab today.  If you're not familiar with it, the Smart Strip lets you power on your PC, then automatically fires up other things like monitors, peripherals, etc.

Well, it's not quite as magical as it's hyped up to be.  For starters, whatever you use as your primary device has to draw a certain amount of power, or it won't switch on the other devices.  This should be something fairly heavy like a PC, TV/monitor, fan, large fluorescent lamp, etc.

Second, at least one of the peripherals on the "switched" outlets have to have a certain current draw as well, or NONE of them will fire up.  Also, your high-current peripheral can't be something that requires a remote control to turn on (like a TV), since there is no power flowing to those plugs until something draws a certain current, so the IR sensor is not actively waiting for a remote signal.

I spent half the day today figuring all this out, and now I'm sorry I bought the thing.  I originally set it up to have the PC on the "control" outlet, and my TV, marquee light, PC speakers, and various AC adaptors for USB hubs etc on the switched outlets.  Evidently, the marquee light was not a big enough current draw to tell the strip to switch on the outlets, and the TV needed to have the power button held down as the PC was turned on, or else it wouldn't come on, nor would any of the other devices.  I finally ended up putting my TV on the control outlet, and everything else (PC included) on the switched outlets.  Now I turn my cab on by using the TV remote...kinda dumb, but at least it works as a "one button to rule them all" solution.

I would be interested if anyone else has had these issues, especially those with the Sears power strip.  Do the Sears PS's fare any better?  I really don't get the use of having a current requirement on the switched outlets.  I don't care if it's an adaptor powering a couple LEDs -- JUST TURN IT ALL ON YOU FRIGGIN P.O.S.!!!  Seems like it's too "smart" for its own good...  I'll bet they get a LOT of returns on this thing -- who the #$*& wants to troubleshoot a POWER STRIP?!?

[jerryjanis]

JUST TURN IT ALL ON YOU FRIGGIN P.O.S.!!!  

Ha ha ha...

Who the #$*& wants to troubleshoot a POWER STRIP?!?

Yeah...  No kidding...  My stupidstrip works like a charm on my desktop computer, and doesn't work at all on my arcade cab.  I  didn't want to troubleshoot it so I put it off to the side, so I'm glad you did!  Now I know that I can probly just put a hair dryer in my cab as the power switch and everything should be fine.

[Sasquatch!]

Dammit, I'm gong to probably have the same PC with a TV combo in my next cabinet.  Good info to know; thanks 1UP!  And yeah, I'd be curious to know if the Sears model (or any other model) performs better.

[Homebrew]

Great i just ordered one because i was having (similar?)problems with another brand strip.  My current strip makes this repeated clicking sound when all the components are turned off.  In addition i just added a second power supply to run all the extra stuff, and it stays on all the time even though its on one of the switched outlets.  I hope I don't have the same problems with the smartstrip.  At least my current POS only cost $10, i'd hate to throw away another $35 on the smartstrip.

-Kevin

[rampy]

1up,  I don't have the patience at the moment to do a more thorough examination...

But I have Sears automatic power strip.

The down side is that it's giant grey box that plugs into the wall directly... if you want it to be in your cabinet (and not on your wall) you'd need to buy an extension cord (a 6 footer "industrial" kind is probably good/overkill)...  It doesn't have *that* many switchable outlets (in fact only 2) and the one sensing outlet.  

How I have it hooked up is my PC power supply cord is the sensing outlet and I have a surge strip (another "negative" sears strips doesn't do any surge suppression that I know of)
In that surge strip I have my monitor, marquee light, wall wart to my pc speaker amp hack, and uh... whatever else...)

I push the PC's on switch which I've relocated extended to another momentary pushbutton in a recessed spot down low where the original cabinet power switch was located... and everything else comes on.  When I do the shut down windows it kills everything else.  (I need to figure out my powersettings so that if I push the pc power switch again it will do the automagic force shutdown of windows  and by extension the whole cabinet)

I dunno... I was pleasently surprised how easy and well it worked but I can't speak to how little of a draw will "Switch it"
It seems to tolerate the constant current to the motherboard when it's in "off" mode (know what I mean) and only kicks in when switched on.

Rampy

*Shrug*

[CM]

The Smartstrip works perfectly for me in the application of a PC waiting for a wake-up signal and then switching on marquee/speakers/TV.    

Sounds like a chunk of your problem may be your TV not being able to self-power on after a previous power-loss?

[Jakobud]

The SmartStrip worked for me, because I was planning on using the TV to turn my cabinet on anyways.  I think a lot of people tried to use their PC as the switch device so it would fire everything up when turned on, and when windows automatically shut down, then it would shut down everything else too.

Maybe you should email Bits Ltd and ask them about the specific requirements for the different components that you have to have plugged in to this thing.  

[1UP]

The Smartstrip works perfectly for me in the application of a PC waiting for a wake-up signal and then switching on marquee/speakers/TV.    

Sounds like a chunk of your problem may be your TV not being able to self-power on after a previous power-loss?

The funny thing is, the TV WILL  power on if unplugged for less than a minute or two, but with the smart strip it doesn't matter -- I can turn the PC off as the control outlet, then right back on within a few seconds, but the switched outlets still don't come back on, and now it's impossible to turn on ANYTHING on the switched outlets until the strip has "rested" a minute or two.  And it seems to me that the fluorescent light fixture in my marquee should be more than enough to draw current to the switched outlets...go figure.

Here's another fun problem: with the PC on the control outlet, if I even so much as reset my PC, apparently that's enough of a current drop to make everything go down instantly, and never comes back up, even though power is flowing constanly to the PC.  Again, the strip has to "rest" for some reason before I can switch back on the TV etc.  Maybe it's a combination of things: maybe it doesn't like the idle current draw that the TV creates when it's trying to restore power after a momentary shutdown, but it's not enough of a draw to turn on the switched outlets or something.

I dunno, it just seems stupid to me that they put such a high current threshold on the thing to do the switching.  My old relay setup may have been a hack job, but it worked every time.  That's all the Smartass Strip should be, basically a relay setup, not a power use watchdog.  To me, it shouldn't matter if the control outlet is just a discman with an adapter, switching on a 5w desk lamp, it should still work.  But apparently to BitsLtd, saving power is more important than the switching functionality, and they'd prefer that you can't use ANY power until you switch on a friggin lawnmower or something!  

[Sasquatch!]

The funny thing is, the TV WILL  power on if unplugged for less than a minute or two, but with the smart strip it doesn't matter -- I can turn the PC off as the control outlet, then right back on within a few seconds, but the switched outlets still don't come back on, and now it's impossible to turn on ANYTHING on the switched outlets until the strip has "rested" a minute or two.

Your first post made me question getting a SmartStrip.  This post completely destroyed any desire that I had to even try to futz with it.

[1UP]

Your first post made me question getting a SmartStrip.  This post completely destroyed any desire that I had to even try to futz with it.

Well, there's every possibility that my experience was an isolated case, but come on, the thing should work as advertised.  I don't recall seeing anything on their site about devices having to meet certain power requirements to work, it was more like "works wherever you'd use a normal power strip."  Except that it doesn't take an afternoon for me to learn how to use a normal power strip...

But by the time I had the manual in hand, which explained that not all devices will work on the control & switched outlets, it was too late.  That's the problem with buying stuff online: between shipping and re-stocking fees etc, it's not really worth returning a $35 item if you're not satisfied.

In the end, what I'll probably do when I get my arcade monitor is run a wire from it to the power switch on top of my cab, then I'll put the monitor on the control outlet and turn the whole cab on and off with that.  But maybe anyone who was thinking of getting a Smart Strip should consider trying the cheaper Sears one first, sounds like a simpler setup.

[aj6500]

I'm using the sears version in my jukebox and so far have had 0 problems with it.  My PC is the switch outlet and  amplifier on the switched.  Monitor turns on/off based on video signal.  Everything starts up and shuts down based on what I do with the PC.  I got lucky with the amplifier as once it's turned on, it will startup again after losing power.  Different models may not, as the Tv above won't.  But that isn't a limitation on the strip.  As for having to have additional powerdraw on the switched side for it to work, that just sounds like bad design.  I'm assuming a powerstrip on the switched side of the sears will work as before, but I haven't tested it.  I have the sears mounted inside the cab with a heavy black extention running from inside th cab to the wall.   All in all I'm happy with the craftsman, and kick myself for the few months I turned my amp on and off with the remote aimed into a hole in the side of the cab.

And of course if you don't like it, you can just run it back to the store instead of trying to ship/return and wait 6 months for your money back.

[JackTucky]

I use the strip and am very happy with it.  My PC powers up the strip properly, and everything comes on (speakers, marquee light, TV).  

The TV doesn't automatically come back on, so I use the paper clip "hack" to force the power button to be on all the time.

I've never tested turning off and on quickly, but the mamewah option that reboots works fine.

Art

[personacom]

It looks as though the issue is regarding your TV, 1up?  I use the smartstrip with the PC being the control and and everything else plugged into the other outlets.

I have my PC Bios set up to take any keystroke as a power on, so all I do is press any button on the control panel,  and then everything else powers up.  My TV is one of those cheap Apex things.  If the TV loses power while on (which is what happens when I shut down the PC), it returns to a usable state when power is restored.

I didn't realize the Bits strip had certain power draw requirements, though.  I guess I just got lucky.

PC

[djsting]

I have the Smartstrip and am very happy with it!  I have my PC plugged into the monitored plug and set it up for soft power on so the stroke of a key will turn on the PC and everything else follows since the monitor (PC monitor), speakers, and lights are all on the switched outlets.  

Now the one problem I am having is that the keystroke must be on the keyboard not a button on the control panel, but I will be troubleshooting this tonight.  I believe that the problem is that my buttons are hooked up to a Ipac4 with a USB interface and my USB hub does not have an external power, it draws it's power from the USB plug on the PC.  I think that if I switch to an externally powered USB hub and plug it into a constant power outlet on the Smartstrip that I'll be set.

[gnateye]

alright a few disclaimers:

i dont work for bitsltd, im not tryin to diss anyone, and i do have a smart strip.

ok, i had the same problems, but before i went balistic on this board, i called the customer service line, they answered right away and were super helpful, it seems that some of the first generation of these were having this problems so they have a newer version thats is somehow internally adjustable, i dont understand it but it works perfectly. they sent me a new one priority mail for free, and and rma number to return the older one, so i would say, call them right away and explain the problem, they want to help, they want it to work  or us, they like the idea of our market liking their product.

i use my strip to power the marquee light, the speakers, the monitor, my cd burner and my old beige g3 mac is pluged into the switching plug. i guess some older computers werent powerful enough to trigger the switch, which is why they had to go with this new model. they make these things to work with tvs and home entertaqinment centers so they need to know about problems like this so they can fix it or help you.

like i said im not an employee and i was super bummed when i got mine and plugged it in and it did  nothing, within 5 minutes i was talking to a person at bitltd and within 10 minutes i was off the phone and within 2 days i had my new instantly working strip.

i will say, this thing is awesome, i used to unplug the powerstrip or open the back of the cab to shut everything off, no more, it all turns on instantly when i turn on the mac. which is exactly what i wanted. so to all you guys who got scared, dont be, im sure bitlt will refund your money if they cant resolve the problems, but i bet they can, and will be happy to hear from you.

after seeing mine a few of my friends went out and ordered their own, so if you are just ordering yours, ask for the adjustable newer version and tell them why.


gnat

[djsting]

Follow up to my earlier post.

I tried an externally powered USB hub with no luck.  I also tried plugging the Ipac directly into the PC and that did not work either so it appears as though the problem is in the USB keyboard interface.  Next I will try via PS2 port but for this I will need to first buy a PS2 extension.

Will post my findings after the next test.

[SpAwN]

Yesterday, I read this article and was worried because my smartstrip was being delivered by UPS. Well, I'm happy to say I installed it last night and it works great in my cabinet.

I plugged my Computer (ATX Powersupply) into the control plug and plugged my Monitor (D9200), Marquee Light (18" Florescent), and Speakers into the switched plugs. They turn on and off instantly as the computer is turned on and off.

I'm really happy with the way mine worked. I would recommend calling them and maybe getting a replacement? It seems to work exactly as advertised.

[1UP]

ok, i had the same problems, but before i went balistic on this board, i called the customer service line, they answered right away and were super helpful, it seems that some of the first generation of these were having this problems so they have a newer version thats is somehow internally adjustable, i dont understand it but it works perfectly. they sent me a new one priority mail for free, and and rma number to return the older one, so i would say, call them right away and explain the problem, they want to help, they want it to work  or us, they like the idea of our market liking their product.

So then the question is, why are they still shipping the old non-working ones?  Why should I have to return it for a newer model when they shipped one that they KNEW had problems.  I'll contact them for a solution, but this just makes me angrier.

[gnateye]

im guessing because it works with a mojority of users, and they need to sell the old ones as wel las the new ones.....

im not defending them, just business, i get hte impression that if you order it from them over the phone or whatever, they know what model computer and what kind of setup you need it for, and are able to take care of your specifice needs better.

anyways it doesnt seem like a big company just a few people.....

[CCM]

I just ordered 3 of them on Friday, should be here tomorrow.  I'll let you know how they work.

[mkdevo]

is the LGC1 the model that everyone is using?

[eightbit]

I've done several cabs with the sears power switcher and have never had an issue. I'm not using tv's though. I've also used the sears switcher strip in other appliations and have never had an issue with it.

Sounds to me like you have a unlucky combination. Your also ranting about information not being available on line. Here's a quote from their website-
"I plugged my electronic device into the control outlet but the switched outlets never turn on. Why?
The Smart Strip Power Strip only senses current from motors, fluorescent lamps and high efficiency power supplies (computers and most but not all home entertainment products). Also some computers and audio/video equipment do not draw enough power to trigger the Smart Strip. If you have an LCG1/LCG2 contact us for a free upgrade to an LCG3/4. If you have an LCG3/4, use the adjustment to set the correct trigger level."

Give the company a chance to fix it for you.

[1UP]

So...they are sending me a newer strip.  Hopefully this one will work the way I originally expected.

I still don't think I was wrong to expect it to work as advertised on the main page of their website.  No one expressed any problems in their reviews around here, so I guess I "stupidly" assumed that "hey, you just turn on your PC and everything attached to the strip turns on."  Wow, high tech.  I figured it would work just as simply as the hacked relay power strip I made MYSELF that worked pretty well for the year I've been using it.

BTW eightbit, I cannot find your quote from the site "FAQ" anywhere on their site -- meaning they tucked that info away where the casual buyer is not likely to find it before clicking the much more prominent BUY button, so don't act like I'm a "ranting" madman that doesn't know what I'm talking about.  I had read a couple positive reviews here on BYOAC, and I knew the concept was simple, so I had no reason to suspect that the strip had any hidden limitations.  

The easily accessible areas of the site, the packaging itself, and the first page of the manual all say things like "Automatically turns computer peripherals on/off" etc.  There were no asterisks or "buts", and it isn't until the next to last page of the manual (i.e. after the thing is bought, paid for and shipped at my expense) that I first read "certain devices...will NOT turn on the switched outlets."  Bummer.

[DeafBug]

I was planning on getting one.  Be sure to tell us what the model number is on the unit they are shipping you so we can order the correct one.  I don't want the same frustration you had.  Thanks for the heads up.

[eightbit]

BTW eightbit, I cannot find your quote from the site "FAQ" anywhere on their site -- meaning they tucked that info away where the casual buyer is not likely to find it before clicking the much more prominent BUY button, so don't act like I'm a "ranting" madman that doesn't know what I'm talking about.  I had read a couple positive reviews here on BYOAC, and I knew the concept was simple, so I had no reason to suspect that the strip had any hidden limitations.  

I have read several positive reviews here as well but I remember at least one person posting about having a problem and haveing a new strip sent to them.

The quote I posted is 3 clicks, its under "Support" then "click here for more questions" then "I plugged my electronic device into the Smart Strip Power Strip control outlet but the switched outlets never turn on. Why?"

It seems your biggest complaint was because of a limitation of your tv. The powerstrip is not going to change how your tv works.

Your cabinet is unique and you spent a lot of time to make it look and work as good as it does. Where did you patience and perseverence go?

[CCM]

No problems with my strips either.  I just bought 3 of 'em and they all work fine.  Plug my PC in and turn it on and my marquee, speakers and monitor fire up.  I have to agree with some of the other posts and assume that the problem is with your TV.

[1UP]

The problem was not with my TV, it was a design limitation with the strip, only compounded by the fact that my TV needs a remote to turn on.

My point is, they buried info on a major problem that was important enough to require a redesign of the product, yet it wasn't exactly at the top of the support list.  The switched outlets SHOULD just come on as soon as you switch on the control outlet, whether anything is connected to the switched plugs or not.  Again, they were more interested in saving energy than making a convenient way of switching devices.

I read the GLOWING reviews here, and went to their site basically just to buy the thing.  This is the single largest problem with their design, and would probably answer most tech support questions, yet you need to go into support, then to additional questions or whatever just to find this out.  Three clicks sounds like sweeping it under the rug to me...

BTW, just because it takes time to plan and build a cab like mine, doesn't mean I want to spend as much time as possible to troubleshoot a $^%*&(%& powerstrip!

[1UP]

Ok, no beeyotching this time...

SO I installed the new strip (a pre-production LGC 3) and it works great!  This is the product they should have sent in the first place.  The new version has a pot sticking out the side, which is adjustable for sensitivity.  On the lowest setting, it comes on as soon as you PLUG something into the control outlet, whether it's on or not!  

Take it down by about 1/8 to 1/4 turn, and it works beautifully.  Now I just turn on my PC from the remote switch on my cab, and the fluorescent lamp and speakers are enough to pull current to the switched outlets.  This allows me to turn on my TV with the remote, and I'm a happy camper!  Hit the cab switch again, and Windows exits gracefully, with a completely unattended shutdown.  No problems with resetting either.  YAY!

I'm still a little irritated that I had to go thru all this frustration, but I guess I can't really blame BitsLtd too much, as they're not even selling the LGC3 or 4 yet, I got a preview model (so new, the ink on the strip's labeling was smudged...)

[eightbit]

SO I installed the new strip (a pre-production LGC 3)

Its pretty sweet isn't it? I have the sears strips in mine and it makes the cabinet almost idiot proof. The cabs get shut down properly just by pushing one button and its as simple as pushing that single button to turn it on.

Eventually I want to get around to hiding the OS by making the front end the windows shell. Change the startup/shutdown screens in windows and it won't even look like its running on a PC anymore.

[jerryjanis]

I'm a bit late on this, one but I just noticed that you got yours replaced with a newer one.  I noticed this page which says that anybody can send in for a free upgrade:

http://www.bitsltd.net/smartstrip/answers.html#oq3

Yeehaw!

[mkdevo]

so the LGC3 and LGC4 are no longer available on the site... is this to make way for the new ones? anyone know when they'll be available?

[jerryjanis]

Mine is an LGC1 which I bought maybe a year ago.

I sent them an email, check it out:

Dear Jake,
We will be happy to offer you the free upgrade which also includes free
shipping. Please provide us with the shipping address and when we send
out
your power strip we will send you a prepaid mailing label for the
return of
the LCG1 power strip.  Customer satisfaction is our top priority at
Bits
Limited!  We hope you enjoy your new power strip! Please let us know
when
you receive the upgrade if everything is to your satisfaction.

> Hello, about 6 months ago I purchased a smartstrip
> LCG1.  It didn't work for me on the computer that I
> need it for, although it did work on a different
> computer.
>
> I was doing some looking around, and noticed that you
> are offering a free upgrade.  Thank goodness!  It
> sounded like a really great product, and I'm happy to
> hear that my money wasn't thrown away.
>
> Please let me know what I should do to get my free
> upgrade.
>
> Thank you very much.
> Sincerely,
> Jake Stookey

[bitsltd]

The pre-realease  LCG3/4 was stopped because the time and cost that it took to update it from an LCG1/2. All future LCG1/2 are now adjustable and resolves the problem of it not turning on properly. The new adjustment retrofit can now be done in a reasonable amount of time. ANYONE who owns a smart strip regardless of when it was purchased can exchange it for the adjustable model. Also you can request a black power cord for an additional $3, the black cord cost $6 but BITS is spliting the cost of the cord and paying for the postage to make up for the inconvenience of it not working the first time. The LCG3/4 versions will be available again in December and will feature the new current sensor that was in the prerelease models.

[CitznFish]

The pre-realease  LCG3/4 was stopped because the time and cost that it took to update it from an LCG1/2. All future LCG1/2 are now adjustable and resolves the problem of it not turning on properly. The new adjustment retrofit can now be done in a reasonable amount of time. ANYONE who owns a smart strip regardless of when it was purchased can exchange it for the adjustable model. Also you can request a black power cord for an additional $3, the black cord cost $6 but BITS is spliting the cost of the cord and paying for the postage to make up for the inconvenience of it not working the first time. The LCG3/4 versions will be available again in December and will feature the new current sensor that was in the prerelease models.

Welcome to the board!  I'll be buying mine soon. Sounds like you know how to treat your customers.

[soslo]

As some of you know, I've been having problems with the 4 power strips (LGC1) I just bought from bits ltd.

The power strips only seem to work some of the time. Example: when I got the strip and plugged everything in, it worked great. The next day, none of the switched outlets would turn off...constant on. That night, everything turned off randomly.

Ok fine. Then the switch will work fine for a couple of hours, and I'll turn the computer on, and nothing will power up.  (FYI - I am installing the OS, FE, roms, etc. - hence the boot up/down frequency.)

I just called bits ltd - they said they'd call me back. Lets hope they know what the problem is. I don't know if I have the newer version or not (the strips have a sensitivity dial on them). I've tried messing with that thing but I have seen *zero* difference in behavior at the default and extreme settings.

[Jakobud]

A while back I got an enquiry from someone at Bits Ltd about how satisified I was with the original product.  This was right around the time that this thread started.  So I pointed him to this thread (that btsltd guy who posted was probably the same guy that emailed me) and I gave him some advice and showed him that some people were having problems with the Smart Strip.  Anyways, this was just before they released their new model and since I was apparently very helpful in pointing them to this discussion, they sent me the first pre-release model of their new Smart Strip for free.  I can't really tell the function differences between the two as I never had problems with my other one but this new one does have the black cord.  However, you know how the original gray cord had the type of plug that made it not stick out from the wall?  I loved that.  Well the black plug isn't like that.  Its just a regular black plug  Oh well.

[KevSteele]

However, you know how the original gray cord had the type of plug that made it not stick out from the wall?  I loved that.  Well the black plug isn't like that.  Its just a regular black plug  Oh well.

Bummer. I like the "flat wall mount" style plug. Luckily my cab is right in front of the outlet, so you can't see the beige plug on my standard Smartstrip.

Kevin

[eightbit]

Black is nice but so is the flat wall plug. That would be a tough call to make if you gave me choice. Not that they are offering a choice or even asking my opinion. I'd probably have to go black cord though.

[Tailgunner]

I went with black cords on both of mine. Flat plugs would be handy, but the standard plugs are more authentic for an arcade cab.

[eightbit]

I went with black cords on both of mine. Flat plugs would be handy, but the standard plugs are more authentic for an arcade cab.

Oh, no! When will the insanity stop. Now it can't have a flat plug because thats not arcade authentic. Good golly man its mame! How authentic is that?