How do you switch on?

[UFO]

How do you switch on your MAME machine?

I plan to have a main power switch, but then what? How do you switch the PC on?

Do you have a power switch for lighting (marquee, speakers, lighting etc) and a button for the PC?

OR, can you somehow hook to everything to one main switch?

Little lost here!

Thanks chaps
EssJay 

[Le Chuck]

Buy a smart strip.  Have everything slaved off the PC and run a momentary switch from the MOBO to the outside of the cab.  Simple press on single press off.  Set windows to shutdown on power off and you never have to worry about shutdown procedures either.  There are other ways to skin this cat but I can't think of a simpler one. 

[JDFan]

PC and Monitor plugged into power strip inside the bartop case - power button wire that runs from MOBO to PC case front panel for PC removed wires from PC case and wired to arcade button put on back of bartop - Windows set to shut down on button press.(one of the options in the power settings handles what to do when power button is pressed)  So when bartop is plugged in power goes to both monitor and PC (monitor comes on since it remains on at front of monitor unless that button is pressed but no access to the button so it always remains on) PC only comes on when arcade button is pressed on the back of the machine.

When done playing press arcade button on back again and system shuts windows down and powers off (monitor remains powered but goes to black screen and standby mode) - If not using for awhile unplug from wall to completely shut off.

[GoYouSalukis]

I have one pushbutton that is wired to the PC's start button. I modified a powerstrip with a relay based on DaoldMan's thread. When the button is pushed, the CPU turns on and sends 5V to the relay. The relay switches on the rest of the peripherals, the monitor, speakers, marquee and wall wart for the monitor rotation motor. When I shut down windows (either with power button or from menu), once the CPU turns off, the 5V stops going to the relay and cuts power to peripherals. It is real easy to do if you are comfortable with modifying a power strip.

[Caparo8bit]

Buy a smart strip.  Have everything slaved off the PC and run a momentary switch from the MOBO to the outside of the cab.  Simple press on single press off.  Set windows to shutdown on power off and you never have to worry about shutdown procedures either.  There are other ways to skin this cat but I can't think of a simpler one.

thats the way haha haha i like it.............

[Dcpmark]

Buy a smart strip.  Have everything slaved off the PC and run a momentary switch from the MOBO to the outside of the cab.  Simple press on single press off.  Set windows to shutdown on power off and you never have to worry about shutdown procedures either.  There are other ways to skin this cat but I can't think of a simpler one.

My method is even simpler.....I never turn my MAME cab off. The monitor goes to sleep after 30 minutes of no action. A simple press of any button wakes it up.

[Le Chuck]

Buy a smart strip.  Have everything slaved off the PC and run a momentary switch from the MOBO to the outside of the cab.  Simple press on single press off.  Set windows to shutdown on power off and you never have to worry about shutdown procedures either.  There are other ways to skin this cat but I can't think of a simpler one.

My method is even simpler.....I never turn my MAME cab off. The monitor goes to sleep after 30 minutes of no action. A simple press of any button wakes it up.

Aside from the power wasted in this, what happens during power outages, or if you need to move the cab, or if there is a storm? While I agree that just not doing anything is pretty simple it's probably not advisable. 

[Dcpmark]

Buy a smart strip.  Have everything slaved off the PC and run a momentary switch from the MOBO to the outside of the cab.  Simple press on single press off.  Set windows to shutdown on power off and you never have to worry about shutdown procedures either.  There are other ways to skin this cat but I can't think of a simpler one.

My method is even simpler.....I never turn my MAME cab off. The monitor goes to sleep after 30 minutes of no action. A simple press of any button wakes it up.

Aside from the power wasted in this, what happens during power outages, or if you need to move the cab, or if there is a storm? While I agree that just not doing anything is pretty simple it's probably not advisable.

I don't ever need to move the cab, but if I ever do I CAN shut down the computer, of course. As for the rare power outages, I simply turned the computer back on, then restart again and fire up my frontend. I agree that it's not necessarily advisable, but I've been running my Win 98 cab this way since 2000 and I've never had a single problem. In fact, I recently upgraded the cab with a Win8 box in January, and during the one 2-minute power outage we had this year I didn't have to bother with a restart before firing everything up again.

[UFO]

I have one pushbutton that is wired to the PC's start button. I modified a powerstrip with a relay based on DaoldMan's thread. When the button is pushed, the CPU turns on and sends 5V to the relay. The relay switches on the rest of the peripherals, the monitor, speakers, marquee and wall wart for the monitor rotation motor. When I shut down windows (either with power button or from menu), once the CPU turns off, the 5V stops going to the relay and cuts power to peripherals. It is real easy to do if you are comfortable with modifying a power strip.

Do you have the thread link for this?

[UFO]

Found this: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=128892.0

Think I'll be buying one though - don't trust myself that much!

[UFO]

I have one pushbutton that is wired to the PC's start button. I modified a powerstrip with a relay based on DaoldMan's thread. When the button is pushed, the CPU turns on and sends 5V to the relay. The relay switches on the rest of the peripherals, the monitor, speakers, marquee and wall wart for the monitor rotation motor. When I shut down windows (either with power button or from menu), once the CPU turns off, the 5V stops going to the relay and cuts power to peripherals. It is real easy to do if you are comfortable with modifying a power strip.

I've been having a look over this, and although there is an explanation, I don't understand where the two wires out go!

[BobA]

The two wires go to where the button on your computer is wired to turn on the computer.   This is usually a header that takes the wires from the front panel of the computer.   This header usually has pwr on, reset, hd led and power led.

[UFO]

The two wires go to where the button on your computer is wired to turn on the computer.   This is usually a header that takes the wires from the front panel of the computer.   This header usually has pwr on, reset, hd led and power led.

You mean 6 & 8 on this header?

[Le Chuck]

Yup!

[UFO]

Gotcha...

Now to find the right relay from CPC (http://cpc.farnell.com/)

Any help guys? (UK)

Edit: sorry, I mean its UK power, not reply's from UK only members! Just wanted to point that out!! 

[charlieram]

You mean switch? This one will do http://cpc.farnell.com/_/sw03221/switch-sq-pb-mom-red/dp/SW03221 and it's only 45p, connect the two pins to the power button headers and your good to go.
You're not CJH are you?

[UFO]

You mean switch? This one will do http://cpc.farnell.com/_/sw03221/switch-sq-pb-mom-red/dp/SW03221 and it's only 45p, connect the two pins to the power button headers and your good to go.
You're not CJH are you?

Thanks buddy!

What's a "CHJ"?

[UFO]

You mean switch? This one will do http://cpc.farnell.com/_/sw03221/switch-sq-pb-mom-red/dp/SW03221 and it's only 45p, connect the two pins to the power button headers and your good to go.
You're not CJH are you?

No... I need the relay...

I'll just be using a momentary switch from an old cab PC...

[rpgposer]

I open the coinbox, reaaaachhh in, fumble for the power switch, then turn it on.  Reverse process to turn it off.

[CoryBee]

I always wire an external button somewhere on the cabinet coming from the computer's motherboard. Super easy to do.

Lately I have been using a single arcade button on the back of the cabinets as this power button.

[Minwah]

I always wire an external button somewhere on the cabinet coming from the computer's motherboard. Super easy to do.

Ditto, I put a button on the top panel.

[Louis Tully]

.

[charlieram]

Rather than using a relay, one of these would be much safer, plug the pc into the master and when it gets hut down the slaves are turned off.
http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/m-s-1e3-iec/power-lead-master-slave-2m/dp/PL10808

[severdhed]

i do what many others here do...i have a standard arcade button mounted on the top of the cabinet which is wired to the pc power button header on the motherboard. Everything is plugged into a smart power strip so the monitor and speakers turn on and off with the PC.

[popsicle]

There's a way in the bios settings on a lot of pc's to 'start up on power failure' or some other similar option.  This way, when you power on any standard power strip the computer boots up without having to hit another button.

[JDFan]

There's a way in the bios settings on a lot of pc's to 'start up on power failure' or some other similar option.  This way, when you power on any standard power strip the computer boots up without having to hit another button.

Yes but the problem with that is there has to be a power loss in order to trigger the setting !! (which means you are not shutting the OS down properly and thus risk corruption of files or actual physical damage to the hardware caused by simply unplugging\shutting off power ) That setting is mainly for servers that need to be on 24\7 andw ould normally only shut down if for some reason the power goes off and you want it to boot back up if that happens using it as a main source for being able to turn on when plugging in the system is asking for trouble in the long run since you are not going through the proper shut down procedures - since the setting would not be triggered to turn back on if things had shut down properly.

[Caparo8bit]

 I'm using a laptop what's the best way ?

[GoYouSalukis]

I'm using a laptop what's the best way ?

I'm working on a barcade, and I am going to modify a powerstrip for it as well. I just need to find 12vdc or 5V to switch the relay. I'll probably look at where the CD drive hooks up.

[CoryBee]

I'm using a laptop what's the best way ?

You can just solder a pushbutton switch to the laptop's power switch. I show this done a bunch of different times in my bartop buiilds...signature.

[GoYouSalukis]

After thinking about it, I will just take a usb cable, cut it, and get 5v from that to trigger the relay that turns on the monitor and speakers.

[Jack Burton]

I left my CRT monitor in the Power On position and turned it on and off by unplugging it from the outlet behind the machine.  I turned the computer on and off by reaching inside the non-working coin door and pressing the button on the front.

Ugly, crude, inaccurate, and lazy but it worked. 

[UFO]

Well, I would like to go down the relay option as I like to learn how to do things (and I'm kind of cheap!), but still not sure which to get here in the UK fro CPC...

Next would be the SmartStrip.

Finally, I think the two button option - one for main power to lights, PC power and the amp, and another for the PC button...

Interesting how people have got round the issue though...

[Caparo8bit]

since we talking about power im planing to install a external power switch on my laptop any switch will work (arcade button) whats ypur best option thanks