Electrical question (Surge strips)

[tunes0710]

Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before and my search attempts have been feeble..
I am looking to buy this master/slave surge protector for within the cab, so when the PC is powered on, it will power on everything else (lights/tv/speakers/etc).
To try and keep it as neat as possible, would I be ok in removing the plug and wiring in to a male iec chassis like this and then using a kettle lead on the outside with a 13a fuse in it?

Also, I have quite a few questions (and more to come up), should I start a new thread each time, or just rename this thread when I put in a new Q?

I don't want to overrun the forum with my naive questions!

Cheers :-)
Dave.

[Slippyblade]

I don't see any problem doing it the way you are describing.  A 13A fuse seems a bit over the top though.  Your whole system will explode before that fuse ever does.

[Peabo]

Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before and my search attempts have been feeble..
I am looking to buy this master/slave surge protector for within the cab, so when the PC is powered on, it will power on everything else (lights/tv/speakers/etc).
To try and keep it as neat as possible, would I be ok in removing the plug and wiring in to a male iec chassis like this and then using a kettle lead on the outside with a 13a fuse in it?

Also, I have quite a few questions (and more to come up), should I start a new thread each time, or just rename this thread when I put in a new Q?

I don't want to overrun the forum with my naive questions!

Cheers :-)
Dave.

Nothing wrong with that.  Original arcade/pinball machines are wired in the same manner (no smart strips, but the same layout).  My Virtual Pin is wired in this way and here's a photo of my Pretendo cab wiring using a standard powerstrip to IEC plug:



I have a 5v power adapter to run the RPI, a 12v power adapter running the amplifier and LED marquee light and 110v for the monitor.
I used and IEC with a fuse in it like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050HH70E?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00  NOTE: most of these don't ship with fuses

[tunes0710]

Excellent,
Many thanks for the replies.
One other question I had, I am going to get a 12v power supply for the strip lights. For the AC in on the PSU, I was just going to cut the head off of a kettle lead, put spade connectors on live/neutral to connect to the PSU, but would the ground wire be ok connecting to the ground of the IEC chassis (along with the ground of the surge strip), or does it need to be grounded elsewhere?

[Peabo]

Yes, the ground for the PSU needs to goto "Earth" ground and not a chassis ground.  So connecting it to the IEC ground is the correct way to do it.

[tunes0710]

Coolio :-)
How about the ground wire from the kettle lead (that is powering the PSU), would that go to the same place?
(I am going to get an electrician friend to be doing this, it is just my own curiosity and wanting to learn how things work!)

[lilshawn]

as long as the ground lead touches all that which is metal all the way back to the outlet, it will be properly grounded.

IE:

the metal frame of monitor...attached to...
a metal coin door and it's frame...attached to...
a metal control panel...attached to...
metal plate a switch is mounted to.


basically, if it's metal, you want it tied to ground in the unlikely event something goes for crap and makes that metal live with wall voltage. it's surprisingly easy to pinch a live wire in a door or in the hinge of a control panel.