Cabinet Switch Wiring

[Tecil]

This is in reference to my project cabinet viewable here.

On the top of the cabinet is a standard power on switch, that currently isn't hooked to anything.  What I would like to do is somehow wire this switch to a power strip inside the cab, that when flipped would turn the power strip on.  I know I've read of a couple people here who have done something similar but I've been unable to find any other info about how it was done specifically.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.

[SirPeale]

Route the wiring from the power switch on the strip to the switch on the top of the cab.

[Santoro]

This is in reference to my project cabinet viewable here.

On the top of the cabinet is a standard power on switch, that currently isn't hooked to anything.  What I would like to do is somehow wire this switch to a power strip inside the cab, that when flipped would turn the power strip on.  I know I've read of a couple people here who have done something similar but I've been unable to find any other info about how it was done specifically.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.

If you are willing to do standard electrical wiring in your cab, you could switch regular household outlets with it like I did here:



This assumes you have basic wiring skills.

Dave

[DrewKaree]

See COBeav's reply in -->HERE<-- I know he says to pm him, but he gives his solution, so you should be able to infer it from that.  See also any of the "turn a power strip into a one button solution" threads and apply them to your situation.  I believe the two suggestions will work hand in hand.  

[hulkster]

well i did a one button, cab turn on switch, but i didnt have any knowledge of wiring, or soldering or anything like that.  i bought a craftsman auto switch (basically a multiple outlet thing that you plug in the wall) that will let you plug one thing into the main outlet, and then when that is turned on, the other things plugged in will turn on.  then i just extended the wires from the motherboard power pin connector thingys, to a microswitch.  its really not complicated at all.  no seriously, im super retarded when it comes to wiring.  im scared of a soldering iron, so its not hard.  however if you know somewhat of what you are doing with wires and all that, then you probably dont want to go my route.  anyway, pm me if you want to know more.

[gnateye]

the simplist route for what you are saying is this (this is what i have on one of my cabs, the other has a smart strip, which is awesome)

open up the powerstrip, find the 2 wires that comin from the cord and goto the switch, cut the black one or whatever color the one goin into the switch is, use somewire nuts, and connect thw wire to a longer wire that reaches your cabs power switch, attach the other end to the power switch, run another wire from the other side of the cab power switch back to the powerstrip, use another wire nut to attach. basically you have extended the powerstrips switch to your cabs switch. make sure you leave the powerstrip turned on if you left the switch inline. you can use quick connects to attach to the cabs power switch for solderless connection. aslo its a good idea to use some electrical tape just in case.......

takes about 20-30 minutes total

[Tecil]

I've seen mention of the smart power strips.  What do they do exactly?

[gnateye]

it does the same thing as the craftsman one mentioned above, one outlet is the 'trigger" outlet, whatever is plugged into that when turned on will trigger the other outlets to turn on. on mine, the pc is plugged into the 'trigger' outlet so when i turn it on the marquee, speakers and montior turn on, i can start my mac from a key on the keyboard. very handy and well worth the 40$

[spauldingd]

$30 with free shipping for the one here:

http://www.smartstrip.net

It looks good because it has something like 10 outlets with 3 that are always hot.  It is on my list for my cab project.

Dave

[Buddabing]

This is in reference to my project cabinet viewable here.

On the top of the cabinet is a standard power on switch, that currently isn't hooked to anything.  What I would like to do is somehow wire this switch to a power strip inside the cab, that when flipped would turn the power strip on.  I know I've read of a couple people here who have done something similar but I've been unable to find any other info about how it was done specifically.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.

I would say go with the smart strip. Put the computer on the "control" outlet on the smart strip and the other devices (monitor, marquee light, subwoofer, etc. ) on the "switched" outlets. On my cab I open the coin door and press the power button on the PC and everything turns on.

If your power button on your cab is a "momentary on" button like on ATX power supplies, just remove the jumper that runs from your PC's case to the power switch pins on your motherboard and run a wire from your cab's power switch to the motherboard. That would be elegant, reliable, and reversible. You could use speaker wire, phone cord wire, or whatever for the power switch wire.

If the cab's power button is a true on/off button, either replace it with a momentary button or (gasp) use an AT power supply and an old motherboard.

[Tecil]

That smartstrip is exactly what I'm looking for.

http://www.happcontrols.com/electrical_supplies/49000500.htm

That is the switch that is currently installed on the top of my cabinet.

And I assume I would need to replace it with something like this?

http://www.happcontrols.com/electrical_supplies/95084500.htm

[gnateye]

you wont need either of thoise if you get hte smart strip, thats only if you hack apart and older powerstrip. the smartstrip reall yis the easiest way.

[Tecil]

Well I was hoping to wire a switch to the contact on the mobo so I could run the cable up to the switch on top and make that the power switch rather than having to reach inside and flip the computer on.

[hulkster]

well dude thats what i did, and the craftsman strip is 20 bucks, and you can get it at sears.  i just left the contact on the mobo alone, and just took off the front of the comp case and then cut the wire leading to the power button of the comp, and just extended it without using solder.  crimp connectors did that for me, and then just used a quick disconnect to hook it to a pushbutton.  simple

[Buddabing]

That smartstrip is exactly what I'm looking for.

http://www.happcontrols.com/electrical_supplies/49000500.htm

That is the switch that is currently installed on the top of my cabinet.

And I assume I would need to replace it with something like this?

http://www.happcontrols.com/electrical_supplies/95084500.htm

Yep, that's it. Just make sure the screw threads are going to match up with your existing switch, otherwise you won't get your $7.30 worth. That's an expensive switch, but if it fits perfectly it's worth it IMO. Otherwise you'll be fooling with the thing for a long time and you'll waste much more time than $7.30 worth.

[Tecil]

Yeah I was going to measure mine and check around to see what else I can find.

Thanks for the info, I think I've got it all figured out now.  I just ordered one of those smartstrips from smartstrip.net

[spauldingd]

Thanks for the info, I think I've got it all figured out now.  I just ordered one of those smartstrips from smartstrip.net

I ordered 2 myself.  I figure if I put on in my cabinet I should also have one for my main system.

[Chris]

That smartstrip is exactly what I'm looking for.

http://www.happcontrols.com/electrical_supplies/49000500.htm

That is the switch that is currently installed on the top of my cabinet.

And I assume I would need to replace it with something like this?

http://www.happcontrols.com/electrical_supplies/95084500.htm

Yes, or just use a spare arcade button or any momentary pushbutton from Radio Shack.

[Tecil]

Actually I'll have some spare buttons when I'm done replacing my control panel's out, so I may just use one of those.

Thanks for the info.

[Oldskool]

There's been a few threads on the subject of triggered powerbars.

They're pretty expensive, so I was planning on going another route.

See the attached pic. I'm going to mount a regular light switch on the back of the cab, and put a standard powerbar on the inside.

[JustMichael]

Oldskool,  why don't you change the powerbar idea to an outlet?  With a switched outlet, you could plug a surge protecting power tap without having to modify it at all.

[Oldskool]

Oldskool,  why don't you change the powerbar idea to an outlet?  

Could do, it's six of one, half dozen of the other really.

I just thought that with the power bar being a permanent part of this project, it wouldn't matter if I cut off the plug and hardwire it.