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| crashwg:
I remember seeing sometime in the recent past on these boards something about a powerstrip that connected to a USB port and when it sensed power would then turn on the rest of the powerstip. Only problem if I recall correctly was that it was not a US product and therefore had different curent/plug and would not be useable by those in the US. So, I got to thinking... Shouldn't it be easy to duplicate the same results with off-the-shelf parts and ultimately have a working product? Here's my thoughts. Just let me know if I'm not on the right track. Ok, so you've got a power strip, you would: Open it up Cut 1 wire that feeds the left/right side of all the outlets Insert 5v/110v relay between cut (110v part obviously) Attach 5v part to the end of a USB cord Close it all up Attach USB cord to PC Done! Does this make sense to anyone other than myself? It seems to be a simple solution to a common problem. Only thing that bothers me is posibly frying my USB ports. :-\ Is there any advice those with electrical experience would give me to avoid doing such a thing? It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time, and if you feel like going ahead with this design feel free to do so as I wouldn't have to experiment on my computer. ;D |
| krick:
Sounds like it would work. In theory, you can tap 5V off of a USB port: Pin 1 is +5V Pin 4 is ground I use an amplifier from a set of USB powered speakers in my mame cab. Works like a charm. The only problem that I see is that on some motherboards, the USB ports continue to remain powered even after the PC is off. I don't know why, it may be a design problem or something. |
| crashwg:
--- Quote from: krick on June 23, 2004, 01:12:02 am ---I use an amplifier from a set of USB powered speakers in my mame cab. Works like a charm. --- End quote --- Would you care to elaborate on exactly what it is you're doing with the USB powered speakers? I'm not exactly following you. Have you done the relay/powerstrip thing with the speakers? |
| krick:
--- Quote from: crashwg on June 23, 2004, 01:18:15 am --- --- Quote from: krick on June 23, 2004, 01:12:02 am ---I use an amplifier from a set of USB powered speakers in my mame cab. Works like a charm. --- End quote --- Would you care to elaborate on exactly what it is you're doing with the USB powered speakers? I'm not exactly following you. Have you done the relay/powerstrip thing with the speakers? --- End quote --- No there's no relay involved. I was mentioning that things (like speakers) can be powered off of the 5V supplied by a USB port simply as an illustration. I'm just doing the standard "speaker amplifier hack" that most people do. You know, buy a set of cheap computer speakers and gut them for the amplifer board inside. However, the twist is that I've chosen a set of speakers that are powered off of a USB port instead of a power brick that you have to plug into a power strip. See these threads for more information... http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16381 http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=20839 |
| koolmoecraig:
Why not just buy a SMART STRIP? They are under $30 http://www.bitsltd.net/smartstrip/buy.htm |
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