Smartstrip to Shut Down Everything

[dmish82]

Hi,

I saw a post which had a link to a Smartstrip which can be used to shut everything down. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this one (good or bad luck) and whether anyone's tried any other ones (cheaper/different brands, etc) and your luck with those.  Do you think this is the easiest route to go to get everything to shutdown? Thanks.

[Hoagie_one]

i think this is your best bet and it should work 100% of the time

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/6ee4/

That or build your own relay like i did

[clanggedin]

I love my smartstrip. It shuts donw everything with one button press. I just wish it would turn my TV on, but that's not an issue with smartstrip. It's an issue with my TV.

I would highly recommend it to anyone.

[krick]

As an alternative to the smart strip option, you could get a Vantec ION power supply.  It has an "accessory outlet" on the back that switches on and off with the PC.

More info in this thread...

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=20611

[RecycledPast]

This topic has been addressed many times before.
Here is my personal experience.  

I have Smart Strip LCG1 ($29.95) + s/h
http://www.bitsltd.net/smartstrip/buy.htm
It works correctly at home but when I bring my bartop to work I can't get it to work correctly, it's as if the sensitivity dial needs to be more sensitive. I think that this problem also might have something to do with my very old P2 computer.  Another downside is that it's really big and I didn't take that into account when building my bartop.  

I've removed it from my bartop and plan on trying it on a different computer to see if it works any better.

I replaced the smartstrip with a sears Craftsman Auto Switch  ($19.99)  
Sears item #00924031000 Mfr. model #24031  
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00924031000
It worked perfectly out of the box, the downside is that it only had 3 outlets and it needs an extension cord.

Extension cord ($3-$8).  I also needed another outlet (pc, monitor, speakers, light) so I bought a Power Strip Liberator II PL3 from bitsltd ($3)so I would have enough outlets.

In the end they were similar in price ($35ish).  The sears device is not a surge protector, but it is smaller.