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| One "On/Off" Switch to Power Them All |
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| ideft:
I hope this helps your needs. Basically you need to wire a switch to your power. All it takes is a 120v AC rated switch ie. a normal household light switch. Cut the plug going into your power bar and cut the female end of an extension cord. Wire the two black wires(live) to the two bolts on the switch, connect the whites(neutral) with a wire connector, do the same with the grounds. Encase in a electrical box and there is your power switch. |
| Zebidee:
BradC - You don't want to run 240v (or 110v) to a switch if you can help it. This way uses only 5v instead: If you have an ATX mainboard, then find the PSON (Power Switch ON) pin where the ATX power supply connects to the mainboard. On a 20-pin ATX molex connector this is pin 14. Also find a suitable ground pin (pin 15 on a 20-pin ATX will do). There is also a 24-pin ATX power variety. Check here for PS pinouts: http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml Assuming a 20-pin ATX connector, you can run an 'active' wire from the back of the PSON pin on the molex plug (pin 14), and a 'ground' wire from pin 15 to your external power switch. To initially connect the wire to the molex connector & test without damaging anything, strip the last cm or so of your wire, twist/fold it & jam it in the back of the ATX molex connector (where it connects to the mainboard) so that it makes a good connection with the metal pin. Do the same for your ground wire. Connect both wires to your "always on" power switch. Viola! You have an external power switch for your cabinet that won't fry someone if you stuff up :) Even better, if your ATX PC has a 'soft' power switch (ie, the power switch is connected to your motherboard, not the power supply) then you should be able to redirect this to a normal arcade button as an alternating ON/OFF button. Most of these switches are "momentary" (ie like an arcade action button), and designed to either start or shut down the PC when they detect the 5V being grounded. I use this kind of switch to allow my Win XP cab to be started and shut-down safely from a button (I placed the on/off button just inside the cab door though). EDIT - almost forgot to mention that I use this setup with a $20 master/slave powerboard (ie a cheap "Smartstrip") from the local hardware store to ensure that all the cab's lights & monitor turn on & off as the PC is powered on/off with the arcade button. |
| shorthair:
I'm surprised on one is worried about a drop-out while playing a game. It's not common, but out in the west this can happen due to high AC usage. Also, when I lived in one area, twice over a couple/few years, people hit poles or transformers near intersections. |
| SirPeale:
Of course it's a risk. No one's saying it isn't. |
| SavannahLion:
--- Quote from: shorthair on June 23, 2007, 02:02:12 pm ---I'm surprised on one is worried about a drop-out while playing a game. It's not common, but out in the west this can happen due to high AC usage. Also, when I lived in one area, twice over a couple/few years, people hit poles or transformers near intersections. --- End quote --- You're describing rolling black outs. The West isn't the only place to suffer from that, it's just more high profile. Most people learn really quick to deal with those kind of situations. If power outages is that big of a deal for you, stick a UPS in the cab and be done with it. |
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