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One "On/Off" Switch to Power Them All

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Green Giant:

This isn't the 90's.  A computer can take a power kill, just make sure it doesn't have "power on with power" set.  Had a $20000 server die at work when power company kept cycling on and off before we could kill all the machines.

psychotech:


--- Quote from: Zebidee on June 23, 2007, 03:14:56 am ---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.

--- End quote ---

I'd say that's the only way to go; IE. the easy & safe option. How many MB's there are without the option to power the PC on from a button on the front panel? Even the old 386/486's had the button... With any ATX MB's it really is the ON/OFF solution ..For older machines you'll just need something like the atxoff.com batch file. (While even Win98 shuts down "automatically", the atxoff works even in dos :) With AT boards, who knows..

...

HoopstarsGarage:

With all my cabinets I have used the following method:

I connect a single momentary pushbutton switch (on the outside of the cabinet) to the PC's power button.  When this button is pressed, the PC boots up and with it, the +12v line inside the PC switches on.

I then connect this +12V to a mains rated relay using the appropriate Relay cradle.  When the relay switches on, it switches in the active 240v (120v) line which in turn is connected to a power board - the powerboard then turns on my marquee light, monitor, amp, etc.

When the PC is switched off, either by pressing the "power" button or shutting down from inside your FE, the relay will drop out and switch off all your other components.

The diode is there to prevent any back EMF upsetting the power supply when it switches off - you can use any diode (1N4001, 1N4004 etc) just make sure to observe the polarity of the diode..!!



I would advise to mount the relay and cradle in an aluminum project box which is grounded for safety.  I have also built a couple for friends using a smaller relay and mounted it inside the powerboard - this requires some soldering skills which some may not be comfortable with.  Make sure all terminations are covered with heat shrink..!!

All in all this is cheap, easy and works..!!


Hoops

Zebidee:

looks cool Hoops - getting my head around this now.  Seems pretty straightforward ....

The local h/ware store has run out of cheap master/slave power boards, and I don't know where else to get them in Australia.  So this relay switch looks like the next best thing.

Joystick Jerk:

I just did the soft-switch hack and it worked great!

Just cut the wires to the soft-switch on your PC, splice in some lines with those electrical twist caps, and then attach them to your arcade pushbutton. Here's another quick diagram for those that are interested:




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