One "On/Off" Switch to Power Them All

[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]

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.

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.

[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]

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.

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:

[ppilot]

Wow, what a lot of responses not telling you what you want to know

I've done what you want to do on all of my cabinets; cut apart an old power strip and wired it inline with the toggle switch on the back of your cabinet.  Just take the screws off the back of the power strip, take it apart, and look at the wiring going TO the switch from the strips.  Cut these wires (Black Live, maybe a White Neutral, Green Ground).  You now have no power going to the strip if it's plugged in, right?  (And I know you're not an idiot, but of course do NOT have the strip plugged in when you cut the wires.)  Next, cut the wires to the switch in your cabinet running from the switch TO the internals of your machine.  How these'll be labelled I don't know, but there'll be a live and a ground wire.  Solder the wires from the switch in the machine to the power strip, and put the power strip back together again.  The switch on the power strip now does nothing, and the strip is now powered by the switch on your cabinet.  Plug in the cabinet, plug a lamp or something into the strip to test, invoke whichever deity you prefer, and hit the switch.  If it works, plug everything inside your cabinet into the strip and you're golden.

Make sense?

[Senator]

I am trying to extend the power switch on my computer to an arcade button on the top of cabinet.  When I looked at the computer button there are four wires going to the mother board.  I checked two other computers and they both have two like everyone here seems to have.  Does anyone know why there are four (2 green and 2 white) and can help with how to hook up an arcade button? 

Also, I'm using a smartstrip but my tv does not stay on after power loss.  I know this is a whole other topic (but related) and  know there are several ways to skin this cat but I am looking to extend the tv power button, I can then use the button to simulate a "toothpick" approach where the tv is always in the "on" position.  If this doesn't work, I can also make a 2-button approach with power for computer (and speakers and light thru the smartstrip) with a second button for tv power.

Has anyone tried this approach of extending the tv power button? 

[Zebidee]

I am trying to extend the power switch on my computer to an arcade button on the top of cabinet.  When I looked at the computer button there are four wires going to the mother board.  I checked two other computers and they both have two like everyone here seems to have.  Does anyone know why there are four (2 green and 2 white) and can help with how to hook up an arcade button? 

I have dealt with this before.  Is your PC an IBM or similar ex-desktop?  The IBM ATX case power switches have four wires, which represent two separate on/off actives and two separate ground wires.  For some reason IBM designed their P4 m/boards like this, but only one wire pair actually needs to be grounded to trigger on/off.  The switch is designed to trigger both signals simultaneously (I pulled it apart), but this seems completely unnecessary except perhaps as backup.  I also spent some time testing this by restarting the machine with different wire pair combos and both at once, but it made absolutely no difference. 

I am almost certain that you only need to use one pair of wires (active & ground) to make the switch.  That's how I did it on my IBM machine before, and I never had a problem with it (sold now).  I just chose one wire pair and wired up an arcade button with adjustable trigger pressure.  This way you can make it less sensitive, and more difficult to press by accident.

Regarding your TV power switch - is it momentary or toggle?  And I'm thinking ...  have you considered wiring your PC and TV power to the same switch / button?  You may have to visit the electronics store to get a two-way switch, probably going to cost you all of $1 or $2.

[Senator]

Thanks for that Zeb, that's exactly what I have, IBM Netvista P4.  Your solution should work.

The TV has a momentary switch.  My hope it to be able to just plug it into the smartstrip and have it go on and off with everything else.  Your suggestion sounds like an interesting 1-button alternative.  I've read a few threads about this but never saw that solution.   I'm most interested in the difficulty of actually installing the extended button.  I'm a novice at soldering and if I need to take to a tv repair guy I will.  Also interested if anyone actually used this technique successfully.

Thanks again.

[Zebidee]

Senator, installing the 2-way switch shouldn't be at all complicated.  The theory is no more complicated than any other arcade button.  Just that you'll have one switch to ground two signals.  There are about a zillion different switches out there, but you probably don't have to solder anything at all.  Ask about switches at the electronics hobby store.

If you like this hobby, try to make some time/opportunity to build your soldering skills as they are very useful    

[Zebidee]

Oh, if the TV has a momentary switch then the PC will need to be turned on with a momentary switch signal (eg the soft power switch connected to ATX m/board).  But if the TV switch is alternating on/off, then you should also use an alternating switch for the PC power.  In this case, use the alternating "PSON" signal wire from where the ATX Power supply itself connects to the m/board (as I described in my earlier post on this thread).  This way you have a 2-way ("dual gang"?) switch option regardless of how the TV powers on.

[advocate]

Instead of Rewiring the Power Supply, Couldn't you Just use the Craftsman Auto Switch Sears item# 00924031000 Mfr. model# 24031

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00924031000P?keyword=power+accessories

You Plug your computer into the main outlet and plug your Monitor and other Cabinet Peripherals in the Accessory outlets (you can add a powerstrip).

I turn on my computer by either hitting the ATX Button or the Keyboard Key programmed in the Bios. When I do that the Switch Turns on All my other Computer Peripherals attached. When I hit Windows  Shut Down in XP, my computer Shuts Down and the Switch then Automatically Shuts off all Peripherals. Power is Maintained to the computer so that the ATX button or Keyboard Key can Turn it on again.

Just Extend your ATX Button or keyboard key  to the outside of your cab.

Your other solutions are ingenious, but I think that this one is easier.

Jacob

[Zebidee]

Welcome to the board!

Unfortunately, the "Craftsman" doesn't do anything to address the need for a momentary switch to be pressed at the same time as power is applied.  Good to see another master-slave powerboard available out there though.

Since originally writing to this thread, I've setup a vertical cab with a 26" Loewe TV that needs a momentary switch pressed at the SAME TIME, or within about 1 second, of power being applied.  I addressed this by adding a second TV power switch, on the outside of the cab (at back).  I pulled an appropriate switch off an old TV that I was  throwing out. The cab still has separate power switches for PC & monitor, but I don't have to reach around inside the back of the cab to turn on the monitor now.

            Hey!  I just had an idea


While writing this post, I have realised that I have another possibility.  Use my new TV switch to apply 240v power to the PC instead of the TV, while still using the same switch to send the momentary on/off signal to the TV.  If i set up my PC to come on as power applied, and it is attached to a master-slave powerboard (eg the Smartstrip or the Sears one, or the cheaper & better one I got from Bunnings), then power will also be applied to my TV (the original switch is left ON), and the momentary trigger will turn the TV on!

The whole deal might rely on the person pressing the switch removing their finger at a leisurely pace.  I wonder about the small time delay (PC turning on, drawing current, master/slave relay circuits are closed on powerboard, TV gets power and ONLY THEN looks for a momentary signal on/off).  I know it all happens very quickly, but wonder if it would be quick enough.  Probably 

On balance, for this particular cabinet, I think I like having the separate power switch for my TV-cum-monitor.  Another feature of this great Loewe TV is that it powers off after a certain time (~5 minutes) without any video signals.  This means that if windows turns the video off after 20 minutes of no activity, the TV will turn itself off and save power/tube/electronics wear. And if that happens,  I can turn it on again with an easily accessible separate power switch for the monitor.

As I run Windows 2000 on this cab's PC, it is nice to be able to turn off the monitor without having to re-boot the machine (which takes about 1.5 minutes +)

[BrentRadio]

This is what I use. They also make them with just one button.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200206724_200206724