Another DIY Single Button Power Solution

[BobA]

I have seen this built into a power bar but for those who do not want to cut the insides out of a PB here is a simple 2 outlet solution.   Your computer plugs into the always on outlet so that when it turns on it powers the switched outlet which your power bar can be plugged into.

The box is 2.5 inches W 5.5 in long and 1.5 inches deep.  It was chosen to fit the relay and the duplex outlet.  Total cost about $15 for relay, outlet and plastic box.   A relay base was not used to reduce cost and size.  The wires were soldered directly to the solder tabs on the bottom of the relay. All other info is on the circuit drawing.

It is very important to remove the 2 tabs that connect the neutral and power circuits to the two outlets.  These tabs are located between the brass and silver colored screws on the side of the outlet and allow each outlet to become a separate circuit.

This unit has been working for over 4 years in my original bartop and will be used in my new bartop.

Good luck however if you blow yourself or your computer up building this toy you do so at your own risk.  Remember you are working with 120VAC.

Edit: Spelling

[Kremmit]

Very elegant.  Bookmarking now.

[RandyT]

Very nice.

Provided you used one large enough to allow room for the relay, you might even be able to use a standard metal outlet box and cover plate from Home Depot.  Might be a little safer as well.

RandyT

[tba]

i didnt know this wasn't a well known way of doing things, i have had my cab wired this way for a while.

if you just get a 2 outlet box from home depot and a cover you have plenty of room to work with, and you don;t have to buy a more expensive project box.

this is the website i based mine off, it describe it quite well. same thing, just uses a standard outlet box.

http://home.bendcable.com/werstlein/

[BobA]

Using an outlet box is a great idea.  Would have saved me the work nibbling the holes for the outlets in the project box.  Funny I didn't think of using one of those plastic outlet boxes at the time. Great description on that website tba.  I hoped to just add to the info since I know the technique is well known.  What I really wanted to make available was the circuit diagram which does not seem to appear in any of the other diy descriptions. That is why my howto is just a couple of pics and all the info is in the circuit diagram.

[FrizzleFried]

Why make things so difficult?  Why not simply take a power strip,  remove the switch,  run some wire,  drill a hole in the cabinet and install a high-quality toggle switch?  Set your BIOS to power up automatically on power failure.  Flip on the switch,  the computer comes on as does everything else.  When you shutdown your computer, wait for the PC to turn off,  then flip off the switch and you are good as gold.

One by-product of this method is that you still have a 2nd toggle switch on the cabinet for the MARQUEE and MONITOR only.  Turn those off when you will be away for a while,  flip them on and your up and running in seconds.

Total cost: $4.99 for the power strip and $2.00 for the switch.

[More Cowbell]

Why make things so difficult?  Why not simply take a power strip,  remove the switch,  run some wire,  drill a hole in the cabinet and install a high-quality toggle switch?  Set your BIOS to power up automatically on power failure.  Flip on the switch,  the computer comes on as does everything else.  When you shutdown your computer, wait for the PC to turn off,  then flip off the switch and you are good as gold.
One by-product of this method is that you still have a 2nd toggle switch on the cabinet for the MARQUEE and MONITOR only.  Turn those off when you will be away for a while,  flip them on and your up and running in seconds.
Total cost: $4.99 for the power strip and $2.00 for the switch.

Exactly what I've been doing. It gives you 6 outlets to work with too which is important if you have a computer, monitor, off the shelf marquee light (Home Depot $8.99), and powered speakers. Takes about 5 minutes to open the power strip and connect the wire. Put the toggle switch wherever it is most convenient. Works like a champ. I load up on power strips when I see them on sale for $1.99 or so.

[lanman31337]

I'm doing a switched outlet for my cab.  I'm going to install a new outlet and a switch so I can do that as well.  I hate crawling back and flipping it at the surge strip.

[RandyT]

Why make things so difficult?  Why not simply take a power strip,  remove the switch,  run some wire,  drill a hole in the cabinet and install a high-quality toggle switch?  Set your BIOS to power up automatically on power failure.  Flip on the switch,  the computer comes on as does everything else.  When you shutdown your computer, wait for the PC to turn off,  then flip off the switch and you are good as gold.

One by-product of this method is that you still have a 2nd toggle switch on the cabinet for the MARQUEE and MONITOR only.  Turn those off when you will be away for a while,  flip them on and your up and running in seconds.

Total cost: $4.99 for the power strip and $2.00 for the switch.

That's cool too.  You could also expand the idea for low voltage control (safer) and automatic operation through the PC "on" button by removing the switch on the power strip, and putting a relay and 12v receptacle in it's place.  An "override" could be place on the cabinet by using a SPST toggle on the ground between the PC and the power strip.

RandyT

[Kangum]

or turn everything on remotely for 25 bucks hehe

http://cgi.ebay.com/3PK-AC-OUTLET-WALL-PLUG-SWITCH-WIRELESS-REMOTE-CONTROL_W0QQitemZ320139867277QQcmdZViewItem

[BobA]

I prefer the 1 button approach.   If your PC is set to shut down (orderly) from the front button you can use the PC button (remotely mounted) to turn on your cab and turn off your cab.  When windows shuts down then the cab shuts down.  When you power up your computer your cab powers up.   All with the same button. No waiting for windows to shut down before you hit the toggle switch.

You can also shutdown your cab if you have your front end shutdown the PC when it exits without touching a button.

The biggest advantage of this is that there is no way   not as many ways to improperly shut down your PC.

edit: I guess you can improperly shut down a pc if you really try.

[bfauska]

The biggest advantage of this is that there is no way to improperly shut down your PC.

 

Unplug cable from wall.

 

That's Why I hardwire my cabinet to the grid and shorted all the switches.  All games all the time.

[Jouster]

Would it not also be possible to wire your cab/computer switch in to a multi-button combo that would act as the power button?

Say extend one wire to the ground side of your switch and route the other through both P1&P2 start and Coin ups?  I really wanted to do a button combo to keyboard power up the system, but my board doesn't support that.   

Jouster

[psychotech]

Awesome!

And here I'm using just the motherboard's power switch for a one button solution to power on and off my cabs.. Well, I really must be doing something wrong?

KISS - psychotech

[bfauska]

I use my MB power switch too, the only thing in my cabinet that doesn't either get power from my PC power supply or shut off automatically w/o signal is my speaker system, and the amount of power a 20ish watt amp at rest draws isn't enough to make me worry.  Of course, I don't have a marquee lit up yet and if I use 120v for that I may want to try one of these relay solutions.

[tba]

well, like i said i used the instructions on that web site, so i have everything powering through a relay...

as for "making things simple" and just turning off my computer and waiting around to flick another switch that would TOTALLY defeats the whole "one button to rule them all" approach i was going for. This way i tell the FE to shutdown and walk away. not to mention taking apart a power bar, un soldering a switch moving it and mounting in a new location isn't exactly simple. What i did was unsolder a switch and wire in a relay... no moving or mounting.

I can "improperly" shutdown my computer still though, i just hold the power button down for more then 4 seconds and everything turns off.

[lanman31337]

well, like i said i used the instructions on that web site, so i have everything powering through a relay...

as for "making things simple" and just turning off my computer and waiting around to flick another switch that would TOTALLY defeats the whole "one button to rule them all" approach i was going for. This way i tell the FE to shutdown and walk away. not to mention taking apart a power bar, un soldering a switch moving it and mounting in a new location isn't exactly simple. What i did was unsolder a switch and wire in a relay... no moving or mounting.

I can "improperly" shutdown my computer still though, i just hold the power button down for more then 4 seconds and everything turns off.

that whole improperly shutting down will catch up with ya though ~:

[More Cowbell]

that whole improperly shutting down will catch up with ya though ~:

How so?

[tba]

that whole improperly shutting down will catch up with ya though ~:

i said i can, not i do.

[severdhed]

i have a craftsman auto switch in my cabinet.  it costs $20, and works great.  i hit the PC power button (which is a standard arcade pushbutton mounted on the top of the cabinet), the pc turns on, activating the auto switch which turns on my speakers and marquee light.  I have a 19" LCD computer monitor, so it senses a signal and turns on.  then when i am done, i tell the computer to shut down from the MALA menu, it shuts off, the monitor goes to sleep, and the auto switch turns off the marquee light and speakers.  it is really quite painless, took 5 minutes to set up, and was relatively inexpensive.