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Easy hack for computer on/off switch.
crackbone:
Seen a lot of questions about making external power switches for a cab. Found a good base for the switch. Sorry if this has been posted before, but I've never seen anyone mention it.
I couldn't find a connector like the kind a standard ATX motherboard takes for the power. I noticed that a standard audio cable (the kind that goes from the sound card to the CD-ROM) works perfectly if you cut in in half. Here's a bad drawing but hopefully it'll show what I mean.
Standard power switch Audio Cable
w w ww w
w w (wires) ww w (wires)
___ ______
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
---- ---------
The plastic is soft enough to cut and file down to match a standard power connector size. Wire it up to a momentary contact switch and you don't have to cut any of the original connections out of your case or wire up a connector for the motherboard pins.
Crack
shmokes:
Wow...thanks. Great idea.
OSCAR:
Yes, nearly every motherboard header I've seen use .100" spacing, also known as MTA-100. The black cd-rom audio cables also use MTA-100 connectors as you found, and I've used them quite a bit for these types of things. Very cheap way to go, sometimes cheaper than just buying the connectors themselves.
crackbone:
Hey Oscar, where can you get those things? I went to Radio shack and 2 local shops to find those stinking connectors and nobody had em!!!
OSCAR:
I buy them in bulk online at places like www.mouser.com or www.digikey.com. See this page, http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T023/V5/0072.pdf, they are right at the bottom. You need both the crimp terminals and the housings.