Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: gedman on May 20, 2017, 10:54:38 pm
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I'm considering two ideas for power management of my cabinet. I need some advice from the Pros here.
Once finished, my setup (a converted Mortal Kombat cabinet) will have three power cords:
- The cabinet power, which powers everything the original game had except the PCB board (power will feed the CRT monitor, the marquee light and the coin door lights)
- The Windows PC running MAME/HyperSpin/Hyperlauncher
- The audio speakers (high-end computer PC speakers connected directly to the Windows PC)
Option 1: The hacked/extended PC power button w/ smart power strip
The idea here is to hack/extend the PC power button to a button on the outside of the cabinet. That will turn the PC power on directly, and a smart power strip will then provide power to the other outlets on the power strip which will turn on the cabinet (CRT/marquee/coins) and the PC speakers.
Option 2: A dumb power strip with a PC bios trick
The idea here is to attach all three cords (PC, cabinet and speakers) to a normal ("dumb") power strip. When I turn on the power strip, the PC will auto-boot (using the BIOS setting "Restore on AC/Power Loss") and the cabinet and PC speakers simultaneously.
Question: Which option is better?
In either case, I'll have windows auto-login and then auto-launch MAME/HyperSpin.
I'm a bit concerned about how to turn off the cabinet properly. Option 1 seems pretty easy for shutdown: Configure Windows to logout/shutdown when the power button is pressed. Once the PC powers off, the smart strip will automatically cut power to the cabinet and speakers. Option 2 would be a bit less convenient (I think) as I would have to configure MAME to initiate Windows logout/shutdown when MAME exits (I've read that MAME can be setup to do that - is that true??), and then wait for the PC to complete shut down before I would turn off the power to the dumb power strip.
Suggestions?
Gedman
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Option 1
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windows REALLY doesn't like being just cut off. there is all kinds of disk housekeeping that has to be done before poweroff.
the first option has a better chance at a proper shutdown when you are finished because you can program the power button (through windows settings) to shutdown when it's pressed.
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Option 1
Seconded. You could hack the registry to turn off all but one write to the hard disc, but it would be a pain.
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I use option 2
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I use option 1
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Option 1.
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I use a relay connected to the 12V power in the computer (with a hacked button mounted on the side of my arcade) to turn on/off a regular power strip that everything else is plugged in to.
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Tell more about the relay. Diagram?
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Unless I'm mistaken, the relay idea is essentially a DIY smart power strip. It's probably safer (and not much more expensive) to go with a smart strip.
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Option 1 all the way. It's very easy to implement and it makes powering the cabinet on/off elegant and convenient. For me, it almost makes the cabinet feel like an engineered system as opposed to a bunch of repurposed stuff slapped together.
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I've got an even more polished option for you:
- Wire up the original cab power switch to a smart power strip.
- Change the bios setting on your PC to "AC Power Loss Restart".
- Put the PC power switch on the inside for service.
This way your entire system will boot when you flip the original power switch, and shutdown when you exit Hyperspin or whatever frontend you use. To turn it back on, you only need to toggle the power switch.
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I know that some arcade games use computers. How are they set up to power on? My Silver Strike is a PC. Just one switch to power on.
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I know that some arcade games use computers. How are they set up to power on? My Silver Strike is a PC. Just one switch to power on.
The big difference is that software in arcade machines is designed to not corrupt at sudden power loss, so they can skip the whole smart powering deal.