Main > Main Forum

Another one of those "power up my cab with one switch" questions

(1/4) > >>

quarterback:
Hellloooooo.

Okay, I was going to buy a smartstrip and be done with it, but the cost (not really high, but not cheap either), some of the reviews on Amazon ("stopped working!"), along with me not understanding the different "generations" of smartstrip products and the fact that I can build a relayed-powerstrip myself has led me to the BYOAPowerStrip path.

There's a nice step-by-step page here: http://home.bendcable.com/werstlein/

Which shows you how to utilize your cab's 12v power, along with a relay, to turn electrical outlets on and off.  But when reading other homemade solutions on these forums, there seem to be people who are using a 125v relay as their control.

Is there some way to use a 125v relay to control outlets in the same way that the SmartStrip works (where the 125v power running to your PC is the controlling factor and somehow trips the relay when you power up your computer)?  Or are people using a 125v relay and a manual switch (controlling the 125v 'trigger') to make it work?

IOW, I can't figure out exactly how to emulate the SmartStrip and I'm not sure if those people using the 125V relays are reproducing exactly how the SmartStrip works or if they're doing something slightly different.

Any insight?

Angry_Radish:
To save some cash and time, I used an extra auto-switching outlet I had from my table saw.
Grabbed it at sears, check it out.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Power+Tool+Accessories&pid=00924031000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Tool+Safety&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Angry_Radish:
Plugged the pc into the main, and a powerstrip with the speakers, marquee light, and screen into the other. When the pc is switched off, everything else shuts off, just as it would with the smartstrip, only cheaper :)

quarterback:

--- Quote from: Angry_Radish on September 18, 2006, 04:54:04 pm ---Plugged the pc into the main, and a powerstrip with the speakers, marquee light, and screen into the other. When the pc is switched off, everything else shuts off, just as it would with the smartstrip, only cheaper :)

--- End quote ---

Yeah, if I could find one locally, I'd go for it.  But it'll take 14+ days to get it delivered to the store for pickup and otherwise I have to pay shipping.

SmartStrip has some skinnier/fewer outlet strips for something like $24, but for under $10 I could build something with a relay, so I'm probably going to go with the 12v relay option.  I was just trying to figure out if people had really emulated the SmartStrip's operation or not.

Thanks

ahofle:
Not sure if this is necessary with a BYO smart strip, but the retail smart strip comes with a sensitivity switch.  When my smart strip stopped working consistently, I found that adjusting this knob fixed it (haven't had a problem since).  Just something to keep in mind -- it would suck if your BYO strip quit working for whatever reason and you couldn't adjust it.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

Go to full version