I've got a mix of 8 outlet and 4 outlet American DJ power strips for my games, and while some parts of my game room lend themselves to 4 outlet strips, I've always hated the orientation of these things. The units want to naturally sit with the switches facing up, or else you have to tip them so the power cords are sticking up in the air.
I'm not sure if it was worth the time to do this, but for the fun of it I decided to try modifying them to make them a little more like the 8 outlet strips. I thought I'd share the results in case anyone else wants to do the same since I recall reading similar complaints about these units. Hope someone finds this helpful or interesting.
Here is the stock power strip...
Here is the front side of the unit (the side that had the gray sticker in the first picture, now removed) after removing the switch plate. I've drawn the cut lines to create a hole that the switches can fit through. The switch plate will mount to this surface when the mod is complete. Note that this leaves just barely enough room for the switches to fit through, so if anything err on the side of making the hole too large, but on the other hand be careful to leave enough metal for it to stay strong.
Moving the switch plate to the front surface obviously leaves an opening on the top surface. I decided to use some heavy plastic since it's easy to work with and already black, but of course you could cut some sheet steel as well. Drilled some holes to line up with the screw holes already present in the unit's body.
Drilled 2 new holes in the front surface of the unit's body for the switch plate to mount. I decided 2 screws were plenty sturdy but you could always drill 2 more holes if you want. Here's the power strip reassembled!
And finally, sitting on top of one of my games. Switches face forward and outlets face back, just as it should have been designed to do in the first place!
I'm not sure if it was worth the time to do this, but for the fun of it I decided to try modifying them to make them a little more like the 8 outlet strips. I thought I'd share the results in case anyone else wants to do the same since I recall reading similar complaints about these units. Hope someone finds this helpful or interesting.
Here is the stock power strip...
Here is the front side of the unit (the side that had the gray sticker in the first picture, now removed) after removing the switch plate. I've drawn the cut lines to create a hole that the switches can fit through. The switch plate will mount to this surface when the mod is complete. Note that this leaves just barely enough room for the switches to fit through, so if anything err on the side of making the hole too large, but on the other hand be careful to leave enough metal for it to stay strong.
Moving the switch plate to the front surface obviously leaves an opening on the top surface. I decided to use some heavy plastic since it's easy to work with and already black, but of course you could cut some sheet steel as well. Drilled some holes to line up with the screw holes already present in the unit's body.
Drilled 2 new holes in the front surface of the unit's body for the switch plate to mount. I decided 2 screws were plenty sturdy but you could always drill 2 more holes if you want. Here's the power strip reassembled!
And finally, sitting on top of one of my games. Switches face forward and outlets face back, just as it should have been designed to do in the first place!
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