Powerstrip Inside a Multicade: Need Advice

mhanlen1

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So I had a cab with no useable wiring inside of it. It was a Midway Super Pac cab. Everything was dead except for a crappy JAMMA PCB. I ripped everything out of it, and threw a CRT PC monitor inside of it. So now I have three things to power and as a temporary solution I threw in a Power Strip. If you can see I took the wires from the Marquee light and put an Edison on the end and plugged it into the power strip. First question, is this ok to be doing? It worked ok, but I was wondering if there's some reason not to do this. Second question. I would like to relocate the on off switch to it's proper place on the top of the cab, is there a really easy way to do this, while keeping the power strip on the bottom of the cabinet? Is there an alternate way to do this? Something doesn't feel right with cutting of the switch in there and running some wires to the top of the cab and then the bottom for a switch. I feel like this is a really dumb question. I tried googling this, but most people had questions involving a PC. I'd be happy with a link to a tutorial.

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Bob Roberts has this wiring diagram on his page:

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I don't really see anything wrong with what you did but you really should secure the power strip so it doesn't bounce around.
 
Bob Roberts has this wiring diagram on his page:

basic-ac.gif



I don't really see anything wrong with what you did but you really should secure the power strip so it doesn't bounce around.

Oh yeah... this is temporary, forgot to say. I haven't yet secured the PS because I wasn't sure if it was the best route. I am trying to make this work with what I have lying around. Unfortunately I have a few of the on off switches for Midway cabs, some wire, and not much else. I was trying to avoid having to buy stuff off the internet- like a power filter... and just make due with what I have. I actually have one of Bob's drop in ac power supplies, but there's quite a few things in his set-up that are missing from mine, so I haven't sat down and tried to rework it. I was wondering if there was an easy solution that I'm not thinking of, just to control the On/Off feature of the power strip from the exterior of the cab (on the top).
 
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I did one recently for someone who wanted a power strip inside a cab for his MAME, but wanted the top power switch to work. This is what I did:

1) I had an extra computer power cord lying around not being used, so I cut the ends off and used that as my wiring up and back. it works good because it is long enough, and is insulated.

2) Next, I cut off the plug end of the strip, then used two screws to mount it to the side wall near the bottom (although I could have mounted it to the bottom).

3) Inside the insulation of the strip are three wires - white, black, and green. Inside the insulation of the cord I used for the wiring to the switch are the same three colors (although they could be blue, brown, and green). I stripped and tinned the ends of the wires on both cords.

4) I next found the main power cord I wanted to use for the cab, threaded it through the power plate on the back of the cab, secured it so it couldn't be pulled out from the back (disconnecting or damaging wires and causing loss of power). Inside this cord were also three wires - white, black, and green. I stripped and tinned those also.

5) Now comes connecting the wires. First I connected the power switch. I used my meter to find which lugs where open in one position and closed in the other, then connected the white and black wire from the cord I was using for this purpose to those lugs (white to one and black to the other). I connected the green wire to a screw holding the switch mounting plate to the top of the cab.

6) Next, I connected the other end's black wire to the white wire on the main power cord coming into the cab (with solder and heatshrink on all connections of wires to wires). I connected the white wire from the switch to the white wire on the power strip.

7) Next, I connected the black wire from the main power cord into the cab to the black wire from the strip.

8) Finally, I connected the green wire from the main power cord to both the green wire to the power switch and the green wire from the strip.

Since the power strip had surge protection built in, I didn't install a fuse. If I had used a fuse, I would have put it between the black wire from the main power cord and the black wire from the strip.

Now, with the power strip left always on and the cab plugged into the wall, the top power switch will turn all the power on or off....
 
I did one recently for someone who wanted a power strip inside a cab for his MAME, but wanted the top power switch to work. This is what I did:

1) I had an extra computer power cord lying around not being used, so I cut the ends off and used that as my wiring up and back. it works good because it is long enough, and is insulated.

2) Next, I cut off the plug end of the strip, then used two screws to mount it to the side wall near the bottom (although I could have mounted it to the bottom).

3) Inside the insulation of the strip are three wires - white, black, and green. Inside the insulation of the cord I used for the wiring to the switch are the same three colors (although they could be blue, brown, and green). I stripped and tinned the ends of the wires on both cords.

4) I next found the main power cord I wanted to use for the cab, threaded it through the power plate on the back of the cab, secured it so it couldn't be pulled out from the back (disconnecting or damaging wires and causing loss of power). Inside this cord were also three wires - white, black, and green. I stripped and tinned those also.

5) Now comes connecting the wires. First I connected the power switch. I used my meter to find which lugs where open in one position and closed in the other, then connected the white and black wire from the cord I was using for this purpose to those lugs (white to one and black to the other). I connected the green wire to a screw holding the switch mounting plate to the top of the cab.

6) Next, I connected the other end's black wire to the white wire on the main power cord coming into the cab (with solder and heatshrink on all connections of wires to wires). I connected the white wire from the switch to the white wire on the power strip.

7) Next, I connected the black wire from the main power cord into the cab to the black wire from the strip.

8) Finally, I connected the green wire from the main power cord to both the green wire to the power switch and the green wire from the strip.

Since the power strip had surge protection built in, I didn't install a fuse. If I had used a fuse, I would have put it between the black wire from the main power cord and the black wire from the strip.

Now, with the power strip left always on and the cab plugged into the wall, the top power switch will turn all the power on or off....


Thank you, this is exactly what I needed. I'll wrap my head around it and decide what extra parts I need to scavenge from my rats nest of junk that I took out of the cab. Also thanks for the tip on metering the switch, as it's hard to know which is which on them sometimes- because they're never labeled.
 
You may want to consider putting a fuse in there, just so you don't burn anybody's house down.

Yep. A fuse & fuse holder are cheap - you just need a 3 amp fuse. Bob Roberts only charges $1.50 (plus shipping of course). Could probably get one at Radio Shack for about the same.

In a way, you're kinda mimicking Bob's diagram... it's just that your power distribution block is a big white plastic thing with sockets instead of a little black plastic thing with tabs sticking out.
 
Go to Radio shack, they've definately got them. They're like $1, several different types, you can even get the one with pigtails on it or something.
 
You may want to consider putting a fuse in there, just so you don't burn anybody's house down.

Considering that the strip is fused internally (if it has surge protection), this is a redundancy that is only necessary for peace of mind, not electrical protection.

The monitor has fuses inside, the switcher has fuses inside, and the strip has a breaker inside. Since all power goes through the strip before going anywhere else, it's really not necessary to add another fuse...
 
Considering that the strip is fused internally (if it has surge protection), this is a redundancy that is only necessary for peace of mind, not electrical protection.

The monitor has fuses inside, the switcher has fuses inside, and the strip has a breaker inside. Since all power goes through the strip before going anywhere else, it's really not necessary to add another fuse...

It doesn't. I broke it open last night and couldn't find a fuse.
 
Well I looked around the house, and decided that I can't spare hacking up another extension cord. I could go buy one, but I may have an alternate method. I have Bob's drop in AC in another cab, so I got down and studied it. I looked in my mess of wires from the old cab and found a Power Distribution block and a inline 3amp fuse. I had seen them before but they were covered in filth... so I decided to scrub them up and see what was under the dirt. Both are in good condition.

I think that I actually have enough stuff with what I have, and more than enough standard cab wiring. I'll just lop off the ends of the AC cords in the cab and wire them to the power block. Before I do that though, I have a question. I also found a really old and sketchy looking EMI filter in the rats nest. Is this necessary? Remember the monitor is a PC monitor, so it can run off regular 120. Do these things go bad like caps do? I'd like to leave it out, but I'd figure I'd ask.
 
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Hi!

You probably don't need the Filter, and if it is really old, it could be worse than none at all.

On another note: You really want the switch in series with the black wires not the white ones!
The black/brown wires are the 'hot' ones and the white/blue wires are the neutral. If you use the switch on the black wires, then the power is dead inside when the switch is off. If you put the switch on the white wires, you will have a live circuit on anything connected to the black wires and if you get across the black and a ground, you will get zapped. Neutral is connected to ground in almost every residential situation in the US. Bob's diagram correctly shows the switch on the black wires.

Kenneth
 
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So I went ahead and took mods advice. It was pretty easy shit, I don't know why I couldn't have thought of it on my own the other day.

I cut the end off the power strip.

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I then removed the power cord off of a power supply backup for the wall power cord for the cab.

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Then I bought a cheap power cord from Wal-Mart, so I could extend the black power line and send it up to the power switch.

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I stripped the ends off all the cords, so I could attach them to one another.

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Then I crimped the ends on the white cord so I could attach it to the switch in the top of the cab.

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This are the white ends attached to the switch, that will be on the top of the cab, in it's proper place.

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For all the wires crimped together under the twist caps, I tinned them based upon Mods recommendation- to make sure they held together.

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In this photo the power strip has been attached to the bottom of the cab, and all wires from the splicing have been held in place via staples.

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These are the white wires that were spliced into the black wires from the AC. They are running into the switch at the top of the cab.

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I put a staple over the AC cord running out of the cab to keep it into place.

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Anyway I was an idiot for not understanding this easy concept. I uploaded these pics just in case anyone else has a brain fart like I did.
 
Not bad. Glad you figured it out.

I have a tendency to never install switchers or strips on the bottoms. Instead, I put them on a side wall. The reasoning is that I see a lot of cabs with water damage on the bottom. That means the bottoms get wet. If it were to get too wet or be in a flooded room, it might cause mega problems...
 
Not bad. Glad you figured it out.

I have a tendency to never install switchers or strips on the bottoms. Instead, I put them on a side wall. The reasoning is that I see a lot of cabs with water damage on the bottom. That means the bottoms get wet. If it were to get too wet or be in a flooded room, it might cause mega problems...

If the cab is in 2 inches of water... well it's a multi and these are technically illegal anyway. I just assume that this will find it's way into someone's house and not it a dubious place of business. That and in this area we don't have a lot of flooding problems or basements.
 
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