Power switch

Zuul

Hello

I'm new to this so bear with me please :) (also English is not my first language)

This might sound stupid but I can't understand the difference between a momentary switch and a toggle switch :/
Is it correct to assume that a toggle switch shorts the pins when set to ON and there is no connection
between the pins when set to OFF? So if the connection is severed the Pi will shut down "softly"?

Sorry about this but I'm kind of OCD about these things lol
EDIT: If someone would be kind enough to point me in the right direction for 5V LED push button switches I'd be very happy!
cheers!

petrockblog

A momentary switch is a switch that only signals "ON" as long as you actually press the button. If you remove your finger from the button, the button automatically switches back to "OFF".

In contrast, a toggle button stays in the position "ON" when you press the button and remove your finger.

You can find a toggle switch, e.g., at http://www.reichelt.de/Drucktaster-Druckschalter/S-9156-RT/3/index.html?ACTION=3&GROUPID=3277&ARTICLE=44438&OFFSET=500&SID=12VtIcPqwQATQAAG61kjw9649854a206d4ca6c22940b63d6a7785&LANGUAGE=EN.

Zuul

Thank you very much!

cheers!

thedon

I'm in a similar situation, I've finally got all my pieces together and wanted to start setting up my control block - but cant find the type of connector needed to wire my toggle switch to the board (looks like a jumper connector, but with wires).

It must be a simple solution but I cant find the right search terms to find it anywhere.

Can anyone suggest a suitable switch that comes complete with wiring (the one shown here: http://blog.petrockblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_0006_Snapseed1024.jpg would be fine!)

Thanks
Jim

petrockblog

@thedon You can use a simple 0.1" female header as connector, e.g., https://www.sparkfun.com/products/115.

The one shown on the image above is actually built from several parts: female headers, some wires, and the switch from http://www.reichelt.de/Drucktaster-Druckschalter/T-9146-RT/3/index.html?ACTION=3&GROUPID=3277&ARTICLE=44433&OFFSET=500&SID=12VtIcPqwQATQAAG61kjw9649854a206d4ca6c22940b63d6a7785&LANGUAGE=EN.

Brandito

@thedon You'll likely need to fashion up your own wiring, but it's pretty easy.

I used this switch https://www.adafruit.com/products/1443

this connector kit has the headers that connect to the powerblock http://www.amazon.com/Hilitchi-2-54mm-Headers-Connector-Housing/dp/B012EOO9Q0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01

and these female spade crimp connectors to connect the wires to the switch http://www.amazon.com/Lucksender-Terminals-Connector-0-5-1-5mm-22-18AWG/dp/B010HKL1RS?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

note that the red crimp connectors are 2.8mm thats the size you need for the adafruit switch, you might find them at an auto parts store or home improvement center but they mostly have the larger sizes of red connectors.

All you need is some wire and I'm sure you can steal some of that off an old PC molex connector or fan, and a crimping tool which can be had for pretty cheap and it'll also strip the wires.

thedon

Thanks for all the advice so far folks, i really appreciate it.

So I'm a lot further forward now, and my GPIO cable has arrived from China, so I'm trying to hook it all together.

I must be doing something daft (again) but I now get the slow pulsing light on the power switch led whether I switch it on or not, but the pi isn't booting.

There are 5 connectors on my switch, a + and - which I believe are the power for the led.
Then in the middle I have NC1 NO1 and C1. (normally closed, normally open, and common ?)

alt text

https://i.imgsafe.org/ef9e5e6feb.jpg

I can't seem to work out any combination of these to make it work.

Can anyone see what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks
Jim

PaulCheffus

Hi

Not sure what your doing here. Are you just providing power to the pi though the switch or connecting this to the GPIO pins?

C1 - common
NO1 - normally open (will be connected to common when you press the switch)
NC1 - normally closed (is connected to common until you press the switch) - this is the first of the ones you have as NO1

In normal operation to just supply power to the pi you would connect one lead from your power supply to C1 and then from NO1 to the pi. The other lead goes straight from the power supply to the pi. If you are doing this via the GPIO pins I assume this is a non latching switch and you have a script running to watch for the GPIO pin changing state. Depending on whether you are looking for a low or high on the GPIO pin you need to connect C1 to either ground for low or 3.3v for high. The NO1 connection should then go to your selected GPIO pin.

Cheers

Paul

thedon

Thanks Paul - sorry I should've clarified - I'm new to Pi and Arcade cab building, so apologies if I ask daft questions..

I'm trying to use the petrockblog ControlBlock - this has 4 GPIO pins, 2 for switch and 2 for LED. I can't work out which should relate to the various terminals (+, -, NC1, NO1 & C1) on the Power switch unit.

The card has a normal Pi micro USB power connector connected to it, and the GPIO pins should allow my power button (toggle not momentary) to power up, and power down the Pi. It also has several different display states for the LED pulsing for booting up, running, shutting down or off

PaulCheffus

@thedon
You will need to connect C1 to one terminal and NO1 to the other of the ControlBoard header marked button. Pressing the switch should then switch the PI on. The LED header should be wired to the + and - connectors on the switch.

Cheers

Paul

thedon

Brilliant, thanks Paul, that was just what I needed. I soldered my connections at the switch to make sure there were no frayed strands causing shorts and connected as you advised and all is working perfectly.
In case anyone happens across this thread with the same problem, the connections were as follows:
Switch ---> ControlBlock GPIO
( + ) ---> LED +
( - ) ---> LED -
NO1 ---> Switch +
C1 ---> Switch -