Elegant Power On / Off
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Glad you like the PowerBlock, I'm quite impressed with it (not affiliated with the manufacturers!)
It doesn't come with a button or a light though, you have to make your own.
You need to provide a toggle or latching switch (that basically stays on or off when pressed), not a momentary switch (which just sends the press signal while actually pressed down).
I decided to get an illuminated (green) latching button, to combine the switch and LED in the one button. I wired it up using some old connectors I cannibalised out of a PC case I was throwing away.
Because Maplins charge £3.19 for ONE illuminated button, and the PowerBlock takes about 3 weeks to arrive from Germany, I sourced my button from China - I got FIVE for £2.43, delivered!
So I basically have five times more than I need. I made 3 buttons up with cables and a resistor to reduce the voltage to the 3V needed for the LED (apparently this is no longer actually required with the latest PowerBlock design but does no harm). Then I ran out of cable and pin connectors.
I've already used one of the buttons obviously, and I just sent one of the others to a guy in the States.
If you're going to get a PowerBlock and want my last button and cables for it (free), let me know your mailing address and you can have it. I don't know how to PM on here, but you can email me at GtB at the domain I uploaded the video clip/photos to.
Unless you intend to just have the button hanging loose in the case, you'll have to drill a 15mm (I think) hole for it. It comes with a fixing ring that screws on the back and secures it in place.
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Would I use a PowerBlock if I plan to shut my system off through the menu each time in my arcade cabinet? I will shut it down manually and then cut main power while the Pi is lit in "standby." I just have a main power switch in the back which is connected to the power strip in the cabinet.
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No, I don't think PowerBlock would necessarily be the best solution if you still want to shut down the system from the menu each time. Because Powerblock needs a latching/toggle button when you shut down from the menu, the button is still on, so the pi immediately starts back up again. There is a very short amount of time where the pi is in "standby' .
However you could shut down the Pi using PowerBlock (not the menu), wait until it shuts down, then cut main power once the shut down is complete. It does mean you'd have a two-step process every time you switch on/off the cab though.
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@GtBFilms said in Elegant Power On / Off:
No, I don't think PowerBlock would necessarily be the best solution if you still want to shut down the system from the menu each time. Because Powerblock needs a latching/toggle button when you shut down from the menu, the button is still on, so the pi immediately starts back up again. There is a very short amount of time where the pi is in "standby' .
However you could shut down the Pi using PowerBlock (not the menu), wait until it shuts down, then cut main power once the shut down is complete. It does mean you'd have a two-step process every time you switch on/off the cab though.
Hi
I use an ATXRasPi to power my cabinet which uses a momentary switch. I have an Opto Isolator (you could also use a BC337 transistor) across the switch terminals. The input to the Opto is driven from a GPIO pin. The GPIO pin is driven by a script which is in turn called by the script EmulationStation.sh that runs when you select shutdown or restart from the menu. This allows me to shut the cabinet down either via the switch or the menu.
This method wouldn't work with the PowerBlock due to it using a latching switch.
Cheers
Paul
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Hi there,
I've been thinking of getting myself a Powerblock to use in my Picade for graceful boot/shutdown, am looking to do exactly what you have achieved and mount the button on the back of the cabinet. Did you have any issues with it or was it all straightforward enough? From the reading I have done it all looks relatively simple.
Also, cheeky question but is your last button/cables still up for grabs?
Cheers!
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I didn't encounter any problems. Hardest part was drilling a hole in the back door to fit the button.
Yeah, I still have the last one (I made 3) if you want it, you can have it, no problem.
Email me your details at picade at gtbfilms dot co dot uk
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Hi,
That's great, yeah I was planning to put the button pretty much where you've put yours, I will just need to get hold of the relevant drill bit to make a tidy hole.
Thanks so much for offering to give away your third button/cable, that's very generous. I will drop you an email shortly.
Cheers!
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Just reliving this old topic.
I'm curious as how to this 'elegant power button' solutions work when you power on/off the main power also.My build is based on a hardcore power on/off switch at the back, meaning that when I power on, everything gets 230V and boots up.
Since I will be moving my bartop arcade around, I'd like to know how these buttons react when you do a power cycle on the mains power? Does it turn on instantly, or just await dormant till you push the "elegant power button"?
I ask since I was thinking of making my marquee and button light work alongside a 12v fade-in/fade-out dimmer, to give the build a bit more elegant and luxury feel to it, and it would kind of ruin the idea if it requires constant power, and make the elegant bootup with fading lights redundant after I have killed the mains power, since I probably will be doing this half the time.
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After main (240V) power on, it sits and waits for the button at the back to be pressed (because it's a latching switch and will still be in the OFF position).
Since this thread I have changed the monitor in my cab for a 12.1" one, which needs it's own power supply, so I now have 2 plugs - these are connected to an power extension lead.
So now when I power on at the wall (240V), the screen comes on for a few seconds, realises there's no video signal, and goes into standby mode. The Pi does nothing until I press the latching switch, at that point both the Pi and the screen spring into life.
The only time the pi will turn on instantly is if you have previously killed the power at the wall instead of using the switch. Then the switch will still be latched to the ON position, so when wall power is restored, everything will start up.
However I'd not recommend cutting power at the wall like that, as it's likely to result in corruption to your SD card eventually.
You might intend to use the software 'Shutdown system' option in RetroPie before cutting wall power, but that won't work, because as soon as the pi shuts dow, because the latched button on the Powerblock is still set to the ON position, it boots right back up again!
There's probably a way to do what you are trying - the Powerblock has points for connecting an additonal 5V device, so in theory if you had a 5v fade-in/fade-out dimmer, you could run that off the Powerblock and have the effect you want running from the Powerblock switch rather than the wall switch.
That's getting a bit beyond my abilities now though.
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