switches and power plugs

[bcampbell91]

so... i start my mod in less than a month ive already got the case components and some of the fans. what i would like to do however is something that i saw in one of defyants mods. i wanna use rca power plugs instead of molex connectors, cuz i thought it really cleaned up the overall tidiness of the mod. i was wondering where i could buy something like this, cuz i went to radio shack today with high hopes, only to be let down. if someone with experience could let me know where to but these, and then how to execute setting them up it would be greatly appreciated. also i was gonna replace the power button on my comp with one of those switches that has the cover heres a link

but, i dunno if it will work cuz it has three prongs and my current power switch only has 2 wires running out the back? any help would be greatly appreciated or any direction to a really good pic tutorial would be awesome and some advice on where to buy and how to install would be equally appreciated!

[tybrenis]

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2355

The switch should work, you would just wire it to two of the three connectors. I suggest taking one and just testing out a few connections and then connecting it, I know that it is done all the time.

[bcampbell91]

so i can simply use any male female av type of connector? if so how would i wire the fan cables to a male rca type connector? then if i could do that i would be able to make a nice control panel or box type deal that could manage all of my fans lastly by testing the connection for that power switch do u mean just touching different wires to different prongs and seein what works best, then soldering and heatshrinking once thats all figured out? ik this is like 20 questions but ive never done this and wanna do it right the first time, so all ur help is greatly appreciated.

[XcOM]

my fav friend, the chocolate block!

[jdbnsn]

so i can simply use any male female av type of connector? if so how would i wire the fan cables to a male rca type connector? then if i could do that i would be able to make a nice control panel or box type deal that could manage all of my fans lastly by testing the connection for that power switch do u mean just touching different wires to different prongs and seein what works best, then soldering and heatshrinking once thats all figured out? ik this is like 20 questions but ive never done this and wanna do it right the first time, so all ur help is greatly appreciated.

Sure, you can use AV cables to control your fans (check out the project worklog for Metropolis R.E.D. by Vantaal). He actually used RCA plugs and small black housings to make I/O hubs and it loked real nice, incidentally he bought both the boxes and plugs at Radio Shack and I know they carry them because I found the exact same ones here. You may have to sift through some drawers in their connectors cabinet. The thing about the AV cables has a drawback though, RCA cables only have two leads, and most case fans have three, red=+12V, black=ground, and white=speed control. So you can wire up your fans with the red and black wires, but you won't be able to speed up or slow down your fans. They will be on full speed all the time which can be noisy. There are other options though if you want to control the speed, just google wire connector or something like that and you'll find hundreds of options, or if you want the fans to blaze at all times, RCA cables would be ideal. When it comes to your power button, when he said test some connections, he meant take the switch and connect some leads to the posts with a circuit to see which switch position (and wire configuration) constitutes on/off. This would be best done with a voltmeter, or if you don't have one you can use my old "ghettometer" which is to take a battery (9V works good) and a light buld from a small flash light. Connect one wire from the tip of the bulbs contact to one post of the battery, and connect a wire to the rounded part of the bulb(the threaded part), and another wire to the other battery post. Now, if you touch the two open ended wires together, the circuit is complete and the light comes on. So you use this to touch to the posts of the switch and push the button (or switch, or whatever) until you see the light come on (I think it will flash on briefly, but not stay on with a power switch). On your mother board, the switch plugs into a two post plug which when crossed (switch closes the circuit) sends a single "on" impulse, the opens the circuit back up when you lift your finger. If it were to stay crossed (like if you held down the button), the computer powers back down after 6 seconds. So this is what you are looking for with your switch, wire it so that when you push the button, the "ghettometer" lights up and shuts back off when you let go. I know this is a long explaination but it sounded like you were kind of lost, I hope this helps. And please, if any more knowledgable members see any screw-ups, correct me. Thanks and good luck.
Jon

[opengswede]

I don't know about this, but maybe a stereo plug (or mini-stereo) would do the trick for the fans, then you have three connectors: right, left and ground.

Invest in a multimeter, it's going to help you lots with the connections. Testing everything without having to risking burning something up (if that is what you want).

-.erik

[dgrmkrp]

so i can simply use any male female av type of connector?

>>yes, you can. you can basicly use anything you desire, but you have to keep mind what is + and what is - .

if so how would i wire the fan cables to a male rca type connector?

>>well, ussually, the + will be wired to the inner terminal/post, and the - to the outer one. consistency ensures fans will owrk and the psu won't short and shutt down.

then if i could do that i would be able to make a nice control panel or box type deal that could manage all of my fans

>>you can simply draw power from one place and power all fans/lights.. btw, u don't actually need the tachometer wire(it does not control anything, it just measures...) so all you have to do is put a switch(for on/off) and (if desired) a pot (i use audio grade ones, rated from 1kohm to 10kohm, doesn't matter, with a 20-30ohm 5W resistor wired in parallel with the pot) on the + side of each fan channel.

lastly by testing the connection for that power switch do u mean just touching different wires to different prongs and seein what works best, then soldering and heatshrinking once thats all figured out?

>>this procedures works for anything: switches, pots... because at first u don't know which tab does what (if not clearly labeled or if one hasn't worked with electronics a lot), u should use a small battery and light-bulb and see what happens.. this in case of a switch.. if u use a pot assembly for fan control, a 12v(dc) transformer would be best as a power source, so as not to test a fan and a home-made system on your live PSU. Simply try different configs if neccessary. Usually switches use the farthest tabs, and a pot uses tab 1 and 2 from 3...

hope i helped. :)

[jdbnsn]

I don't know about this, but maybe a stereo plug (or mini-stereo) would do the trick for the fans, then you have three connectors: right, left and ground.



That is exactly what I am using for the fans in my computer, I think they are perfect, small and cool looking (kinda makes your fan wiring look more important than it really is8))

[legoman786]

Hahahaha I'm gonna steal your idea now!! No not really, if it had a copyright on it maybe not. But ideas are for everybody right?

[jdbnsn]

Hahahaha I'm gonna steal your idea now!! No not really, if it had a copyright on it maybe not. But ideas are for everybody right?

Absolutely! Hell, it's really not an original idea anyway. I saw other people using novel connectors and just followed in suit. I just picked a different connector is all. Go for it!

[legoman786]

How about those Guitar amp jacks? THOSE ARE SOME GIANT SOUND JACKS... I bet I get get more than 12v thru those.