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Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 9:15 pm
by earthprime

The stock DE-10 power-supply doesn't provide enough power for my mechanical drive. The 5v / 4a / 20w Meanwell power-supply works like a charm (model GST25A05-P1J) but it doesn't work with the standard "in-line power switch" since the switch can only handle 2a. I want a power switch for my non-digital Mister build to provide a safe way of powering down. Does anyone know of an inline switch that can handle 5v/4a?


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 10:35 pm
by jca

Switch the AC input instead of the 5V DC output.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 10:48 pm
by Psygho

Yes, the best option,!


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 10:59 pm
by Malor

I just bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KFMNJLH

and while I'm not using it for the Mister, I'm sure it would work fine. It's a wall plug extender with a 6-foot cable leading to a soft on/off button on a little puck. The puck has a screw hole on the back, so you can hang it on something.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 11:39 pm
by earthprime
jca wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 10:35 pm

Switch the AC input instead of the 5V DC output.

Thank you everyone! I also had to think about this post for a bit, but I finally got it. I'm an idiot - I was plugging in the power cable into the on/off switch and that into the splitter (power + usb) into the Mister. Simply switching the order fixed it - you need to plug the power cable into the splitter (power + usb) and on the power-end plug the on-off switch, and then plug that into the Mister. Now works like a charm :)


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 6:53 am
by Malor

Lots of the DC power switches are poorly made, and will reduce voltage as it crosses. The problem tends to worsen over time, and can start to cause cores to misbehave or outright fail. It can also cause overheating issues. And if you're using a Y cable, of course, then the switch only turns power off to its segment, leaving the other segment (the USB board?) powered.

If you use an AC switch, even relatively bad build quality shouldn't result in enough voltage loss to matter; the Mister draws very little power compared to mains supply. And the switch will power off the entire installation at once, no matter how many leads come off the power supply.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:39 am
by Stinky

Just leave it turned on, heat cycles will wear out your hardware long before runtime.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:32 am
by Newsdee

You can ways use 2 power switches (one for DE10, one for USB hub), that will distribute the load even if each switch is only rated for 2A.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 1:12 pm
by Grumpy-Old-Gamer

The inline switches can cause issues.

One reason I prefer the digital IO board over the Analogue is the better power delivery setup and power switch


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 10:03 am
by Enthropy

I am using this monstrosity from Marquardt on the 5V side. It works well and it has a very satisfying click.
My Mister is not exactly low power: DE-10 Nano, analog IO board, RAM module, powered USB hub, Wifi adapter, Bluetooth adapter, old laptop harddrive, arcade stick, mouse, keyboard. That should work as a solid torture test :-D


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:19 am
by LamerDeluxe

I got a 'smart' WiFi socket plug for free with a subscription. Not only can I now turn on my MiSTer using my phone :lol: but I can also see how much power it uses. About 7 amps without TTY2OLED and 8 with.

Normally I use a manually switchable socket plug, which works great.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 2:44 pm
by RealLarry
LamerDeluxe wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:19 am

I got a 'smart' WiFi socket plug for free with a subscription. Not only can I now turn on my MiSTer using my phone :lol: but I can also see how much power it uses. About 7 amps without TTY2OLED and 8 with.

Wait...are you talking about 7A (=7 Ampere) your MiSTer setup is drawing out of the power socket? Impossible if you aren't driving a heater on the same socket! Or you need to calibrate the WiFi socket. Never measured my setup for myself, but I'm sure that it's using way below 4A including a tty2oled and tty2tft...


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 3:02 pm
by LamerDeluxe
RealLarry wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 2:44 pm
LamerDeluxe wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:19 am

I got a 'smart' WiFi socket plug for free with a subscription. Not only can I now turn on my MiSTer using my phone :lol: but I can also see how much power it uses. About 7 amps without TTY2OLED and 8 with.

Wait...are you talking about 7A (=7 Ampere) your MiSTer setup is drawing out of the power socket? Impossible if you aren't driving a heater on the same socket! Or you need to calibrate the WiFi socket. Never measured my setup for myself, but I'm sure that it's using way below 4A including a tty2oled and tty2tft...

Wait, sorry, 7 Watts, not ampere, sorry for the confusion.


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 3:19 pm
by RealLarry
LamerDeluxe wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 3:02 pm
RealLarry wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 2:44 pm
LamerDeluxe wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:19 am

I got a 'smart' WiFi socket plug for free with a subscription. Not only can I now turn on my MiSTer using my phone :lol: but I can also see how much power it uses. About 7 amps without TTY2OLED and 8 with.

Wait...are you talking about 7A (=7 Ampere) your MiSTer setup is drawing out of the power socket? Impossible if you aren't driving a heater on the same socket! Or you need to calibrate the WiFi socket. Never measured my setup for myself, but I'm sure that it's using way below 4A including a tty2oled and tty2tft...

Wait, sorry, 7 Watts, not ampere, sorry for the confusion.

Aah, that sounds more reasonably! :) Couldn't resist to ask and clarify before someone is getting confused and powers down his MiSTer because of expensive and massive power consumption 🤠


Re: Inline Power Switch for 5V/4A ?

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 7:07 am
by Malor

Yeah, my eyes got big when you said 7 amps. Few Mister supplies are bigger than 4A, so I was wondering what the heck was going on. At 5 volts, that's 35 watts!