ATX Activation?

[vortexau]

An ATX-powered Tower Case is one of my options for the housing of several SCSI Hard Drives as it has 5 internal 3½" bays.

Does anyone know how a Motherboard-free ATX Case can be powered-up, and switched-off? I'd like some simple way to add a on-off switch. :-(

[N7VQM]

To turn on an ATX power supply, jumper pin 13 (black wire) to pin 14 (green wire).  Look at this page for some pictures:

GideonTech

However, before you turn the PSU on, make sure it has a resistive load on each output!  You only need one per voltage.  If you don't put a load on it, you may damage the PSU.

In the UK at least, http://www.overclockers.co.uk sells a PSU relay which basically attaches a standard molex (hard disk) power connector to a board, which then has a huge relay on it with an ATX connector.

review of this part at http://www.moddin.net/review.asp?ReviewID=34

I have one here although I abandoned  my "enormous
SCSI tower" plans due to power consumption. I am ashamed that I didn't think about this before I bought £60 worth of SCSI leads which are now sitting idle, only to be used for testing spares

This effectively solves your problem, though, and gives you a warranty that soldering your own won't

I hear Maplins in the UK sell this too, but I never found the order number code.

Either way it's completely useless to someone in Australia, but there HAS to be someone selling these parts here.

[vortexau]

Thanks to N7VQM and Neko for pointing to those possible solutions. I thought that someone was bound to have already used an ATX PSU as a power-source for auxiliary components.

I've hot-listed those URLs. But, as I said, the 23" Tower is only one of my options!

 ° It just may be simpler to fabricate a 1.75" Stand-off Panel with mounting-holes inboard of one side (mounts) of the 5¼" 7 Device SCSI Midi-Tower Case that I have not (as yet) used.

I'd tried a couple of types of 5¼" to 3½" addaptors without success. Cutting aforesaid Stand-off Panel out of one of the AT/486 cases that I have lying around might be best. I can use the existing RH 5¼" Side as a template for the holes . . . . . BUT I might have to put larger Screwdriver-sized Holes right through that RH 5¼" Side to reach 1.75" to the NEW Stand-off Mounting Panel.

I can't just detach and remount that RH 5¼" Side because the existing device-mounting plates are a structural part of this case!

(Coming up - A new Case Mod: 5¼" to 3½" Device mounting conversion!) :-)

[vortexau]

OKAY - I've now cut 9" of the LH Side of a unused Unisys 486 I keep under the drawer section of a desk to keep the cat out.

The height of this case (really the lift-off upper section) is 5¼" which is a suitable panel dimention to use for the 4" hole-to-hole side on HDDs!

I left approx 1.75 over the corner as a blank for the standoff distance.

Clamping this against the inner LH side of the existing 5½' seven device bay allowed me to trace in the spacing. Then I center-punched each row at the rearward end and drilled ten holes (the plate is to allow the fitting of up to FIVE HDDs). It really wasn't neccessary to have double rows but I was duplicating the double slots in the original mount!

Next, through the use of a steel ruler, 4" spaced marks for the forward end were drawn. I included the 2 3/8" hole spacing for the middle holes (on the lower row only) just as a precausion. After cleaning the drill exit side of the holes with a counter-sinking bit, it was upstairs again to check the spacing with an unused (as yet) 1Gb drive.

Only ONE hole (one of the mid-holes) needed any modification. A drill bit pressured into the tightward side of the hole provided the sizing fix.

That's where the project is at this stage - downed tools at 5.00pm!

. . . . . . . . .

NEXT UP - affixing the Stand-off Panel at a 1.75" spacing inwards of the existing RH 5¼" Side!

Imagine what 4 or 5 HDDs spinning up togather will sound like!?!

The LAST task would be to shape a FRONT Panel (the SCSI Case is open fronted) with holes lined-up with drive activity-lights (where fitted). :-)