You've come up with some really good, well thought out ideas, like the Velcro, the extension cords for brick plugs and so on, makes for a very interesting watch. Thanks for taking the time to record and upload these videos!
This is easily the most critical video to me... I would have not expected 4-6 watts on that many systems. Power's definately something I'm going to have to consider in my buildout. Thanks for making this video.
This is a pretty cool, and clean way of distributing power throughout a massive setup, albeit it is quite a lot to set up. Just a few things to consider with a setup like this. First of all, electricity spikes can be surprisingly dangerous. Electricity can jump open gaps in circuits and even travel through walls in certain instances, like during a lightning strike. So having everything plugged in will you will still not be adequately protected from potential damage during a lightning storm. The best practice would be to unplug everything in those situations. The GFCI will trip on overcurrent but it is not a surge protection feature. Likewise, while I rather like the PS9 for ease of power control and distribution, it offers no power conditioning nor does it have any kind of surge protection. Yeah, it's got that fuse on it but as far as I can tell it's 15A, so if you send 15A to any of those consoles, the damage will likely already have been done. I would plug those units into a Furman power conditioner with surge protection. The way you have it set up is fine for power distribution, but I wouldn't plug anything critical into a setup like that without some kind of beefy surge protection. Personally, for my console setup I'm looking into modding each console with a PicoPSU so that I can power all of the consoles with the same power connection from some kind of single-corded power distribution block similar to a Voodoo Labs pedal power-type device. I only currently have 7 different consoles to power and plan on maybe 9 or 10 at most, and would still want something to control power sent to each individual console, but I'd much rather have one single block with one power cord attached to all of the different consoles via small barrel power connectors, rather than having tons of extension cords and wall warts all over the place. Then it's a matter of figuring out how to connect everything to the TV via component cables. I have some ideas for that, which involve modding at least some of the consoles for RGB using a Genesis 2 9-pin Mini DIN AV output and using HD Retrovision cables, but buying a set of cables for every single console would be prohibitively expensive. Perhaps I could find or build a 9-pin Mini DIN switchbox.
UK/Irish people, for those of you interested I found a pretty good power solution, very similar to what's in this video. It's IEC style, so 8 x adaptors are needed. Still, it's pretty affordable. Power Supply: cpc.farnell.com/transcension/pc-08/effects-switch-panel-8-way/dp/DP34585 Adaptors (8 Needed): cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/0428-1g-0-5m/iec-c14-plug-to-13a-socket-black/dp/PL15014 Hope this helps people.
Ive seen this setup before on websites and people vowing it in all awesome, im trying to find the best setup for multi consoles to be hooked up. My only concern and its an ocd that i cant shake, is to get every system hooked up below the tv to remove the line of sight from controller wires in front of the tv, i noticed this doesnt apply to you but what do you do for that, some systems down even have long controller cords. My setup is 14 systems at the moment. i have them spread across book shelves drilled into the wall with brackets, but ive ran out of room.
nes maul Well, for me the cords never block the line of site. I think this is discussed in Part 1. To cram this many systems around the TV, you almost have to have them on all four sides of the TV. Either that, or have the TV really high I guess.
Do you shut off power to those switches from the wall outlet, when going to bed etc? OR is it OK to have power running from the wall to the switch 24/7, as long as the switches themselves are off...
When I am done playing, and turn off the switch I was using, all the switches are in off position. The rack mounts do not consume power when all the switches are in the off position. They basically function the same way as a light switch.
Ah ok I get you. Thanks for getting back to me. Another quick question for you, Do you have each of your powered HDMI/Component switches connected to their own independent switch on your power racks? Or are they powered separatley...
I just bought some rack power switches like yours :). Mine have "power indicator" lights on them though, that stay lit as long as the unit is plugged in (this is separate to the 1-8 switch lights). Do you think it's OK to leave power running to these units, or should they be plugged out too? I guess you don't have that issue as yours don't have indicator lights...
+ZachAttack84 fuse will only pop from a excessive current draw caused by the devices connected too it exactly like the circuit breaker. GFI will pop on a short as its name applies which is why low resistance devices like a hair dryer occasionally pops them. At least shown in this video there isn't any protection from a surge on the grid. Likely won't be a serious problem though because with the switches on the rack off the hot leg is an open circuit.
Actually even if the power on the rack is off, there is a change that a surge can travel to the systems even while the switches and systems are off if the surge is high enough; the rack is just a power switch and does not protect against surges. I highly recommend two options for your case as an electrician. Get yourself a really good surge protector, DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON THIS. Surge protectors will be your bread and butter and replace them as indicated by the manufacturer because unfortunately they do have an expiration date. You can also hire an electrician and have him or her install a whole whole surge protector at the box. This might be a bit more expensive but your whole house will be protected and now that even ovens have computers in them need to be protected.
Your setup as described in this video doesn't provide surge protection. GFCI is not a replacement for surge protection, and neither is the fuse in those rack units. The rack fuse protects from internal power spikes, just like blowing a fuse on a circuit breaker. The GFCI outlets protect from grounding the device through your body (ie: dropping a hairdryer in a bath tub). In both of those cases you are protected from a power spike or grounding issue that comes from within your home , but you are not protected from a spike that comes from outside your home, like a lightning strike to the city power grid or something. Now, one saving grace of your system is that each device has it's own power switch, so if there is a spike in the power grid only the devices that happen to be switched on at that instant will be affected. You won't ever have a catastrophic situation where ALL your stuff blows out at least, but still. I'd recommend getting a small surge protector that mounts to the wall outlet and then plugging your rack units into that.
+John Hahn Thanks for the feedback. I thought a surge protector, like the one you recommend, functions the same way as a GFCI outlet. Any kind of surge or drop in energy level, and it shuts off.
+GamingTheSystems GFCI outlets basically check that the incoming HOT current matches the outgoing NEUTRAL current. If you drop your hairdryer in the bathtub, for instance, the currents will no longer match because a portion of the HOT current will exit the circuit because it has been grounded. The GFCI outlet will then detect that the outgoing current is lower than the incoming current and shut off. That's all a GFCI outlet does. If a huge voltage spike comes in from outside your house, the GFCI outlet will not shut off because the HOT and NEUTRAL currents still match, they are just both higher than normal.
+GamingTheSystems Here's a link to the official home inspector message board where somebody asked about the difference. There are plenty of people there that can explain it better than I can: www.nachi.org/forum/f19/gfci-vs-surge-protector-10421/
I actually found some nice outlets that I have placed in my room for peice of mind along with a really good surge protector www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-20-Amp-125-Volt-AFCI-GFCI-Dual-Function-Outlet-White-AGTR2-W/300049855?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-VF-PLA-D27E-Electrical%7c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgs7RBRDoARIsANOo-HjmU1-BEf252ZyE-VLfdBv2hwq0-o9RDM4-Emo9SsBPwzVcDBtUbukaAkJsEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKO3gavWjNgCFWTI4wcdunUD9Q
I would be wary of Technical Pro, Pyle, and a lot of these cheap, generic power switchers. I came across a great video where a Technical Pro was opened up, and the wiring was so poor that it could easily catch on fire (th-cam.com/video/NgfoHJEdg7Q/w-d-xo.html ). I would suggest opening one of yours up and reading reviews on this and other comparable brands, it's not pretty. The only rack-mount pdu I found that has individual switches and seems to be of good quality is A-Neutonics, but those are $100 each.
You've come up with some really good, well thought out ideas, like the Velcro, the extension cords for brick plugs and so on, makes for a very interesting watch. Thanks for taking the time to record and upload these videos!
This is easily the most critical video to me... I would have not expected 4-6 watts on that many systems. Power's definately something I'm going to have to consider in my buildout. Thanks for making this video.
Will you talk about the way you store your games?
This is a pretty cool, and clean way of distributing power throughout a massive setup, albeit it is quite a lot to set up. Just a few things to consider with a setup like this.
First of all, electricity spikes can be surprisingly dangerous. Electricity can jump open gaps in circuits and even travel through walls in certain instances, like during a lightning strike. So having everything plugged in will you will still not be adequately protected from potential damage during a lightning storm. The best practice would be to unplug everything in those situations. The GFCI will trip on overcurrent but it is not a surge protection feature.
Likewise, while I rather like the PS9 for ease of power control and distribution, it offers no power conditioning nor does it have any kind of surge protection. Yeah, it's got that fuse on it but as far as I can tell it's 15A, so if you send 15A to any of those consoles, the damage will likely already have been done. I would plug those units into a Furman power conditioner with surge protection.
The way you have it set up is fine for power distribution, but I wouldn't plug anything critical into a setup like that without some kind of beefy surge protection. Personally, for my console setup I'm looking into modding each console with a PicoPSU so that I can power all of the consoles with the same power connection from some kind of single-corded power distribution block similar to a Voodoo Labs pedal power-type device. I only currently have 7 different consoles to power and plan on maybe 9 or 10 at most, and would still want something to control power sent to each individual console, but I'd much rather have one single block with one power cord attached to all of the different consoles via small barrel power connectors, rather than having tons of extension cords and wall warts all over the place.
Then it's a matter of figuring out how to connect everything to the TV via component cables. I have some ideas for that, which involve modding at least some of the consoles for RGB using a Genesis 2 9-pin Mini DIN AV output and using HD Retrovision cables, but buying a set of cables for every single console would be prohibitively expensive. Perhaps I could find or build a 9-pin Mini DIN switchbox.
I only have like 7 systems and I still think that power rack is awesome
This is a great video. Looks like you had a lot of fun learning how to set everything up!!
Very nice video! Thanks. I look forward to the next one.
Very interesting. Can't wait to do this when I get my place.
Right now I'm editing Parts 5 and 6. Will probably upload Part 5 on October 18th.
GamingTheSystems Make that October 19th. 99% done.
+GamingTheSystems Thank you for the tip about the Sega CD fuse.
It's out there.
Nice vid, extremely interesting... (And obviously your game room is insane)
This video is what i needed. thank you man
This is awesome. Will you also do a video about how you record gameplay?
Thank you for sharing.
When is part 5 coming? I love this series of yours, good job!
Need one of those to save power
Is there a UK version of the Technical Pro power strip things? I can't seem to find anything.
Looking for the same thing
Yeah I'm also looking for this....anyone have any luck? All I can find are the "IEC" kettle lead style.
UK/Irish people, for those of you interested I found a pretty good power solution, very similar to what's in this video. It's IEC style, so 8 x adaptors are needed. Still, it's pretty affordable.
Power Supply: cpc.farnell.com/transcension/pc-08/effects-switch-panel-8-way/dp/DP34585
Adaptors (8 Needed): cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/0428-1g-0-5m/iec-c14-plug-to-13a-socket-black/dp/PL15014
Hope this helps people.
How long of extension cords do you have and what is a good price to spend on them without overdoing it.
hello i just have 9 systems at the moment excluding the newer consoles and is there a difference in the technical pro ps s9 vs the ps b9?
Nice setup!
Ive seen this setup before on websites and people vowing it in all awesome, im trying to find the best setup for multi consoles to be hooked up. My only concern and its an ocd that i cant shake, is to get every system hooked up below the tv to remove the line of sight from controller wires in front of the tv, i noticed this doesnt apply to you but what do you do for that, some systems down even have long controller cords. My setup is 14 systems at the moment. i have them spread across book shelves drilled into the wall with brackets, but ive ran out of room.
nes maul Well, for me the cords never block the line of site. I think this is discussed in Part 1. To cram this many systems around the TV, you almost have to have them on all four sides of the TV. Either that, or have the TV really high I guess.
Do you shut off power to those switches from the wall outlet, when going to bed etc? OR is it OK to have power running from the wall to the switch 24/7, as long as the switches themselves are off...
When I am done playing, and turn off the switch I was using, all the switches are in off position. The rack mounts do not consume power when all the switches are in the off position. They basically function the same way as a light switch.
Ah ok I get you. Thanks for getting back to me. Another quick question for you, Do you have each of your powered HDMI/Component switches connected to their own independent switch on your power racks? Or are they powered separatley...
They have their own switches that power them. Even the TVs have switches. I wanted zero power usage when not using the room.
I just bought some rack power switches like yours :). Mine have "power indicator" lights on them though, that stay lit as long as the unit is plugged in (this is separate to the 1-8 switch lights). Do you think it's OK to leave power running to these units, or should they be plugged out too? I guess you don't have that issue as yours don't have indicator lights...
what kind of protection do those rack mount power supply's have for say a power surge.
I am guessing thats what the fuse is for, if there is a surge, it blows the fuse and that cuts off all the power going in or out
+ZachAttack84 fuse will only pop from a excessive current draw caused by the devices connected too it exactly like the circuit breaker. GFI will pop on a short as its name applies which is why low resistance devices like a hair dryer occasionally pops them. At least shown in this video there isn't any protection from a surge on the grid.
Likely won't be a serious problem though because with the switches on the rack off the hot leg is an open circuit.
Actually even if the power on the rack is off, there is a change that a surge can travel to the systems even while the switches and systems are off if the surge is high enough; the rack is just a power switch and does not protect against surges. I highly recommend two options for your case as an electrician. Get yourself a really good surge protector, DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON THIS. Surge protectors will be your bread and butter and replace them as indicated by the manufacturer because unfortunately they do have an expiration date. You can also hire an electrician and have him or her install a whole whole surge protector at the box. This might be a bit more expensive but your whole house will be protected and now that even ovens have computers in them need to be protected.
Your setup as described in this video doesn't provide surge protection. GFCI is not a replacement for surge protection, and neither is the fuse in those rack units. The rack fuse protects from internal power spikes, just like blowing a fuse on a circuit breaker. The GFCI outlets protect from grounding the device through your body (ie: dropping a hairdryer in a bath tub). In both of those cases you are protected from a power spike or grounding issue that comes from within your home , but you are not protected from a spike that comes from outside your home, like a lightning strike to the city power grid or something.
Now, one saving grace of your system is that each device has it's own power switch, so if there is a spike in the power grid only the devices that happen to be switched on at that instant will be affected. You won't ever have a catastrophic situation where ALL your stuff blows out at least, but still. I'd recommend getting a small surge protector that mounts to the wall outlet and then plugging your rack units into that.
+John Hahn Thanks for the feedback. I thought a surge protector, like the one you recommend, functions the same way as a GFCI outlet. Any kind of surge or drop in energy level, and it shuts off.
+GamingTheSystems GFCI outlets basically check that the incoming HOT current matches the outgoing NEUTRAL current. If you drop your hairdryer in the bathtub, for instance, the currents will no longer match because a portion of the HOT current will exit the circuit because it has been grounded. The GFCI outlet will then detect that the outgoing current is lower than the incoming current and shut off. That's all a GFCI outlet does.
If a huge voltage spike comes in from outside your house, the GFCI outlet will not shut off because the HOT and NEUTRAL currents still match, they are just both higher than normal.
+GamingTheSystems Here's a link to the official home inspector message board where somebody asked about the difference. There are plenty of people there that can explain it better than I can: www.nachi.org/forum/f19/gfci-vs-surge-protector-10421/
I actually found some nice outlets that I have placed in my room for peice of mind along with a really good surge protector www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-20-Amp-125-Volt-AFCI-GFCI-Dual-Function-Outlet-White-AGTR2-W/300049855?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-VF-PLA-D27E-Electrical%7c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgs7RBRDoARIsANOo-HjmU1-BEf252ZyE-VLfdBv2hwq0-o9RDM4-Emo9SsBPwzVcDBtUbukaAkJsEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKO3gavWjNgCFWTI4wcdunUD9Q
Brilliant.
awsome....thanks
I would be wary of Technical Pro, Pyle, and a lot of these cheap, generic power switchers. I came across a great video where a Technical Pro was opened up, and the wiring was so poor that it could easily catch on fire (th-cam.com/video/NgfoHJEdg7Q/w-d-xo.html ). I would suggest opening one of yours up and reading reviews on this and other comparable brands, it's not pretty.
The only rack-mount pdu I found that has individual switches and seems to be of good quality is A-Neutonics, but those are $100 each.
You are a fucking life saver.
yolo, money 4 dayzz
holy cowwwww
god forbid if you ever move house
and damn i better go and unplug my xbox