IDE Drive Switch

[Jon Wells]

Greetings. I have three IDE ATA hard drives in my computer. I want to be
able to turn each drive off or on without having to take the cover off the
computer. So I'd like to install toggle switches on the front of the case.
Only problem is hard drives have two power rails, 12vdc and 5vdc. Seems
that most switches are setup to handle just one voltage, not two. What kind
of switch should I be looking for? Many thanks.

 

[Robert Monsen]

Jon Wells wrote:

Greetings. I have three IDE ATA hard drives in my computer. I want to be
able to turn each drive off or on without having to take the cover off the
computer. So I'd like to install toggle switches on the front of the case.
Only problem is hard drives have two power rails, 12vdc and 5vdc. Seems
that most switches are setup to handle just one voltage, not two. What kind
of switch should I be looking for? Many thanks.

They are called double pole single throw switches. DPST for short. The
poles are how many separate isolated switches there are, and the throws
are how many positions you can set the switches to. Thus, you can get
3P4T switches which contain three separate switches, all controlled by
the same movement, which can each be set to one of 4 possible connections.

You may only be able to get double pole double throw (DPDT) switches,
but they will work too.

--
Regards,
Robert Monsen

"Your Highness, I have no need of this hypothesis."
- Pierre Laplace (1749-1827), to Napoleon,
on why his works on celestial mechanics make no mention of God.

 

[Lord Garth]

"Jon Wells" <jwells22@mindspring.com> wrote in message
newsrUSd.3847$873.810@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...

Greetings. I have three IDE ATA hard drives in my computer. I want to
be
able to turn each drive off or on without having to take the cover off the
computer. So I'd like to install toggle switches on the front of the
case.
Only problem is hard drives have two power rails, 12vdc and 5vdc. Seems
that most switches are setup to handle just one voltage, not two. What
kind
of switch should I be looking for? Many thanks.

You shouldn't leave an unpowered drive on the cable. This will be a bigger
problem than switching the power.