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Lemmenmo@lemmy.world

Buttons & Knobs Supplier (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 days ago by Squizzy@lemmy.world to c/buildapc@lemmy.world

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I am looking to have a physical switch installed in my living room to control the PC.

Is it a possibility to have that, are there issues to be considered?
I am thinking a fancy looking wood and press clicky switch with good travel. Suppliers?
Volume would also be great to have.

Any avice appreciated.

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[–] noughtnaut@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

A... switch? To... control your pc? How?

I mean you could just hack up a Bluetooth keyboard and stuff it into a new box. Pick one with a volume knob if that's what you want.

Or you could go all mechanical keyboards nerd on it and build a custom board and all that.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Yeah this was where my thought process began, my couch keyboard has a touchpad and volume controls. I dont particularly want the PC volume to be changed ever so I thought a nice power button would allow for hiding the PC as intended and still being able to power on and off, the addition of a dial for volume could ensure volume can be reset if ever changed too.

For any other tasks I would just grab the keyboard but it isnt something I want used all the time, I want the experience to mirror what my family are used to.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You probably don’t want to physically cut the power to the PC. It should be fine to do that (modern software and file systems are quite resilient to power outages), but it can still cause issues. So I would suggest using some software implementation rather than a straight up power switch.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Yes this was my concern, I suppose I could work the physical switch to commence shut down? I had hope to have a volume and power button just to ad a touch of pageantry to the experience but it is wholly unnecessary.

[–] officermike@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

By "control the PC" I assume you just mean power on/off. There's a few ways about this, some with additional hardware, and some can be done without any additional hardware.

Wake On LAN (WOL) allows you to wake up your computer over the network. Easiest to implement if you have a smart home hub, but can be done without one. Some router admin pages have a tool for this. Doesn't usually work for shutting down, only waking. Doesn't require any additional hardware
Wireless keyboard with a PC power button.
Physical switch wired in place of (or in parallel with) the original PC power switch.
USB home theater PC (HTPC or Windows Media Center) remote.
Remote PC power button key fob. Sometimes comes with a PCIe card or some other device to install in your PC.
Switchbot or similar IOT device that can be triggered remotely to physically press a button like your PC power button.

Any of these can be set up or modified in a way to be triggered by a bespoke button of pretty much any sort, provided basic electronics and soldering skills. Each has its own pros and cons. I'd look for "normally open momentary switches" or "NO momentary switches." One of the nicer switches people like to use for this sort of thing are called "anti-vandal switches."

Personally, I run Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi at home, and I have a widget on my phone's home screen that triggers a Wake-On-LAN for my desktop PC so I can remote desktop from anywhere my phone has WiFi or cell service.