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Step 10Electronics! - Power and Hub
The last part to the electronics is the USB hub and the power supply. Because the hub I bought is powered, I use the USB power to actually power my microcontroller and solid state relays. So I only needed to connect the hub to the power and then connect my controller to the hub. I got a nice thin hub from frys I think? That was kind of a last minute idea, but definitely worth it. I ended up only using three of the 4 ports, but I can live with that. One port connects to the main controller and gives it power, the other two connect from the front panels as expalined in step 5.
Because the power adapter for the hub was meant to be plugged into a wall, I had to pry it apart to get at the wires. I then connected one of the two wires to the mains input, the other to one side of the main power switch on the front. Then from the switch back to mains. That way the main power switch provides power to the controller as well as the light bulbs. Take a note of the third picture, after soldering to the two AC wires, I used shrink wrap to isolate them. That's very important. If it's not obvious at this point, the electrical part of this project is very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing! Using shrink wrap to cover any electrical leads to mains is vital for your own safety.
For the usb output port on the side I used this vertical connector from sparkfun. I then cut the usb cable from the hub to a nice short length and wired it up to the breakout board. (I was starting to run out of space in these corners, so long usb cables had to go.)
Once all the connectors were made, I mounted the power supply and hub to the insides of the case with hot glue and epoxy. Laugh all you want! Hot glue is awesome! No it's not good for long term, but it is great for short term to hold things in place while your long lasting epoxy is able to cure.
Because the power adapter for the hub was meant to be plugged into a wall, I had to pry it apart to get at the wires. I then connected one of the two wires to the mains input, the other to one side of the main power switch on the front. Then from the switch back to mains. That way the main power switch provides power to the controller as well as the light bulbs. Take a note of the third picture, after soldering to the two AC wires, I used shrink wrap to isolate them. That's very important. If it's not obvious at this point, the electrical part of this project is very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing! Using shrink wrap to cover any electrical leads to mains is vital for your own safety.
For the usb output port on the side I used this vertical connector from sparkfun. I then cut the usb cable from the hub to a nice short length and wired it up to the breakout board. (I was starting to run out of space in these corners, so long usb cables had to go.)
Once all the connectors were made, I mounted the power supply and hub to the insides of the case with hot glue and epoxy. Laugh all you want! Hot glue is awesome! No it's not good for long term, but it is great for short term to hold things in place while your long lasting epoxy is able to cure.
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