26 Jun
2007
26 Jun
'07
2:49 p.m.
On 26 Jun 2007 at 16:51, Ethan Dicks wrote:
The Amiga 3000 had that sort of thing, too... a
latching pushbutton
mounted right on the PSU, activated by a pushrod and a button on the
front of the machine. I think at the time, I heard it was to satisfy
German electrical code (to not run mains to a switch in the front),
but perhaps it was just cheaper, somehow, than how PCs did it with a
heavy insulated cable from the PSU in the back to a heavy-duty power
switch in the front. Certainly it makes it easy to have the user
power switch not mechanically attached to the electrical bit, allowing
the cover to slide off the front.
I think it's more common than commonly thought. Most of the front-
loading Overland Data 9-track tape drives use the same scheme. Now,
PCs with *real* (mains disconnect) power switches seem to be getting
very rare.
Cheers,
Chuck