On Jun 27, 17:52, Zane H. Healy wrote: on If could two Masterswitch, eight box. That's pretty much how I've done it in the past. You could also use a parallel port to drive several relays. One slightly simpler method I've used is to employ a photvoltaic/solidstate relay. Something like the Omron GVM series will switch 350VAC and currents of about 0.1A (which should be fine for your modem), or the International Rectifier PVA2352N will switch 200VAC at around 0.14A. The Omron ones need about 10mA drive at 12V, the IR types typically 5mA, so you can normally drive them directly from a serial handshake line, and they come in a DIL package the size of an 8-pin device. Cost about UKP6, so I guess about US$10 or so. They're MOSFET devices so they can be used to switch DC as well as AC. There are some other devices that will switch a couple of amps, or even more, and still only need 10mA drive, but they tend to be encapsulated hybrids and take up more room. They also tend to be thyristor or triac units, so best restricted to AC. I've never used them, but Crydom do some devices at about the same price as the small Omron SSRs, except they switch up to 5A with a control current that could be as low as 3mA; however they're bigger and use a triac. One thing to think about is whether you want NO (normally open) or NC (normally closed) operation. Do you want the power turned off (disabled) if the controller is powered down or removed? -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York