So recently I had the idea to use a Zen16 to turn on and off our PCs. This works really well, and is pretty simple so I figured I’d share. Your PC power switch (and reset switch) are just momentary switches. So the Zen16 will be used in the same manner as when used as a Garage door controller.
I used some splitters, like these (Amazon Example). This will let you hook both the Zen16 up, and your PC power switch up to the motherboard at the same time, without hacking up any of your PC’s wiring.
You’ll also need some small gauge wiring. I used 24 AWG, (Amazon Example).
Then it’s just a matter of piecing some wires together:
The extra connector in there is so I can easily disconnect the wiring going down to the Zen 16 that’s mounted to the desk. This way I can still take the PC off the desk easily if need be.
Then it’s just a matter of making sure your Zen16 is setup to be a momentary switch. After that your should be able to flip the switch in the app, or tell Alexa to turn on your PC. The best thing about this is it will also work with the reset switch, so you can do both the power and reset switch if you wanted. I’ll be ordering a couple more of these so I can remotely control my server and NAS as well.
Now I’ll go ahead ahead and mention HTPCs, and say this would not be my go to for them in more complex setups. My HTPCs in the house use Simerec modules, and SofaBaton remotes. This way everything (PC, TV, receiver) and everything is flipped to the correct inputs at the same time. I feel this is the better solution / route for this. However, it does cost more.
And thanks for the tip on Simerec & SofaBaton–neither of which I’d seen before.
In the past, there’s been a few times I had to remotely reset my NAS when it would not serve up files and even it’s webpage would no longer come up (it’s an ancient WD MyBook Live, no longer under support, and candidate for replacement, LOL). I found in cases like that I was still able to SSH to it and reboot via command line–it runs some version of linux–so problem kinda solved. I’d also tried a brute-force attack with a Z-Wave power plug, but shied away from that because it didn’t assure an orderly shutdown of open files.
It would be interesting to hear more details of your NAS implementation, if you care to share it…
I’ll forewarn, SofaBaton’s app interface, and programming is pretty annoying (frustrating at times). However their support is decent, and tries? The good thing is once the remote is setup, you basically never need the app again. It’s also powerful enough, that you can fix issues. If the things don’t work reliably, you can increase the duration of the signal sent, things like that.
As for my NAS, it’s going to be just like the above, as I’m just using TrueNAS, so it’s nothing more than a regular PC, with a bunch of hard drives:
For my router I’m also using a PC using OPNsense (it was the easiest way to make everything 10G). So far I haven’t needed to do anything with it, but I think I will do the same sort of setup for it. I’ll just make a scene that automatically hits the button again after a specific duration, so it comes back up by itself.
My son’s PC got to be the guinea pig. So I’m working on mine today. The NAS is close enough, I think I’ll just use a second relay on the same box for it. However I’ll still need another relay for my router.
