Hello,
I have to admit, I expected more people to add 12v triggers for their DIY amplifiers, but I am having a heck of a time trying to find any information. For instance, on the back of VTV amplifiers, there is an in/out 12v trigger. I'm building my own amp, and I am designing the rear panel right now in CAD. I have it about complete besides this 12v trigger. I'm not sure what holes I need cut for the trigger- there doesn't appear to be a standard 'part' for it... are all 12v triggers on amps just some home-made design? I thought a 12v trigger system was more universal than this, as something that can be found on a lot of equipment, but I guess not?
Is it even worth it to add to my homemade amp or is there something else you all do when building your amps and equipment for home theater? Do you use 'smart' (master/slave) power strips instead?
Here is what my back plate looks like right now. I wanted to add the trigger in the obvious empty area.
Thanks!
I have to admit, I expected more people to add 12v triggers for their DIY amplifiers, but I am having a heck of a time trying to find any information. For instance, on the back of VTV amplifiers, there is an in/out 12v trigger. I'm building my own amp, and I am designing the rear panel right now in CAD. I have it about complete besides this 12v trigger. I'm not sure what holes I need cut for the trigger- there doesn't appear to be a standard 'part' for it... are all 12v triggers on amps just some home-made design? I thought a 12v trigger system was more universal than this, as something that can be found on a lot of equipment, but I guess not?
Is it even worth it to add to my homemade amp or is there something else you all do when building your amps and equipment for home theater? Do you use 'smart' (master/slave) power strips instead?
Here is what my back plate looks like right now. I wanted to add the trigger in the obvious empty area.
Thanks!
Not really standardized, but here's an article on building a trigger. Use any 2 pin connector you want.
Some use mono mini-plugs, the size on many headphones.
https://audioxpress.com/article/you-can-diy-a-12-v-trigger-supply
Or, here's a trigger expander if you need more.
https://emotiva.com/products/et-3
Some use mono mini-plugs, the size on many headphones.
https://audioxpress.com/article/you-can-diy-a-12-v-trigger-supply
Or, here's a trigger expander if you need more.
https://emotiva.com/products/et-3
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Awesome, I appreciate you sending me those links! Helps a lot!
So I would simply build this into the chassis then. For some goofy reason I had it in my head that it was going to be a simple unit that I install. I see I will need to make this myself on a seperate mini-pcb/breadboard. So be it, I have the schematics now thanks to you.
If anybody else has built 12v trigger into their amplifier, let me know how you implemented it!
Thanks!
So I would simply build this into the chassis then. For some goofy reason I had it in my head that it was going to be a simple unit that I install. I see I will need to make this myself on a seperate mini-pcb/breadboard. So be it, I have the schematics now thanks to you.
If anybody else has built 12v trigger into their amplifier, let me know how you implemented it!
Thanks!
In the amplifier (or other component), all you really need is an input connector for the 12V trigger,
and a 12VDC coil relay which switches the AC line power.
and a 12VDC coil relay which switches the AC line power.
That makes sense....Probably why nobody has posted a question like this, it's so simple. Well I appreciate it, thanks again!
This seems to be cheap and effective- I can't imagine going over 10a, we'd have a real problem.
https://www.pololu.com/product-info-merged/2482
https://www.pololu.com/product-info-merged/2482
Should be fine. Treat the board as HV and isolate it accordingly.
Mounting it near the IEC socket would be best.
Mounting it near the IEC socket would be best.
I use a ON-OFF-ON double post toggle switch on front panel to select ON-OFF-TRIGGER and switch LEDs.
As for physical connector, I use a 3.5" mono jack as the most (but not exclusively) widespread type of trigger in/out.
My amp is started by solid state relays (SSR), controlled by an ESP32 Wifi microcontroller which is in ON state all the time (from a separate tiny PSU) when the main switch on the back is ON.
This is a normal usual standby mode.
For the trigger part, I also had aforementioned examples but I decided to go the microcontroller route:
- for trigger IN, I go from trigger onto a sensing pin of the microcontroller via a resistor (for simple voltage drop from 12V onto 3.3V). If this pin is pulled, the amp is getting started (kept ON) via the SSR-s.
For lower trigger input voltage and wider compatibility I could instead measure voltage on this pin so anything above ~1.0V would then be a triggered ON state.
- for trigger OUT, not done yet, I'll need a separate tiny 12V circuit, microcontroller triggers the SSR which again gets into ON state and 12V stabilized voltage is applied to the trigger-out then, from a tiny PCB-transformer and tiny full-wave rectification (with 'plenty' of current for compatibility purposes if the remote side is a coil relay which needs to be kept, otherwise my DIY stuff are all microcontroller powered so current for simply sensing voltage isn't needed at all). For broader compatibility, output voltage could be also regulated via a switch (or even a pot).
At first sight it might look complicated but since I have the microcontrollers built in anyway, I use them for such a purpose too.
My amp is started by solid state relays (SSR), controlled by an ESP32 Wifi microcontroller which is in ON state all the time (from a separate tiny PSU) when the main switch on the back is ON.
This is a normal usual standby mode.
For the trigger part, I also had aforementioned examples but I decided to go the microcontroller route:
- for trigger IN, I go from trigger onto a sensing pin of the microcontroller via a resistor (for simple voltage drop from 12V onto 3.3V). If this pin is pulled, the amp is getting started (kept ON) via the SSR-s.
For lower trigger input voltage and wider compatibility I could instead measure voltage on this pin so anything above ~1.0V would then be a triggered ON state.
- for trigger OUT, not done yet, I'll need a separate tiny 12V circuit, microcontroller triggers the SSR which again gets into ON state and 12V stabilized voltage is applied to the trigger-out then, from a tiny PCB-transformer and tiny full-wave rectification (with 'plenty' of current for compatibility purposes if the remote side is a coil relay which needs to be kept, otherwise my DIY stuff are all microcontroller powered so current for simply sensing voltage isn't needed at all). For broader compatibility, output voltage could be also regulated via a switch (or even a pot).
At first sight it might look complicated but since I have the microcontrollers built in anyway, I use them for such a purpose too.
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