Date: Wednesday, 1 June 2005
Author : Joel Hughey
Sponsor : Logisys
Product : Logisys Beta Remote Multifunction Panel

 

 

Introduction:

        As the name implies Logisys is indeed developing a product that provides a remote for your computer system. Not just any remote mind you - but a remote that allows you to power on/off as well as restart your machine. Remotely. Out of the box this panel looks simply elegant with no obvious problems or useless frills. The device fits in a 5.25" bay and comes with a mess of wires that prove to be all you need to get up and running. The unit provides the remote features, along with USB 2.0 & Firewire breakouts, temperature monitoring via two probes, and manual fan-bus control.

 

Features:

        The first two wires I attached are shown to be the dual temperature probes in the top left picture. In the middle picture you can see the "power" and "reset" leads which go to your motherboard breakout pins. When using the remote panel you cannot use your manual power & reset buttons. A pass though system could be used in future revisions to allow this.

 

        The unit features USB 2.0 and a Firewire breakout which are connected to standard breakout pins with the cables shown top left. The middle picture shows the connectivity breakouts along with a front view of the temperature gauges and fan control slider. Shown top right is the antenna breakout which mounts into any empty PCI slot although it does not hook to your motherboard.  The vertical slider to the left of the gauges is the manual fan control knob. The manual fan bus performed well; providing between approximately six volts and eleven volts to the fan output.

 

    The panel is powered via an ATX main board pass-though adapter. This type of power setup is required for the unit to always have power supplied directly from the power supply ATX adapter which allows it to always be powered on and ready to receive the remote signals. The pass though came slightly mis-configured which I easily corrected with Logisys' guidance. In future revisions I would like to see the pass through adapter changed to feature more of a "zero length" design. Instead of having the five inch adapter I would prefer to see a simple pass through "block" which would not add clutter or clash with various case themes.

 

    Lastly we see the glorious remote. Small and inconspicuous it is identical to various car lock/alarm remotes. The red button operates the power on/off feature while the grey button operates the "reset" feature. I found the remote to operate strangely when the additional antenna was attached to the remote. In my testing the remote liked to be "above" the end of the antenna when positioned vertically. If I removed the antenna the remote was happy to work in any orientation. The remote worked up to approximately twenty-five feet away, which was down a hallway. The remote worked everywhere in the room but did not like to operate through walls. When pushing a button a loud click is heard along with the appropriate front status light activating - and the restart or power operation is immediately activated. I discovered that when using Windows XP Professional and trying to power cycle when at the login screen - Windows prompts for a user confirmation because some user settings or programs "may be lost". I suspect this prompt could easily be disabled.

 

Overview:

        First I have to congratulate Logisys for bringing such a unique and innovative idea to market. I cannot wait to see their final design that makes it to retail. As impressed as I was with this beta unit I do have several suggestions for future revisions. Unfortunately I think that manual fan control bus devices are no longer a highly desirable feature for most system builders. I would eliminate this feature for a thermally controlled fan bus or any other modern feature. I am not quite sure why the additional antenna was so buggy during my testing but I am not sure it is really required, range did not seem to increase when using it and I experienced "dead spots" where the remote would not activate the unit. I would like to see the system include a CCFL control feature. While I did and would use the power feature I do not think that the "reset" feature is that important to most users. I would prefer to be able to operate case lights with that secondary channel but this would require a secondary relay switch to adapt the channel which only completes a circuit to actually control voltage. Finally I believe a secondary Logisys "kit" product which would adapt the product to fit in a PCI slot without the front breakouts or temperature gauges would be very attractive to many users. Much longer wires will be needed on a retail unit as the beta lengths are too short for many configurations. There is rarely such a thing as wires which are too long on products like these as they can always be hidden or tailored to fit. Most users already have some sort of temperature monitoring and/or breakouts and would prefer to see the remote functionality restricted to a PCI form factor. Along with a zero-length ATX pass through power adapter this would provide definite utilitarian usability to anyone interested in these features.
        Thanks to Logisys for giving us this sneak peak - and I am sure we will have retail product coverage. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this article or the Logisys product please do not hesitate to email me.