ITW Vandal Resistant Type 57 Switches Review
Let me thank Carol from ITW Switches for sending these samples to look at.
There
are many case mods out there and one thing you don’t usually see
is a switch as one of them.
You may think that switches are not a big deal, but switches can actually
be cool if you need and want to blend in case colors. Today we will
be taking a quick run down on the ITW Vandal Resistant Type 57 switch.
First Impressions
The switches came equipped in a plastic zip lock. They also come with no instructions as these are just samples. ITW say that they have sent me two different types. However, you will see if that’s true later.
The switches have an LED in the middle and have a red or green color to choose from.
About ITW Switches
“ITW Switches has been a manufacturer of high quality switch products since 1954. Designed, built, tested and warranted to provide consistent performance, our many product lines provide switching solutions for a wide array of OEM products worldwide.
Solving switch and switch related problems with an innovative approach is what we do. Take a look around the site or give us a call for answers to your switching needs.“
Installation
To install these switches, some fiddling around is required. The materials needed are:
-
2 separate wires (one for LED, one for power)
- Wire cutter
- Soldiering gun
First off, you are going to need two separate wires. One for the power
and the other for the LED. Check the pin style of your motherboard’s
front panel. In this case, I will be using the POWER SW from my Chenming
case. The other is a Turbo LED from an old case of mine. They are both
2-pin wires.
Second,
you will have to strip both wires with a wire cutter or simply use a
small sharp knife turning in circles.
Once both are done, take your desired power wire and connect it to the
two pins that don’t have the – and + LED signs. They will
be the switches that are small. At this point, try it out and see if
your computer starts. If it does proceed to the next step. If not, re-do
it again.
Now use your LED wires and connect it (twist through hole) to the pins that have the – and + signs. You will have to try each way. See if it works. If the LED’s light up, you are successfully going to the next step.
Finally
this is where the hard part comes…With your wires in the switch,
you will have to solder it together. I advise you to write down what
wires connect to what pin, that way you won’t screw up the order…
I assume you know a little bit on soldering so I will not go in-depth.
Make sure that the solder is only touching that switch pin. Make sure
the wires are touching only one of the pins, not two. In total, you
will have 4 separate wires soldered on to the switch.
As you can see, the switches are the same color? They probably sent me 2 of the same things, however, why is one LED brighter than the other?
Conclusion
Overall, these switches look great and have great construction. As well they will blend into my case, as you will see in an upcoming article. The only problem and improvement I found is that if these switches are the same (I believe they are), both are green, then there is a possibility of manufacturing problems or problematic LED’s not lighting up properly. Another improvement I would like to be made are instead of soldiering it down, there could be a small hole where you fan put your wire in and have it screwed or clipped down for example, home theater speakers have these where you connect the speaker cable end. The switches scratch quite easily as I have some small scratches on mine. I would have liked to have seen more variation in color and a brighter LED such as blue, orange, and more...
I
rate the ITW Vandal Type 57 Switch a…
9.0/10!
Pros & Cons
+
Construction
+ LED
- More variations wanted (color. Only red and green)
- One LED is brighter than the other...
Thanks again to Carol.
