Periodic power cycle

[bonxer]

I want to build a device to periodically power cycle another device.

I bought a cheapie D-Link DP-301U print server so that any computer in the house is able to print without relying on any other computer to host the printer. It seems that after a week or more of uptime, the PS stops responding. The situation I'm currently at is that I either have to remove the power cord, then plug it back in, or open a web browser to its IP address and click the reset button. I thought about creating a script that runs once a week to log into it and do a soft reset, but that defeats the purpose of the unit: not require any particular computer be on, or have special software loaded, just so any other computer can use the printer.

The solution I'm thinking of would be some kind of timer that could trigger once per day, maybe once per week. When it triggers, it cuts off the power (either 120v AC to the transformer, or the 5v DC to the unit itself) for a few seconds, then restores it.

I suppose having a PIC to run a counter to some high value, then turning an output pin high to turn off a PNP transistor's +5v feed to it could do the trick. Anyone have any simpler ideas?

 

[akg]

there may be a simple solution to ur problem .

to reset the power u need a very low freq clock + a monostable..both can be done using 555 , since u donnot need a high accuracy. buid a very low freq osc based on 555 , divide the o/p to the reqd period , which triggers a relay to shut off the power , now this 555 shld also trigger a mono (around say another 555) that will then restore the power