So Due to an idea proposed by another forum member in this thread.http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=70688 And the fact that my receiver doesn't have much clearence around it while sitting in the cabinet. I decided some cabinet cooling was in order. I noticed the top of my receiver getting really hot after a few hours use, Figuring that this was probably not the best way to prolong its life. This idea was born..lolFrom the other thread a suggestion was made to use 120mm PC case fans, Running from 12VDC. As I already had one of these from a build a few years ago, I just went and bought 2 more from the same supplier.I decided that I wanted these to run from the USB port of my TV so when the TV is on the fans are on. As 90% of the receivers use is for home theatre, it's used in conjunction with the TV.First I tested the current of one fan to see if 3 of them connected in parallel would work o.k. I know that USB can do anywhere from 500mA to 900mA. With a voltage of 5V. So they will run at about half speed. I tested just one fan and the speed seemed fine. Crudely hooked it up and placed it side on to my Receiver in the cabinet and after two hours of use the receiver was consciderably cooler than before.So then I tested to see if the 3 fans would run from USB. So wired them up in parallel and they ran fine. Slightly slower as the current probably isnt enough, But with 3 fans cooling seemed adaquate.So then came the building part. I removed the rear section of the cabinet and measured the length. Divided it into 3 even rectangles. then drew a diogonal cross in each box to find the dead centre of each section. this then gave me my circle centre for the fans.I then used a compass to draw the circles for cutting out with the Jigsaw.Once I had my circles drawn I cut them out with the jigsaw.Now I needed to line up the fans so I could pilot drill the holes for the screws. I ended up looping a bit of electrical tape under each corner and stcking the fan in exactly the position and alignment for mounting.Once they were stuck and wouldn't move I used a 2.2mm drill bit to drill the pilot holes strait through the mounting holes already in the fans and into the board. I repeated this for all three fans.I then used some self tapping wood screws from mitre 10 to fix them to the board.Once I had all the fans mounted I then soldered all the wires together and heatshrinked the connections. This was quite fidely and awkward. Plus my soldering iron was cheap and gets to hot then not hot enough...lolThen all I needed to do was take it back into the theatre room and hook it up to my laptop and make sure my solder was all connected properly.Once I'd confirmed they were all working correctly it was time put the cabinet back together and hook all the gear back up with the fans.So was a good little project and is working great so far!.. Putting your hand in where the gear is feels cold. My Xbox comes back from rrod repair this week so that will get slotted in there aswell...
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