Simple cooling solution for the T2

NeilN

Member
Hi all

I got one of my two T2 sat on top of laptop cooler powered off the rear T2 USB port.
The internal fan now never comes on unless I'm doing two recordings and playing a video at the same time.
 
When I first got my Humax I carried out checks, my main concern with the internal temperatures were the HDD and the main processor heatsink.
I solved the processor cooling by fitting a fan to assist the heatsink and used the fan package, from the custom firmware, to keep the HDD cooler.
I am hoping these actions will help prolong the reliability.
 
I got one of my two T2 sat on top of laptop cooler powered off the rear T2 USB port.
The internal fan now never comes on unless I'm doing two recordings and playing a video at the same time.
The fan comes on when the sensors register very hot.
Through the custom firmware I have my HDR-FOXs' fans running slowly and they never reaches the heat that would trigger what you describe.

My conclusion is that the solution I use is both simpler. When set up its all in the box and also it is a true solution while your method is not a solution as the high heat that is required to trigger a non-modified box is still reached. The custom firmware fan package can keep the temperature from reaching that giddy height in the first place.
 
Another trick is to turn the internal cooling fan round so it blows direct over the hard drive. As for the CPU. it does not get as hot as you think.
Had one of my T2's open for a while and even when the processor was loaded with tasks recording, playback and streaming the CPU heatsink was not
particularly hot to the touch at all which very surprising considering the small size of the heatsink. The biggest thermal issue inside is the HDD.
 
Some years back a user posted that standing the HDR-Fox T2 on it's smallest side (vertically) meant the fan never came on, I have not proved this. It would be easy using the Custom Firmware to monitor the hard disk temperature while testing this out
 
Some years back a user posted that standing the HDR-Fox T2 on it's smallest side (vertically) meant the fan never came on, I have not proved this. It would be easy using the Custom Firmware to monitor the hard disk temperature while testing this out

Interesting! I run mine on its side, and the temp, stays bang on 45C.

[It has CF, and I use the fan pkg set to about 45% - I thought the fan was coming on, but the sysmon graph is all green - but is the graph reliable?]
 
One of my boxes has always worked on it's side because I have no other simple way to use it.
I've only recently had the temp graph in webif (2-3 weeks) but both boxes seem to have the
same on/off cycle and temperature from the few times I've looked at them.
Do we know where the sensor is in the box?

I don't run the fan permanently because I don't know the mtbf of the things -
I did have a box a while back where I drilled the plastic "cage" and lid and pushed air though
and this kept it cooler but the PSU died so I've assumed reducing the heat there isnt the
direct cause of the short lifespan of these boxes.
 
Interesting! I run mine on its side, and the temp, stays bang on 45C.
[It has CF, and I use the fan pkg set to about 45% - I thought the fan was coming on, but the sysmon graph is all green - but is the graph reliable?]
You would expext the graph to be 'all green' when the Fan package is running, to test the running temperature of the unit when vertical you would need to disable the Fan package or set 'minimum fan speed' to zero.
 
As for the CPU. it does not get as hot as you think.

My experience was very different. I found the heatsink in my Humax got almost too hot to touch when running several CF tasks copy, decrypt etc.
I run the fan package at 60% and the HDD never rises above 39°C
 
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The processor doesn't have a lot to do when it's only recording telly - most of the functionality is handled in hardware.
 
The laptop cooler I'm using has two 80 mm fans and floods the HDR with cool air through the vent holes in the bottom of the unit. I have just installed sysmon and fan so will collect some data with and with out the laptop cooler
 
They are quiet. And with the reduced operation of the hummy fan. The only thing you can hear very faintly is the HDD.
As I stated will run it for while and note the temps without the laptop cooler and with it.
 
Hi

I've done a five hour test to gather temperature data from sysmon. With the laptop cooler on and off while just watching TV and a dual recording + playback.
The results shows how effective the laptop cooler is. See belowchart.jpeg
 
Well, it's obvious that the cooler would have worked better than the bog standard cooling control.
Have you actually tried the fan package. Mine produces similar results to you cooler arrangement, holds the temp at 43 degrees, can't hear the fan at 55% and with much less hassle.
As you are obviously running the CF, it seems pointless to me to try to find another, more cumbersome solution. Great solution to fan noise for someone who does not run the CF though.
 
There is one thing going for it, in my opinion: the external cooler is just a couple of fans and some power. The internal cooler is one small fan and software control. If you are really worried about it, the external cooler will have a higher reliability than the internal one.
 
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