Single channel fan controller is done.

[jaydee]

Finally I got around to completing it. Simple little variable speed fan controller. I am going to make a dule channel one to power the 2 120mm Panaflows I am going to have on my radiator.

http://www.dorrellco.com/fancontroller/pic3.JPG
http://www.dorrellco.com/fancontroller/pic7.JPG
Details on my site: www.dorrellco.com

[Butcher]

might want a small heatsink on that reg ;)

[jaydee]

Originally posted by Butcher
might want a small heatsink on that reg ;)
Dosn't need it. The Panaflow 120's I use don't even warm it up!!! I was going to mill a couple small ones but it dosn't need it.

[Butcher]

Yeah but if you wanted bigger fans... ;)
Actually it;s pretty similar to my rad fan setup, except that uses a thermistor and a trimmer pot for the divider. The regulator is bolted to the Al chassis it's mounted on to avoid heating, gets barely warm with a 24W 172mm fan on it.

[jaydee]

Originally posted by Butcher
Yeah but if you wanted bigger fans... ;)
Actually it;s pretty similar to my rad fan setup, except that uses a thermistor and a trimmer pot for the divider. The regulator is bolted to the Al chassis it's mounted on to avoid heating, gets barely warm with a 24W 172mm fan on it.
yeah if i used faster fans i would do it, i may anyway. All I want to use are the panaflow 83CFM 120's though. Even at full speed they are quite.:)

[Butcher]

my 172 at full speed roars like mad (54dBA from manuf. spec). At 1/3 voltage it's quiet and still pushed a lot of air through a rad.

[jaydee]

Originally posted by Butcher
my 172 at full speed roars like mad (54dBA from manuf. spec). At 1/3 voltage it's quiet and still pushed a lot of air through a rad.
172MM??? Cool.

[Brad]

it also pushes 200cfm + when at full speed...

[jaydee]

Originally posted by Brad
it also pushes 200cfm + when at full speed...
Thats a lot of air!!!

[Butcher]

A 235cfm gale at an ear-numbing 54dBA, ouch. I run it slow for a reason ;)

[Brad]

have you polished the blades yet butch?

sand them with 2000 grit sand paper, then polish the blades

[Butcher]

Um why brad?

[Brad]

silence

[Ecto]

JayDee116,

I am having a problem understanding your diagram at:

http://www.dorrellco.com/fancontroller.html

You have the input 12v, output and ground all connected.

If you built this circiut it would short your PSU to ground and if you used a floating ground on your proto board it would fix the output at the input level.

There must be a mistake.

I tried to post to your site but you have blocked all registrations.

Ecto

Edit: This is serious people. Do not build the circuit as shown in the link. You will smoke your PSU in seconds.

[jaydee]

Originally posted by Ecto
JayDee116,

I am having a problem understanding your diagram at:

http://www.dorrellco.com/fancontroller.html

You have the input 12v, output and ground all connected.

If you built this circiut it would short your PSU to ground and if you used a floating ground on your proto board it would fix the output at the input level.

There must be a mistake.

I tried to post to your site but you have blocked all registrations.

Ecto

Edit: This is serious people. Do not build the circuit as shown in the link. You will smoke your PSU in seconds.
EDIT: YES YOU ARE RIGHT!!! Site updated.

Here are some more references.

http://www.qsl.net/n4xy/PDFs/lm317t.pdf

http://webook.fset.de/20091999PHCHO/DATASHEETS/317.htm

http://www.mitedu.freeserve.co.uk/Circuits/Power/lm317.htm

[ropo]

Hi!

Just wanted to say that I tend to agree with Ecto on this matter.

Shouldnt you have capacitors between 12V and ground level to get it to work, like in the diagrams refered to in the links?

Dont want to upset anyone here, hope you understand. :)

Regards
ropo

Edit:
Or just skip the capacitors all togheter, they just there to filter out noise or something (?).

[jaydee]

Originally posted by ropo
Hi!

Just wanted to say that I tend to agree with Ecto on this matter.

Shouldnt you have capasitors between 12V and ground level to get it to work, like in the diagrams refered to in the links?

Dont want to upset anyone here, hope you understand. :)

Regards
ropo
Nope, capacitors C1 and C2 are optional and should be used only if the LM317T voltage regulator is a long distance away to increase the signal. Isn't needed in this case with the small PCB board.

I have this very model working just fine for the last 2 months!!! Still runs my 120mm Panaflow for my rad fan. If any of the above was accurate it would not be working now would it!!!;)

[jaydee]

Originally posted by ropo


Edit:
Or just skip the capacitors all togheter, they just there to filter out noise or something (?).
Ther ya go!!! If the regulator itself is a long distance those caps keep the signal clean and steady. Not needed in the short run I have them especially for a low power 12V fan.

[ropo]

Originally posted by jaydee116

Ther ya go!!! If the regulator itself is a long distance those caps keep the signal clean and steady. Not needed in the short run I have them especially for a low power 12V fan.

Yes, but if you skip the capacitors there shouldnt be any connection between 12V and GND like in your picture (remove the black lines between 12V and GND and Vout and GND).
I think you did just that, skiped the capacitors, when you built this thing. But I dont think you wired the 12V to GND, hehe. That would indeed short circuit your PSU. :)

/ropo

[Brad]

if you look closely at the wires in question, they have a greyed area around them in the middle, it's for the caps originally.

my pic shows how it should be connected without caps

[jaydee]

Ahhh Haaa!!!! I see what you guys are saying. I will eat crow and agree. Will be fixed here shortly. I needed to updatre that page anyways. Sorry Ecto... Now who dosn't know!!!:shrug:

[jaydee]

hey guys, here is a much better demonstration of the one I did: http://www.apachego.com/cdesign/athlon/fancont.htm

[mkosem]

hmmm, that would be cool if I had a use for fan speed controllers. is there any logical reason to have them rather than finding a good voltage and sticking at it?

-=-MAtt

[jaydee]

Originally posted by mkosem
hmmm, that would be cool if I had a use for fan speed controllers. is there any logical reason to have them rather than finding a good voltage and sticking at it?

-=-MAtt
So you can turn them up if the temps get higher and down when they drop. Like when going from surfing the net and playing games. It is also nice to find the spot where the noise stops and you still have the fastest speed so you are not dropping the speed lower than you have to. It tales just as long to build one of these as it would to go through all the different voltages to find the sweet spot. That link I posted above has wrong prices for stuff aswell. I can get the Lm317T's for $.60, the pot for $.50, resistors $.05, the PCB board $1, power strip $1.50, LED's $.05 to $2.00 (depending on what kind you want), and $.50 for the heat sink.

Or you can just get a big sand resistor for a $1.00 and set it to whatever voltage you want. You could even add a 3 way toggle switch to make a on/off/selected voltage. You want to use a high wattage resistor though as regular little brown ones will butn up. Sand resistors can handle the extra wattage.

[mkosem]

hmm, now that you put it that way, it does sound like a reasonable thing to have.

--Matt