KiwiSDR case without a fan

Sam706Sam706
in KiwiSDR Discussion
I have a Kiwisdr with the aluminium case with a fan, now im thinking of getting to set up a another one. I saw that they now sell a kit with a acrylic case without a fan.

Is it safe to run the kiwi without a fan?
Or is it just the open acrylic case that dont need a fan and the aluminium does?

Comments

  • loststationloststation
    My kiwis are working without fans and cases. The house where they are installed is in the field (no ventilation). The air temperature inside the house, reaches +45 degrees Celsius in summer. The second year, everything is fine. I'm thinking of adding only small heatsinks to the chips somehow.
  • WA2ZKDWA2ZKD
    the open/open case does not need a fan
  • jksjks
    edited October 2020
    Is it safe to run the kiwi without a fan?
    If you mean inside the metal case, no. Think about it. 5V at 1.5A is 7.5 Watts of heat (roughly) that needs to get dissipated. That's a huge amount for a closed box which the metal case tries to be for RFI reasons. The cooling slots are not enough to allow convection (fan-less) cooling, especially with the enclosure in a horizontal position.

    The plastic case is somewhat different since it has so many large openings. In practice it seems to do okay with convection cooling. Because heat rises you can always improve the situation by positioning the plastic case so the openings are aligned at the top and bottom. Heat will enter through the bottom and rise up and out through the top. But, like the metal case, this is not the natural position.

    The ambient temperature of the room make a big difference with convection cooling. I'm surprised the plastic case works in a room at 45C. During beta testing we had Beagles shutdown in a room at 40C.
  • loststationloststation
    edited October 2020
    My kiwis are working horizontally on metal racks without any cases. There is a lot of space top and bottom and on all sides, apparently that's why everything is fine. But I would not recommend repeating after me. I'm just interested in such tests. The house is covered with metal sheets (anti-noise shield). Therefore, such heating. Perhaps white paint will help reduce heat. Mineral wool has already reduced heat. I don't like solutions with rotating fans.
  • Sam706Sam706
    Thanks guys for all the comments. Then i just order the acrylic case for the new one.
  • ArturPLArturPL
    I use efficient thermopad on all heating elements instead of the fan and everything works stably
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