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Fan controller?
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:13 pm
by Markatomic
Hi all
Will the typhoon be able to control fan speed, if so will the be possible to do via remote or will it be software orientated.
How long now till its release?
Thanks
marl
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:39 pm
by Henry
This is the next project being worked on after a couple of OEM/Industrial product... more details will come over the next few weeks.
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:02 am
by Markatomic
So if I was to bu it when it is releases in a couple of weeks it WONT be able to control fan speed?
mark
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:20 am
by Henry
Markatomic wrote:So if I was to bu it when it is releases in a couple of weeks it WONT be able to control fan speed?
mark
Right, the Digital Baybus is an addon card, this way we were able to keep the GX as inexpensive as possible and when the Digital Baybus addon is released it will allow us to add on features we could not normally put on.
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:22 am
by Markatomic
Ok that makes sense, which leads me to.... when will the addon card be released
thanks
mark
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:42 am
by Henry
Markatomic wrote:Ok that makes sense, which leads me to.... when will the addon card be released
thanks
mark
minimum 8 weeks more like 10... depends if engineering gets it right the first time
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 8:22 pm
by kdryden
Any updates on the fan controller? Im basically waiting until a fan controller atachment comes out and then ill order one
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:55 am
by cipher_nemo
Henry wrote:minimum 8 weeks more like 10... depends if engineering gets it right the first time
P.R. rewrite: As soon as 8 weeks! Engineering will only release the design after it has been refined. We only release quality projects, so this may require an additional 2 weeks.
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 8:09 am
by slavearm
Is this still coming out?
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:09 am
by Ray
Due to some more OEM/Industrial projects this one got a little sidetracked, we are currently aiming for a spring'08 release.
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 6:02 am
by NeilF
Ray wrote:Due to some more OEM/Industrial projects this one got a little sidetracked, we are currently aiming for a spring'08 release.
Will the fan speed be controlled by voltage or 'pulse'?
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:05 am
by Paradigm
This one is up in the air still. If it is controlled by pulse, it will be up in the 30+KHz range to keep it WELL outside the audible range, and if someone is inclined to put a light on there, outside the visual range. Overall, pulse is much simpler to design, and far more flexible, but we will NOT use it if there is any audible or visual artifacts.
However I'm still kicking around a few designs that are voltage controlled. The main difficulty with them is designing them for a reasonable price while being able to handle the power requirements of the higher end fans. We're targeting about 12W max (1A at 12V). Anyone who knows electronics, knows that this is quite a bit of power to control.
Then there is the hybrid designs that have been contemplated...
Bottom line, for now, both have been crudely prototyped, and both are under consideration. Right now we're experimenting with half a dozen different designs, and we'll finalize on one when we move our focus back to this project.
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:57 pm
by NeilF
Paradigm wrote:This one is up in the air still. If it is controlled by pulse, it will be up in the 30+KHz range to keep it WELL outside the audible range, and if someone is inclined to put a light on there, outside the visual range. Overall, pulse is much simpler to design, and far more flexible, but we will NOT use it if there is any audible or visual artifacts.
However I'm still kicking around a few designs that are voltage controlled. The main difficulty with them is designing them for a reasonable price while being able to handle the power requirements of the higher end fans. We're targeting about 12W max (1A at 12V). Anyone who knows electronics, knows that this is quite a bit of power to control.
Then there is the hybrid designs that have been contemplated...
Bottom line, for now, both have been crudely prototyped, and both are under consideration. Right now we're experimenting with half a dozen different designs, and we'll finalize on one when we move our focus back to this project.
With my existing display (from you guys) which is pulse, I'll swear the fan generates noise at certain speeds that it wouldn't by voltage control? Am I mad or is there something in this?
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:30 pm
by cipher_nemo
NeilF,
It depends on the type of fan and its ability to handle pulse-width modulation (PWM) verses more traditional throttling via a flux density waveform. The differences could cause a fan to either not function or generate extra vibrations and/or noise. Not all DC fans can be controlled well using PWM.
But may be I'm reading your question wrong? Let me know if that helps.
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:05 pm
by Paradigm
No, you're not hearing things. Our previous motor controller did use pulse control, however it did it at a much slower rate. The result is that there are artifacts within the audible range. On some fans, you really couldn't hear it. On others, you definitely could.
If we do go pulse control on this next one, it will be in the order of 1000 times faster. This would push any artifacts, or harmonics there of, way out of the realm of human hearing.