Matrix Orbital Corp

OK i am thinking about buying the LK204-25PC and i want to run four TRI colored LED Fans on the LCD. I was wondering since you need a two prong connector to hook the fan up to the GPO and the fan is prolly 3 or 4 pronged what do i do to hook up the LED fan to the GPO PLEASE help me. aslo here is what i know about the actual fans

first fan

link to it http://www.xoxide.com/quadgreenled.html

Specifications: Dimention: 80x80x25 mm
Air Flow: 32.5 CFM
Speed: 2500 RPM
Noise: 28.3 dBA (Ultra Quiet)
Voltage: 12 VDC
Current: 0.13 A
Power: 1.6 W

Second fan

link to it http://www.xoxide.com/triledred80f.html

Specifications:
Dimention: 80x80x25 mm
Air Flow: 34.1 CFM
Speed: 3000 RPM
Noise: 30.0 dBA (Quiet)
Voltage: 12 VDC
Current: 0.13 A
Power: 1.6 W
Comes with 3 pin and 4 pin connectors

Hi scubasteve,

The spec to pay te most attention to is current. The GPOs on your LK204-25PC are rated for up to 750 mA, that's 0.750 A. The fans you're lloking at are well below that rating, which is a good thing™. So no problem there.

As you mention, the pins are typically arranged ground, tach, +12V in a fan connector, so you could either remove and replace the little metal pins from the plastic housing (a small screwdriver is good for releasing them), or make an adapter somehow.

If your fans have a 4 prong Molex type connector, you'll probably be stuck just making a wiring harness, but you could just grab LED connectors from a junk AT case (or call your local computer fixit shop, they'll sell you some cheap usually) and use crimp connectors or solder+heatshring to make your own connectors for the fan. Yellow fan lead is usually the tachometer.

so i don't need a relay or anything i can go right to the back of the lcd? can you run by me again what each wire means on the fan one perosn told me power ground and fan speed. he also told me i would need a relay on it is this true?

Oooh, watch me backpedal. I took a picture, it lasts longer:


Red is +12V (GPO +)
Black is ground (GPO -)
and yellow is the speed sensor/tachometer, which doesn't get connected.

I lied to you about the order--red and black are next to each other, so you could just push the three-pin connector on to the two-pin GPO, yay. But I just tried it and because of spacing, you can only get one onto the bottom GPO, boo. So you'll need to make adapters or splice in the connectors like I said before.

But the good news is you don't need a relay with the -PC model. With all the other models, you'll need something like a relay since the GPOs are limited to 20 mA. Only the -PC has the high power GPOs (currently).

thanks alot so one last question since the GPOs on the back are 8 12v i think and 2 5v which should i use to plug the fan in the 12v right.. I can't use the 5v is this correct?

The LK204-25-PC has no 5V GPOs, there is a couple of +5V headers, so no, don't plug anything into them, just the GPOs.