Diy transcoding 2 tuner fan replacement?

[SDnoob]

Hey guys I have the 2 tuner transcoding box. With the green HD logo in the front not sure what model it's officially called.

Anyway I stopped using it some time ago because the fan is obnoxiously loud and super annoying. Well out of warranty at this point. After getting rid of the prime I am need of additional tuners so I want to start using this again

Took it apart and it has an LC4010S fan in it with a crappy little heat sink/thermal paste that was clearly aligned poorly. I'm amazed it didn't overheat but I guess the cooling was sufficient if this thing doesn't get excessively hot.

Anyway. I want to replace the fan and heat sink. I have some Arctic silver I use for my PCs. I also have some spare stick on heat sinks that typically come with add on PC cards.

Do you think it's sufficient to add the paste and stick on heatsinks ALONE with no fan?? The heat sinks are much better than the supplied one but not sure if they'll work well without a fan...
If not, any alternative suggestions for this diy to get rid of the factory fan/heatsink??

[SDnoob]

Ok so I got a little impulsive and pulled the trigger.

I removed the fan. Added these stick on heatsinks that I got (I think) with a raspberry pi kit. Needed to use 3 of them to more or less cover as much of the chip as I could.

Powered if on, no noise, works just fine.

But... Haven't tested it in actual use yet. Is there any way to do this through the SD interface? Test for temperature, stability, crashes? Without having to disconnect my Quattro of course

[Ken.F]

I can't answer your temperature question but you might like to know about the fanless case upgrade service SD offers.

https://shop.silicondust.com/shop/produ ... e-upgrade/

[SDnoob]

I can't answer your temperature question but you might like to know about the fanless case upgrade service SD offers.

https://shop.silicondust.com/shop/produ ... e-upgrade/

Thanks I saw that. Just wasn't keen on spending another 50 bucks. At that price I think I can make better use of a quatro by paying more.

If anyone has a heat/stress testing tip for fanless please let me know. Otherwise I might just screw a larger PC fan on to the outer shell or something ghetto status lol

[Ken.F]

Otherwise I might just screw a larger PC fan on to the outer shell or something ghetto status lol

That sounds like something I would do. Here's my Tinker Board in a Raspberry Pi case with a cooling fan that I cannibalized from an old Magnavox DVD recorder wedged in the lid opening.

[NedS]

Ok so I got a little impulsive and pulled the trigger.

I removed the fan. Added these stick on heatsinks that I got (I think) with a raspberry pi kit. Needed to use 3 of them to more or less cover as much of the chip as I could.

Powered if on, no noise, works just fine.

But... Haven't tested it in actual use yet. Is there any way to do this through the SD interface? Test for temperature, stability, crashes? Without having to disconnect my Quattro of course

Just a warning, some of those Pi-based heatsinks are really cheap and the adhesive on them will sometimes act more as an insulator than a heat transfer.

You should be able to see temperature readouts in the system log, which you can get to by clicking on the Device ID on http://my.hdhomerun.com

[NedS]

You might want to do a much larger heat sink if you don't add a fan. The metal case upgrade basically turns the entire top half into a heat sink (well, it's all metal, but the top is the most important part).

Before you go too far, do note that the metal case upgrade is $40, not 50.

[John-Galt]

You should be able to see temperature readouts in the system log, which you can get to by clicking on the Device ID on http://my.hdhomerun.com

Hmmmm. There are no temperature readouts in my system log. are you sure about this?
Model: HDTC-2US
Device ID: 1058B1C9
Firmware: 20180817

[SDnoob]

You might want to do a much larger heat sink if you don't add a fan. The metal case upgrade basically turns the entire top half into a heat sink (well, it's all metal, but the top is the most important part).

Before you go too far, do note that the metal case upgrade is $40, not 50.

Thanks for the caution on heatsink sizing and the pricing. I cannot find any info online about the zenverge chip.

Even at 40 bucks though I'd rather roll the dice on DIY and just buy a second quatro if I break it at some point for the 2 extra tuners.

As John mentioned, I don't see any temps in the system log. Any tips on how to find it? All I see are channel tuning notifications and IP addresses mostly.

And the picture posted above with fan on top is exactly what I was thinking! But my goal was to eliminate as much noise as possible so I'll have to tinker a bit.

[NedS]

You might need to enable the "send diagnostics data" checkbox first.

[nickk]

The new case really is quite awesome. The top is a heavy extruded + machined + anodized heatsink which does the job really well.

[SDnoob]

Wow didn't realize I had paid over 100 for the transcoding 2 tuner. 40 bucks sounds really good now lol, and your enthusiasm probably sold me @nickk.

I already took the device apart, added the stick on heat sinks, and will add the fan this coming weekend. Thinking that'll be good enough for me but Does this void my options at paying the 40 dollars if I end up going that route? If so, do you sell the case as a separate accessory so I can do that mod myself?

[nickk]

I already took the device apart, added the stick on heat sinks, and will add the fan this coming weekend. Thinking that'll be good enough for me but Does this void my options at paying the 40 dollars if I end up going that route? If so, do you sell the case as a separate accessory so I can do that mod myself?

As long as the PCB is functioning and isn't damaged we can do the upgrade. Normally we do the upgrade in house.

Nick

[SDnoob]

I already took the device apart, added the stick on heat sinks, and will add the fan this coming weekend. Thinking that'll be good enough for me but Does this void my options at paying the 40 dollars if I end up going that route? If so, do you sell the case as a separate accessory so I can do that mod myself?

As long as the PCB is functioning and isn't damaged we can do the upgrade. Normally we do the upgrade in house.

Nick

Got it, thanks Nick and everyone else!