Does the Empeg need ventilation?

I see what appear to be ventilation holes in the top of the Rio Car. The installation in one of my vehicles will require mounting it underdash, so the top of the unit will be right up against the bottom of the dash (and not far from a heater hose, so that section of the dash will be quite warm to the touch although not burning hot). There is no mention in the manual about leaving those ventilation holes clear (as I think there should be if this were neccessary). Is this an oversight, or is ventilation in fact not neccessary? Is there any reason to be concerned that such an installation will compromise the lifespan or performance of the unit?

Mine runs right under a Clarion head unit. It has only once gotten VERY VERY hot. I had the heat on high and I had just gone through a very hot car wash. Even my face was burning when I got out of the carwash.

I have two 30GB drives in it right now.

I may install a fan at some future point. I've already routed the drive cables under the drive tray to make room for the fan (it would line up with the top vent holes).

I also have room in my console under where the empeg mounts to fit a fan to blow under it. Someone just mentioned this on the weekend. This would probably help with cooling as well - the bottom of the empeg gets pretty warm.

Bruno

This may be a stupid question, but why didn't you turn the heat off? Was this some sort of weird frat initiation? Trying to lose weight?

Hot carwashes? Why don't they have them here? Im moving to canada.

-Greg

Because it was freezing outside and I was still a little cold after having pumped gas.

Bruno

hybrid8- roll up the windows next time. also stops flooding in the car.

most of the heat is on the bottom of the unit. Mounting a fan under it will help greatly. You could hack a side vent in the chassis and blow a fan in the side if you wanted.

As with any electrical appliance, heat is a problem. A naturally ventilated empeg won't overheat. A confined one, next to a heater unit probably will.

Hi,

Based on my limited experience with the empeg mounted in my car, i'd say there is no need for a fan. But you could allways install the kernel, which name i can't remember, and monitor the onboard temperature to be completely safe.

\\Kaare

Hijack has the temp monitor and it allows you to set temp alarms for overheat warnings.

Right, Hijack was the name.

\\Kaare

If only Hijack can *trigger* a fan to turn on at appropriate times.

Calvin

If only Hijack can *trigger* a fan to turn on at appropriate times.

Why would one need hijack for that? What's so tough about making a thermoswitch?

Here's the question I've got, which way should I have the fan go, blow or suck?

Edit: Now after reading this, it sounds like a line from Spaceballs...I think I need to go home and have a beer now.

Depends on what you want to cool down first. If you have the fan close to whatever get's the hottest, then have it blow.

I'm a software guy.

Calvin

which way should I have the fan go, blow or suck?

Depends on the temperature of the air coming through the casing. Visualize the air flowing through the casing (based on the location of the ventilation holes) and decide which sets of ventilation holes are more likely to have the coolest air flowing into them (based on your installaton). Then design your ventilation system to take advantage of that.

Good advice. So then, I can follow the FAQ and use Hijack to keep the temp in check.

Operating range (disks spinning and being read): 5ºc (41ºf) to 55ºc (131ºf)

Standby range (disks spun down): -20ºc (-4ºf) to 60ºc (140ºf)

131 degrees is the low-end high-end # then.

Piece O cake.

55C is about the "normal" operating temperature for my in-car empeg, and my docked empeg typically runs at 53C. Ouch.

Serious? My empeg isn't out of warranty and I'm itching to put in a fan..........

Calvin

Yeah. You figure out what wire you are going to use to trigger the fan, and I can then have hijack trigger it for you.

Hugo said This

It'll be a number of months before I'll get to opening the empeg up. Still under warranty.

Calvin

How about the 'FAN' header? Would it be possible to control that on/off from Hijack?

Probably. Can you trace it back to a specific pin on the CPU?

I'll take it all apart again tonight. I have noticed that the fan is off when the player is in standby mode...leading me to believe that it might not be difficult to control in software. Ideally it would be cool to trigger it when a temp limit is reached as discussed in previous threads...

It's kinda funny as I don't believe our players need fans at all...I just love to tinker with stuff...right up to the point where I accidentally drill a hole thru the mobo...then it'll be a pistol to the head!

I did make a primative ventilation system for my early in-dash Amp. It was a Thermistor (and several resistors to switch the temerature at about 75-80°C) in line with a minature relay (12VDC) to switch a 12VDC fan On/Off. The switching points on the relay are about 9V on and 6V off. This gives you a good hysterisis. The problem I found was It worked on the test bed but in the car the alternator supplies 13-15VDC depending on how much you are revving. So you will need to put zener diode or voltage limiter in the circuit as well

The FAN link is driven from the amp control line, which also drives the display board power supply. As a result, it is off when the empeg is in standby, and on otherwise, but cannot be controlled independently.

Patrick

Depends on the temperature of the air coming through the casing. Visualize the air flowing through the casing (based on the location of the ventilation holes) and decide which sets of ventilation holes are more likely to have the coolest air flowing into them (based on your installaton). Then design your ventilation system to take advantage of that.


Hugo suggested a top fan blowing out IIRC, but it might be worth considering it blowing the other way (i.e. inwards) - especially if you're not a weekly car cleaner. It is relatively simple to put a dust trap over the fan, and the resulting positive air pressure in the empeg will keep dust from entering through any other vent. Having the fan suck air out will result in a negative case air pressure, and dust would be sucked into any other 'vent' in the case.

Probably not a big issue, but something to consider. BTW, this applies to your PCs as well - most PCs have negative case pressures due to the extraction fan in the PSU. Take the lid off of a PC after 6 months, and you will find a lot of dust in there, helping to cause premature fan bearing failure to your athlons HSF. Installing a filtered case fan blowing inwards can cure this.

Ok, so we've discovered that the FAN header will not suffice. Has anyone researched other points on the board that could be controlled on/off from software?

There aren't any, really - most of the GPIOs are already used. The only possibilities really are the RTS & DTR lines on the serial (DTR also controls the internal debug LED, near the CPU) - obviously it needs buffering, and the output of the serial buffer is *NOT* suitable for direct fan drive!

The temperature sensor internally is not reliable, as it locks itself into a dead state. You're better off having a thermistor controlled fan if you want anything at all.

Hugo