Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan

Posted by: The Central Guy

Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 31/05/2006 23:47

I just received an email from Digi-Key about the fan I purchased awhile back and installed in my MLord dock. Evidently it is going out of production, and they are recommending a substitute. Please see the link below...

http://sales.digikey.com/DKES/op.asp?dkm=898&pn=259-1198-ND

Randy
Posted by: mlord

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 01/06/2006 13:05

Quote:
I just received an email from Digi-Key about the fan I purchased awhile back and installed in my MLord dock. Evidently it is going out of production, and they are recommending a substitute. Please see the link below...

http://sales.digikey.com/DKES/op.asp?dkm=898&pn=259-1198-ND

Randy


Yeah, I got the same email. The replacement has double the airflow, and will therefore be noisier at full speed. But the docks use resistors to slow down the fan, so it's just a question of whether the replacements can be slowed down sufficiently to be quiet.

Not that this affects anyone with a dock already, unless replacing a worn fan.

I have five docks in (slow..) progress here, and the fans for them are the original style.

Cheers
Posted by: sein

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 01/06/2006 13:36

The fan in my dock was making rumbling noises, and the quietest replacement one I found after looking for 5 minutes was this one. It has bling bling blue LEDs, but this has no effect whatsoever inside the dock. It was cheap and very quiet.

Btw, Mark: is there a reason you used the square pattern Robertson #0 screws for the fan? I was quite lucky I had the right driver, those things are rare in the UK.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 01/06/2006 13:57

From Wikipedia's Robertson screwdriver entry:

Quote:
Today Robertson screws are almost unknown in the United Kingdom, scarce in the United States, where they are used mainly in theatrical set construction and account for 10% of screws sold, while being very common in Canada where 85% of the screws sold use the Robertson head.

FWIW, I've never heard them called "Robertson" before -- just "square drive" -- and they'd be more popular in the US, probably, if they didn't cost like 25% more than Phillips screws.
Posted by: sein

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 01/06/2006 14:05

Oh yeah, didn't realise it had an entry, I should have looked it up. It also says:

Quote:
...very common in Canada where 85% of the screws sold use the Robertson head...

which explains everything :-)
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 01/06/2006 17:44

Also?
Posted by: sein

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 01/06/2006 18:07

Quote:
Also?

lol, somehow I managed to not read that sentance in your post. These things happen when you try to do too many things at the same time.
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 01:37

I have a 'works' dock (it's a beautiful thing) that I bought on eBay, but I don't know much about it.
Can someone direct me to a source of basic info?

I have two questions (off the top of my head):
FAN: I don't know whether the fan has ever worked on mine. I can't see it, feel it, or hear it. When should it come on? How can I tell?
SERIAL: It would be nice to be able to upload with Tony's Kernel Flash utility while the empeg is docked, but it doesn't seem to work that way- only undocked. I seem to remember some discussion about this, but no specifics. It's really all about the specifics, I guess.
Thanks in advance!
Posted by: Roger

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 04:37

Quote:
upload with Tony's Kernel Flash utility while the empeg is docked


You need to have Hijack loaded, otherwise the empeg thinks it's in the car and disables the serial flashing functionality. Hijack knows about the docks and re-enables it.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 05:39

Quote:
SERIAL: It would be nice to be able to upload with Tony's Kernel Flash utility while the empeg is docked, but it doesn't seem to work that way- only undocked. I seem to remember some discussion about this, but no specifics.

The specifics are here.

I, personally, worked around this by gluing a "blank" power jack into Mark's docking sled. Now, when my player is plugged into Mark's dock, it goes into AC mode. Problem solved.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 05:43

Quote:
Hijack knows about the docks and re-enables it.

I know that Hijack has a method for dock detection, but are you sure it works for serial port upgrades? I thought that the portion of the boot code that does the listen-for-upgrade ran before the Kernel did.
Posted by: Roger

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 06:08

Quote:
I know that Hijack has a method for dock detection, but are you sure it works for serial port upgrades? I thought that the portion of the boot code that does the listen-for-upgrade ran before the Kernel did.


Good point. You're right. Hijack's not running at that point, so upgrades will not work in the dock. Other serial stuff (once the kernel's running) will, though.
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 11:44

Quote:
The specifics are here.


Ah- the wonderful FAQ!
<slaps forehead>

Thanks Tony and Roger!

That FAQ entry also states that the serial cable wiring on the car sled is a little funky. That makes me wonder if the serial port on the home dock is 'normal' or also funky. Should I be using a straight cable or crossover?
I think Mark had a schematic on the Home Dock link (above), but this morning I can't connect up to that page.
Posted by: mlord

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 02/06/2006 11:57

Cross-over for the dock, same as for the back of the Empeg.

The car sled wiring is different.
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Digi-Key substitute for Mlord dock fan - 03/06/2006 04:16

Thanks, Mark!