SatCure Miniature Fan Kit |
Reliability improved 100 Percent! Some people have told me that they are "putting off ordering a fan until summer". Hang about.... Isn't it *winter time* when you turn your central heating on? | 
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| This Amazing little fan measures just 40 x 40 x 10mm. Designed to run off a 12volt dc supply, it will actually run off as little as 6.25 volts - which means that it is virtually silent. It spins quite slowly but produces just enough air movement to get rid of those "Hot Spots" which so often damage a satellite receiver. Mount it anywhere inside any receiver (away from high voltage area) and connect the wires to a 0 volt point and to a suitable DC voltage supply. This can be an internal connection in the satellite receiver or a mains power supply which we sell. If it's an internal supply, use the resistor(s) which we provide to slow the fan down*, otherwise you may find it unacceptably noisy (whining noise). Disconnect the 230v power supply to the receiver before commencing work! See catalogue We supply resistors with each fan. You can connect one or more resistors in series with one of the fan wires (either) in order to slow the fan down. This will extend its life and reduce the noise. Be sure to test the fan "start up" after adding resistors. If you add too many resistors making the supply voltage too low, the fan will not be able to start reliably from switch-on. This can be a problem after a power cut or after you reconnect equipment. If the fan does not start reliably (test it several times) then you must either increase the supply voltage or decrease the resistance. (Resistance is doubled when you connect two identical resistors in series - end to end. Resistance is halfed when you connect resistors in parallel - both ends wired to each other. You can connect the resistors either way round and you can connect them in the red or black wire of the fan (or both). | 
| | Series connection | Parallel connection |
Will a fan solve my problem? The only way to find out is to try it. Put your equipment out of reach of small children and animals. Disconnect mains power and let it cool down. Make sure the room itself is cool (20'C or less). Remove the cover and direct a household fan inside. Reconnect power and let the equipment boot up. If the fault does NOT occur after several hours then it was probably caused by overheating and a fan may solve the problem or reduce it.
How noisy is your fan? All we can say is that the slower you run it, the quieter it gets (but obviously it moves less air). It's all a matter of compromise. We haven't measured it because there's really no point - read on... Noise is very subjective. A fan running at a certain speed can produce an annoying whine at a frequency tht's very irritating. Reducing the speed just a little can change the sound so that you hardly notice it. A fan might also cause vibration in equipment and, again, reducing the speed by just a little can eliminate that vibration. You have to experiment. |
SKY-PLUS FAN Please note that we also stock original fans for the Pace Sky+ Digiboxes See "Receiver Spares" in our on-line catalogue.
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Examples The CPU chips in Panasonic and later Pace Digiboxes run too hot for good reliability. The can cause intermittent problems - especially in warm weather - and sometimes total failure. Typically, the first symptom will be "changing channels by itself" or similar. Then you might find it "stuck in standby" until you unplug the mains connection and let the Digibox cool down. It will then work OK for a while when powered up again but this is the final sign before death! | 
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| To combat the problem, we can supply a CPU cooling kit. You can download the information files here:  Panasonic (PDF File 120k)
Pace (PDF File 43k)
Grundig (PDF File 10k)
Additional notes for 3-wire fan
Windows users should right-click on "Download" and select "save target as". Be sure to select a suitable directory in which to save the PDF file. Macintosh users should "option click" on "Download" and the PDF file will be saved in the default download folder set in your browser preferences. You'll need the (free) Acrobat Reader to read it. Note: Our standard CPU cooler heatsink is too large to fit in the Grundig GDS3000 CPU because there is no space around the CPU. You can still use the kit but it will mean cutting and shaping the aluminium heatsink to fit the CPU and mounting the fan separately to blow air across it. You can order your CPU cooler kit for any Digibox from the catalogue: click HERE See suggestions for fitting a pair of fans to a cabinet BELOW You can order your cabinet fans from the catalogue: click HERE If you don't want to fit a fan, we can supply a heatsink by itself. This is not ideal and it will help only if the Digibox is kept in a cool room. To see it in the catalogue click HERE BEWARE IMITATIONS You can buy big expensive heatsinks which might help if your CPU temperature is borderline but a heatsink can't get rid of heat without a fan when its inside a box. Hot air tries to rise (and it never moves sideways unless there's something like a fan to push it). Without a fan that hot air just gets hotter. | 
| A Beginner's Guide to Receiver Repair Based on the original "Screwdriver Expert's Guide to Satellite Receivers" this eBook describes the basic components and a typical power supply with diagrams and explanations. Shows how to solder and describes what to check and measure. Includes a basic guide to tracing the cause of a fault. It won't make you an expert but, if you are capable of soldering in components supplied as a kit, it will take you one step further so you understand why you are doing it and even help you figure out other possible fault causes and cures. If you buy a repair kit, you need this eBook. Click here | | 
| FREE - Beginners Guide to Electronics Easier to understand than anything you've read previously! Martin has a knack of explaining technical subjects in simple language. Components covered include resistors, diodes, transistors and capacitors. As an example, it describes in detail how to build a flashing LED circuit on perforated stripboard ("Veroboard") with a photograph of every stage. This is NOT just another boring technical eBook full of mathematical equations. You'll like it! Ideal for everyone from the young student to the retired lady looking for a new hobby. You'll definitely want more! Click here |
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| Tony, in Spain, had problems caused by overheating so he fitted two "cabinet fans" to his Pace "Javelin" minibox. See catalogue "I cut holes in top, positioned fans over CPU and tuner and secured fans with RTV silicone." |
| There are vents on the base by these two units. You can feel heat coming out of side vents quite nicely. I am running on 9v at present and all is well. I did send an e-mail to Pace and they state that the unit is certified up to 40 degrees and in this case my unit must have a fault. I would be interested to know if any other users are having the problem. It was OK all winter but now ambients are up to 32 degrees the problem shows up. I feel that it is a design problem and it sure is crazy that there are no vents in top. I did run with lid of but the problem still showed up. The area under the CPU without fans is very hot to touch. |
| The Amstrad DRX100 suffers from overheating of the tuner. You can increase its life by fitting the miniature, near-silent, cooling fan as shown. The early DRX100 (v4.7) has very little room so the method which works best is to unplug the expansion module at the rear and discard it. Fit the double-sided foam adhesive tape to the bottom side of the fan (the side opposite that which has the arrows moulded in). Position the fan between the two metal-body crystals, as shown, with the arrow pointing towards the tuner. D101 cathode supplies 8 volts. | 
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| Later models (v5.0 onwards) use a slightly different mother board layout and the fan can be fitted close to the aluminium finned heat sink as shown. Make sure the moulded arrow points towards the tuner. Solder the red wire to D101 cathode (making sure that you don't leave a short-circuit to the PCB!) and the black wire to the corner of the tuner module (not shown in this photo). Wherever you fit the fan, make sure that it does not touch anything (vibration noise) and does not rest on anything which needs to radiate heat (black I.C.s for example). You could fit it to an aperture in the rear panel but this would tend to pull in more dust and cause more noise. | 
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| AMSTRAD DRX100 - an alternative way to cool down your set top box PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE ARTICLE THROUGH ONCE BEFORE PROCEEDING. This article describes the mounting of a small 40mm fan on the rear panel of the DRX100 STB. | 
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| Unlike other ideas, which rely mainly on recirculation and cabinet convection, this provides EXTRACTION of warm air directly from the tuner module and power supply areas. It is effective enough to keep the internal temperature of the receiver within just 2 degrees of ambient. PHOTO OF REAR OF DRX100 Before attempting this, make sure you have the following items to hand : A/ Electric hobby drill / Set of needle files / Fine piercing saw. Small soldering iron & solder B/ NEW 1mm & 2mm HSS drill bits / 3 x 20mm 6BA nuts and bolts / 1 x 40mm 12v DC fan PREPARATION Remove the cover and rear panel of the receiver as described HERE. << LINK TO 'FAN' PAGE Place the receiver in a safe place along with the screws away from the work area. Remove the interface backplate (2 screws). Carefully remove the large self-adhesive silver label, (start at a bottom corner) - and put in a safe place. MARKING OUT THE FAN'S POSITION Lay the back-panel on a smooth flat surface and place the fan as show in the photo below, making sure it is square, with an equal gap between the PCB guide and flange of the mains-cable entry cutout. Using a sharp pencil, draw around all the INSIDE edges of the fan to mark the 3 cutout areas. With a 1mm drill bit, score through the fixing positions of the 4 corner holes of the fan. Remove the fan and on the rear panel draw a vertical line through the centre point of the marked area. From this point take 2 horizontal lines from the top and bottom of the 'F' connector hole to meet the vertical line just drawn. This shows the areas of the vent slots you must NOT cut out - mark them well by filling them in with pencil. You can or course just cut an aparature using a 40mm diameter hole saw for the fan. The drawback is that it ruins the rear appearance of the Amstad digibox, destroying the 'F' connector printing. OK, so that's the easy bit done :-) - You might want to make a drink before proceeding.... |
| CUTTING OUT THE FAN VENT SECTIONS Using your electric hobby drill with 1mm drill bit fitted, CAREFULLY drill holes around the edges of the 3 cutout sections you have marked on the rear panel. The holes should be drilled close together so as to form a ring within each section. When done, place the rear panel in a vice between 2 pieces of wood and use a fine piercing saw to join all the holes together. Use a needle file to deburr each section and finish them to your satisfaction. (see photo). PHOTO3.JPG | 
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| Finally, drill out 3 of the mounting holes with a 2mm drill - leave the one near the 'F' connector undrilled. You may find that the centre section of the metalwork is not totally flat - with the rear panel face down on a smooth flat surface, place a small piece of thin card or plastic over the cutout areas, and tap the bent areas with a small hammer to flatten them. |
| INSTALLING THE FAN Fit the fan to the rear panel using 3 x 6BA (or equivilent) nuts and bolts - fix bolts with locktite or varnish. Remove all traces of metal filings from inside and outside of the rear panel. Using a fine artist's paintbursh, touch up the edges of the cutout areas and bolt heads with satin-black enamel paint . | 
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| After cleaning down your work area, refit the rear panel to the Amstrad digibox - The fan should just clear the side of the tuner module. Secure the PCB screws first, then the rear panels screws and finally the 'F' connector washer & nut. Connect the RED wire to the cathode of D101 (striped end) and the black wire to the corner of the tuner module or a suitable earthing point on the PCB. Check your wiring again and test for any short-cuircuits. Refit mains lead. Replace the cover.
Cut and refit top part of large label to left of 'F' connector socket.
That's it - You now are now the proud owner of a SUPERCOOL Amstrad DRX100 - Enjoy ! Richard Warwick - Timetec Electronics (Scarborough)
email richard(o)timetec.freeserve.co.uk
Timetec Electronics
Unit 2
39 Castle Road
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
YO11 1BG Richard does Audio-Visual and Set Top Box repairs but no TVs.
Manufactures equipment for testing quartz clock and watch movements. |
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| This is where I fitted the fan in my own Pace 2200. I removed the plate at the rear and fixed the fan with the foam strip as shown. The red wire is soldered to the cathode of diode D35 which supplies 8 volts and the black wire is soldered to the corner of the tuner. NOTE: in every receiver, the fan runs all the time - even in standby. This is sensible because the receiver is not really off in standby and still produces heat. | 
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| In the Grundig GDS200, pin 18 of J6 connector (yellow wire from PSU) gives 11.5 volts which is a little high for quiet running. Connect the red wire to it via a 120 Ohm resistor. Solder the black wire from the fan to the corner of the tuner (not shown). As this model suffers from overheated capacitors at the front of the power supply, direct the arrow on the fan towards this area, as shown. | 
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|  Manhattan DSR-2500 fan
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| >The two digiboxes arrived on Thursday.
>Thank you very much for your prompt attention.
>One of the users has asked me about the noise from the fan you fitted.
>I have of course explained the long term benefits of extra cooling, and he
>says he can only hear the noise when everything is off.
>
>Is there a reason why the fan is fitted to a permanently on rather than a
>switched supply? I suspect, that it is the lack of a suitable connection
>point rather than a need for cooling in standby. If you can come up with a
>modification to enable fan shutdown in standby, it may be of interest to
>others not just myself.;-)
>
>Thanks again
>Best regards
>Steve The fan is on only when power is applied to the circuits that get hot. It takes its power from one of those circuits. Unfortunately, switching to standby leaves ALL circuits powered. The only difference is that audio and video outputs are disabled but everything else keeps on running as usual so that Sky have access to your card at all times and so that they can change the internal software when it pleases them. I would not recommend switching the fan off in standby as that would defeat the object. Some fans are much noisier than others - a combination of production tolerances and plastic warpage due to aging. It takes about a week for them to settle down. If the fan is still too noisy at that point, I am happy to post a replacement F.O.C. |
| Reliability improved 100 Percent! This Amazing little fan measures just 40 x 40 x 10mm. Designed to run off a 12volt dc supply, it will actually run off as little as 6.25 volts - which means that it is virtually silent. It spins quite slowly but produces just enough air movement to get rid of those "Hot Spots" which so often damage a satellite receiver. Mount it anywhere inside the receiver (away from high voltage area) and connect the wires to a 0 volt point and to the 5 volt supply rectifier diode. Instructions for the most common receivers included . | | Alternatively, fit two or more fans to your "Hi-Fi" cabinet (I call it an "oven"). You can use a dc adaptor which supplies any voltage from 12 volts to 20 volts. Order "two fans for Hi-Fi cabinet". Try to mount them near cabinet corners where the cabinet is stiffer. This will help to reduce noise. Rubber mountings will also help. You can use silicone bath sealant but DON'T get it on the fan blades! See catalogue |
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| Suggested mounting method:- Use a 38mm hole cutter (1.5") to cut a hole in your cabinet. Run a bead of silicone rubber around the hole like this. (You can use silicone bath sealant). Leave it to set for at least 6 hours. | | 
| Check which direction you want the air to flow. Put a blob of silicone rubber on each corner of the fan and rest it on the ring of rubber. Make sure that NO rubber touches the fan blades! Leave it to set for at least 3 hours. | | 
| The fan is now fixed on a cushion of rubber which will prevent any noise or vibration from reaching the cabinet. The fan can be connected to a DC voltage supply of between 9 and 12 volts. Each fan takes no more than 80 milliAmps of current so a small "plug top" regulated or unregulated power supply should be adequate. You can order your cabinet fans from the catalogue: click HERE A plug-top power supply can be ordered, too. | | Dear Martin, I've fixed one of the fans to my Pace MSS500. WOW! what a difference! I can even close the cabinet doors now and it STILL stays cool!
On the back of the Pace was a plastic cover that is to hide the outlets for Pro Logic connectors, so I scribed a circle round the fan onto the plastic cover and used an old soldering iron to melt it out. 4 self tappers later and the fan was fixed on and the cover put back onto the receiver. I connected it so that air is drawn in through the side vents and then out the back through the fan....Great!! Thanks again for all your help Martin Stuart <stuart.lee(o)dial.pipex.com> A lot of people ask me: "Should I connect the fan so it goes OFF in standby?"
My answer is "NO!"
It should run all the time. Most receivers "cook" just as much in standby as they do when "on" because standby turns off only the output sound and picture - everything else keeps running so that Sky have access to your card at all times. The usual excuse is that "it maintains the LNB at a constant temperature." This may be true but Amstrad analogue receivers don't do it so why should others? I wanted to let you know that my recent order arrived safe and sound, (cabinet fans - thanks for putting them back on the website for me). I may have found a novel way of installing them that I wanted to share with you. I have a corner cabinet that has a space from top to bottom in the back (for the wiring), forming a flue. I have installed the fans on elastic bands using the corner holes on the fans (slip knot style) and hooking the other ends of the bands to little screw-in hooks (as used on net curtain wires) This as allowed me to position the fans with a slight upward tilt to gently push the heat up the 'flue' and I have no vibration noise at all. Alan |
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