Changing E4X fan

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Changing E4X fan

Postby tek_uk » Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:05 am

Hi all,

I'm in the process of making my studio a quiter place!
I've already changed the fan of my mixer and the next noisy piece of gear is my E4X.
I was wondering if anyone had changed the fan on their EMU?
If yes, what did they use etc...
For my other gear, I've used fans from quietpc .com and it worked wonders.
Thanks
Laurent
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Postby altus » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:26 pm

No need to change the fan (unless the bearings went and it's rattling very loudly). Just run it off 5V instead of 12V and it will be whisper-quiet. you can pick 5VDC directly off the power supply, just run a short wire to the fan. Changing the fan won't help as all fans this small will be loud at 12V. The one used in the Emu is actually one of the quietest I've encountered.
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Postby illinformed » Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:54 am

Hey Tek, good luck with the silencing. Due to my complete laziness I still haven't got round to my Compact Flash to IDE idea yet! THREAD HERE. It would give you a completely silent drive + you could be the guinea pig ;)

Altus, I like the idea of changing the fan down to 5V but I'm concerned how good it will do the sampler if you have internal HD and RFX installed. Has anyone had a 5V setup running for a while without any problems?
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Postby altus » Tue Nov 08, 2005 3:41 pm

illinformed wrote:Hey Tek, good luck with the silencing. Due to my complete laziness I still haven't got round to my Compact Flash to IDE idea yet! THREAD HERE. It would give you a completely silent drive + you could be the guinea pig ;)

Altus, I like the idea of changing the fan down to 5V but I'm concerned how good it will do the sampler if you have internal HD and RFX installed. Has anyone had a 5V setup running for a while without any problems?


I tried. The stock E-mu fan won't start at 5V or even 7V. You need to feed it the full 12V. I tried another fan of the same size and it ran at 5V but it was just as loud as the stock fan at 12V, and as loud as a vacuum cleaner at 12V. So I believe there's no point in tinkering with the E-mu fan because it's already as quiet as it gets, especially for a fan this small.

If you want to silence the hard drive, get a Seagate Barracuda 7200.8. I have a 40GB one in my E-mu and it's completely silent. I love it. The fan is louder than the drive. :thumbs:
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fan noise

Postby sturoc » Mon Jan 09, 2006 1:10 am

I just posted about my replacement fan which is running like a jet. Since I wouldn't want to go thru hassle of ordering a Papst delaying this situ longer.
How bout throwing in a resistor to cut down power i.e rpms and hopefully noise?
Would there be any issues w/ ps as far as the 12v feed cut down?
Thanks
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Re: fan noise

Postby altus » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:11 pm

sturoc wrote:I just posted about my replacement fan which is running like a jet. Since I wouldn't want to go thru hassle of ordering a Papst delaying this situ longer.
How bout throwing in a resistor to cut down power i.e rpms and hopefully noise?
Would there be any issues w/ ps as far as the 12v feed cut down?
Thanks


You'd have to calculate the resistor value according to the current draw of the fan at target voltage using the Ohm's law. The resistor will also have to be of sufficient wattage to not burn out (1W should be fine).

Check this link http://www.doctronics.co.uk/resistor.htm and read the bit on current limiting.

Or call these guys: http://www.eprelectronics.com They might have the original fans in stock.
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Postby et » Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:11 am

hi guys
i added this fan to mine
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 6814846688

SILENX 40MM ULTRA QUIET NEAR SILENT FANS 14 DB 5/6 CFM
20mm thick
i done mine last october never had a prob and is ultra silent

beware when moving the power supply case to get in to it.
it can be tricky to get the cover off

:thumbs:
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Re: Changing E4X fan

Postby roonsmits » Wed Jan 11, 2006 12:29 pm

tek_uk wrote:Hi all,

I'm in the process of making my studio a quiter place!
I've already changed the fan of my mixer and the next noisy piece of gear is my E4X.
I was wondering if anyone had changed the fan on their EMU?
If yes, what did they use etc...
For my other gear, I've used fans from quietpc .com and it worked wonders.
Thanks
Laurent


Hi Laurent,

Maybe this thread can help you, it describes what route to take towards a silent sampler: viewtopic.php?t=920

have fun,

Ronald
My rig: Creamware Pulsar II - Luna II - 2 x breakout box / Logic 5.5.1 - Logic Control / Yamaha CS1X - Emu E6400Ultra Expanded / Waldorf Rack Attack - NordRack2 - Creamware synths.
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Postby illinformed » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:49 pm

Hey et - Apart from moving the power supply case to get it in, was it just a simple swap?

I'm not that keen on roonsmits post because it looks as if the fan is placed in a completely different place. I dont want to be fiddling about with a resistor too.

I'm just looking for a simple unscrew, unplug and replace option.

Andrew
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Postby sturoc » Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:49 pm

I think I have found a solution. Have a pretty good elect parts surplus store nearby . They had a bunch of fans 12v. I ust hooked em up there to power up and listen to the noise, found a quiet one and put it in.

New one is thinner than stock but moves about about same amount of air.
The guy has a bunch left for $4.99 USD.
No noise whatsoever.

Stu
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Postby et » Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:13 am

illinformed Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:49 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey et - Apart from moving the power supply case to get it in, was it just a simple swap?

ya but was the usual power supply wire swap if i rember right

make shure u order 20 mm thick thats the same thickness of emu fan

if u need i can get pitures and double check the wiring

i had the usual trouble i had noisy fan so i took mine out got the size
and ordered from the ebay site
was fast dilevery and worked a treat :)
i have rfx and ide hd installed :)
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Postby tek_uk » Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:50 pm

I've had a look at quietpc:
http://www.quietpc.com/uk/casefans.php

They have good fans (i have put one on my mixer) but their 40MM fan is 10mm deep, not 20mm... :-(

Any other ideas or fan brands I could try?
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Postby evilandy3000 » Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:38 pm

Hi,

With the PSU cover being tricky to remove - in which way?

How is it held on?

With the power cable - would I need to swap round the two wires?

Is there anything I should be worried about under there or will I be safe as long as its not connected.javascript:emoticon(':cry:')

I have a UK power supply.

Thanks for reading my questions,javascript:emoticon(':thumbs:')

Cheers,

Andy :cry:
Image
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Postby evilandy3000 » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:50 am

I've opened the E5000 Ultra to see if I could find the solution.

The power supply unit cover is on rock tight.

Is there only this latch holding it in place or have I missed something?

Image

Maybe I need to push harder. Does anyone have a good technique to remove the cover?

Also - I'm not sure how to take the warning of risk of electrical shock. I don't want to mess with the PSU, just remove the cover to get to the fan. If I touch anything in here - can I be fried? or will it be safe until power is supplied?

Any suggestions would be very useful.

Cheers,

Andy
Image
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Postby evilandy3000 » Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:25 pm

Ah - I've found the problem.

A screw at the back, near the power supply outlet and fan:

Image

Great.

The cover now slides out incredibly easy and I rotated it round to place on top of the case while I work. No difficulties here. Had good wiring slack to play with.

I've now installed my fan. The rest was easy.

I used the SilenX 14 dBA - IXTREMA 40 6cfm - 20mm with the silicon mounts.

Simply unscrew the fan. I used some pliers and a screw driver. Place the silicon plugs into the hole - pointy bit going into the case and then place the fan.

I had to make sure that I have the air flow going the right way. The label faces the direction of the airflow. Unless I've made a blunder - I pointed mine at the PSU in order to cool it down. Facing it the other way would act as an exhaust by pump the heat out. I don't know which way is correct. I tried it the first way round and a lot of air was pumped out. I don't remember the fan being that active before so I've reversed it round so its pumping air in from outside, at the PSU and around the case - out by the hard drive.

Maybe someone can post me a message as to whether I've got this part correct.

I found that when I used the SilenX fan and the silicon mounts - I had to pull 'em hard. Incredibly - they didn't break and created a really tight and snug fit. I'm impressed. I pulled my so hard a dimple appeared inside the external surface of the mount.

The funny thing is - now my previously reasonable sounding internal hard drive sounds LOUD!

I'm going to replace it with a seagate.

Oh yes - here's some further information about my installation. I spoke to an electronics engineer before I started and he told me that the power supply unit contains a capacitor of 400 volts. Capacitors store volts even when the item is unplugged from the mains. This could really hurt at least. However, its also worth noting that the contacts are under the motherboard and since we're not working in that area, the engineer suggest it shouldn't be an issue but still something to be warey of.

If in doubt - wear rubber gloves.

And as Roonsmits rightly said, "Forgot to mention, I take no responsibilty for any problems that might arrise when doing this "

Same here.

This is just my personal account of how I changed the fan, I'm not suggesting you do this or follow my steps.

Cheers,

Andy
Image
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