Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

No, you aren't asking a dumb question...we all make inquiries from time to time that seem silly...

...but honestly, you are WAY over thinking this problem. 

But, you have invoked an 'over explanation'.    Here's how it work: The heat sink you have on your Ensoniq is a very simple method of drawing accumulated heat away from the internal components attached to it using thermal contact. It is referred to as passive cooling. "Passive" in that there is no air forced to move onto, at, or over the heat sink fins. By making use of a fan you are providing the heat sink with "active cooling." If you consider what is actually happening when you use a fan the answer to your question becomes apparent. Whether you point a fan away from the sink, thereby drawing air to and thru the top and the bottom of the fins and then thru the front of the fan, or point the fan directly at the heat sink you are getting far more cooling then Ensoniq engineers deemed necessary to keep the unit at a safe operating temperature. However, all of us know now that heat IS an issue with these boards, hence, this dicussion.

Getting back on track: If you were to point the fan directly at the heat sink then you are effectively maximizing the available forced air right onto the fins. The harder the air is hitting that sink the more effective the cooling becomes. In my experience it is most effective to point air right at the heat sink. In one of my previous posts I indicated the results I have from just using a tiny $5.00 fan from Walmart. Just last night I touched the heat sink after moving the fan away from it a little and if it hadn't been for the lit display, I would have wondered if my SD-1 was even on...it was that cool. Now isn't that cool? 

Consider, too, that in your car air is forced (whether the fan is on or the car is in motion) THRU the radiator and not shot down at it from an angle using some goofy induction. It (the air) just moves in a straight line at the radiator fins.

I think I just explained this thing to death...lol.


UCD

 



________________________________
From: Sonic Amigos Support <sasupport@...>
To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 5:14:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Re: ...what happened to my SD-1?!?

  
Maybe this is a dumb question, but should the fan(s) direct hot air 
flow away from the heatsink fins, or direct cooler ambient air towards 
the fins? Or to put it another way, which direction should the fan 
point?

On Nov 8, 2009, at 1:05 PM, Eric Hall wrote:

> Find an old junk computer and take out the CPU cooling fan. Now find 
> and old "wall wort" - a 9 to12 volt step down transformer/ external 
> power supply from something that you don't need. Hook that up to the 
> old computer fan. Find some way of fastening the fan to the heat 
> sink. I used expanding wall fasteners between the fins. From then on 
> you will enjoy a very stable VFX/SD-1.