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Cool Radio
Christian Althoff (DG3YCC)
on
August 10, 2009
View comments about this article!
With 21 tubes my 30 years old Drake TR-4C transceiver is getting quite hot. I wanted a moderate cooling without altering the original status of the radio. So I bought two 12 volt fans and four 2,5 millimeter alan wrenches.
I shortened the short ends of the allan wrenches so that they would not contact anything inside the radio later. Then I pushed the insulation of a wire over the allan wrenches to protect the radio enclosure from scratches.
I thickened the long ends of the wrenches with insulation tape to the diameter of the fan holes. I forced two wrenches in each fan. Now I can hang the fans to the rear of the radio: The short ends of the wrenches grip into the original holes of the enclosure. I used X1-fans from a german manufacturer (www.noiseblocker.de). These fans are extremly silent (only 10 Db/A). They run on 12 volts, work 0,48 watts and transport 26 cubic meter per hour. In germany these fans cost abt. 14 USD each. Even if you don't have a Drake radio this article might trigger your imagination to find a similar solution for your boat anchor. Enjoy our hobby!
This article has expired. No more comments may be added.
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Cool Radio
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by N1OU on August 10, 2009
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Brilliant idea -- most folks would have drilled holes and messed up the radio!
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Cool Radio
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by KB2DHG on August 10, 2009
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A simple but GREAT idea.
I too was going to mount a fan on my R4B and TX4B... This is a way to do it without hurting the originality of the radio! BRAVO!
Even for other boat anchors it is a good idea to mount a fan...
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RE: Cool Radio
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by AF3Y on August 10, 2009
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GREAT Idea! My TR-4C gets pretty toasty when I use it, which is not very often. I have several fans laying around, and will pick up some "hangers" today, to make the setup. I may even use the Drake more often now, and let the ProIII rest a bit more. Thanks for a simple "fix" to place these fans where they will do their job, without any mods or damage to the Drake. I thought about fixing some kind of holder for the fans before, but this is really the best option I have seen. Thanks Again! 73, Gene AF3Y
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Cool Radio
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by K6YE on August 10, 2009
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Thanks for a great idea. I just put the fan on top of the final section. While it did cool things, your idea is much improved and keeps the top unobstructed.
Now I just need to work on the TR4C PTO to get it back into service after laying around 15 years.
Semper Fi,
Tommy - K6YE
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Cool Radio
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by KC8RWR on August 10, 2009
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Nice! Good job!
I suppose if you didn't want to buy the wrenches maybe pieces of an old coat hanger or some other stiff wire might do with a little bending.
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RE: Cool Radio
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by K0CBA on August 10, 2009
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Great mounting idea; that's what you call using the old 'thinking machine'!
Personally, I usually like to use 220 VAC box fans on 117 VAC; usually moves sufficient air and they are for sure quieter.
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RE: Cool Radio
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by K0IZ on August 10, 2009
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Very creative! Should probably work with other boat anchors as well. Congrats!
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Cool Radio
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by W6VPS on August 10, 2009
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WELL DONE sir. Terrific approach to a nagging problem.
Thanks for sharing.
Paul/W6VPS
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RE: Cool Radio
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by KD7YVV on August 10, 2009
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Just one small piece of info missing :)
Are the fans blowing into the back of the radio to move
the heated air out the top or are they pulling air
out of the radio?
Nice solution though.
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RE: Cool Radio
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by NU0R on August 10, 2009
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Nice idea. I am curious if the fans are blowing in or pulling out the hot air? 73, Bruce
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Cool Radio
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by W3NRL on August 10, 2009
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Brilliant just Brilliant!!!
I like your idea and this can be used for other applications as well.
Thanks
73
w3nrl
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Cool Radio
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by AB7E on August 10, 2009
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A more general, and even less conspicuous, way to mount such fans would be to use some of the extremely powerful, small neodymium magnets (sold cheaply on eBay by several vendors). Glue some magnets to the fans, and if the case is aluminum, glue or tape a few more inside the case positioned to align with the ones on the fans. If the case is steel you only need the magnets on the fans.
I'd use superglue to attach the magnets to the fans, but if you want to keep the boatanchor pristine, use rubber cement for those magnets.
73,
Dave AB7E
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RE: Cool Radio
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by K9FON on August 10, 2009
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A very "cool" idea!
I wish i had my TR-4CW but i had to sell it for financial reasons.
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RE: Cool Radio
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by K5FH on August 10, 2009
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I used that trick back in 1977 with my TR-4C. I used a 6" muffin fan and simply placed it on top of the cabinet over the final cage. Worked great. Used the same trick with my SB-401 transmitter and SB-110A 6-meter rig. Cheap, effective and the tubes live a lot longer.
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Cool Radio
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by K9CTB on August 10, 2009
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Very good Idea, Christian. Like other folks, I like the idea of not adding extra holes to a classic cabinet. I wonder how cool it would look with those "LED glowie style" fans my son uses on all his computer stuff?
Thanks for a great post!
73 de Neil
K9CTB
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Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by AI2IA on August 10, 2009
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Thank goodness for cheap, surplus, or scavenged computer fans!
New gear - heat destroys solid state devices. You should not be surprised how much heat can be removed with little computer fans. Every power supply in my shack and every heat producing gadget has a little 12 volt D.C. computer fan standing nearby to cool it. Sure, some have their own fans as well, but I add a little extra one nearby. All my little fans run off one power supply I dedicated just for fans. Every fan has my own RF filter on its power lines.
Every single piece of equipment runs cool to the touch.
Two power supplies used to run a little warmer than I thought good, but not now. Keep things cool. Keep things longer. These little gems are very quiet, and even the smallest of them moves enough air to keep every item cool.
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RE: Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by WB2WIK on August 10, 2009
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Great idea!
Very "non instrusive," so when you go to sell the radio one day it will still look new.
Thanks
Steve WB2WIK/6
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RE: Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by TERRY_PERRY_EX_W3VR on August 10, 2009
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Wonderful.
You have class my man.
Lots of happy courteous responses for a change too. This is how it should be.
Thanks Christian.
Terry
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RE: Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by W7ETA on August 11, 2009
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Instead of two thumbs up, two FBs, FB FB, OM
Vy 73
Bob
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RE: Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by ZS5WC on August 11, 2009
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Very good!..
I too as one of the previous posters mentioned use 220v fans on 110v-and it works very well!..
Plenty air flow-and no noise.
The only difference being that I figured as hot air rises , I would stick the fan on top , with finger guard, mounted on four soft rubber feet.
Works like a dream, and you can move the fan around if need be to the next boatancor flavour of the week.
Also works for all linears, including the IC-2KL etc.
(to prevent the deafening fan from kicking in..)
William
ZS4L / ZS5WC
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RE: Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by K9QS on August 11, 2009
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This is a great idea; thanks for posting it. I currently use a 120 vac muffin fan mounted on rubber feet. I place it over the final cage in my T4X, and it draws the hot air out-those 6JB6s run extremely hot. It also gets used on the Johnson Ranger, another small space heater. The only problem is the noise. This article addresses that nicely. I'm going to give it a try.
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RE: Cool Everythng in the Shack
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by AF6AU on August 11, 2009
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My first "Add a fan", I added a 12 volt DC fan to the inside of my boatanchor HQ-129X, powered it with 9VDC rectified from the 6.3VAC filament power. I also replaced the 5U4 rectifier/23 watt heat source, with silicon diodes. Not only is it a LOT cooler, it drifts a lot less over time. The air circulation lowers the time it takes for items like multi-gang variable caps to thermally change, and the total temperature change is less too. It is pristine OEM? No. Is it better? Absolutely. And that poor old hot runing transformer is much happier too, with cooling and less load. Yep, add a fan, increase the life, increase stability, lower drift, and all for salvaging fans from old power supplies.
Cooling is a major key to component life and stable performance, old gear or new.
At work we have a 10 amp Samlex linear supply that we added an internal fan, and an external fan. The external heat sink for the pass transistors is too small, with 5 amps continuous draw, it got hot enough to blister a finger. No more. I figure we added 10 years life to that supply.
The internal fan was a old CPU fan for a computer. These little guys are about 1-1/4 inch square, and can go many small places, like cooling the heat sink of your mobile rig.
BTW, most computer fans can be re-oiled by lifting the label, and the little rubber plug underneath it.
For the purists out there, if I found a nice rig that had a few added holes in it, an owner having properly mounted a non-oem fan, Ya know, I would rather buy the fan equipped one, knowing what the breeze does for the internal parts. But I buy rigs to use them, not to look at them.
Jon M. Lenhert
AF6AU
Sunny, Hot, So. Calif.
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Article WIN!!
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by W4UDX on August 11, 2009
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Finally! A short, meaningful, well-illustrated and useful article emerges on eHam. Congrats! I predict you will not be slapped like some of the others.
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Cool Radio
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by W2GB on August 11, 2009
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OK OK Admit it you were getting ready to drill holes and your wife said why don't you use these things like this..
That's how it would have happened here
GREAT JOB and thanks for sharing this.
I am sure that there will be lots of guys putting this idea to good use....Honey look what I just figured out
73 John W2GB
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RE: Cool Radio
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by WI7B on August 11, 2009
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Christian DG3YCC,
Great, timely little article. This seems easily applied to Ameritron tube amps, as well. Especially on the those hot summer evenings!
73,
---* Ken
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Cool Radio
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by K1CJS on August 11, 2009
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Nice idea--and article. Kudos for offering it.
If I may offer, heat shrink tubing over the allen wrenches instead of wire insulation also works well for stopping the metal to metal contact, and it is less likely to be accidently knocked off.
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Cool Radio
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by K1DA on August 11, 2009
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Based upon my experience with cooling Drake gear
too much air moving around will result in the PTO not settling down and more or less constant drift. Having noticed this ona TR 4 I tried an fan on a very stable R4A and noticed IT started to drift a bit! This does not mean
don't do it, 6JB6 tubes are getting pretty dear these days, just don't start tearing into the pto if you notice a little drift, turn the fan off and recheck. BTW for you TR4C owners info, the combo AF/RF gain pot was not the same quality as their older parts, is unusual in value, and the AF section often fails. W1LY and I can make a replacement for it. It is not inexpensive but is better quality than the Drake piece which, of course, is impossible to find because so many failed in service and the spares also failed the same way.
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Cool Radio
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by VK3DWZ on August 12, 2009
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Great idea, Christian. We love Boat Anchors here so we will file this away "just in case". Thank you.
73',
Terry.
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RE: Cool Radio
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by W5HTW on August 12, 2009
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I'm fresh out of boat anchors, having downsized over the past two years. But before I did, I had a desktop Hunter Bandit 2000 amplifier. It had two internal fans, but I used this external approach by adding a fan on top, 'sucking' air out of the final compartment. To avoid drilling holes, I ran Q-tips through the four fan mountaing holes. Connected the fan to a 12 volt source inside the Bandit, with a removable connector. The fan was heavy enough not to slide around on the slanted cabinet, and it did move the air. It was, however, noisy, but I didn't mind that much.
Your idea is neat. What do you have on the fans to avoid noisy contact with the cabinet? Or is anything required, since they hang from the overhang of the cabinet top?
Ed
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RE: Cool Radio
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by N7UQA on August 12, 2009
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Cool (no pun intended) idea. Course, left to the extreme over clocking computer geek, one would use 1Kw of cooling to combat 100 - 200 watts of heat with cryogenic cooling. ;)
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RE: Cool Radio
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by DG3YCC on August 15, 2009
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Thanks for the nice replies! To those who asked: I mounted the fans to blow into the radio but you can also mount them the other way so the will suck the air out of the cabinet. The fans are so silent that there is absolutely no noise transfered to the enclosure.
73 de Chris
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Cool Radio
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by WS2L on August 16, 2009
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This is a great idea that was obviously well thought out before doing anything. When I owned boat anchors when I first received my license in 1978 there must have been 30 tubes between the TX and the RX. With my bedroom door closed it would quickly warm up my bedroom during the winter. Naturally the summer months were not as enjoyable.
I could have used something like this then and now my rig only has 3 tubes so I'm not concerned.
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Cool Radio
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by KF2SY on August 20, 2009
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Not bad-- but an even easier solution that I did for mounting fans on both my TR4CW/RIT and T4XB was to simply mount the fans using small plastic wire ties. The perforated holes are already on the back of the radio and together with the fan mounting holes, you just fish the ties thru the desired holes, zip the wire ties, trim, and you're done. No drilling and blasting. Cheap & easy.
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Cool Radio
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by K8TN on August 26, 2009
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What a swell Idea! I just applied for a patent for it.
Thanks! ;>)
By the way, I found a source for the fans for just $12 a piece.
http://www.frozencpu.com/search.html?mv_profile=keyword_search&mv_session_id=TFWTQIJG&searchspec=Noiseblocker&go.x=0&go.y=0&gclid=CLDMnqb9wpwCFQhV2god1CRGgA
Or just go to www.frozencpu.com
look for the X1.
Dave
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RE: Cool Radio........A Classic..not a boatanchor
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by WA2JJH on September 6, 2009
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Nice artical. Good feedback. I almost skipped reading it.
I saw "Boat Anchor", and thought of a post WW-2 radio, that most hams would through out.
The TR-4CW is not a boat anchore. It came out around 1975. Drakes are collector rigs, not a 100lb++ POS with a real plate modulator for AM.
With todays new Quad core+ CPU's....people are clocking cpu's to over 4 ghz. Lots of oompanies make special fans and copper creation heatsinks.
Not unusual to get the cpu to run 1-1.5 ghz faster than supplied stock CPU fan.
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