Cooling usb fan. Necessary or absurd?

sktrus

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Feb 4, 2020
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Ken ta kee
Nothing else to do. So, starting this threat to exchange ideas. Just like anybody else’s my electronics get warm, too. I touch the top, feels little warm as expected. Enough space around them for hot air to escape. Those small usb fans r reasonably priced at Amazon around $10. Most come with 3 settings. What do you think? Good idea? Not necessary?

My leased Joey 2s feel warm even when they are off. Not too warm, but I can feel it when I touch the top. I am hoping that’s normal.
 
Nothing else to do. So, starting this threat to exchange ideas. Just like anybody else’s my electronics get warm, too. I touch the top, feels little warm as expected. Enough space around them for hot air to escape. Those small usb fans r reasonably priced at Amazon around $10. Most come with 3 settings. What do you think? Good idea? Not necessary?

My leased Joey 2s feel warm even when they are off. Not too warm, but I can feel it when I touch the top. I am hoping that’s normal.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! If you are having heat related issues with your equipment, that is the time to think about auxiliary air movement.
 
If I were to put a usb fan on the Hopper 3, I would not plug it into the Hopper USB port, but rather use an USB power supply in an outlet.
The nice thing about plugging it directly into Hopper's usb is you leave it alone. Hopper is turned on, the fan starts to blow. Otherwise, you have to remember to turn it on then off. Perhaps you know a good reason that I don't. Personally, I never had heat related issues as far as remember. Just little paranoid these days since I've started using airtv adapter (which is slightly warm).
Kinda surprised not many people responded to this.
 
I've had a www.hometheatrecooling.com fan on my main receiver since my first ViP622.

Their website is no longer on the internet, but I've had this same low speed ultraquiet fan running 24/7/365 for well over 10 years.

Reducing the internal temperature of the receiver can prolong the lifespan of motherboard, chips and especially the hard drive.
 
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I had a fan running on my old 722 24/7. I had it inside a cabinet so I wanted to make sure it was not overheating. I had it positioned next to the vents on the side and had it pulling air through the 722. I had the same 722 for 10 years with no issues. I say if you put a fan on next to it, if it is a quiet fan just leave it on 24/7 plugged into a usb power supply, it won't hurt the Hopper and won't use a lot of power.
 
The nice thing about plugging it directly into Hopper's usb is you leave it alone. Hopper is turned on, the fan starts to blow. Otherwise, you have to remember to turn it on then off. Perhaps you know a good reason that I don't. Personally, I never had heat related issues as far as remember. Just little paranoid these days since I've started using airtv adapter (which is slightly warm).
Kinda surprised not many people responded to this.
Your logic would be OK if it actually worked that way, but it doesn't. When you turn off your Hopper (or Joey) it only goes into standby and the USB ports are still powered. So, the fan would run endlessly. BTW, warm is not an issue, hot is! :)
 
When we were having issues with our H3, one of the local DISH guys from Omnicom here on Maui suggested that we simply put something under the rubber feet of the Hopper to raise it up to improve air flow. We found some clear plastic "sliders"that you might use under table legs for example. Turned 'em upside down to use under the Hopper and that took care of it for us.
 
One BIG downside to using a fan that I never see anyone talk about is that it will eventually turn counter-productive on you because it will increase dust deposition inside your receiver.
 
When we were having issues with our H3, one of the local DISH guys from Omnicom here on Maui suggested that we simply put something under the rubber feet of the Hopper to raise it up to improve air flow. We found some clear plastic "sliders"that you might use under table legs for example. Turned 'em upside down to use under the Hopper and that took care of it for us.
I use 2 liter bottle caps open side down.
 
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While using the hopper 3 in my RV, I put slim foam pieces along the sides on both top and bottom to secure it when traveling, even though I turn it off also. I guess it also helps with ventilation also, but that wasn't the original intention.
 
The key for Dish DVR's if airflow UNDER the DVR. I use very inexpensive plastic coasters for chair legs by gluing one on top of the other and then placing them under each of the four feet. This should be done no matter where the DVR is placed because in my experience it can make a great difference.

As for the Joeys: they get HOT, but they have lots of fairly big ventilation slits AND they don't seem to exhibit any unreliable behavior that can be attributed to the heat produced by the Joey. Any unreliability at a Joey has always been software or some internal defect in my experience. So, I don't see a case for attempting to do anything to cool a Joey. Joey's get really hot, but that is what they do and should still work well. Just leave plenty of room for heat to escape the Joey and outside air for flow around it. I would not put a Joey in a cabinet, but put it OUTSIDE the cabinet, even if out of sight behind or beside the cabinet on the floor even so that heat can escape the Joey. Joey's are not as delicate as the DVR with its precious (and heat producing) HDD that should be protected from even vibrations. I would not bother with a laptop for a Joey since you can put that thing almost anywhere where the heat can escape.

As for enclosed spaces such as cabinets or the like, Dish or TiVo Roamio DVR's placed in an enclosed space will NEED extra cooling, otherwise the H3 will exhibit unreliable behavior and the speed of the fan will greatly increase making a lot of noise desperately trying to cool itself. I lived through that. If the fan is in high speed, then it is TOO HOT and will NEVER get the DVR cool enough for reliable service. Putting a full-size, but inexpensive laptop under the H3 solves all heat related problems, and is an easy, cheap, but highly effective solution for any DVR.

As for the TiVo Roamios: the Roamios are notorious for its poor air flow and under-powered fan, and this can cause the fan to increase speed and produce noise and possibly exceed the temperature of its operating range. All manner of costly and time-consuming and trouble-some (for me, disconnecting, removing, and replacing and reconnecting the DVR in the stack is the MOST difficult of the entire notion of cracking open the DVR just for a cooling solution) DYI's for fan replacement are discussed and done by those with plenty of time on their hands, but nothing is more simple and, yet, still highly effective as just slipping a full size laptop fan to do the same job. All done in a matter of SECONDS and no additional cost, back breaking removals from stacks and hard to reach electrical outlets (USP's) nor mess of a work bench, and never missing a recording either.

Yes, connecting the fans to the USB's of each DVR USB port has worked fine for MANY YEARS, and is often the ONLY place left to get power for the fans. I believe both the H3 and Roamio USB's were designed to power low load devices, so their presence connected to USB for power has never been an issue for either DVR over the MANY YEARS.

A laptop fan is an easy, rational, elegant solution for DVR's that are in need of additional cooling, so long as the DVR is capable of powering the fan, and most LATER model DVR's are designed to providing modest power for "future" devices by the DVR company. The laptop fan need not fancy or expensive. It should be of approximate size so that the all or the at least the great majority of the DVR can rest upon it providing airflow over most of the botton of the DVR.

While some prefer the longer, more expensive, and troublesome DYI internal fan replacement of a TiVo Roamio, a fair number of TiVo Roamio owners have opted for the laptop fan solution and are pleased with it, including yours truly. Now, a DYI to exchange an HDD for a new one or a bigger one is worth the trouble, but not for merely providing additional cooling when a laptop fan can be slipped under the DVR in seconds.

As for the concern of dust, that is a fair concern, but hardly what it was decades ago. A great many modern devices and over time we have learned that while dust can contribute to heat being retained among other problems, it nonetheless proposes only a minimum of concern, while HEAT and the lack of airflow or the lack of fan cooling the device is the REAL and even IMMEDIATE killer, not the dust. I know of and even have devices that over the many, many years probably have a great deal of dust, even with the fan sucking out the heat and some of that dust, but continue to work just as well as day one some 10 years ago. In fact, attempting any dust removal from such dusty devices as an AVR--with their massive ventilation slits that allow huge amounts of dust and other fairly big things--can create more problems than it is supposed to solve, and even KILL the device. While there is a right and proper way to do it very delicately, I don't know anyone (people who do know and repair or design the things) who recommends any attempt at dust removial, unless it is an attempt to SAVE a malfunctioning or even dead device (like an AVR) with nothing to lose as a last attempt. The thinking on dust has evolved over the decades, and equipment has improved in that regard, as well. Techs today are just not all that troubled by it as they once were.

So, laptop fans are a great solution for whatever devices may require more cooling, and certainly NOT absurd. It may be absurd to NOT consider a laptop fan as an option :).
 
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The key for Dish DVR's if airflow UNDER the DVR.
Or, you could simply install your Hopper 3 like this:
(Yes, I am still making fun of Solid Signal's upside-down Hopper 3 picture.)
 
The box is a box, which has 6 sides, each with energy it wants to transfer outside. So all six sides should have the ability to transmit the energy to the air... and not another surface, as the surface isn't going anywhere, while the air will flow around the receiver, transfer a bit of the energy and go away and dissipate it.

I'm uncertain how well a fan would help, as the air you are blowing onto the receiver is only mildly cooler than the air generally floating around the receiver.
 
Putting a full-size, but inexpensive laptop under the H3 solves all heat related problems, and is an easy, cheap, but highly effective solution for any DVR.
Thank u DishsubLA; Enlighten me pls. Why would u put another gadget (old laptop) under DVR that generates more heat? I understand a small usb fan blows the hot air away and at least gives u confidence. Well, even if that is not necessary it won't harm anything. $10-15 investment won't break u.

the air you are blowing onto the receiver is only mildly cooler than the air generally floating around the receiver.
maybe, the purpose is getting rid of the hot air around the equipment.
some believe a fan is a good idea, some don't. one thing is sure is you can't harm anything as far as I am concerned.
 
The best thing to do is to pull the warmer air out of the receiver by placing a low velocity fan on the right side.

The small fan on the left blows air in the receiver if the CPU temp gets too warm - CPU is in front of that fan but about 4 inches inboard.

As heat rises it is better to remove air from on top of the motherboard than force high velocity air in the bottom with its tendency to bring dust and debris with it.

The far right of the H3 is the location of the power supply then the tuner with the finned CPU near the center, so pulling air out of the right side helps keep power supply heat out in addition to allow for multiple lower velocity inlets all around the receiver to allow cooler air in.

Just opened my H3 up and blew what little dust was in there out. Considering the 3+ years it has been in operation here in dusty west Texas it had very little dust inside.
 
maybe, the purpose is getting rid of the hot air around the equipment.
Air is a fluid, so the warmer air is already moving, which is why you want the bottom of the receiver not laying directly on a surface. You increase the exposed surface area probably by about 35% just doing that, which means more heat dissipation. The only benefit I see in an exterior fan is trying to create lower air pressure behind the receiver vent, to encourage more air flow through the receiver.
 
My Hopper 3s don't feel warm to the touch. My 4KJs feel real warm. So I just use one of those plastic chair leg cups under the Joeys to raise them up some. When I had 722s and HWSs I used a cooling fan setup like this plugged into AC power. I wish the Hopper 3 had a way to check the temp like the 722 and HWS have!

 

Dish 5G internet????

What could this mean in regard to my owned H3...

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