Dish 622 "E" series running cooler

[bhelms]

P Smith - The mechanical parts you photographed look identical to what's in my "E" version. Those three "bumps" are to strengthen that section, not for appearance or cooling. Strength is probably needed only for handling during assembly. I imagine that whole unit is pre-fabbed (bracket, HDD, fan) and it would tend to bend while handling without the reinforcement.

I agree with your comment re: the soft-mount bushings - needed for shock isolation and to reduce the noise from the HDD being coupled into the case to make the system a bit quieter.

Where did you find your HDD model number? I'll look closer at mine for comparison. I am not willing to remove that tape that covers one screw on the right side bracket mounting that says "Removal voids warranty" so I won't be removing the bracket/HDD/fan assembly, but I might be able to see a model number if I use a mirror.

I am looking into a heat sink/cooling fan for the BroadCom BCM7038 chip...

 

[Smith P.]

bhelms, you cant see top of the hdd without removal; but you can get the model if you will connect by other SATA cable to your desktop PC and just look at SATA controller messages. Don't need to run any OS.

 

[bhelms]

I have another thought - I'll power-down then remove just the back 2 of the HDD mounting screws (loosen the front 2) and see if the HDD will rotate down a bit so I can get a peek at the top of it. I'll check for clearance and as long is it's not touching anything I might just let the HDD hang down to get some more air moving across it. Is there any reason it can't operate in that position?

 

[Smith P.]

I wouldn't rely to the method - clearance is too small, it will not give any usable angle for sneak pick.
I would say, that was done intentionally, making the design hard for alter, sneak.

 

[shanewalker]

Anyone know anything about the "F" series of 622s...I checked my newly installed second 622 and that's what it is. It'd be nice if it ran cooler and needed less fan spinning--its in the bedroom and during 3am reboots it makes a bit o' noise.

 

[mraroid]

HD cooling in the 622

Remove (temporary) just 4 screws on rear, open a cover and take pictures - we will see if it redesigned or different HDD used.

P. Smith....

I just picked up a version "F" 622 at Costco. It looks like the HD housing & cooling is the same as your earlier version. I would have pulled the entire assembly, but it had a sticker on it that said my warrany would be void if I did. I was thinking about pulling the HD from the assembly, but decided not to. I have read that it is the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 320GB (model 6L320S0) Any thoughts on internal cooling for the 622 or the HD? I have the 622 sitting on a laptop cool mat. I hope the three picture below are helpful.

mraroid

 

[Smith P.]

Not much without peeling off the sticker .

 

[mraroid]

hard drive & other 622 mods

Not much without peeling off the sticker .

Sorry.

I would have broken that "warranty" sticker, but I keep thinking that a software update will kill my HDMI connector. If that happens I want to return it and have DN give me a new unit. I have decided to buy my 622, not lease it. So after a year, when my warranty is over, I will probably go in and yank out the hard drive hardware. It seems to me that the first fix would be to cut a opening in the hard drive holder, above the hard drive. I have seen hard drive mounted fans. They are slim. I think moving the HD down slightly, I can put a HD cooler on top of it. But I am holding off doing anything until I can pull it out and see.

I have just done what I think is a cool mod. I found this temperature display & probe for $9.00:

http://www.jab-tech.com/LCD-Digital-CompuNurse-Thermometer-w-BLUE-Backlight-pr-2642.html

I have the probe dangling above the largest chip on the main board. It is suspended in the air and is not touching anything. I really like checking the temps this way (with the 622 off, on, and un plugged). Encloses are two pictures. One picture is the probe on the end of the wire, and the other is a picture of my 622 with the display stuck (with velco) on the top, left of it. The display is in Celsius. I see numbers like this:

622 un plugged: 20.9C (69.8F)
622 plugged in, but off: 36.3C (96.8F)
622 on: 37.1C (98.6F)

The display is powered by 5 volts. So I spliced a USB connector on the unit, and plugged it into my USB bus in my audio/video cabinet. I decided not to power it from the USB ports in the 622. I have a stand alone USB power port.

mraroid

 

[Smith P.]

I have a couple similar autonomous devices w/out backlit, but using just one coin battery . Check Fry's.
Could you measure temperature between the metal holder and HDD ?

 

[mraroid]

temperature probe & the 622

Could you measure temperature between the metal holder and HDD ?

You know, I believe I can. I will move my probe and get some benchmarks. I still have some work on the roof yet to do, so I have not turned on service yet. I expect to in a week or so (it is raining non stop where I live). When my service is on, then I can get temperature data with the hard drive working. But with this temperature probe being so cheap, maybe I will just install a second one. It would be interesting to see the temp rise on the main board, while tracking the temperature of the HD.

I have been looking at product like this:

http://www.hardwarecooling.com/prod...be doable. What do you think? mraroid

 

[Smith P.]

I would say you need smaller one, like 30x30mm, if you like do some experiments.
Basically I don't see any requirement for CPU cooling - you'll need just make good air flow TO and FROM the case.
If I'll own the STB, easiest way would be put on top cover sucking fan above main CPU's spot - it will take off hot air from HDD and chips area.

 

[bhelms]

mraroid - You are doing some of the same experimentation I started last June. Unfortunately I have not yet finished my project. At the time I was using a "Craftsman" DMM that also included a "K" type thermocouple. I have since then purchased a Fluke handheld remote IR meter. The two agree closely.

There were quite a few folks looking into this at that same time. Please check out this thread, and my post #163 for a blow-by-blow description!

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=59186&page=17&highlight=622+temp

Try taking a measurement right on top of that largest Broadcom chip (the one behind and to the left of the HDD bracket). I was measuring temps. in excess of 160 deg.F in the center of that chip with the cover closed, the unit running, and no additional cooling. That chip is definitely a hot-running unit and given that it is also most of the 622's "horsepower", one can venture that improving the cooling of that chip could significantly improve the performance and reliability of the 622 overall.

Keep us posted...!

 

[bhelms]

Ooops - Maybe! I just noticed that in that thread post #162 was yours! So you have been with us on this all along!

Anyway - I still intend to complete my project. I purchased some small extrusion heatsinks and a 30mm fan at RS. I'm planning to mount those sinks on the top of the chip with some HS grease and the fan vertically in the open PCB area to the right of that chip blowing across the sinks. I'll continue monitoring the temps to see what improvement I can make with this internal cooling. (I'll probably leave the TC buried in there for some time even after I reinstall the cover to keep an eye on things remotely.) Then I still plan to provide some external fans pulling the air out of the left side of the case, and some kind of a filter at the main air inlet on the right side. Not sure how soon I'll get to this, but hopefully some weekend in the next month or so. (It has been too nice outside in our part of the country to stay indoors the past 2 months or so!)

 

[redman042]

I thought I'd chime in and say that my 622 ran so hot in my enclosed cabinet that I couldn't leave the front glass door of cabinet closed or else it would get so hot I could fry a sausage on it. Eventually I bought a 120v fan (looks like a computer case fan except with a household power cord), drilled two big holes in the back of the cabinet, and installed the fan over one of the holes to circulate air. Now I can keep the cabinet door closed and the 622 runs at a much cooler temp. I think I have a series "F" but I forget.

 

[mraroid]

temperature probes

There were quite a few folks looking into this at that same time. Please check out this thread, and my post #163 for a blow-by-blow description!

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=59186&page=17&highlight=622+temp

bhelms....

Just looked at that thread. Your are *THE* man! Great work with the mods. I have a low noise, high volume fan I am about to mount as a internal fan like you have done. Can you tell me how you attached your fan to the internal 622 fan vent & hard drive structure? I have to crack the case of my 622 again to look, but I was thinking of maybe using plastic tie-wraps. My 622 is new, and I want to hold off on major mods until my year warranty has expired (I own mine).

This is the fan I picked up. Shipping was .87 cents. Total for shipping and handling:

http://www.hardwarecooling.com/product_info.php/prod/492/Panaflo_80mm_high_speed_fan?

I liked the idea that P. Smith posted about tracking the temps on the hard drive. So I have bought two thermometers here:

http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-KAMA-THERMO-Thermometer-pr-3595.html

$9.00 each. They read in Fahrenheit. Power from 12V as well as a button battery. I have a 12V supply (as well as 5V) in my TV stereo stand. I am going to use one as a hard drive temp probe, and one as a main board temp. Do you think I can place that temperature probe on top of the largest chip? I am thinking it might burn the end of the probe.. But I dono....

Anyway, You Are The Man! Love the work that you have done. Keep us all posted.

mraroid

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I thought I'd chime in and say that my 622 ran so hot in my enclosed cabinet that I couldn't leave the front glass door of cabinet closed or else it would get so hot I could fry a sausage on it.

Anyone running a 622 in an enclosed, non-ventilated cabinet is a person who is asking for their 622 to have a very short life.

 

[bhelms]

mraroid - Tks for the kudos. Sorry for the delayed reply - I just made it back to this thread. In terms of mounting fans, I have two things in mind. First is to mount a small (40x40mm?) fan alongside the Broadcom chip blowing across those 2 extruded heatsinks (along the fins). Here's the link to what I have:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...rigkw=fan&support=support&kw=fan&tab=features

That one will be powered off the 12V bus at the PS. There is some open real estate to the right of the chip, under the bracket. I'm thinking just some 2-sided tape on the PCB might be enough to hold that small fan vertically, or I might need to extend something up to the bracket (wire tie like you mentioned?) to make sure it doesn't tip over. Like you, I own my unit, but I want anything I do to be reversible in case I need to make an exchange. (BTW - I have the DHPP so I expect a cheap exchange at any time after the warranty expires if I need one and I want to preserve that possibility.) Mind you I haven't actually done this installation yet. When I do I'll update my post with the new temps, etc.

I was also planning to build a 3-fan external system using the fans from that cheapo laptop cooler that appears in the photos. That would probably be a simple styrofoam block that holds the fans and that could simply be glued (hot melt?) or taped over the long vent on the left side of the cover (on the outside), again reversible. That system would pull air through the cabinet, across the hot components in the PS, then out that left side. I'd probably just run all 3 fans all the time powered by the rear USB port just as they are now. The only undecided issue here is whether I want to provide some kind of filtering of the inlet air. I really don't want dust build-up inside the 622. That would actually help defeat the cooling if it settles in the wrong areas.

What I have now is still what appears in those photos even 7 months later - cover off and the laptop cooler sitting on top of the HDD bracket with the air blowing down on the "hot stuff". Those fans run 24/7 with no apparent problem. Not sure how long they'll last but they're cheap enough to replace. Over that time the BC chip has been 120 deg. F or lower any time I measured it and the 622 has been "glitch free" (KoW!).

I like the fan you chose. Certainly cheap enough (less than I paid for the little ones from RS) and good specs. I really don't know what an optimal flow is (more is not necessarily better in a closed area if the flow interferes with itself) so you might have made a better choice. I can't comment on the thermometers. Do they have a remote probe like I'm using? In that case you can position the probe right in the center of the BC chip. I hold mine in place with a blob of heat sink grease.

I hope to work on this little project again soon! Keep us posted on your progress!

 

[Smith P.]

We have more info about "E" revision.

1st - it have new nice screw what firmly holding HDMI connector - no more problem here;
2nd - used WD WD320JS- 57PDB0 (5Vx0.65A+12Vx0.9A = 14W) - cooler and quiet model
3rd - after removing front plastic panel ( press three tabs ) and unscrew 4 (!) only screws you can gently lift up the holder up to 45° and take the disk out for inspection.

I would try to install it back using only 2 special screws and shift toward rear panel that way when non-used middle holes of the disk will be aligned at two blue bushes around middle of the metal holder;
in the position airflow will be divided between underneath of the disk to cool down main chip and new front gap what should help cool the disk.
I'll post a picture when it will be done.

 

[foghorn2]

Anyone running a 622 in an enclosed, non-ventilated cabinet is a person who is asking for their 622 to have a very short life.

My cabinet is pretty tight with the front open. I live in Vegas and in the summer the box would get as high as 140c. Never had a problem with this E version.

 

[mraroid]

Model "E"

We have more info about "E" revision.
3rd - after removing front plastic panel ( press three tabs ) and unscrew 4 (!) only screws you can gently lift up the holder up to 45° and take the disk out for inspection.

I like it. I have an "F". I have looked again and again at my front plastic panel, but I have been unable to find the 3 tabs. Can you give the unanointed some extra guidence as to the tabs location?

I'll post a picture when it will be done.

I look forward to it. I appreciate all the work you have done, and also your public posts so we can all share in this good info you have found. Thank you.

mraroid