hak5superfan Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Its a little larger than what I used, you could cut it pretty easily with a hacksaw and file it smooth. Mine is a little larger than the chip itself. The only problem with a larger heat sink mounted directly to the chip is if you get careless and drop your router the shock will stress the solder points which were not designed for that much weight. Mine is 22 x 22 x 8 mm. I actually made it from another heatsink, like the one in the auction. I would recommend **not** using the self adhesive tape on that one, best to clean the surface, and use the thermal epoxy. The tape requires too much pressure to "seat", you risk breaking a solder joint, the epoxy does not require much pressure to seat, and will fill in any small voids and provide better thermal transfer. Awesome! Thank you very much! I searched and I think these might be perfect fit http://www.ebay.com/itm/Evercool-RHS-02-RAM-Chip-Memory-Heatsink-8-Pack-/230609396447?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b16422df :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreidiv Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 Awesome! Thank you very much! I searched and I think these might be perfect fit http://www.ebay.com/itm/Evercool-RHS-02-RAM-Chip-Memory-Heatsink-8-Pack-/230609396447?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b16422df :) this fan should work fine on top of a heatsink http://www.unitedpro.com/D2010L05BS.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hak5superfan Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) I was thinking of opening a hole where the Alfa on top of the router and putting a 12v 40x40 mm fan I have connected to the barrel plug input. Is there a 5v source inside the device? Also i dont know what would be better... Putting the fan blowing cold air into the device or extracting the hot air from the device. Edited January 1, 2012 by hak5superfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreidiv Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 I was thinking of opening a hole where the Alfa on top of the router and putting a 12v 40x40 mm fan I have connected to the barrel plug input. Is there a 5v source inside the device? Also i dont know what would be better... Putting the fan blowing cold air into the device or extracting the hot air from the device. I am no sure on on the way the fan should go, but i would think you should be pulling heat out in turn it would suck cold air in. also on the voltage you cold possible pull it off the battery pack or the connection that you hook the battery pack in to a single aa battery puts out 1.5 volts so for of them you would have 6 volts use a resister to drop the power to the fan. this is all just theory so take it what its worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csystem Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) I was thinking of opening a hole where the Alfa on top of the router and putting a 12v 40x40 mm fan I have connected to the barrel plug input. Is there a 5v source inside the device? Also i dont know what would be better... Putting the fan blowing cold air into the device or extracting the hot air from the device. If you plan on using a USB to barrel adapter that is only 5vdc and you should get a 5v fan. On my older fon the power supply was also 5 volts and I soldered the fan wires to the same pads the power jack was soldered to. I had hoped the newer AP51/OM1p would run cooler as they use a 12v power supply (less amperage, I thought) but the heating seems to be a problem with the Atheros 2315 chip. So if you want to run on the 12v power supply I would get a 12 volt fan. Or put in a 12 volt fan anyway and it would run slower on 5 volts...but maybe OK since you also have a heat sink so you have the option to run off of USB or the 12v wall wart. Thanks mreidiv for the link, they also have 12 v fans in the same size HERE I have not tested the RF output of the router when on USB, if your USB is per spec its only 500mA. If you really wanted to you could wire two male USB "A" in parallel and make a cord. I have seen some external HDD USB cords wired that way. However your PC would have to supply 500mA independently to both USB ports for this to work, and you are still only getting 5 Volts. This link USB explains the pinouts nicely, you would need to use pins 1 and 4 wired to the barrel plug, pin 1 in the barrel center. Someone else here used the newer AP51's on USB and said it worked OK. Has anyone noticed a difference in RF? I am sure there is a voltage regulator on the board which drops the 12 v to something lower, and that is why the 5 v seems to work. I would recommend soldering the fan wires to the dc input jack pads **before** the voltage regulator, due to possible noise issues. I would suggest opening a small hole in the top cover and mounting the fan to the cover beneath, **not** to the heat sink, so it blows air directly on the heat sink. I am sure the solder pads on the chip were not designed for that much weight or stress caused by screwing a fan into a heat sink. Just my .02 Edited January 1, 2012 by csystem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hak5superfan Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Does anyone know how many Amps @ 5v does the AP51 consumes?? Or does anyone know the power it take?? Because I am wondering if the 5v @ 500mA would be enough to power both the AP51 and the 5v fan in case you just want to use the USB to barrel connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Does anyone know how many Amps @ 5v does the AP51 consumes?? Or does anyone know the power it take?? Because I am wondering if the 5v @ 500mA would be enough to power both the AP51 and the 5v fan in case you just want to use the USB to barrel connector. Probably not, the wall AC adapter is 12V @ 1 amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csystem Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Probably not, the wall AC adapter is 12V @ 1 amp Mr-Protocol, have a look HERE Telot says the tx output difference is negligible. According to the spec sheet on Data Alliance's webpage, the DC input should be 6 to 12v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
httpCRASH Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 i had a simular heat problem with my old FON router, and also modded it with heat sinks, and thinking of doing the same with my AP51. But i used a big heatsink to get as much surface as posible without having the heatsink going out through the case. photo of my modded FON aka pineapple MK1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Mr-Protocol, have a look HERE Telot says the tx output difference is negligible. According to the spec sheet on Data Alliance's webpage, the DC input should be 6 to 12v. It was asked could he run the fan off the USB that is powering the pineapple. Adding a fan to the router might be a bit much for just one USB port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 It seems to depend very much on the chips, some get hotter some less. I even had a faulty firmware build which runs at 100% CPU and it didn't crash. I had 5h uptime when I shut it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I am working on a fan mod right now. I actually got 2 chip fans w/heatsinks from an old ATI Video card. I am just using it as a fan to get air in the case instead of using the heatsink because it's just a little too big and wont fit. The power connector leads on the fan will work perfectly. I removed them from the plastic connector they were in and I am going to power this fan off the VCC from the board itself. +---+ |GND| +---+ |TXD| +---+ |RXD| +---+ |VCC| +---+ +-----+ +-----+ +---+ |Power| | LAN | |Ant| So far all is good. I am modding the OM1P and soon the AP51 with the other fan. On the OM1P I had to file down the inside of the lid to make it smooth. Then the next step is to cut a hole that is the same size as the fan blades and attach the fan to the bottom to the lid blowing air down into the case right on the RF Shield and the rest of the board. I'll post pics when I get it completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csystem Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 (edited) FWIW, I decided to use a 12 v 25mm fan. Its a bit noisy on 12v however still works OK at 5 v. Of course in a noisy environment, who cares? There was not enough room to mount the fan fully inside the case because of the heatsink, so I cut a hole in the top cover the same size of the outside of the fan. Epoxy on the inside and white silicone to secure the fan. I could have mounted the fan entirely on the top, that would have been easier but the full height of the fan would stick out. I attached the power leads to the solder pads on the barrel plug jack on the pcb. Edited January 4, 2012 by csystem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Any way to measure the heat? Curious what that runs like at about 3 hour mark under full load. Side note: Best way to get off the RF Shield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreidiv Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Any way to measure the heat? Curious what that runs like at about 3 hour mark under full load. Side note: Best way to get off the RF Shield? Well ran a test with a laptop fan for 3 hours straight. I just set the router on a laptop cooling pad/fan. no shutdown running everything so now i know it is an heat issue with my mk3 i will run a couple of more test to confirm and will post the results. if they are the same i will mod it with a fan and post it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Now I need to dig up a few small heatsinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreidiv Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Well ran a test with a laptop fan for 3 hours straight. I just set the router on a laptop cooling pad/fan. no shutdown running everything so now i know it is an heat issue with my mk3 i will run a couple of more test to confirm and will post the results. if they are the same i will mod it with a fan and post it here. not sure yet will go see if i can pick up a cheap digital temp sensor tomorrow at the store i am pretty sure the rf shield just pops off like a lid when i make it that far ill let you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yeah, it is clipped in all around the edges of it. I used a fine pointed set of tweezers to pry it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hak5superfan Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 FWIW, I decided to use a 12 v 25mm fan. Its a bit noisy on 12v however still works OK at 5 v. Of course in a noisy environment, who cares? There was not enough room to mount the fan fully inside the case because of the heatsink, so I cut a hole in the top cover the same size of the outside of the fan. Epoxy on the inside and white silicone to secure the fan. I could have mounted the fan entirely on the top, that would have been easier but the full height of the fan would stick out. I attached the power leads to the solder pads on the barrel plug jack on the pcb. Awesome mod csystem! I have a couple of question... First of all what's the RF shield for? Could I just take it off completely or is it necessary? Second, supposing the RF shield is necessary, wouldn't opening a hole for the heatsink affect the RF shield's purpose? Third, what's the best way to remove the RF shield? Last but not least, did you noticed an improvement of the pineapple's temperature? Is it running a lot cooler or just a little bit? Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csystem Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Any way to measure the heat? Curious what that runs like at about 3 hour mark under full load. Side note: Best way to get off the RF Shield? The RF shield top cover snaps off, I used a small dull screwdriver....carefully...very little force was needed. I flashed MK3 after mounting the heat sink, I ran Karma and URL snarf using my phones wifi as the "victim", no heavy traffic or MITM, maybe 20 minutes in total, without a fan, cover on, no air circulation, even with the heat sink the temp was around 140 def F, measured with a IR thermometer, they can be inaccurate on bright surfaces like aluminum. If there was no heat sink or the just stock foam tape and RF shield who knows what temp the chip was at. I SSHed into the router and CPU load averages were low, can't remember numbers but will edit this later with more info on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csystem Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Awesome mod csystem! I have a couple of question... First of all what's the RF shield for? Could I just take it off completely or is it necessary? Second, supposing the RF shield is necessary, wouldn't opening a hole for the heatsink affect the RF shield's purpose? Third, what's the best way to remove the RF shield? Last but not least, did you noticed an improvement of the pineapple's temperature? Is it running a lot cooler or just a little bit? Thank you very much! Big improvement in temps. If you cut the RF shield carefully, it will still make contact with the heatsink, effectively making it part of the RF shield. Sure, its probably not foolproof and I'm not too concerned with leakage. If you remove it entirely I'm sure your TX output would be reduced, but have no actual measurements to go by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The fan mod I did was plenty to keep it cool. No heatsink needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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