PS3 Fan Fix V4.2

LoL...that is why I want to try it if I ever get some free time.

I didn't look at the schematics; I just used a 'scope to read the full speed using the "fan test" that the 40GB models have...multimeter read 3.3V, 'scope read 5V peaks, and a bit of math came up with a 66% duty cycle. I then confirmed that the fans could be swapped between fat consoles, so I guess I just assumed that all fats have the same 5V pulses...it might just be that the fan does not care about the voltage of the pulses.

 

i don't even have an scope ,and with an binary counter/divider ic i tried to calculate the pwm frequency from the ps3 and your circuit , i thought the ps3 must be around 24khz, and your circuit around 1.5khz.
not that this info matters anyway

 

KillerBug, would you mind posting the schematic for the all internal version? Or both.

 

if you mean his tlc555 version it looks like this



R1=27K
R2=80K
P1=100K
C1=100nF
IC=TLC555

 

Thanks Floppie90...the diagram is perfect...but I think you missed the red text at the start of the first post...

R1 and R2 are both 10K.
The 7805 is a L4931CZ33-AP for slim units or a L4931CZ50-AP for fat units. It only needs to be a 7805 if you are using a low resistance pot (and the only reason to do this is if you really like the appearance of some pot you happen to have or something).
100nF = 0.1uF; not really a correction, just a tip for those having trouble finding 100nF caps.

For the completely internal design, the 100K single-turn mountable POT is replaced with a 100K 12-Turn trimmer POT. R1 and R2 are both removed; The R1 side of P1 connects directly to Pin 8 of the TLC555, and the R2 side of P1 connects to pin 2 of the TLC555.

If floppie90 would like to draw that, I would appreciate it (as you can see, I am no artist).

[btw]
Anyone looking to use a pot other than 100K should adjust resistors accordingly. They should be 1/10 the resistance of the POT. I tried this with a 250K POT, and it worked buggy, so I would avoid anything over 100K. Also, to minimize the parasitic drain on the fan power line, I recommend keeping the resistance of the POT over 10K. 100K is best as far as I can tell; all the units I make are 100K.

[also]
I am going to order a batch of 100 PCBs from Pad2Pad as soon as my check clears (probably Tuesday). I had to completely re-do the design to fit their silly rules, but hopefully it will be worth it if they:
A> Take less than 2 months to ship
B> Don't screw them up
I still have an order of 50 of the Plug-n-Play design with BatchPCB...god only knows when I will get them or it they will be done correctly.

 

i build my own diagram and used an experimental pcb , it's not adviced to use by others because it's easier to make mistakes, even i made some ...lol
i even soldered an wrong resistor in, found out when i tested the ps3 , had to take it apart again.

anyway here is your internal design , and i'm not an artist either ,still using an older photoimpact program to draw , not that smart but it works
about the fan wires , i was not sure if the 12v wire was brown, it could have been near purple.



REG = L4931CZ33-AP (slim) or L4931CZ50-AP (phat) (TO-220 package)
IC = TLC555
P1 = 100K 12 turn trimmer
Diode = 1N4148, but any diode will work i guess
C1 = 100nf

 

Looks good; I can draw up a circuit board, but I can't seem to make something that is easy to understand like that. Note that the L4931CZ33-AP and L4931CZ50-AP are both TO-92 parts...the TO-220 uses too much space.

My first several of these were on experimental PCBs. I was actually able to make it smaller with an experimental PCB than with a printed PCB...but it took forever to make each one, and it is easy to make mistakes when you have so many bits and pieces overlapping. Plus, everything was soldered on; making external POT mounting a bit of a problem.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Great Looking work guys.
Going to wait on the controller Killer. Hate to hear you had trouble after waiting for them and paying for them. not to mention all the work you put into them.

I will follow the tread and keep an eye on the progress.

 

killerbug in my opinion there's enough space where the fan connector goes , so there's no problem using the TO-220 package , a picture from my build below , maybe it's the first philips ic that's inside an sony product?

 

It isn't too big, even for the slim...but it just isn't needed. In electronics, smaller is better. The TO-92 VREGS are smaller and slightly cheaper...unless you just happen to have a TO-220 sitting around, I would recommend the TO-92 package.

BTW...I made one up on a prototype board for some guy from Sweden that couldn't wait for the new PCBs to arrive. I used a 5 hole x 8 hole piece of board, but as you can see, the last row of 5 holes really wasn't needed; I just added it to give a little extra stability to the wires.

 

I have finally received my long delayed PNP PCBs. I just made up 8 fan controllers and tested them; they all worked perfectly. I have 42 more PCBs to make when I get around to it.

The new design is meant to be hassle-free. There is no soldering, no cutting, no drilling, no gluing, no taping. You still have to open the system. The installation consists of unplugging the fan from the mainboard, plugging it into the fan controller, and then plugging the fan controller into the mainboard. In the case of 40GB and later fat consoles, this can be done simply by removing the top cover. Slims need the top cover and the power supply removed, but the power supply is easily removed without removing any other components. Fat systems before the 40GB model are a bit trickier as the fan port is located on the underside of the mainboard, but it is still not very hard to get at.

Speed is set by a trimmer screw (the small circle on the top of the blue thing). It is designed to have the fan speed set before you reinstall the cover.

In addition to the easy install, this design allows for easy removal if you ever need to send the system in for repair or if we see CFWs with fan control at some point.

I am selling these for $20+shipping. Inside the USA, I use priority mail and it costs $5.20. International air mail varies by country, but is generally around $5.

 

To killerBug: I purchased the pcbs you designed from batchpcb and the parts but cant figure it out. Could you post a detailed aerial pic of it assembled so that I can see what goes where?

 

There are currently 4 different PCB designs on batchPCB. If you could post a link to the version you bought, I will tell you where everything goes.

 

Awesome work KillerBug. Good to see a nice clean plug and play mod for the PS3 fan. Keep up the great work.

I am curious, people who are making this, or something similar out of their own parts, when you adjust the fan speed, what speed are you settling on as fast (cool) enough, but not too noisy? (What PWM voltage is going to the grey wire?) People have different ideas of what is annoyingly loud and others will accept any speed as long as it keeps their system from YLODing - I think it would be interesting to see what speed people are choosing. Personally, at the moment, I have set mine to 1.70V, which roughly looks at about 40% (on the pot anyway). I also checked the stock PWM voltage when the PS3 initially starts up and it is only 0.66V.

Also, I was wondering for those who are using external mounted pots, where are you installing them at? Maybe we can find a really good spot that's inconspicuous yet accessible. I'm using a trimmer pot, but I haven't mounted it yet, but I would like to mount it somehow where I could stick a small screwdriver thru a case hole to adjust, and not have to physically alter the case.

 

http://batchpcb.com/index.php/Products/47799

I am basing it on the first post you made for this thread.

When going to assemble it, I just realized I ordered everything except the resistors. Which resistors would you recommend? I appreciate the help and great design.

 

Obama -

Any 10K resistor that is at least 1/4W should do just fine. If you happen to have some resistors in the 7K-13K Range, those will work as well. Here is a link to a cheap resistor that will do the job: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=P10KBACT-ND

The version with the trimmer isn't really intended to be mounted; that is why it uses a trimmer. Most of the earlier units had remote POTs on them, and I have had people mount these all over in the fats...the slims seem to offer a lot less freedom in this regard, and most people just hung the POTs out the back. I have an order for more POT units placed (as well as more trimmer units). If you wanted to mount the trimmer version so that you could just do occasional tweaks, you could drill a small hole just big enough for a jeweler screwdriver, stick the trimmer dial into the hole, and then glue the board in place using RTV.

As for the "perfect" noise level voltage, it doesn't really exist. This isn't just because different people have different hearing, different system locations, different audio setups, etc...it is also the systems themselves. A slim at full speed makes about the same noise as a 40GB (19 blade) at 60%...and I am told that a 40GB at 60% and a 60GB at 60% sound much different as well. There are also multiple different fans in the fats, so a 19 blade fan will make more noise at 60% than a 15 blade fan at 60%, but the 19 blade fan might do the same cooling at 40% that the 15 blade does at 60%, thus making the 19 blade quieter.

Personally, I just set the speed to about 30% and then let the system warm while a friend played GTA4...once warm air started coming out of the back, I turned the fan up just a hair, waited a minute, and then repeated until the air coming out the back felt the same as room temperature (it was a bit warmer, but wind chill made it feel the same). If you start doing this method, and hot air comes out the back, you might want to start your adjustments a little larger than a hair. Not the most precise method I admit...but it works.

 

Yeah, I guess that was what I was thinking - to make a small hole not normally noticable, where you could use a small screwdriver to tweak from outside the case. (Therefore not normally allowing people to adjust the speed - ie turn it down too low, forget, and then possibly cause a YLOD - but also allow them to turn it up if for some dire reason it needs to be. Especially if the owner has shipped the system to me for YLOD repair and Fan Modification, or just Fan Modification as prevention of a YLOD - which I would strongly recommend to any PS3 owner!)

As for the 'perfect' PWM voltage, I completely agree.. After reading your other posts again, I realized that each series of PS3 just has too many differentiating factors.. The system I was talking about was a 60GB phat model - actually a launch system. But yes somewhere in the 30-50% range sounds ideal.

I've noticed that this system w/ Fan Mod doesn't really sound any noisier than a normal desktop computer. I did perform some in depth temperature testing on the PS3 using an IR temperature gun. Before installing the fan mod, after ~15 minutes of COD I was reading high temps of around 125-129 degrees fahrenheit. After installing the fan mod set to ~40% I never saw the temps go any higher than 100-103 degrees, not even after an hour of play. 20-25 degrees is quite a difference! Note: This is not on-chip temp, this is just reading from the rear heatsink, but I was consistent with taking my measurements.

So I would strongly recommend this mod to anyone concerned about a YLOD (ie ANY PS3 owner). I also agree with another poster about fluctuating temperatures. The way that the PS3 fan compensates for heat by speeding up and slowing down the fan sounds great, noise-wise, but in reality a constant heating and cooling of any electronic component probably causes the most damage. This Fan mod does not have to be applied only after you've suffered a YLOD - it could easily be installed as preventative maintenance while your PS3 is working and along with a few other tips and tricks could possibly save your PS3 from EVER experiencing a YLOD or heat related failure.

 

Well, I believe I screwed up. Since I don't know too much about reading circuit board diagrams, I had a friend tell me what parts to order. I ordered KillerBugs http://batchpcb.com/index.php/Products/47799 board, but the parts that I ordered were for KillerBugs Fan Mod v. 4.3.

This is what I ordered:
296-1411-5-ND
IC PRECISION TIMER 8-DIP

3M5473-ND
SOCKET IC OPEN FRAME 8POS .3"

MUR105GOS-ND
DIODE ULTRA FAST 1A 50V DO-41

399-4264-ND
CAP .1UF 50V 10% CER RADIAL

MC7805CT-BPMS-ND
IC REG LDO 5V 1.5A TO220

WM2745-ND
CONN HEADER 3POS .100 VERT GOLD

WM2001-ND
CONN HOUS 3POS .100 W/RAMP/RIB

WM1114-ND
CONN TERM FEMALE 22-30AWG TIN

490-2919-ND
TRIM POT CERM 20KOHM 25TRN TOP

490-2927-ND
TRIM POT CERM 50KOHM 25TRN TOP

Is this going to work or did I just piss away $27? My friend is saying that it'll still work, but I have my doubts.

 

Killerbug, referencing the above quote, have you found a new supplier yet?

That aside, I'm leaning towards a PNP design w/Remote Pot (opposed to the onboard Trimmer), which would require some additional thinking on my part. Mostly, I would rather not [physically] alter the BC 20GB, which has the "under motherboard" fan header, and tearing the PS3 down to fine tune the trimmer is not very inviting.

In addition, many thanks for the work and investment you've put into the design, and especially for the jpg you created in response to obama.