Fan speed control

jwb · 23rd May 2004, 08:08 AM

Anyone have experience with the Microchip TC642 fan speed controller? I'd prefer something that reads the fan tach directly, but the ones from Maxim and Analog require a microcontroller to work.

Or other experiences with fan control ... post 'em.

imix500 · 25th May 2004, 06:05 AM

I've used boards from control resources. http://www.controlres.com They have all kinds of products for many temp control applications. I bought a board for $40 that uses PWM control and has 2 sensor inputs. It keeps a $35,000 LCS audio dsp rack nice and cool (that probably rivals the heat output of your average space heater) without excessive noise from fans running at full speed in my theater here in NY. They also have one with an alarm out if the rpm falls below a set threshold. Cool stuff. I actually have a tach control board I don't need from them that you could have if you're interested.

jwb · 25th May 2004, 04:47 PM

Those are nice boards. Unfortunately I want the fans to idle up to 55C, then ramp to full power at 65C. Most of these boards ramp to full power at much lower temperatures, and the adjustable ones are made for 24V or 48V fans.

This drawing from the Microchip datasheet seems like just the circuit I need, except I will use a 30K NTC thermistor instead of 10K.

imix500 · 25th May 2004, 05:26 PM

Heh, I had the very same design issue when I bought one of the boards. One of the engineers said to just put a 100K or so resistor across the thermistor to "trick" the input sense.
That's a neat chip, just the kind of thing I was looking for 6 months ago.

jwb · 25th May 2004, 05:33 PM

Yeah, I didn't think of it at first but I guess you could take a device like the Wisp II and just replace the thermistor with one that suits your application.

23rd May 2004, 08:08 AM	#1
jwb diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, USA	Fan speed control Anyone have experience with the Microchip TC642 fan speed controller? I'd prefer something that reads the fan tach directly, but the ones from Maxim and Analog require a microcontroller to work. Or other experiences with fan control ... post 'em.

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25th May 2004, 06:05 AM	#2
imix500 Proud Union Member diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Nashville, TN	I've used boards from control resources. http://www.controlres.com They have all kinds of products for many temp control applications. I bought a board for $40 that uses PWM control and has 2 sensor inputs. It keeps a $35,000 LCS audio dsp rack nice and cool (that probably rivals the heat output of your average space heater) without excessive noise from fans running at full speed in my theater here in NY. They also have one with an alarm out if the rpm falls below a set threshold. Cool stuff. I actually have a tach control board I don't need from them that you could have if you're interested.

25th May 2004, 05:26 PM	#4
imix500 Proud Union Member diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Nashville, TN	Heh, I had the very same design issue when I bought one of the boards. One of the engineers said to just put a 100K or so resistor across the thermistor to "trick" the input sense. That's a neat chip, just the kind of thing I was looking for 6 months ago.

25th May 2004, 05:33 PM	#5
jwb diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, USA	Yeah, I didn't think of it at first but I guess you could take a device like the Wisp II and just replace the thermistor with one that suits your application.

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