CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[knerk]

Hey!

Would it be possible to lower the noise level from my PJ, if I mounted a noise absortion kit in it (you know, the same kind used in PC's)?

Peter

[David_Web]

I would be careful when doing that unless you know what you are doing. It could disrupt airflow the wrong way and make something overheat.

If you do it right I think it will work out great. However that depends on the type of 'kit' you want to use.

PCs are generally forgiving when it comes to heat and a modern PC will be impossible to harm as it will prevent it. A pj on the other hand can do anything from shut down to blow up. (usually the former but you never know)

You could dig up a few tips here on how to make a pj quieter but it also depends on the model.
So what pj do you have?

If you take it easy and test every step you should be ok.

[knerk]

I have a ECP 3101 (just got it for free last week), and I think it is a bit to noisy to my preference! So I just thought a quick way to lower noise level, could be to mount the PC-noise absorbtion kit! I would start with mount it inside the top cover (and supply with new low-noise fans) - would that be a plausible way to go ??

[Nashou66]

I used these in My Marquees LVPS:

http://www.enermax.com/english/product_peripherals.asp

the marathon 120mm ones not sure what the ecp has. Just make sure the CFM and pressure ratings are the same as the original. If the ECP fans are 24 volt you will need to make a step down viltage regulator. not hard to do.

The warp fan is new and I just saw it looking up the web site for you. I might try these now in my belly fans.

[larryk]

I am not sure what kind of curcutry your ECP has but as far as I know you cannot just swap fans out with a pc type fan as they will not enable the data wire the same way as the orignal equipment. YOu pj may think that the fan has stopped and shut down. There are some methods suggested here on the forum that work on NECs that would allow you to bypass this function but they ar a little risky.
Larry

[Nashou66]

Larry the Marquee fans do not use the data wire at all, it just uses power wires the power supplies will shut down if there is no load on that circuit.

here is a place for the enermax marathon fans i have been using them for a few hundred hours nice fan very quiet.

http://www.directron.com/uc12eb.html

Athanasios

[larryk]

I did not know that thanks, I wish there was a solution for NEC's that was that easy, my 852 over head has such a high pitch whine that my ears ring sometimes. Once I get the 1100 setup and ready to install I will also deal with the fan noise.
I do have a little 4100 in the srorage room that works, I am in the Edmonton AB area and it's free for parts or what ever.

[Nashou66]

One thing you can do but i have not tried is to use two different speed and frequency producing fans. this way the one frequency will not be increased from two of the same fans. Not sure how many fans the barco uses. I want to try this on my marquee belly fans.

Athanasios

[JustGreg]

I'm not an EE....but I did spend a night at a Holiday Inn Express.

The biggest threat is pushing caps 'over the edge', especially in equipment of the age most of ours is at. Restricting airflow can speed up the demise of a capacitor by overheating it and cooking off what remains of the electrolyte (when discussing electrolytic capacitors). In wet caps, the electrolyte dries out naturally over time from heating and cooling. Decreasing airflow to the components will obviously increase temps and shorten the life of capacitors but conversely, increasing airflow won't extend the life of already aged components that are naturally nearing EOL.

To swerve off the topic a bit but still related...
All capacitors can go out of spec and still function (use an O-Scope or ESR meter to determine) but if the 'liquid' of an electrolytic capacitor isn't kept near it's rated temp, it will 'cook off' and fail by allowing the anode and cathode to contact each other. A dead short of these two, depending on the voltages involved, can either be silent or quite dramatic.

When they fail that catastrophically obviously the entire system may simply fail (simply?) whereby replacing the capacitor will restore function, OR the capacitor failure could cause related component failures and more diagnostics, OR vice versa; that is, something else failed causing the capacitor to fail, again requiring more in-depth diagnosis.

The novice without an O-Scope or an ESR meter is pretty much restricted to visual inspection. When a cap casing is bloated, the electrolyte (again, speaking of electrolytic capacitors) has cooked off and total failure has already taken place or is imminent. Either way, it isn't performing as it should. In a power supply application, it means noise and spikey fluctuation output.

Most of my experience with capacitors in this hobby is related to video noise reduction. I don't own an Oscilloscope, or know how to use one, but I bought and built the Anatek Blue ESR meter. Kit form:$79.00. Already assembled, tested, and aligned: $149.00. It's simple enough to build and use, and provides consistently quantifiable results.

http://www.anatekcorp.com/blueesr.htm

Others have purchased this one....Spankyham (Eric) has one IIRC.

http://www.slytest.com/slytest1_000004.htm

Greg

Sorry for rambling...I've taken on a distance learning basic electronics course and having alot of fun with it.

[Nashou66]

I never new you could test caps with a oscope, cool i just got one. What procedure do you use to do that? So i asume resitors can also be tested as well , so this means you'll be able to test which cap has better noise characteristics and such? Am i correct in this assumption?

Athanasios

[JustGreg]

[knerk]

Anyone with a comment regarding my original post about a noise absorbtion kit and any possible malfuctions or heating issues?

[jkruger]

I have used the rubber style fan mounts to reduce vibrations transmitted to the chassis with great success on my 12xx's. I have also slowed the fans down, but it has not been thru a hot summer here to see if it gets too hot. A hushbox is a good way to go.

[Nashou66]

Easiest method is like jkruger said, rubber fan mounts along with quieter fans with the same CFM helps a lot.

Athanasios

[knerk]

Thanks for all of your replies so far

Does anyone who if there is more fans in the ECP 3101 than the 4 ones in the bottom section (f.ex. in the power supply)? The reason to this question - it seems to me the a large part of the noise is NOT from the 4 fans, but from the "belly" of the ECP (power supply, board, tubes etc.)? I sounds like fans, but I can't see any info about additional fans, when reading the documentation! Am I all wrong and can I do anything about it?