[time-nuts] Thunderbolt mounting

[Chris Albertson]

On Wed, Jul 11, 2012 at 6:55 PM, Mark Spencer <mspencer12345 at yahoo.ca>wrote:

> I tried putting my thunderbolt in a styrofoam box.   It got hotter than I
> liked and didn't seem to perform any better than when I left it in a
> cardboard box.
>
> I worry about the long term implications for component life as the
> temperature goes up.
>
>
The advantage of the insulation comes in when you build the fan controller.
  Mine uses a temperature sensor and an IC comparator that drives a
transistor that drives a 12V fan.  The fan does on when the set point is
reached then goes off.  If you set the operating point a little higher then
the inside of yur house then the fan cycles and keeps the inside of the box
and roughly, more or less constant.   The parts to build a fan controller
are about $5

If you don't have a temperature controlled fan then the next best thing is
a well vented cardboard box whose only purpose is to keep air currents off
the unit. Insulation without an active temperature controller is only going
to make it hotter, not more stable

Chris Albertson
Redondo Beach, California