Larkbox fan noise and temperatures

Thank you for your quick reply @MrUlla. I guess the reinstallation has nothing to do with the BIOS :cry:

I removed the fan to check if LarkBox powers on, and found out the fan must be connected in order to fire up. So, this means an alternative fan will be driven by 12-Volt.

Just for an experiment, I tried 5cm fan and 9cm fan with 12-Volt, but was unbearably noisy :scream:

I wonder how @JeffBlagnac turned on the LarkBox with Fanless-Fins :astonished: :roll_eyes:

Anyways, I will use my trick to keep the fan running all the time :man_shrugging:, unless CHUWI updates the BIOS or until someone comes up with a bright idea :upside_down_face: :smile:

Hi everyone!

First of all I would like to appologize for posting a wrong information previously(10/5) :cry:.

LarkBox does power on without having the fan wire connected to the motherboard. The power supply for the fan is actually 5-Volt and not 12v :hot_face:

If you are capable of disassembling, remove the original fan and the metal net thing. And just put this fan on top of LarkBox with adhesive tape or something: (Amazon.com)

You would get a result something like this (running two radio stations ):

The temperature never exceeded 70ºC so far and around 43ºC at idling.

I thought about using the Peltier Cooler but gave up after finding out that it produces water :cold_face:

This is going to be my last post here…Hope everyone would have a happy LarkBox life :wink: :smile:

@ISOKEN are you able to post a picture where it shows that the fan is only 5V? Chuwi has responded back to me claiming that the LarkBox fan is / supports 12V/2A… whether there is any truth to that is anyone’s guess.

I intend to replace the weak copper heatsink and fan with a better cooling solution where the fan doesn’t go from 0% to 100% every 10 seconds.

Hi @dumpster, I think there is a misunderstanding.

((I am surprised to hear that CHUWI responded back to you :astonished:))

What I meant in my previous post is “the voltage from the motherboard to feed the fan is 5-Volt”
The 12v was my first impression/guess because of the shrieking noise :scream: of this tiny fan produced.

I used a digital voltage meter to check the output voltage, so I am 100% sure it’s 5-Volt.

Also below is the photo of my removed LarkBox fan for your information.

Good luck with your " better cooling solution" :crossed_fingers:

2 Likes

I made a booboo by replying to myself :rofl: Above messege is to @dumpster.

yeah i tried a shim, it didnt make a lot of difference maybe lowed the temp but still the bloody fan is on and off like my ex girlfriend! has anyone found any thing in the bios to raise the temp the fan kicks in like MrUlla says?

Hi if you get an improvment could you upload some pics of your mod? that would be ace thankyou!

@wiztek ive ordered the parts from ebay and aliexpress, will take a while to arrive from China with standard post …

1 Like

I tried those I though correct, but nothing happened.

2 Likes

Well… I put a 1981 penny in place of the thermalpad (almost the same depth so a good fit just don’t retighten screwbolts too tight!). So CPU <-> thermal paste <-> penny <-> thermal paste <-> upper copper plate. This is subjective, but I will say that I can now casually browse/do email etc. with no fan at all and don’t go above 65-70c very often. With thermald/fan on (Linux) and streaming 1440p video (all that Linux UHD mesa driver can muster) I’m seeing 62-64c tops and since I have headphones on I don’t hear the fan. Next step will be a finned passive solution I think or like an inline resistor to lower the fan voltage to like 2-3v half speed. LOVE playing with the Larkbox, but boy did they screw the pooch on cooling. This fan is ridiculous especially because the rest of the copper plating/sink is so nicely built. It’s a joy to tear this thing apart too. So easy and I love the stacked design.

1 Like

In a followup… this morning I left the Larkbox internal fan off completely, but put a 12v 120mm fan I had laying around on top of the Larkbox and even pegging all four cores 2.4ghz sustained can’t get the Larkbox above 50-55c (idles at 37c). So… since this 120mm fan is virtually silent I’m just going to leave it laying on the Larkbox until my passive fins arrive. Buh-bye internal fan. Won’t miss you.

I’ll try to post some info to this. I got a M2 standoff kit. M2 is the size of the screws inside the Larkbox, so it can be tied to the existing screws.

Tried a 60mm 12 volt fan with the original heatsink (more like a copper plate) tied to 5 volt USB and it got super hot and was thermal throttling.

Searching on amazon for a 60mm heatsink, I found a “server” heatsink and fan. With a couple spacers and barrels and screws, got it running. Comes with a 12v van, which I tied to 5 volt USB, it cools pretty well. Not sure if I need to get a 5 volt fan to make it work really well.

Wow, we need more info on this, links! photos! plz

Cheers.

Here we go. Use at your own risk:

The Heatsink/Fan was more expensive than I would like to spend, but it seems high quality with a nice heavy copper heatsink on it.
Heatsink/Fan: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PMDX99G/
Standoff Kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012ESRKPI/ (I couldn’t find one with M2 only.)
USB Fan Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JW73KVR/

Click on the image for an album with descriptions of each picture.

With the thing running and the fan on, a 12 volt fan running at 5 volts, this thing is ultra quiet. I don’t think it is as loud as a very soft whisper.

1 Like

Maybe you guys can help me with this.

The first few times opening the Larkbox, I followed ETA Prime’s disassembly video on youtube. He recommended disconnecting the WiFi antenna to make sure you didn’t damage it. I can’t get this connector to go back on. Is there a trick? Did I mess it up? Does anyone know a new antenna I can get that has this connector?

It still works, but I get like 1 bar of WiFi signal 20 feet away from my router. The antenna is like 1cm by 1cm stuck to the inside of the lid, which I removed (and stuck it to the outside of my Larkbox.

dude, this is awesome, EXACTLY THIS i want (but i just wait that someone will try it first, so i will not destroy my larkbox :D) thanks for comfirming my theory :smiley:

Nothing special https://youtu.be/9j83rixFHxw?t=193

but damn, 7 bucks for usb to fan cable is fuc ing joke, Jesus

btw can you powered that fan from original fan conector ?? like cut the wire and conect it to the new fan instead of usb??

You know, I find that there isn’t much on Amazon that costs less than $10. I think that’s how they can give you the free shipping, the shipping cost is part of the product price.

A lot of the cheaper things are sold in quantities that make them cost $10 or more.

You might be able to, the cable that is attached to the original fan is SUPER thin, like one or two strands inside the insulation. I tried it once, but didn’t have much luck. Also, I don’t know how much power that fan connector can handle.

Thank you, I’ll give it a shot.