Hey guys,
i´ve been visiting this site from time to time and bought a Rigol 1052e lately
due to the blog episode, the many good reviews and other recommendations.
Like most people i am pretty happy with it. One big thing that bothers me though
is the annoying fan noise, that is IMO quite distracting/disturbing in a quite
DIYers paradise.
Long story short, i decided to take the thing apart and replace the fan without
worsing the overall cooling of the scope and i think that worked out very well.
1. You void your Warranty and 120V/240V is lethal, so do this at your own riskThe factory mounted fan that came with my Rigol was a "GLOFN GFA06015H12H".
That is a 60x60mm running with 5500rpm @12V DC. According to the manufacturers
website it has an air flow of 34.2m3/h and makes 36.5dBA noise, thus no wonder
it´s getting a little louder in the room when powering on the chinese friend...
Replacing the factory fan with just another 60x60mm fan, that has
the same air flow specs wouldnt make much sense IMO, since you probably
wont find one that is significantly quiter because the downside of high air flow is high revolution
relating to the area.
But the people over at Rigol constructed the inner metal case in a very interesting
way. It is exactly 80mm wide and thus could be a perfect housing for a 80x80mm
fan. Infact it cant be mounted flat on the side like the 60mm fan due to the
bend of the case but it doesnt have to since the airflow must go out through
the fan hole...and the shape of the case supports that like a tunnel.
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-efg9ij991b9xcku5wq8t6i3xri.jpg)
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-xsxwphjbxu1e5qeya4rn89bw92.jpg)
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-1gh6qi42ya1hft3estg8ib8daa.jpg)
The nice thing about 80mm fans is that they can have equivalent
or more air flow with less rpm. I chose a "Noiseblocker M8-S2" (Germany based company
www.noiseblocker.de)
with 47m3/h @1700rpm and 14(!) dBA. The construction features
4 rubber edges to prevent vibrating.
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-dxss738xbnd9gsyrsk4qta8u3p.jpg)
So how do you mount it? Well...simply squeeze it in. Thanks to the
80mm case it fits perfectly tight and is fixed without any screws, hotglue, double sided tape or whatever.
You could do that of course if you feel more comfortable ...
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-knm5wd45c2eh41cktb5jsnm9w5.jpg)
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-jmdshwduq54t4r75ycnkjpbpyg.jpg)
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-rbeu2ixdk1hm95jc1inisykbgu.jpg)
Anything else i did was shortening the cable and soldering a jack fitting the pcb.
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-1rtxgjb5re8kepi1ngbwthhgm9.jpg)
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-dejj2i9w5t8trnd25ipudgabtr.jpg)
If your fan is a little smaller or not totally even, just put some foam
in between (not needed with the NB Fan though)
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101210-djh22miw8bt67f9nx1mmn1s623.jpg)
The result is a considerably more quiet fan with better air flow specs.
Not unhearable but more like a whispering than a hairdryer.
The scope is running fine for hours now. I´ve not measured temperature
so far but its definately not getting hotter than before.
The next step would be a temperature controlled fan regulator.
One could realise it with just a few parts and a NTC mounted on
the heatsink of the LM317 (definately the hottest part in the scope).
That would probably further reduce rpm. IMO Not needed though.
I recorded a comparison with a voice mic i had laying around here.
Nothing normed or so... just 15cm clearance from the mic to the scope.
1st: with noiseblocker
2nd: factory fan
3rd: both crossfaded
http://rapidshare.com/files/436125565/Rigol_Noise_Comparison.mp3------------------
2 hours running, air temperature measured directly at the outlet 30.5 grad celsius:
![](http://img.skitch.com/20101213-nwe5egga3dxdsugaybjr4pap4e.jpg)
Have fun,
Alex