HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

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Tau
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HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by Tau »

Hello Z!

Last year, my XITE-1 unit started acting up, continually refusing to be master clock or accepting sync from anywhere. I sent it to SC, and got a new board installed. When I checked it (briefly), it worked, so I put it up for sale and stored it away.

Yesterday, after I had an offer for it, I decided to test it again, and it worked perfectly during the night time. In fact, with a clean scope 7 install, it was working better than ever. But today, it started again to have the same exact problem- no sync. I noticed it was getting very hot, so I placed a (huge) floor fan in front of it and now it's working again...

So, I would like to ask you if your XITE-1 units are also this sensitive to heat? What happens when ther overheat? How do you keep it cool?

Thanks in advance, and a happy birthday to Dawman!

T
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garyb
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by garyb »

yes, all those dsps make a lot of heat.

space around the unit is best.
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Tau
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by Tau »

I have it racked, with 1u space above and below, but still...
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garyb
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by garyb »

air conditioning....
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valis
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by valis »

A/C is essential imo. Last summer when the heat here was too much even for my 12000 btu studio unit, I lost a synth. Would hate to lose my DSPs!
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astroman
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by astroman »

garyb wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:40 pm air conditioning....
... of which the essential aspect is a temperature difference between 'inside case' and sourrounding environment.
Check if the rack mount doesn't cover the side and rear grills.
I'd mount 1 or 2 radial fans (the shoveling type as used on many graphic cards) to the back and let it blow air into the unit, leaving it via the side grill(s). Use a voltage regulator to trim to the least annoying fan noise.
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by David »

I added some heatsinks, based upon a picture shown by dawman who at the time stuck heatsinks to the sharcs inside xite. The heatsinks are just smaller than the chip and come with an adheisive backing. Added a small radial fan to the back for added air movement too. Never had problems but I couldn't see a reason not to add additional heat management
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at0m
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by at0m »

for the shark chips itself heat isn't going to be an issue IMO, they're rated up to 400-450°C. by then, solder has liquefied already ;p
in the long term, it's caps i would worry about. the electrolyte tends to dry out, and they loose capacitance
more has been done with less
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Tau
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by Tau »

OK, thank you for your suggestions.

I took it off the rack and have it on a laptop stand on top of all the equipment. It's been running for 24h and still holding, so I guess it's the rack that lets the heat build up too much. We do get a lot of heat here, but right now room temp is about 24ºC, seems perfectly acceptable.

I will see about some fans, though, I'd like to have some peace of mind, especially if I take the XITE out to play live.

I'll let you know how it goes!
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valis
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by valis »

Btw it's worth noting that adding heatsinks, while not strictly necessary (as S|C would have done that if so), can still help the heat exit the case if and when fans are added. As long as they are added in a direction that is compatible with the airflow, and located where the airflow can reach them, of course.
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yayajohn
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by yayajohn »

I have my Xite mounted externally with a small quiet household fan right underneath pointed upward. I also placed the power adapter right on the fan as that seems to get really hot too. Not necessary? Perhaps, but you cannot be too careful when it comes to protecting your loved ones 8)
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by dawman »

In a world of Poodles and Chihuahua’s we need dogs that hunt.
My fierce protector Dozier.
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I’ve never had issues except in 110-115 degree weather with 100% humidity from those big ass Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
But I’m doing California State Fairs all summer and Casino gigs, some outdoor stuff in Virginia City which is that old western town with open front saloon doors and Wooden sidewalks, tons of Fake Cowboys, all hat and no horse types.

Any rate my new racks are being assembled since it just got to 84 degrees here and goes up every week through August.
I like these open racks and side firing fans in my PC because I’m building a new AMD 3700X 1U PC.
1550 bucks @ 65 watts on the CPU so no worries on heat with these new 7nm chips.

https://www.starcase.com/professional_s ... _s/386.htm

Click on the various models and check sizes. I’ve got a pair of 2U 13” deep models.
One with SurgeX Voltage Regulator and 1U PC.
The second one for the A16U and XITE-1.

I’m removing all Drive Cages since I’m only using a pair of 512GB M.2 NVMe Devices.
Don’t need no stinking SSDs.

Here’s a pic of the racks, no shots of any sizes other than the 8U, but you get the gist of things.
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dawman
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by dawman »

Here’s some views of the summertime rig.
These frames can also be shoved into shockmounted rack ATA 2” foam cases for flight.
Taken back out for local gigs.

This is the 13” deep 3U Model.

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t_tangent
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by t_tangent »

Nice setup there Jimmy. Looking good. Colour coded cables and all, no expense spared. :)
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Tau
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by Tau »

Wow, that's looking really nice!

My rack is one of those closed kinds, that doubles up as a transport case, I guess it doesn't allow for enough ventilation.

Now I have the XITE on a laptop stand, with nothing near it. The fact that it's tilted forward also reminds me of not putting anything on top :)

But yours is over a PC and the A16U and no fans... I don't think I could pull that off with my unit
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Re: HEAT - How much of a problem is it for the XITE?

Post by dawman »

The side vents on S|C gear might benefit to have air blown across the main board and chips using one of these.
If heat is the problem one of these will fix that.
I’ve got these on my PCs and they’re so strong I can leave a piece of paper on the intake section of a 1U and it stays put instead of dropping.


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