03-06-2021, 12:30 PM
Hello Hazelnusse,
I am going to use the same fan with ROCKPro64. I like those fans of Noctua a lot – despite their prices!
12V for the fan will be ‘stolen’ from the connector CON15, which is connected directly to the power input barrel connector. I am using CON15 to power my two SATA disks, as it is intended to. I purchased the standard SATA power cable from PINE64 (https://pine64.com/product/rockpro64-pow...46c16e2e66) and attached additional cables to it.
PWM is a bigger problem. ROCKPro64 has one hardware PWM signal available at connector J8. Unfortunately, it is converted to 12 V with a circuit, which I do not understand. It is rather intended for powering the traditional ‘2-wire’ fans with PWM speed control. Such fans work with PWM frequencies below 1000 Hz, and this circuit is probably created for such frequencies.
Noctua requires higher frequency of PWM - around 25 kHz. I am not sure how this circuit will behave at such frequency. I have asked in this forum, if it is possible to derive the 3V or 5V signal, before it is converted to 12V (https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=7877), but nobody dared to answer. Also converting the signal from 3V to 12V and than back to 5V seems not very elegant idea.
So I decided to use Arduino PRO Mini to operate the fan. Programing PWM on Arduitno is very easy, and it consumes very little of energy. Arduino generates signal with 3.3V, but I have tried that the fan recognizes it. So, I will try without shifting to 5V, at first.
Arduino communicates with ROCKPro64 by UART. It will perform some additional functions, since my NAS-project expanded (what caused it not finished yet ? ): read a temperature sensor (TMP36), control a battery for emergency power supply, and shutdown ROCKPro64 in case of power-loss.
I am going to use following temperatures to determine speed of the fan:
Gienek.
I am going to use the same fan with ROCKPro64. I like those fans of Noctua a lot – despite their prices!
12V for the fan will be ‘stolen’ from the connector CON15, which is connected directly to the power input barrel connector. I am using CON15 to power my two SATA disks, as it is intended to. I purchased the standard SATA power cable from PINE64 (https://pine64.com/product/rockpro64-pow...46c16e2e66) and attached additional cables to it.
PWM is a bigger problem. ROCKPro64 has one hardware PWM signal available at connector J8. Unfortunately, it is converted to 12 V with a circuit, which I do not understand. It is rather intended for powering the traditional ‘2-wire’ fans with PWM speed control. Such fans work with PWM frequencies below 1000 Hz, and this circuit is probably created for such frequencies.
Noctua requires higher frequency of PWM - around 25 kHz. I am not sure how this circuit will behave at such frequency. I have asked in this forum, if it is possible to derive the 3V or 5V signal, before it is converted to 12V (https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=7877), but nobody dared to answer. Also converting the signal from 3V to 12V and than back to 5V seems not very elegant idea.
So I decided to use Arduino PRO Mini to operate the fan. Programing PWM on Arduitno is very easy, and it consumes very little of energy. Arduino generates signal with 3.3V, but I have tried that the fan recognizes it. So, I will try without shifting to 5V, at first.
Arduino communicates with ROCKPro64 by UART. It will perform some additional functions, since my NAS-project expanded (what caused it not finished yet ? ): read a temperature sensor (TMP36), control a battery for emergency power supply, and shutdown ROCKPro64 in case of power-loss.
I am going to use following temperatures to determine speed of the fan:
- CPU from "/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp", "/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone1/temp" (I am using Armbian)
- Disks – from SMART data, which both disks supply.
- TMP36 sensor attached to heatsink on my SATA-PCI card. I am using a Marvell 9230 card, which works very well, but gets quite hot.
Gienek.