Keeping the 6300 quiet and cool

Steve N4LQ

I bought this laptop cooler at Big Lots for $10 and sat the 6300 on it. The case temp dropped 5 degrees and the internal fan never kicks up during long winded CW QSOs now. It has a USB power pigtail and you can plug it into the 6300's USB port. I stuck 4 equipment feet on the bottom of the cooler to keep it up off the carpet. http://www.biglots.com/p/ihome-15in-notebook-cooling-pad
It fit the 6300 perfectly and makes no noise. 
Steve N4LQ

W5XZ - dan

i thought the usb connector on the 6000's was 'forbidden' ?? maybe not so much?? great idea, steve.

73, w5xz, dan

Steve-N5AC

You can plug in a device that draws up to 500mA.  Today, we do not look at nor support data exchange over USB.

W9OY

Good idea

Ernest - W4EG

Steve,

I went to my local Big lot! and bought one of the 15" fan that you mentioned. 

My F6.7K appreciate the air produced by the new fan.  The radio does not turn the internal fan on. I am now noise free from the radio blower.

I operate mainly JT65 & 9 and the radio internal fan were turning on very often.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Ps. My original Extra license was N6LQ in 1976 

Iain McLachlan

I'm assuming that the cooler's fan is quiet?!

Steve N4LQ

Yes. That's the whole idea. It's very quiet. Flex must have searched long and hard to find such a noisy little fan. 73

Iain McLachlan

It is bleedin' horrible isn't it. As you suggest, it must have been a long search!

I've just found something that looks similar, here in the UK. I've just ordered.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130881664327

Steve N4LQ

Looks good. I put some taller feet on mine to keep it up off the carpet and improve air flow. The rig runs so cool now that the fan seldom kicks up speed.

Iain McLachlan

I've just ordered some 15mm tall feet also. It's bleedin' loud that fan!  

James Kirk

The bottom of the 6300 has no ventilation holes, they are only on each side.

Steve N4LQ

Exactly captain. 

Iain McLachlan

The bottom of the 6300 is a sheet of metal, which gets rather hot.

I now have my £4 laptop cooler - it makes a lot of difference. Amazingly, the width of the unit is exactly the width of the 6300.

Steve W6SDM

I use a bread rack type shelf to give the 6300 some air flow.  It holds my KPA500, KAT500, Shuttle and two power supplies, plus some other stuff.  It's solid as a rock and allows for a lot of air flow around everything.  I mounted a copper ground bus to the back along with a power **** for my AC cords and a Rig Runned for 12 volt distribution.  There are still a lot of wires, but they are less of a rats nest than I had with everything on the desk.

It's solid and doesn't wobble at all - the weight of the equipment adds to the stability.

The rack looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6070-3437-Supreme-3-Tier-Shelving/dp/B004BDP69M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414947280&sr=8-4&keywords=black+metal+shelf

AE5WT

Hmmm... Never thought about the tiny feet on the bottom of the rig. Guess I need to go down to my bin and put the larger feet I have in stock on it to make more air flow underneath.

mdavid01

I love the fact that I can keep my radio, batteries and power supply in the back room while operating from the living room.

The only "problem" I'm having so far is that when operating next to the river the glare can get fierce.

Johan _ SE3X