Retrofits for FS-4 at DVinfo.net

Daniel Kohl · October 9th, 2005, 05:00 PM

I finally took the plunge and bought a FS-4 Pro. I don't think that I have ever spent so much time and energy researching and testing anything I have ever bought before.

The FS-4 is not perfect, but I am satisfied that it is the best of its kind on the market at the moment.

I have put some images of the retrofits and modifications I have developed with the FS-4 I received as "payment" from Focus for the beta testing I did on the PAL version.

I don't plan on retrofitting the FS-4 Pro that I just bought, in the hopes that Focus is still working on a software fix for the fan noise problem. If there is no fix by the time the guarantee runs out, then I guess that I will have no other option - but I haven't lost faith in Focus yet.

I also have to say that I have the feeling that the fan noise on the FS-4 Pro, which I just received, seems to be quieter than the unit I have been experimenting with.

Here is the web link:

http://www.marq5.de/FS-4.html

Maybe this thread could be a place for others to share their workarounds, mods, and retrofits. Even if they are already posted in other threads.

Cheers,

Mark Geiser · October 10th, 2005, 02:21 PM

Daniel

I have found the FS4 pro fan to be WAY QUIETER than the non pro version, and I have had the fs4 pro changed twice due to problems, and they were all much quieter. They didn't seem to "rev up" quite so high.

Mark

Daniel Kohl · October 10th, 2005, 02:27 PM

Thanks for corroborating that suspicion Mark. I wasn't sure if my wishful thinking was playing tricks on me or not.

I wish that there was no fan noise, but the fact that it is much quitter widens the range of shooting situations where I can use it.

Dan Euritt · October 11th, 2005, 08:36 PM

nice thread guys! good info in here.

Daniel Kohl · November 23rd, 2005, 02:18 PM

Dan Euritt just posted something in a thread:"Run a tape as well!" in this forum, which makes me think that my modification of the fan system on the FS-4 maybe have gone in the wrong direction.

I had the feeling that it was illogical to have the FS-4's fan blowing against the broad side of the HDD in the FS-4 (which is the biggest cause of it being loud). I thought that the most heat was being generated by the FS-4's CPU and that the fan was designed to keep the CPU cool.

Dan Euritt wrote

Quote:

the fs-4 has a fan, which can be noisy, but it shows a level of engineering sophistication that is completely lacking on the citidisk... all of the pc's that i build have fans blowing air across the hard drives, the last thing you want for video work is an overheated hard drive.

I think that I would take the advise of the other Dan if I were anyone thinking about rewiring their FS-4.

Brian Fischer · December 1st, 2005, 10:59 AM

So, which is actually the greater contributor to heat buildup in the FS-4? The HDD or the CPU?

Dan Euritt · December 2nd, 2005, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Fischer

So, which is actually the greater contributor to heat buildup in the FS-4? The HDD or the CPU?

it might help to know which one consumed the most energy... there are a number of chips inside the fs-4, other than just the cpu.

if you look at the pics i shot of the inside of the fs-4, the fan appears to be kind of mounted to cool both the hdd and the cpu/chips... but i distinctly remember wishing that there was a better path for cool air to flow under the bottom of the hdd, because that is where most of the heat is generated on a hdd... it's the spindle motor area that gets the hottest... i actually kind of liked the fan mod that daniel did.

greater minds than mine could probably look at the capacity of the fs-4 battery, the factory power rating of the hdd, and the actual total running time on one battery charge to figure out where most of the energy consumption takes place.

or, if we knew the part number of the cpu, we could look up the power spec on the manufacturers website... i was able to determine part numbers for several of the chips inside, but i didn't have the tools to safely take the board assembly apart... it wasn't worth the risk.

if i had to guess, i'd say that the hdd generates the most heat... but then, i have a real phobia about overheated hard drives, lol.

Brian Fischer · December 3rd, 2005, 08:53 PM

Thanks, Dan... That was quite informative.

October 9th, 2005, 05:00 PM	#1
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Retrofits for FS-4 I finally took the plunge and bought a FS-4 Pro. I don't think that I have ever spent so much time and energy researching and testing anything I have ever bought before. The FS-4 is not perfect, but I am satisfied that it is the best of its kind on the market at the moment. I have put some images of the retrofits and modifications I have developed with the FS-4 I received as "payment" from Focus for the beta testing I did on the PAL version. I don't plan on retrofitting the FS-4 Pro that I just bought, in the hopes that Focus is still working on a software fix for the fan noise problem. If there is no fix by the time the guarantee runs out, then I guess that I will have no other option - but I haven't lost faith in Focus yet. I also have to say that I have the feeling that the fan noise on the FS-4 Pro, which I just received, seems to be quieter than the unit I have been experimenting with. Here is the web link: http://www.marq5.de/FS-4.html Maybe this thread could be a place for others to share their workarounds, mods, and retrofits. Even if they are already posted in other threads. Cheers, __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

October 10th, 2005, 02:27 PM	#3
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Thanks for corroborating that suspicion Mark. I wasn't sure if my wishful thinking was playing tricks on me or not. I wish that there was no fan noise, but the fact that it is much quitter widens the range of shooting situations where I can use it. __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

October 10th, 2005, 02:21 PM	#2
Mark Geiser Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: london Posts: 59	Daniel I have found the FS4 pro fan to be WAY QUIETER than the non pro version, and I have had the fs4 pro changed twice due to problems, and they were all much quieter. They didn't seem to "rev up" quite so high. Mark

October 11th, 2005, 08:36 PM	#4
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	nice thread guys! good info in here.

December 1st, 2005, 10:59 AM	#6
Brian Fischer Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bremerton, Washington (Kitsap County), USA Posts: 28	So, which is actually the greater contributor to heat buildup in the FS-4? The HDD or the CPU?

December 3rd, 2005, 08:53 PM	#8
Brian Fischer Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bremerton, Washington (Kitsap County), USA Posts: 28	Thanks, Dan... That was quite informative.