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3-position single toggle fan controller

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tcg23

Registered
Joined
May 2, 2003
Location
Virginia
I'm a dedicated reader of Maximum PC, I was reading the review of the VooDoo pc verus the Alienware and the Dell.
The Voodoo pc has a single 3-postion toggle switch on the front of the case that controls all the case fans.

I was wondering wether something can be rigged up to control all the fans and make the 3-postion toggle switch change the volatage to the fans from 5v, to 7v and then to 12v for high.
Has anyone seen this done or in a retail package?
On one of my previous cases I had a 6-fan toggle switch based baybus which was nice, but I would love to have 1 toggle switch, which controls all the case fans.

All feedback welcome..
-TheComputerGuy23
 
you could possibly have one switch control all the fans in your system, it would just need to be able to handel high amperage (just about any toggle switch can) and you simply need to have a system to wire all the fans to this one switch, if you really want i could try to photoshop somthing

The only problem i can imagine is having a switch that goes 5v, 7v and 12v most three position toggles are on-off-on so you can only manage 2 of those voltages. I have never seen a toggle that does 3 different voltages, but i am a n00b at soldering and electronic so who knows.

Good Luck!
 
An alternative to this could be..

is there a way to wire all case fans up to one lead, so like a vantec fan controller could control all the fans?

Any help is appreciated!
-TheComputerGuy23
 
The reason I am asking is because a 3-position toggle would be alot simpler than a fan controller or a DD5+.

I think I am just going to go with a DD5+, it has enough features to justify it.

Thanks for all of your input..
-TheComputerGuy23
 
I think it could be done with a double-pole, single-throw switch. (I've seen some, but not often.) The idea would be to connect the fans in parallel to the center poles of the switch, and have one position feed +12V to the + fan lead and GND to the fan's GND, one position to +12V to the + fan lead and +5V to the fan's GND lead, and one position do +5V to the + fan lead and GND to the fan's GND lead. I'll do some doodling here for a moment ...

Okay, it's a rough sketch, but here's on that I think should work:

TriPositionFanbus.GIF


Please let me know if that helps. I'd try allelectronics or jameco to look for the part. You might find the switch abbrieviated as DP3T. In a couple of minutes of searching, I found a single-pole, tripple-throw switch. So in theory, you have a start. ;) -- Paul
 
You could use a slider switch, they sell them at radioshack, if they can handel the amperage, they would work great.

Digital Docs don't control fan speeds unless you use relays

Good Luck!
 
macklin01, that sounds right.
The baybus that I had, used 3 postions. Off, Low, and High.
Off was 0v, Low was adjustable via a small rheo (I chose 7v), and high was 12v.

What I would actually prefer is a 3-postion, 12v,0v,7v toggle switch setup.
I would be hooking quite a few fans to this.
80,92, and 120mm Vantech stealth's to it.
2x92mm,1x120mm, and probably 3x80mm

I appreciate it macklin01
 
Not a problem. ;) I think that would actually be easier to implement. You only need a single-pole, triple-throw (SP3T) switch for that:

TriPositionFanbus2.GIF


The key is finding a switch that can handle a high current load, say a few amps. -- Paul

*edit* That switch is in the order of 12V (top), 7V (middle), and 0V (bottom). If you want 12V / 0V / 7V, switch the middle and bottom connections. */edit*
 
If I think about it, I would never want the fans turned all the way off.
Would it be better to use a 2 position toggle switch, up on 12v and down on 7v?
Is that possible?
Thanks again macklin..
-TheComputerGuy23

edit: would this work?
Catalog #: 275-651, look that up at radioshack.com
 
Last edited:
Hey! :)

Hmm, that's a good question. 5V is a nice option, of course, but not all fans will spin at that low of a voltage. (Nor at 7V, for some fans.) I agree on not needing to turn off the fans with a toggle (esp. if it controls a lot of them), so that leads us to a 5/7/12 setup or 7/12 setup. (BTW, a 12V on up, 7V on down is entirely possible.)

From a practical standpoint, I would be inclined towards the 7/12 setup. You could do that with a single-pole, double-throw switch on the ground lead of the fans. It would be very simple to implement, and the switch could be found in just about any style and/or current capacity you desire.

On the other hand, the 5/7/12 could be neat, too. If you can't find a DP3T switch, you could get two SP3T switches and physically/mechanically link them together. There might be some sort of rotary switcht that could be rigged to do that, too, although I'm not entirely familiar with what's out there. -- Paul
 
I would like a 7v/12v 2 position toggle switch setup.
How many amps would I need to be able to handle, I'm talking maybe 8 case fans, all vantec stealth's from 80mm to 120mm.
Thanks,
-TheComputerGuy23
 
Just as a followup, I've decided what to do and I have drawn the schematics.
Basically, I've got the 12v from the fan going to the PSU and the Ground going to a 2-way switch, high is hooked to Gnd and low is set to 5v.
So if I put the switch on high, I have 12v and gnd, but if I select low, I have 12v and gnd from fan to 5v lead, which gives me 7v.

It was reccomended to me that I put a resistor in line with the 12v line, so if it shorts out, I have resistance, thus saving the PSU.

-TheComputerGuy23
 
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